Author: Rafaela Jinich

Kalle Kamal Eko (MSJ12): Combining Storytelling and Social Media with Humanitarian Work

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date November 4, 2024
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Kalle Kamal Eko is the Communications and Marketing Manager for Catholic Relief Services in West Africa, where he combines storytelling with social media to amplify the organization’s humanitarian work. With over a decade of experience in communications, Eko began his career as the first social media intern in Chicago’s mayor’s office, later taking on roles at City Colleges of Chicago, the MacArthur Foundation and the Asia Society. His work now involves traveling throughout Africa to document impactful projects, using his Medill-honed skills to navigate the challenges of communication and cultural diversity.

What is your current role, and what does it entail?

I’m the Communications and Marketing Manager for Catholic Relief Services in the West Africa region. We’re a humanitarian organization focused on emergency response, development work, resilience-building after disasters, and education efforts like school feeding programs. My job is to find creative ways to share these stories and highlight our impact. I work on getting media placements, creating social media content like TikTok videos and Instagram reels, and showcasing field projects. Recently, I was in Senegal at a women-run palm oil factory. I filmed the work there and added music to capture the singing and dancing that happens in the factory—it’s about presenting our stories in a way that resonates with audiences.

What brought you to this role? What was your career path like?

My career began 10 years ago in Chicago’s mayor’s office as the first social media intern, which opened my eyes to storytelling through social media. It was Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first term, and as the youngest person in the office, I set up the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, curated content, structured the blog, and strategized on how a public official could use Instagram—things that were new back then. After that, I went to Medill to hone my storytelling skills. Medill didn’t have a social media focus at the time, but I was able to build my skills in digital storytelling.

After Medill, I returned to Chicago to work with City Colleges of Chicago as their social media director. In that role, I focused on creative engagement strategies, like celebrating graduations on social media and boosting engagement with hashtags. Then, I joined the MacArthur Foundation as their social media manager, where I expanded my focus beyond Chicago, managing global projects and major announcements like the MacArthur Genius Grants. That role set me up to take on more international work, and now, with Catholic Relief Services, I cover a whole region, traveling to Africa every few months to document our projects.

How did you combine your social media and communications skills with meaningful, impactful work?

After working in city government and higher education, joining the MacArthur Foundation gave me global exposure. I managed announcements for the MacArthur Genius Grants and traveled to countries like Ghana and India to work on various projects. This broadened my skills and allowed me to focus more on digital media. Later, at the Asia Society, I expanded into podcasts, newsletters, and video projects, covering all of Asia. Now, at Catholic Relief, I use all those skills and more as I travel frequently to document our work in Africa.

What are some challenges you face in your current role?

Funding is a constant challenge, as it directly affects what we can do. We always have to think carefully about our audience, message, and the resources we have available. Language can also be a barrier, as our staff speak both French and English, so balancing communication in both languages is key. Navigating cultural differences and stakeholder needs in various countries is another ongoing challenge.

What skills from Medill have been most useful in your career?

Medill is a practical place, not a theoretical one. We were out there doing stories, experimenting with different storytelling platforms, and that hands-on experience was invaluable. Social media platforms have evolved since I graduated—Instagram has more video content, Twitter is different, and Facebook’s popularity has shifted—so the most important thing I learned was flexibility. Medill taught me to analyze new platforms, understand their audiences, and evaluate whether my organization should be on them. Medill really prepared me to adapt and use any medium to reach the right audience.

If you could give advice to new Medill graduates, what would it be?

The best advice I can offer is to really stay flexible and patient throughout your career journey. Flexibility means staying open to a wide range of opportunities, even ones you might not initially consider ideal. Right after college, I didn’t have a full-time job lined up and ended up working in various roles—from city government to fellowships and even a stint at Best Buy—just to keep moving forward. The job market was tough, but this period taught me resilience and opened up new perspectives. Eventually, I found a role in the mayor’s office, which led me to social media, a field I hadn’t previously thought about. Looking back, if I hadn’t been patient and open, I might never have found my niche.

When I started as a social media manager, platforms and strategies were vastly different. Over time, I’ve had to adapt continuously as they evolved, reminding me that flexibility is essential in today’s dynamic job landscape. Patience is equally crucial—you might not get your dream job right away, but every experience builds skills and brings you closer to your goals. Taking a long-term view and trying out various paths without despair can be incredibly rewarding in the end.

Unlocking Social Impact: The Medill Cause Marketing Initiative (CMI)

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date May 15, 2024
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Have you heard of the Medill Cause Marketing Initiative (CMI)?

If not, it’s time to get acquainted with this powerhouse of impact-driven marketing right here at Northwestern University.

With more than 100 students and 15 clients, this year CMI has the largest cohort of students involved.

What is CMI?

CMI isn’t just any student-run committee; it’s a force for good in the community. Since its founding in 2008, CMI has been dedicated to providing pro-bono marketing services for non-profit organizations in the Chicago area. Led by graduate students in Northwestern’s Integrated Marketing Communications program, CMI leverages classroom knowledge to tackle real-world challenges faced by non-profits.

What Does CMI Do?

From brand strategy to digital marketing and public relations, CMI offers a wide range of services aimed at amplifying the voices of non-profits. By partnering with organizations like the American Legion, Lambs Farm and Openlands, CMI helps them extend their reach and deepen their impact within the community.

In 2023, CMI made waves with its transformative work for Sarah’s Circle, a nonprofit organization with a mission of serving women who are homeless or in need of a safe space in Chicago. By redesigning marketing materials and crafting an innovative social media strategy, CMI elevated Sarah’s Circle’s brand and bolstered its donor relationships, leaving a lasting impact on the organization and the lives it touches.

CMI is currently collaborating with Lambs Farm, an organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities, on a transformative rebranding project. With a focus on dispelling misconceptions and elevating awareness of its mission, Lambs Farm seeks to transition to “The Lambs” and revamp its branding across various touchpoints. CMI’s role involves crafting a comprehensive marketing strategy, developing rebranding content and conducting a social media audit to support Lambs Farm in communicating its impact effectively to the community.

Meet the Minds Behind CMI

Behind CMI’s success are the dedicated individuals who drive its mission forward. From program management to client partnerships and communications, CMI’s executive board is a diverse team of passionate IMC graduate students committed to making a difference.

“The CMI Team for 2024 is working on a range of causes from education to veteran welfare. Our student teams are extremely passionate and hoping to make a difference wherever possible. Small steps, together, will ensure large impact.” – Anoushka Jaipuria, CMI Program Director ’24.

“Being part of CMI means turning passion into purpose. Every project is an opportunity to make a difference, to amplify voices, and to leave a lasting impact.” – Laila Sofia Garza Kamar, CMI 2024 External Communications Director ’24.

Connect with CMI

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/cause-marketing-initative-northwestern-medill/

Instagram: @medillcmi

Website: https://cmi.medill.northwestern.edu/

1970s Featured Legacies Home Legacies

Roderick S.A. Oram (MSJ75)

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date April 17, 2024
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As published in the New Zealand Herald:

Longtime financial and climate journalist Rod Oram was much loved and respected in the local business and media community.

Oram, who was a journalist for more than 40 years, died on Tuesday afternoon, after having a heart attack while cycling last weekend.

He was the inaugural editor of the Business Herald when it was launched as a distinct unit in 1997.

Born in the United Kingdom, Oram spent 20 years as an international financial journalist in Europe and North America, and travelled extensively in those continents and in Asia.

From 1975 to 1979, he held various journalist positions in Canada and from 1979, until joining the New Zealand Herald, he held a variety of posts at the Financial Times in London and New York City.

Fran O’Sullivan, NZME’s senior business correspondent and a longtime colleague and friend of Oram, recalled his passion for his work.

“I first met Rod Oram when I travelled to London on a Foreign and Commonwealth Office scholarship in the early 1990s. I was then editor of National Business Review – he was city editor at the Financial Times,” she recalled.

“His bubbling enthusiasm was contagious – right from the start. I like to think I also excited him with the derring-do that was possible in New Zealand business journalism at that time; particularly on the investigative front.

“We next met when Ivan Fallon was headhunting business journalists to join Wilson and Horton (predecessor of NZME) to launch the Business Herald. Rod set out to create the Business Herald as – what he used to call – a ‘beacon of hope’ for top-notch journalism in New Zealand.

“I will never forget his opening gambit – ‘well hello” – down the phone, as he navigated the frustrations of leading a team within a general newspaper environment as opposed to a dedicated financial newspaper.

“He ultimately left the Herald and became a brand in his own right – specialising in particular in the climate sphere.

“But he never lost that contagious enthusiasm – whether it was talking about his plan to reach 100 (sadly not to be); his great bike adventures across central Asia, travelling to the COP meetings under his own steam or talking about the family he cherished. Agree with him or not, he is a great loss to civil discourse in this country. He will be missed.”

1960s Featured Legacies Home Legacies

B.F. Helman (BSJ69)

BF (Bernard Frederick) Helman died peacefully Friday, Mar. 29, in suburban St. Louis, after a long illness. He was 76.

Actor, poet, writer, film expert and enthusiastic observer of politics, BF was truly a Renaissance man, with sharp wit and endless curiosity.

He was born in Granite City, IL, where his parents owned and operated a popular women’s clothing store, Helman’s.

He graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a concentration in advertising followed by an advanced degree in Communications at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

BF held several positions in Chicago but his passion was the theater. He had numerous stage roles, and extensive on camera and voice over work, locally and nationally. He appeared in commercials and high profile corporate projects. A long time specialty was dramatic and comedic roles in syndicated radio dramas and programs.

BF’s passion project above all others was the Defiant Theatre Company in Chicago, where he acted and supported the group in countless other ways.

After more than 40 years, BF grew tired of the cruel Chicago winters and endless urban chaos. He relocated to St. Louis where he spent his last 10 years. He acted in Community Theater and actively participated in ROMEO groups, “really old guys eating out.”

His extended family in St. Louis, including his closest friend the late Barry Freedman, made sure BF was on the guest list for holidays and important occasions.

His friend group, locally and around the country, supported him during his illness: Johnny Heller, Don Rubin, Barbara Weiner, Allen Levin, Marshall Dyer, Barry Murov, Hedy Ehrlich, Ava Ehrlich and a close group of cousins.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Morris and Reeva Helman. He is survived by his brother Howard Helman (Phyllis), of Redondo Beach, CA, numerous cousins and theater friends all over the country.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/st-louis-mo/bf-helman-11748492

1940s Featured Legacies Home Legacies

Marjorie L. Greenberger (BSJ45)

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date April 17, 2024
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Marjorie Livingston Greenberger, 100, passed away peacefully in her home in Corvallis, Oregon on March 13th. She is survived by her beloved children and grandchildren: Ellen Parker, Joseph Greenberger, Michael Greenberger, and Ann Greenberger; she was the grandmother of Andrew Parker and Lily Parker; great-grandmother of Hollis June Parker. Marjorie is predeceased by her husband Dr. Maurice Greenberger of Canton, Ohio; her brother Clifford Livingston of Merrill, Wisconsin; and her sister Helene (Livingston) Byrns of Madison, Wisconsin.

Marjorie grew up in Merrill, Wisconsin. She attended Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, worked as a reporter, then taught English at Merrill High School. Marjorie married Dr. Maurice Greenberger and moved to Canton, Ohio where they raised their four children. She earned a Master’s degree in English from the University of Akron and taught for many years in their English Department.

Throughout her life, Marjorie’s siblings and their families gathered for summers on Merrill’s Lake Pesobic. Marjorie returned to the home that was always close to her heart and lived in Merrill for another 15 years before moving to Oregon to be near her children and grandchildren.

Marjorie was a gardener, avid reader, chocolate lover, and supported local libraries. She will always be remembered for her intelligence, gentle nature, and love for her family.

Condolences may be sent in care of: Fisher Funeral Home, 306 SW Washington Street, Albany, Oregon 97321.

The family suggests memorial donations to T.B. Scott Free Library or Merrill Historical Society.

https://www.fisherfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Marjorie-Livingston-Greenberger?obId=31109375

1950s Featured Legacies Featured Legacies Home Home Legacies Uncategorized

Al Borcover (MSJ57)

Republished from the Chicago Tribune

Alfred Borcover was the Tribune’s travel editor in the 1980s and ’90s, a time when travel sections were a robust element of Sunday newspapers and writers covered the globe in search of interesting stories.

“Back in the day, Al took readers to places near and far with an easygoing style that made them feel that they were his traveling companions,” said Carolyn McGuire, a retired Tribune associate Travel editor. “Between assignments he was always available to give advice to anyone who asked how to beat jet lag or the best hotel to stay in — you name it.”

Borcover, 92, died of natural causes on Jan. 24 at the Warren Barr Lieberman long-term care facility in Skokie, said his wife of 34 years, Linda. A longtime Evanston resident, Borcover had been battling a range of health issues and had been in hospice care.

Born Alfred Seymour Borcover in Bellaire, Ohio, Borcover was the son of a Russian-born father and a mother who had immigrated to the U.S. from Austria. He received a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University in 1953 and then served for two years in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a first lieutenant and served in Morocco and at a radar station in Maine, his family said.

In 1957, he received a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Two years later he joined the Tribune, briefly as a reporter before becoming a copy editor.

Borcover joined the Tribune’s Travel section in 1963 and for the next 10 years was an assistant travel editor, while also writing long articles about various destinations. His first Travel section article, published July 1963, took readers to Vilas County, in north-central Wisconsin, which he described as a “scenic wonderland of 1,300 lakes and thousands of acres of towering forests.”

Borcover’s stories included a focus on affordable rail travel while he also visited far-flung locales such as Tunisia and Israel. During this time he provided the content for “Arthur Frommer’s Dollar-Wise Guide to Chicago,” which was published in 1967. Tribune book critic Clarence Petersen called it “authoritative, well-written, fascinating and up-to-date,” and a book “to remind us natives of some of the attractions of home.”

A series he developed in 1976 on Bicentennial travel destinations, including Yellowstone National Park, the Arizona desert, Glacier Bay in Alaska and the Grand Canyon, was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.

Borcover was named the Tribune’s Travel editor in 1979. In addition to leading the section and assigning stories to writers, he continued to file reports from around the world and also wrote a weekly column.

In 1986, he broke a story about scams that had been launched in Chicago by sham vacation brokers who took consumers’ fees but then denied them trips on the dates they desired. Ultimately the brokers were targeted by the Federal Trade Commission and sued by the state attorney general’s office before the state General Assembly passed legislation cracking down on such travel promoters.

Borcover continued focusing on travel scams, and his columns were distributed around the country through Tribune wire services.

“Though he was based here in Chicago, his syndicated stories and columns traveled as widely as he did,” said Randy Curwen, who succeeded Borcover as the Tribune’s Travel editor. “As a travel writer, editor and columnist, Al certainly knew his way around the world. And everybody in the travel world knew Al.”

In addition to basic information on destinations such as maps and costs, Borcover offered personal observations in his stories.

“What struck me … was that I didn’t feel as if I were in South America,” Borcover wrote in March 1983 on a trip to Buenos Aires. “The city’s ambience and architecture — from the colorful Italian district of La Boca with its brightly painted homes to the grandiose scale of Avenida 9 de Julio — were definitely European. The undiluted ethnicity of the few gracious residents I had met, and others I overheard, left me with the quick impression that this melting-pot country had not melted as in the U.S. Language of origin had not been buried, but preserved.”

Retired Tribune foreign correspondent R.C. “Dick” Longworth recalled Borcover’s “always upbeat and good-natured” personality.

“Al was one of the nicest guys in the Tribune newsroom,” Longworth said. “He was also a real pro, a graceful writer and a fine editor whose own sense of fun and adventure infused the paper’s Travel section.”

After visiting 60 countries, Borcover stepped down as Travel editor in 1993 and retired from the Tribune in February 1994.

“People always ask: What’s your favorite place?” Borcover wrote in his farewell column. “I never have an adequate answer. There are just too many places in the world to love, and I’m not finished seeing all that I want to see. There’s no end in sight.”

Borcover continued to write about travel for another 17 years as a freelancer, including a biweekly column for the Travel section.

Shortly after his final byline in the Tribune in 2011, Borcover began volunteering at O’Hare International Airport with Travelers Aid, working at an information desk.

“He loved volunteering to work on the travel desk at O’Hare, and would go every week, for a time, to sit at that desk in one of the terminals and offer advice and help to travelers,” said former Tribune correspondent Storer “Bob” Rowley, a longtime friend.

Books

My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines and the Battles That Made Us

Post author By Rafaela Jinich
Post date January 11, 2024
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Morgan Campbell (BSJ99)

Morgan Campbell comes from “a fighting family,” a connection and clash that reaches back to Chicago in the 1930s. His parents’ families were both part of the Great Migration from the U.S. rural south to the industrial north, but a history of perceived slights and social schisms solidified a feud that only intensified over the century.

Morgan’s maternal grandfather, Claude Jones—a legendary grudge-holder and fixture of the Chicago jazz scene—was recruited to play in Toronto and eventually settled in Canada in the mid-1960s. Morgan’s paternal grandmother, Granny Mary, however, remained stateside, a distance her resentments would only grow to fill.

Bearing witness to these tensions was young Morgan, an aspiring writer, budding athlete, and slow-jam scholar whose American roots landed him an outsider status that exposed the profound gap between Canada’s multicultural reputation and its very different reality.

Having grown up bouncing between these disparate identities—Black and Canadian, Canadian and American, Campbell and Jones—Morgan has crafted a witty, wise, rich, and soulful illumination of the journey to find clarity in all that conflict.
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Books

Coyotes Among US

Kerry Luft (BSJ87)

Coyotes Among Us is an eye-opening volume of research and photographs exploring one of North America’s most persistent—and misunderstood—predators. The coyote. Even its image conjures up more myth than fact. From its depictions as the “trickster” in ancient fables to its portrayal as a threat to humans and their pets in modern news sources, coyotes are rarely shown in a favorable light. Now, the Urban Coyote Research Project pulls back the curtain on the defamed coyote, revealing the surprising truth about this unique creature. Though harassed and hunted for generations, today the coyote persists and even thrives. With an innate ability to adjust to new climates and environments, the coyote has developed an expansive range. Once confined to the American West, it now lives in forty-nine states, across lower Canada, throughout Mexico, and all the way to Costa Rica. Its habitat ranges from rural prairie to urban overpasses; it is the largest animal to regularly live wild within city limits. The coyote continues to overcome the ceaseless intrusion of urban development to create a bright and flourishing future, providing its human neighbors a surprising number of benefits. With stunning images of coyotes within their surprising habitats, Coyotes Among Us draws from decades of experience to dispel coyote myths, highlight the benefits of living with coyotes, and embrace the coyote as a brilliant survivor against all odds.

2000s Class Notes Featured Class Notes Uncategorized

Michelle Edgar (BSJ05)

Michelle Edgar has built a career at the intersection of social impact, entertainment, sports, fashion, and culture. As a connector and founder, she has worked closely with talent, management, brands, and business leaders to ideate, strategize and build impactful marketing campaigns. As a strategic marketing executive with an emphasis on driving value for IP, talent and brands, Michelle has launched talent-focused global campaigns on behalf of both brands and agencies.

In December, she joined the Compton Unified School District as the senior director of business partnerships and schools bringing programs, resources and funding to the district across entertainment, arts, sports, technology and STEM. Last fall, she joined the Santa Monica Arts Commission as living a life of service and helping shape community across a city landscape is a priority along with creating opportunities for all ages and stages and walks of life. This month January, she will be an adjunct professor at Northwestern Law teaching a Sports Law course on Endorsements, Name Image, and Likeness for college athletes. She additionally is a SBJ correspondent.

1990s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Leslie Krohn (MSJ93)

Leslie Krohn was named Executive Vice President and Chief Brand and Communications Officer at The Joint Commission Enterprise, a global driver of quality improvement and patient safety in healthcare, in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. She was previously Chief Communications Officer at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, IL.

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