Our interns and fellows produce critical work. Some are investigative journalists, while others are public engagement and marketing assistants. After they leave our offices on the University of Madison-Wisconsin campus, they move on to jobs in journalism and other fields, where they put the skills they learned at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism to use by holding the powerful to account, creating innovative ways of engaging with the public and sustaining high-quality journalism, and strengthening our society. That work, which will continue for decades after the internships and fellowships have been completed, may provide the Center’s greatest legacy. We’re thrilled to watch the story unfold.
If you’re a student interested in an internship or fellowship at the Center, learn more here.
Parker Schorr, reporting intern, 2019-2020
Where he is now: Looking for a reporting job. Would like to relocate to the Portland area.
Anna Hansen, reporting intern, 2020
Where she is now: Edgewood College student
Brooke Hollingsworth, public engagement and marketing intern, 2019-2020
Where she is now: L2T Media
Alyssa Allemand, digital and multimedia intern, 2020
Where she is now: Digital editor at Wisconsin Public Radio
Francisco Velazquez, reporting intern, 2019-2020
Where he is now: Graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in Journalism and Anthropology.
Erica Jones, reporting intern, 2019
Where she is now: Midwest Family Broadcasting in Eau Claire, Wis.
Sarah Whites-Koditschek, Wisconsin Public Radio Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow, 2019
Where she is now: Investigative reporter for Alabama Media Group
Izabela Zaluska, reporting intern, 2019
Where she is now: Staff writer at Little Village Magazine, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Natalie Yahr, public engagement and marketing intern, 2019
Where she is now: Reporter at the Cap Times newspaper in Madison, Wis.
Alisa Ivanitskaya, multimedia fellow, 2019
Where she is now: Fulbright master’s degree candidate at the University of Arizona.
Kynala Phillips, public engagement and marketing intern, 2019
Where she is now: Journalism student at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Former American Society of Magazine Editors intern at Essence Communications in New York.
Emily Hamer, reporting intern, 2018-2019
Where she is now: Reporter at the Wisconsin State Journal.
Grigor Atanesian, reporting fellow, 2018
Where he is now: Journalist at BBC News Russian Service
Belle Lin, reporting fellow, 2018
Where she is now: Editorial fellow at The Intercept.
Madeline Heim, reporter, 2018
Where she is now: Health and science reporter at the Appleton Post-Crescent. Former reporter at the Winona Daily News.
Katie Scheidt, public engagement and marketing assistant, 2018
Where she is now: Associate Marketing Communications Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Riley Vetterkind, reporter, 2017
Where he is now: Reporter at Wisconsin State Journal.
Alexandra Hall, Wisconsin Public Radio Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow, 2017
Where she is now: Central Valley reporter at KQED public radio in Fresno, California.
Mukhtar Ibrahim, investigative reporting fellow from Columbia University, 2017
Where he is now: Executive Editor, @SahanJournal, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrant communities.
Mia Sato, public engagement and marketing assistant, 2017
Where she is now: Audience engagement editor at The Markup. Former engagement editor at Better Government Association, a nonpartisan watchdog in Chicago.
Louisa Lincoln, public engagement and marketing assistant, 2017
Where she is now: Development Specialist at PRX in Minneapolis. Former Sponsorship Marketing Intern at NPR.
Katherine Proctor, investigative reporting fellow from Columbia University, 2017
Where she is now: Writer and reporter for Continuing Education for the Bar-California. Former freelance producer, WBUR public radio in Boston. Former reporter for Courthouse News Service.
Andrew Hahn, reporter, 2017
Where he is now: Communications Specialist at University Health Services – Madison.
Hayley Sperling, public engagement and marketing intern, 2016
Where she is now: Marketing communications coordinator at Fetch Rewards. Former engagement editor at WisContext. Former editorial operations intern at Vox.
Alexandra Arriaga, reporter, 2016
Where she is now: Digital media specialist at the Chicago Sun-Times. Former reporting fellow at the Texas Tribune.
Cara Lombardo, reporter, 2016
Where she is now: Reporter at the Wall Street Journal. Former legislative relief reporter for the Associated Press.
Bridgit Bowden, Wisconsin Public Radio Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow, 2016
Where she is now: Project reporter, Wisconsin Public Radio.
Mara Jezior, public engagement and marketing intern, 2015-2016
Where she is now: Membership and development coordinator at the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Abigail Becker, reporter, 2015-2016
Where she is now: City and county government reporter at The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. Former education reporter for Madison Commons.
Haley Henschel, reporter, 2015-2016
Where she is now: Freelance writer whose work has appeared on the USA TODAY Network, Us Weekly, Mashable, PC Mag, Gothamist, Culture Trip, LittleThings and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Tara Golshan, reporter, 2015
Where she is now: Working on the Policy and Politics team at Vox.com in Washington D.C. Former investigative reporting intern at USA TODAY.
Sean Kirkby, reporter, 2014-2015
Where he is now: Assistant editor at Wisconsin Health News.
Madeleine Behr reporter, 2014-2015
Where she is now: Policy associate at Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. Formerly worked as a government reporter the Appleton Post-Crescent, a subsidiary of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
Taylor Chase, reporter, 2014-2015
Where she is now: News anchor, reporter and producer at KFBB-TV in Great Falls, Montana. Formerly worked as an intern at WKOW in Madison.
Tegan Wendland, reporter, 2012-2014
Where she is now: News director and reporter, New Orleans Public Radio. Previously worked for Wisconsin Public Radio, WRKF-FM in Baton Rouge and WVIK-FM in Rock Island, Illinois.
Rory Linnane, reporter, 2012-2013
Where she is now: Reporter at USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, based in Milwaukee, formerly based at the Appleton Post-Crescent. Former reporter, NOW Newspapers, suburban Milwaukee and Waukesha County. Former editor and reporter for the Patch news websites in the Milwaukee area.
Nora Hertel, reporter, 2013-2014
Where she is now: Watchdog reporter, St. Cloud Times. Formerly worked as a watchdog reporter for the Wausau Herald Media. Former relief legislative reporter for The Associated Press in Pierre, South Dakota.
Alison Dirr, reporter, 2013-2014
Where she is now: Reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Former crime and justice reporter at the Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent. Former reporter, Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald.
Matt Barnidge, reporter, 2013
Where he is now: Assistant professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. Awarded Ph.D. in mass communication at UW-Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication.
Kate Prengaman, reporter, 2012-2013
Where she is now: Associate editor, Good Fruit Grower. Former reporter, Yakima (Wash.) Herald Republic covering natural resources issues. Former research assistant, UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Mario Koran, reporter, 2012-2013
Where he is now: West Coast correspondent for Guardian U.S. Former reporter for the Voice of San Diego investigative news website. Former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel intern and New York Times/National Association of Hispanic Journalists fellow.
Sarah Karon, reporter, 2011-2013
Where she is now: Interior designer at ai3 in Atlanta. Formerly studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design and was a writer based in Atlanta. Former spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and columnist for Madison Magazine.
Amy Karon, reporter, 2011-2012
Where she is now: Running a successful medical writing firm, Karon Medical Writing LLC. Former epidemiologist and veterinarian.
Lukas Keapproth, reporter, 2012
Where he is now: Photographer, Loyola University in Chicago. Former professional photographer and graduate student at the University of Texas-Austin. Former staff photographer, Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Julie Strupp, reporter, 2011-2012
Where she is now: Lead editor at Greater Greater Washington. Formerly worked in Togo for the Peace Corps teaching gender education and journalism. Formerly worked for AllAfrica Global Media, PolicyMic and Amnesty International.
Jason Smathers, reporter, 2011
Where he is now: Student, University of Iowa Law School. Executive editor at the Journal of Corporation Law. Former editor for the Sheboygan (Wis.) Press. Former reporter for WisPolitics.com covering the state government and politics. Former relief legislative reporter, The Associated Press in Madison.
Allie Tempus, reporter, 2010
Where she is now: Staff writer at FairWarning. Former associate editor, The Progressive magazine in Madison, Wisconsin. Former independent journalist working in New York City. Research assistant for writer Naomi Klein at The Nation Institute. Researcher for Rolling Stone. Former intern at The Nation and former relief legislative reporter, The Associated Press, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Sara Jerving, reporter, 2010
Where she is now: East Africa correspondent at Devex, reporting on relief efforts in the region. Former reporter for VICE on HBO, an Emmy-Award winning television show. Former post-grad fellow, Lorana Sullivan fellow and investigative reporter (in partnership with the LA Times) at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Former GlobalPost Fellow in Africa; former reporter for Bloomberg LP, Tanzania.
Nick Penzenstadler, reporter, 2010
Where he is now: Denver-based investigative reporter, USA TODAY NETWORK. Formerly Appleton-based reporter for the Gannett Wisconsin Media investigative team. Former reporter for the Rapid City ( S.D.) Journal.
Alec Luhn, reporter, 2009
Where he is now: Russia correspondent based in Moscow for The Telegraph. Former freelance reporter working in Russia and Ukraine. His work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Nation, Foreign Policy, GlobalPost, VICE News, Politico, The Independent, Slate and the New York Times. Former editor and reporter for the Moscow Times.
Jacob Kushner, reporter, 2009
Where he is now: A foreign correspondent reporting from East Africa, the Caribbean and Germany, Jacob’s investigations have appeared in Foreign Policy, National Geographic, the Nation, the ICIJ, VICE Magazine and NewYorker.com. His book about corruption in Congo was favorably reviewed in the New York Review of Books. Recently a Fulbright Fellow in Berlin, Jacob was an Overseas Press Club Fellow for the Associated Press in Nairobi. In 2018 he was named a Finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for Excellence in International Reporting.
Alex Morrell, reporter, 2009
Where he is now: Senior finance reporter at Business Insider. Former wealth reporter for Forbes magazine in New York. Former relief legislative reporter for The Associated Press in Boise, Idaho, and former reporter, Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Lexie Clinton, reporter, 2009
Where she is now: Senior producer, Salon Media Group. Also independent documentary producer in New York. Former director of communications, Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York City. Former video producer for NBC’s The Morning Joe in New York.
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