Medill Washington

Julia Benbrook is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she specializes in politics, policy and foreign affairs reporting. Before starting at Medill, Julia worked as an anchor and reporter at the CBS affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then as a special events reporter for Oklahoma State University’s Brand Management team. Julia has conducted on-camera interviews with Joan Lunden, formerly of Good Morning America, Michael Che and Kenan Thompson of Saturday Night Live and Daymond John of Shark Tank. She has also interviewed Broadway stars, members of the New York Philharmonic and national business leaders. Julia graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

Cheyanne M. Daniels is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she specializes in politics, policy and foreign affairs reporting. Cheyanne is the Research Scholar in the inaugural class of Notre Dame’s Journalism, Ethics and Democracy Institute. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from North Central College, where she served as News Editor at The Chronicle News Magazine and NCClinked. For those news sites, she interviewed congresswomen, gubernatorial candidates and community organizers.

Alicia Diaz is graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she specializes in politics, policy and foreign affairs reporting. She is covering the intersection of business and health care at STAT News. She also is covering education and business for Medill News Service in Washington. She is also interested in reporting on immigration, politics, healthcare policy, and social justice. Prior to entering Medill, Alicia received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, where she studied marketing and business analytics.

Dalia Faheid is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, specializing in politics, policy and foreign affairs. She covers immigration and demographics for Medill News Service in Washington. She has interned at Dallas City Hall and the Muslim Legal Fund of America. Before entering graduate school, she was a technical writer for a financial software company and an editorial intern at People Newspapers, where she wrote for two monthly newspapers in the Dallas communities of Park Cities and Preston Hollow. Dalia graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Dallas, where she majored in Emerging Media and Communication.

Katie Livingstone is an Editorial Fellow at Inside Climate News. A recent graduate of Medill with an MSJ in politics, policy and foreign affairs, her work has appeared in Foreign Policy Magazine, UPI, Military.com, Education Week and more. Along with over a decade of writing experience, she brings a global perspective to her coverage with expert knowledge in gender politics and Mediterranean affairs. After she earned a B.A. in political science from Wellesley College, she taught English for several years in Italy. Then, she earned a Master of Arts in Gender Studies from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, where she spearheaded public awareness campaigns for gender equality. Later, she became a Fulbright Fellow directing a social theater and public awareness campaign in Albania. Before entering Medill, Katie founded a company, Sassovivente, providing cause marketing and content services while living in Portugal. She speaks five languages and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Nico Portuondo is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he specializes in politics, policy and foreign affairs. He recently completed a media internship at the Union of Concerned Scientists and now covers environmental policy at Medill’s Washington bureau. Nico graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University, where he majored in environmental science and policy.

Amanda Rooker is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, specializing in politics, policy and foreign affairs. Currently, Amanda covers politics for Medill News Service. Her work has taken her across the globe, having reported on environmental issues in Cuba, the Iowa Caucus in Iowa City and local politics, immigration and legal affairs in Chicago. As an undergraduate students at Northwestern, she conducted research on education as a Farrell Fellow and studied the European Union in Paris. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

Augusta Saraiva is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she specializes in politics, policy, and foreign affairs. A multilingual journalist, she has reported in English, Portuguese and Spanish for publications in the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. She has also covered the business of international education in China and has held internships at the trade bloc Mercosur and the Organization of American States. In addition to covering immigration for Medill News Service in Washington, she is an intern at Foreign Policy magazine.