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2010s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Benjamin Oreskes (BSJ15)

Benjamin Oreskes was named print journalist of the year by the Los Angeles Press Club for his on-the-ground reporting of homelessness issues during the coronavirus pandemic. The competition’s judges lauded Oreskes for his “keen eyes for detail, excellent research and writing, and an empathy for the homeless and those who help, including firefighters, EMTs and a judge.”
Ben is a general assignment reporter in the California section. Previously, he wrote the Essential California newsletter. Before coming to The Times in February 2017, Oreskes covered foreign policy at Politico in Washington, D.C.

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2010s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Rachel Clara Reed (BSJ15)

I’m working on my first feature documentary and we’re running a fundraising campaign right now for post-production: sound/color engineering, archival film licensing, festival applications, and more.

What We Carry tells the intimate story of one family while humanizing one of the most divisive issues of our time: immigration. After escaping violence in Honduras and joining the migrant caravan, a young couple and their son are taken in by a synagogue in Seattle, Washington, and their story becomes linked to the Jewish people’s long legacy of defending the right to refuge.

The film centers the stories of Mirna, Magdiel, and Joshua as they seek asylum. But we uplift not just their identities and day-to-day experiences of being immigrants, but also the daily joys and tribulations – and even the mundane moments – of parenthood, marriage, and setting up life in a new place – things that many of us, immigrants or not, experience ourselves.

Please check out the campaign at whatwecarrydoc.com. Thanks very much!

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1980s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Lori Marshall (BSJ86, MSJ88)

Lori Marshall (BSJ 1986 and MSJ 1988) published “One-Way Ticket to L.A.” written with her mother, Barbara Marshall. The memoir chronicles Barbara’s journey from Ohio to Hollywood where she was married to the writer-producer-director Garry Marshall for 53 years. Garry also graduated from Medill in 1956. The book was published by Sarah Street Press in early 2021.

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1980s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Stephanie Chang (BSJ89)

Stephanie Chang, BSJ ’89, has been named Vice President of Content and Global Editor of Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group Custom Content, also known as The Trust. She directs the development of content for clients of WSJ | BG. She lives in Manhattan with husband Sean Nolan, BSJ ’89, and their two children.

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1980s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Tony Bartelme (BSJ84)

Tony Bartelme was awarded Columbia Journalism School’s prestigious 2021 John Chancellor Award. Judges cited a career of ground-breaking environmental and investigative stories that stretched the limits of what local newspapers offer their readers. He is senior project reporter for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina.

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1990s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Benoit Denizet-Lewis (BSJ97)

Benoit Denizet-Lewis, an associate professor at Emerson College and a longtime contributing writer with The New York Times Magazine, was awarded a 2022 New America fellowship. He will work on a new book, “We Don’t Know You Anymore,” about people who experience significant shifts to an identity or belief system.

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2000s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Juliana Tafur (BSJ07)

Juliana Tafur was selected as a Obama Foundation Scholar for the 2021-2022 academic year at Columbia University. She will join 11 other rising leaders from the United States and around the world who are already making a difference in their communities.

Juliana was chosen for designing and implementing a listening methodology to inspire positive dialogue across differences and foster human connection, following the production of her award-winning documentary List(e)n.

Her film brings together Americans with opposing viewpoints and facilitates opportunities for them to connect across their differences. Inspired by the documentary, she created Listen Courageously, a workshop series providing tools for participants to engage in heart-centered dialogue.

She runs Story Powerhouse, a professional and social development organization that uses film to cultivate understanding. Her workshops have built bridges at corporate settings, academic institutions and non-profit organizations, guiding participants in empathic listening.

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1980s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Lori Montgomery (BSJ84)

Lori Montgomery was named Business Editor of The Washington Post, leading a rapidly expanding staff that covers the national economy, economic policy and the tech industry. Lori joined The Post in 2000, and most recently served as deputy National Editor.

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1990s Class Notes Featured Class Notes

Gregor Gilliom (MSJ90)

Gregor Gilliom (MSJ ’90) is owner and editorial director of Versatile Words (www.versatilewords.com), a writing and content strategy practice that serves countless regional and national brands, including NetJets, Nationwide, JPMorganChase, and Target. Founded in 2005, Versatile Words has won dozens of awards for copywriting and creative collaboration, and Gregor recently received the Ed Grauer Leadership Award, the highest honor given by Columbus Society of Communication Arts, the region’s leading creative industry organization.

Prior to his work with Versatile Words, he worked for eight years in magazine editorial, including titles based in Chicago, San Francisco, Madison, and Columbus, Ohio, where he served as founding editor of Columbus CEO magazine. He and his family live in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus.

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2000s Featured Class Notes

Debbie Cassell (MSJ00)

Debbie Cassell is senior associate director of marketing and communications for alumni relations and development at Northwestern University. In her spare time, she is president of the Evanston Community Tennis Association. Debbie also was producer of the Woman’s Club of Evanston’s 68th Annual Revue, “Singin’ in the Game,” an evening of musical comedy that raised funds for Girls Play Sports, a local nonprofit; Debbie wrote several song parodies—on topics such as commonly mispronounced words, sports bras and presidential tweets—for the benefit show, in addition to directing and performing.