THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: casting, field producing, interviewing
Even the insiders are fed up with Washington. To understand why, we posed the same eight questions to House and Senate members in both parties who are on the way out, looking for patterns and prescriptions.
As the project's producer, I cast and scheduled all 12 participating Congress members — and interviewed them in Washington D.C.
I talked about the project on TV and on the radio.
Video interactive published on nytimes.com
TikTok video (1.5M views)
Newsletter I wrote about the project
Excerpts of my interviews in print
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: pre-production, (remote) field directing
For two weeks, Dr. Samer Attar volunteered at local hospitals in Gaza, filming video diaries throughout his trip. He was part of the first convoy of international doctors to embed in the north.
I pre-interviewed Samer before and after his trip and traveled to his home in Chicago to train him on shooting video. While he was in Gaza, I provided live instructions and feedback on his footage — and reviewed all 10+ hours of it after he returned. I also conducted additional reporting.
Emmy Award for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis: Editorial and Opinion
Overseas Press Club Flora Lewis Award
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: casting, field producing, interviewing, archival research
A lot of people have weighed in on legacy admissions: President Biden. Members of Congress. Supreme Court justices. But what about the legacy students themselves?
I cast and pre-interviewed all of the subjects, conducted the on-camera interviews, and found the archival footage.
Video published on nytimes.com
Newsletter I wrote about the video
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: casting, scripting, archival research
Amid an enormous societal push to destigmatize mental illness, young people have been flooded with mental health information online and elsewhere. But is it possible all this awareness is actually making them feel worse?
I pitched this video based on my own observations, then cast academic psychologist Dr. Lucy Foulkes who has been reaching this issue for years. I pre-interviewed her to conceptualize the argument and co-wrote the script with her and my colleague Adam Westbrook. I also found all the visual assets.
Video published on nytimes.com
Newsletter I wrote about the video
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: field producing, interviewing, editing, archival research
After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear nations carried out more than 2,000 explosive tests in the atmosphere, underground and underwater, mostly in remote places around the world.
In video interviews I conducted, the descendants of atomic testing survivors described the fallout their families have continued to endure — displacement, illness, and death. Those interviews were featured in an interactive article and a video I produced and edited.
Video interactive published on nytimes.com
Instagram reel (944K views)
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: post production, editing
In 2021, a group of filmmakers asked Palestinian children in Gaza about their dreams. I discovered these interviews through Jordanian filmmaker Mohannad Abu Rizk's TikTok, then reached out to his team to propose a new video juxtaposing these 2021 interviews with present-day footage of Israel's attacks on Gaza.
I conceptualized the video, sourced the interview footage from the filmmakers, selected and pulled present-day war footage, then edited the video.
Video published on nytimes.com
Instagram reel (4.4M views)
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: archival research, scripting
Trump’s second term has already wreaked havoc, even on his own supporters. Many of these regretful MAGA voters were once part of solidly Democratic voting blocs before swinging right in 2024 — e.g., Latinos, Arab Americans, working class folks. Democrats have the opportunity to win back these disillusioned Americans, but they're squandering it: from party leaders and political strategists to influencers and regular people.
I pitched and produced the video, including conducting the open source archival research. I scripted the piece with my colleague Alex Stockton.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: archival research, editing
Sophomoric insults. Rudeness. Personal attacks. Cross talk. These have become the defining features of American political debates. But things haven't always been this way.
I interviewed presidential debate historians and sifted through six decades of presidential debates to collect the archival footage, then edited the video.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: field producing, interviewing, archival research
Being pregnant is hard enough. Then there's "pregnancy police": strangers who judge pregnant women for all of their choices. That's what professional runner Stephanie Bruce discovered while carrying her third child.
I traveled to Flagstaff, AZ to interview Stephanie and worked with our DP Elliot DeBruyn to shoot b-roll at a gym, doctor's office, and running trail. I also found all the archival sound.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
roles: archival research, post production
In the decades-long effort to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict, the "two-state solution" has been the official policy of most governments and the basis for peace talks. But it has also become one of the most hollowed-out phrases in the Middle East.
I researched the two-state solution's history to find the video's archival footage and worked with my colleague Adam Westbrook to conceptualize the final product.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
roles: casting, field producing, shooting, interviewing, editing
Danielle Boyer founded her nonprofit The STEAM Connection to provide technical and cultural education in Native American communities, combining both in the form of robots that teach Indigenous languages.
I spent an afternoon with Danielle, interviewing her about her inventions and shooting footage of her demonstrating them. We also took a trip to the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian to view exhibits from Danielle's tribal community.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
roles: casting, field producing, interviewing
A National Center For Education Statistics study showed test scores in math and reading hit new lows after the pandemic. I spoke with one family, fourth grader Yara Valerio and her mother Emma Mercado, about their challenges with remote learning and their hopes for the next school year.
I booked Emma, Yara, and children's literacy nonprofit CEO Adeola Whitney. I field produced our day-long shoot, directing the crew in shooting b-roll of Yara's first day of fourth grade and conducting the interviews.
ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE
roles: casting, producing
Minneapolis public school teachers negotiated a new contract after a strike, including a policy that protects underrepresented groups during layoffs. The policy is meant to "remedy the continuing effects of past discrimination" but has faced intense backlash.
My reporting about the new policy served as the foundation for this Nightline package. I also booked guests and helped field produce the interviews.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
roles: casting, interviewing, (remote) field producing
Pastor Michael Jennings, a Black man, was arrested while watering plants for a neighbor. The encounter was captured on police bodycam footage, prompting allegations of racial profiling.
I booked the exclusive interview with Pastor Jennings, making ABC News the first outlet to interview him since the bodycam footage release. I interviewed Jennings over Zoom while remotely field directing the crew filming him at his home.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
roles: (remote) field producing, interviewing, editing
Harvard announced all undergraduate classes in fall 2020 — the first full semester affected by the pandemic — would be virtual. Only a small number of students were allowed to live on campus that semester, under intense restrictions.
I pitched a video about their highly unusual move-in week, reaching out to several students for interviews and guiding them through filming their experience. I regularly checked in with the students to provide shot lists, then edited the video.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
roles: (remote) field producing, interviewing, editing
After Harvard sent students home during the pandemic, the Class of 2020 lost innumerable traditions, farewells, and last memories. However, seniors found ways to reimagine the quintessential senior spring experience.
I asked several of them to share videos of how they spent their makeshift senior year. I guided them through recording the videos from afar and edited the final product.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
roles: shooting, editing, interviewing
When the Science Center Plaza first opened in 2013, there were only five food trucks. Today, there are a total of 20 trucks that serve food in the space throughout the week. I interviewed several of the vendors that frequent the plaza to hear what it's like running a food truck at Harvard.
CHINESE SCHOOL: A DOCUMENTARY
Chinese schools are a nexus of Chinese community life in the U.S., offering childcare services, language and cultural enrichment, as well as academic support. Through an array of curricula and programming, these schools strive to simultaneously prepare Chinese American children for success in American society while cultivating their connection to Chinese heritage.
A mosaic of vignettes capturing quotidian life at Kwong Kow Chinese School in Boston Chinatown, this verité documentary offers a glimpse into this unique institution.
I directed, shot, and edited this film for my 2021 college course "The Art of Community-Based Filmmaking."
