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The Team

Columbia News Tonight Staff 2012: Allison Gaito, Anam Siddiq, Annie Claire Bergeron-Oliver, Brandon Gates, Celeste Owen-Jones, Dalal Mawad, Daniel Medina, Erin Cauchi, Erinn Cawthon, Ines Novacic, Jackie Kostek, Jaslee Carayol, Kristen Holmes, Lars Vercelli, Laura Keller, Leisha Majtan, Linda Ong, Marin Austin, Morgan Radford, Nathan Vickers, Sasha Schwendenwein, Sergey Gordeev, Xian Bu

Allison Gaito is happy to be back in New York City. A Rhode Island native, she spent nearly three years reporting and anchoring for ABC News Radio affiliate WPRO-Providence, covering everything from corruption and bankrupt cities to a no-talk governor. Prior to her professional experience, Allison worked a politics beat following Mayor Michael Bloomberg and covering the 2008 presidential election during her time with NPR member station WFUV and its student-staffed newsroom at Fordham University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in broadcast journalism at Columbia University and hopes to report on politics after graduation.
  Anam Siddiq is currently pursuing a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University. Her concentration is broadcast, but she gained experience in print, magazine and radio journalism as well throughout her undergraduate career. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.S. in literary journalism and U.S. history, and followed that up by working with various California news outlets such as KPCC, the OC Register, and KQED, where she acquired an exclusive interview with then-governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. Anam has written about issues ranging from animal euthanizations to jinn folklore, but she most enjoys reporting on social justice and religion.
Annie Claire Bergeron-Oliver is pursuing a Masters degree at Columbia Journalism and is in the broadcast concentration. In 2011, Annie graduated with honors from University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Physical Education, Health and Kinesiology and a minor in Political Science. While at U of T, Annie interned at MTV Canada, coached, sat on student government and figure skated 30 hours a week. She has also worked in the communications department at the Office of the Auditor General and the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Federal Secretariat. She’s currently interning at the CBC’s New York and United Nations offices. Annie is fluent in French and English, is an avid runner, hockey fanatic, politics junkie and multi-time national figure skating competitor, Ontario University Athletic Champion and Ontario Provincial Champion.  You can follow Annie on Twitter at @AnnieClaireBO.
  Brandon L. Gates is a native of Charleston, SC and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. Brandon has interned at KVVU in Las Vegas and worked as a campus correspondent for CNN University. He co-hosted Your New Nation, a nationally-syndicated radio show where he and his co-hosts engaged in weekly debates ranging from politics to social issues. Brandon is a self-proclaimed news junkie and enjoys all kinds of music, especially 1930s & 40s jazz. He is a fan of the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and of course the Gamecocks football team. Currently. Brandon’s pursuing an MS in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. You can contact him at blg2125@columbia.edu, and follow him on Twitter: @TheBGates.
Celeste Owen-Jones likes to think her heart is in France and her head in Britain. She was born and raised in Paris, and studied History and Italian at Oxford University. She is fluent in French, English and Italian and advanced in Spanish. Journalism has been Céleste’s passion for longer than she can remember: she interned with various media outlets, including CNN International in London, the BBC in Rome and Le Figaro in Paris. After graduation, Céleste hopes to become a reporter with the ultimate aim of covering war zones and international news.
Dalal Mawad was born and raised in Lebanon. Dalal is currently a graduate journalism student at Columbia University specializing in broadcast journalism. She is also the co-president of the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association at Columbia. She holds a B.A. in economics from the American University of Beirut and an M.S. in international political economy from the London School of Economics. Prior to coming to Columbia, Mawad was a researcher at UNDP in Beirut, working on Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. She contributed to the creation of “The Common Space Initiative,” an independent and inclusive dialogue space for Lebanon. Mawad is also a freelance journalist and She is fluent in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
Daniel Medina reports for Columbia News Tonight from the places of the city you may not have gone to report the stories of people you encounter on a daily basis. There are eight million stories in this city and each one is unique. He has previously worked or interned at Sky News both in the U.S. and at their U.K. headquarters as well as at the NBC6-WTVJ affiliate in South Florida. He was a staff writer and op-ed columnist at The Miami Hurricane and worked as a reporter on UMTV and UniMiami, one of only three Spanish-language college news broadcasts in the nation. Prior to entering Columbia, he taught English at an elementary school in Aranjuez, Spain. A native of Washington , D.C. and born to a Peruvian father and American mother, Daniel is an avid traveler having visited over 25 countries. Through his travels, he has developed a passion for politics, sports and socio-economic issues–all while hoping he has disproved American stereotypes abroad. Daniel holds a Bachelors of Science degree in broadcast journalism and politics from the University of Miami. Follow him on Twitter: @DMedin11
  Erin Cauchi is a Canadian expat working her way from local to global, eventually getting into foreign correspondence. A citizen of both Canada and the European Union, Erin’s fluent in French and has conversational Spanish. In 2010, she graduated from the University of Toronto with an H.BA in history and international relations. After that, she spent a year as the president, CEO, and CFO of North America’s oldest national student press cooperative, Canadian University Press, where she was acting publisher of the nationally syndicated newswire. There, Erin led a team to diversify and expand the 73-year-old predominantly print media business online. She’s also worked in magazines and community newspapers for the past five years. Erin continues to freelance writing, photography and video to a variety of outlets.
  Erinn Cawthon is from Los Angeles, California. Erinn graduated from Cornell University in 2011 with a B.S. in Communication, and double minors in Law & Society and Africana studies. Erinn was editor-in-chief for Cornell’s Slope Magazine and co-hosted a radio show. She was a research intern for CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” in Washington, D.C., and a production assistant for “The Dr. Phil Show” in L.A. She studies journalism, with a specialization in broadcast at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, and is Vice President of the Columbia University Association of Black Journalists. In the future, Erinn would like to investigate the legal issues that surround us each day in the field of journalism.
  Ines Novacic is a Yugoslavian-Irish multimedia journalist. She’s currently a broadcast concentrator  at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Ines is an intern at NY1 news, where her beat is education. She covers the Irish community in New York, and freelances for the Irish Times newspaper, and for IrishCentral.com. She is interested in education, religion, and immigration, and working with breaking news.
  Jackie Kostek is originally from Minneapolis, MN, and graduated from the University of Kansas in 2009 with degrees in journalism and American studies.  During undergrad, she directed and produced the campus sport’s show, Jayhawk Sports Talk, and interned for a nightly news magazine in Sydney, Australia.  After graduation, she taught Head Start for two years in a low-income elementary school in Washington, D.C., as a Teach For America corps member.   Any education story, send her way.  Jackie’s passion is morning news; not because she loves getting up early, but because of the fluidity between hard news, features, and lifestyle and entertainment reporting.
  Jaslee Carayol is a native New Yorker.  She is currently a broadcast concentrator at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.  Jaslee graduated from CUNY Hunter College’s Macaulay Honors program in 2011 with a B.A. in media studies and Asian American studies.  During college she studied abroad in China and London, and worked as a production intern at Dan Rather Reports.  Jaslee is interested in metropolitan news, consumer journalism, and entertainment reporting.
  Kristen Holmes is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern. Kristen is interested in covering education and politics, as well as reporting long-form pieces. Kristen has worked at MSNBC: Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Colbert Report. After realizing her passion was broadcast reporting, Kristen was an on-air reporter for 6News in Lawrence, Kansas. For the past two years, Kristen taught on the south side of Chicago through Teach for America. Kristen is currently pursuing a master’s degree in broadcast journalism at Columbia University while filming a documentary the focuses on the inequalities in the New York education system. She recently began an internship working on a PBS: Frontline documentary and hopes to work on network news after graduating.
  Lars Vercelli is originally from Thompson, Connecticut.  He graduated from New York University in 2008 prior to working for The Block Island Times, a small newspaper on Block Island, Rhode Island. After his return to New York City, Lars worked at several organizations and publications including The Gotham Gazette, The Common Good, and GRITtv with Laura Flanders. Lars is especially passionate about policy, politics, and science issues, and is currently pursuing his M.S. in Broadcast Journalism at Columbia University.
Laura Keller is originally from a Pennsylvania town and spent most of her adult life in the glitzy and gritty jungle of urban Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Southern California with degrees in print journalism and economics. Laura counts among her favorite USC adventures managing, as top editor, the newsroom of the Daily Trojan, the campus’s student-run newspaper, and convincing four middle school students writing was worthwhile. Laura worked in government for three years, but later jumped ship to teach in Africa. She had spent time in its southern and eastern regions, and returned to pick up Swahili, a little Kimbugwe and more TIA jokes. Follow her on Twitter @LauraJKeller or visit her http://www.larkeller.com/.
  Leisha Majtan is originally from Little Falls, NY and is a 2011 graduate of Emerson College. In the past, she interned for WKTV News Channel 2 in Utica, NY and wrote many stories while at Emerson–from fan rivalry between Yankees and Red Sox fans to modern-day witches in Salem, MA.  She is an animal lover and advocates adoption, a Mets fan, a serious amateur photographer, and loves coffee. She hopes to travel the world some day… and really wants to go on an African safari. Her dream is to work for “Today” on NBC. Follow her on Twitter @LeishaMajtan.
  Linda Ong is a native of California and a broadcast student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Prior to coming to New York, Linda majored in business and minored in journalism at the University of California, Riverside. During her undergraduate studies, she also played for her university’s women’s golf team and interned for different publications within the Inland Empire and CBS5 and AsianWeek in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can contact Linda at lo2230@columbia.edu and follow her on Twitter: @ong_linda.
Marin Austin comes to the Columbia Journalism School from Sunny Southern California! She worked as a production intern at the Los Angeles bureau of NBC Nightly News, where she assisted in interviewing more than 80 athletes for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Marin also worked as an investigative researcher at Dateline NBC, eventually earning associate producer credit for a story about young celebrity pregnancies.  Marin then became a researcher for the ABC News I-Team, in San Diego. She spent ten weeks investigating a home loan modification company, which the FBI raided after the story aired. Marin graduated from the USC Annenberg School of Journalism with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. For four years, she reported live for USC’s Annenberg TV News (ATVN.org) daily broadcast. While working as a full-time student, Marin also reported breaking Los Angeles news stories for San Diego’s cable North County News show. Here Columbia, she serves as the chapter Vice President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Morgan Radford is a master’s student in Columbia University’s journalism program, where she covers everything from local school closings to foiled terrorist plots.  Originally from North Carolina, Morgan graduated from Harvard University in 2009 with a degree in social studies. Upon graduation, she became an intern for CNN’s “The Morning Express with Robin Meade,” and later covered the 2010 World Cup as a production assistant with ESPN. In 2010, Morgan received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Durban, South Africa.  She is expected to graduate from Columbia in May 2012.  Morgan loves salsa dancing, watches Jeremy Lin play every chance she gets, and speaks Spanish and French.
  Nathan Vickers is an aspiring reporter/producer who would like to manage a local television station someday. Vickers has reported for KTVO television in Kirksville Mo, and his writing has appeared in the Truman Index, the Latin American News Dispatch, and on Columbia’s New York Torch news site. He’s always looking for new, creative story ideas, but his favorite things to cover are food and music.  In March he will travel to Italy to write about the Vatican. Vickers is a graduate of Truman State University and will finish his coursework at Columbia in May.
  Olivia Smith is currently a broadcast student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Olivia earned her bachelor’s degree at NYU. A California native, she started her journalism career at fifteen with an exposé for her local town newspaper. Olivia is most interested in visual storytelling and has covered a vast array of topics, from hard news to features, in several multimedia forms. She has worked on stories for CNN, 60 Minutes and many other media organizations. Her interests include health, science and investigative reporting.
Sasha Maria Schwendenwein is a dual citizen of both South Africa and Austria. Her inspiration to pursue journalism was fueled by reporters exposing the struggles of apartheid. In 2005 she moved to Texas on a swimming scholarship at the University of Houston where she graduated with a triple major in Broadcast Journalism, Creative Writing and Media Production. She is an All-American athlete, ranking internationally as a professional swimmer until her retirement last year. Sasha worked as a news anchor for Global Broadcast Connection / (GBC) World News – a 24-hour cable station airing in major US cities. Previously, Sasha interned as a writer and reporter for PBS’s environmental sustainability TV program, “Living Smart” with Patricia Gras. She is interested in covering world religions, politics and sports. You can follow Sasha on Twitter @smschwen or her blog sashafierce1.wordpress.com.
   

Sergey Gordeev was born in Moscow, graduated with honors with a B.A. in Communication from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and has studied dance at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York.  Sergey’s articles about arts and culture have been published in the United States, Canada, Europe and Russia.  His reports from New York City have aired in Moscow on Ren-TV and Channel 1.  Sergey is also an accomplished jazz pianist and composer.  His music compositions for ballet and modern dance have been performed in the U.S. and abroad, and he has performed regularly as a jazz pianist in New York City.  He has also appeared as an actor in several productions in NYC and has appeared on Sex And The City, CSI: NY, and One Life To Live.  In 1999, Gordeev co-founded Youth America Grand Prix, which is now the world’s largest student ballet competition. Sergey is an avid traveler, published literary translator, voiceover professional, and a freelance journalist.  He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Broadcast at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
  Xian Bu, from Harbin, China, is an M.S. broadcast candidate at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. During the fall semester at Columbia, she covered Harlem using various media platforms for her class website www.northattan.com. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a minor in Music from Boston College, where she was actively involved in and served the Chinese community. As the director of public relations for Chinese Students and Scholars Association at BC for two years, she organized and promoted Chinese cultural events. To introduce and promote Chinese popular music and community events taking place in the greater Boston area, she began and hosted a weekly Chinese culture show on BC’s radio station.

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