I’m an investigative and data journalist and an adjunct assistant professor for Columbia’s MS in Data Journalism program. For the 2024-2025 academic year, I’m a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University, taking MBA courses at the business school and attending weekly dinners and seminars at the journalism school.

Previously, I was an investigative reporter at the Boston Globe, where I reported on various topics, from conflicts of interest in medical research to loopholes in state gun laws. I’ve also reported extensively on the COVID-19 pandemic for the New York Times Opinion video team and The Fuller Project; on policing and criminal justice for The Trace, New York Daily News, ProPublica, and BuzzFeed; and on real estate and development for various New York publications.

Over my nearly two-decade career, my data-driven investigations have consistently exposed systemic injustices and had an impact, including greater oversight of gun dealers in Massachusetts, sweeping reforms to the NYPD’s “broken windows” policing strategy, and an increase in detectives assigned to violent crimes in several major cities. My investigative findings were also pivotal in freeing a Baltimore man from prison, jumpstarting the construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and saving an Underground Railroad home from eminent domain.

I've also been recognized with 31 awards and honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a solo-bylined series I reported for the New York Daily News and ProPublica, and as a distinguished alumna of my alma mater, Wayne State University in Detroit.

I'm passionate about sharing what I’ve learned with others, and I have spoken at dozens of conferences, workshops, and university classrooms around the country.

Before discovering my love of reporting, I was a painter, community organizer, and waitress.