Natalie Demaree
Natalie Demaree is a multimedia journalist based in New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas in journalism and political science with a specialization in African and African American Studies. Currently, Natalie covers religion, culture and social justice as a graduate student at Columbia Journalism School.
Sara Selva
Sara Selva is a Masters student and Fulbright Fellow at Columbia Journalism School (’24). Originally from Spain, she has worked as a reporter for Cadena SER, the country’s main radio station. She has experience covering social, international and national news, and producing audio documentaries. You can reach her at: sso2125@columbia.edu.
Yzeppa K. Macias
Yzeppa Macias was born and raised in Las Vegas New Mexico and found her passion for story telling at a young age. In 2022 she received her BA in Journalism from Metropolitan State University of Denver where she acted as Features Editor for the universities student-ran newspaper the Metropolitan. During her time in Denver she was a contributing writer for a local news outlet, the Denver Northstar and an intern for the American Red Cross covering real life disasters such as the Marshall Fires in 2021. While attending Columbia Graduate School of Journalism she reported on breaking news in the city as well as local politics and initiatives. She is passionate about education reform, local government, and mental health. In 2024 she graduated from CU, obtaining her masters in journalism.
Tricia Stortz
Tricia Stortz is a health journalist and Masters student at Columbia Journalism. She is originally from Brooklyn and previously earned her Masters in Psychology from The New School for Social Research. She has also worked at several nonprofit mental health organizations across the city that provide supportive resources to underserved communities. She is looking to use her storytelling skills combined with her background in mental health to shed light on concerning issues and advocate for the rights and well-being of vulnerable populations.
Natália Silva
Natalia Silva is a Brazilian journalist and a Master’s student at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. In her home country, she was one of the founding producers of Radio Novelo Apresenta, the weekly narrative show from Radio Novelo, Brazil’s foremost podcasting company. Previously, she was co-host of Habitat, a a six-part narrative series that takes listeners on expeditions through Brazil in search of endangered species. It was nominated for the Third Coast Festival in 2023.
Christina Previte
Christina Previte is a Master’s student at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She’s originally from New Jersey, but has lived a nomadic life in Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University with a focus on sociology and criminology and a JD from Rutgers Law School. Christina took a massive detour from a prior career as a divorce lawyer by attending Columbia. While pursuing the Big Things she realized life is really about the Little Things. She is now dedicating her life’s work to hearing everyone’s stories of love, joy, sadness, fear, heartbreak, adversity and all of the things that make up the human experience. However, it is VERY important to enjoy good food, good company, and a proper Cosmopolitan while doing it. Ask her anything at: cp3290@columbia.edu.
Francisco Kilgore
Francisco Kilgore is an audio journalist who has told stories in his California hometown and his adopted home of New York City. Before Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, he worked in the nonprofit sector, researching best-case-practices for reducing homelessness.
Davide Lerner
Davide Lerner is a journalist from Italy. He works in radio with RAI, the italian national public broadcasting company, and writes for local as well as international publications. His bylines have appeared in Haaretz, The Financial Times, Politico.eu among others. In 2023 he won the San Paolo scholarship and joined the Columbia Journalism School. At Columbia he won the first “Best Thesis” award with a story on Israel and Gaza and the James A. Wechsler Memorial Award for international reporting with a story about domestic workers in Lebanon.
Gillian Goodman
Gillian Goodman is a freelance journalist from New York reporting on, among other things, campus protests, strippers unions, addiction treatments, and of course the classics: life, death, and lesbians. She’s produced work for The Intercept, Prism, and been featured on Democracy Now and Vanity Fair.
Faith Wang
Faith Wang is a Masters student at Columbia Journalism School. Originally from Shanghai, China, she earned a Bachelor journalism degree from Boston University and worked as a podcast producer at Story FM in Beijing for four years. While at Columbia, she produced audio stories covering mental health and asian community. She is also the cofounder of Radio Mandarin, a bilingual ( English and Mandarin ) narrative podcast that teaches Mandarin. You can reach her at: jw4459@columbia.edu.
Kristen Cashwell
Kristen Cashwell is a recent Columbia Graduate School of Journalism alumna and audio journalist.
Tara Hirszel
Tara Hirszel is a graduate student at Columbia Journalism School. She was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, and moved to the U.S. to study political science at Barnard College. During her time at Barnard, she was also a student radio programmer at Columbia University’s radio station WKCR. After graduation, she returned to Zurich to work at the Swiss bank Credit Suisse for around three years and eventually returned to New York for graduate school.
Andrea Calderón
Andrea Calderón is a graduate dual-degree student at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and School of Journalism. Her family is originally from Mexico, but she grew up in Texas, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy. Beyond the classroom, Andrea enjoys running half-marathons and exploring new restaurants in the city. Most importantly, she is a self-proclaimed hot chocolate connoisseur. Connect with Andrea at ac4949@columbia.edu.
Editors
Daniel Alarcón
Daniel Alarcón teaches audio at the Columbia Journalism School.
Telling True Stories in Sound 