Fellows working as multimedia reporters/videographers/ photographers/interactive designers:
Sharon Behn
Sharon Behn has worked as a foreign correspondent for 25 years, covering conflict, social, cultural and economic issues from Brazil to Iraq. She has worked for print, wires and radio, and most recently worked as a volunteer at D.C.’s local WPFW 89.3 FM. Behn is completing her second master’s degree at the University of Maryland. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, has a Master of Arts in International Relations from Georgetown and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Middlebury College. She can be reached at sharon.behn@news21.com.
Rabiah Alicia Burks
Rabiah Alicia Burks is a master’s student at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. She is studying online journalism and hopes to blend the best of traditional news with new media. She received her bachelor’s degree in African-American studies and history at the University of California, Berkeley. She was editor in chief of the Onyx Express, a monthly newsmagazine. Burks also interned for the Globe Newspapers, a community newspaper group serving Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro, Calif. For the past year she has been a contributing writer for the Prince George’s County Sentinel, a weekly publication in Maryland. She can be reached at rabiah.burks@news21.com.
Zettler Clay
Zettler Clay, 24, received a master’s degree in multimedia journalism in May from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. During his final semester, he served as a multimedia editor and reporter for the college’s online newsmagazine, Maryland Newsline. He received his bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2007 from Georgia State University, where he served as sports editor of the Signal. Clay worked as a digital producer for NBA.com and as a reporter with the Herald in Rock Hill, S.C. He is currently the managing editor of Clutch Magazine and producer of the Atlanta Way, a documentary about the ripple effects of gentrification in his hometown. He can be reached at zettler.clay@news21.com.
Daniela Feldman
Daniela Feldman, 22, graduated in May from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism with a Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism and a minor in Jewish studies. Throughout her years at Maryland, she was the editor in chief of The Mitzpeh, the campus’ independent Jewish newsmagazine, and contributed to the college’s Maryland Newsline as a part-time multimedia reporter. She also interned at Congressional Quarterly, where she covered public health issues for CQ Health Beat, and covered miscellaneous congressional hearings and bills as an editorial assistant at CongressNow/Gallery Watch. Last summer, Feldman interned as a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, where she covered local, national and international news and features from Jerusalem. She can be reached at daniela.feldman@news21.com.
Allison Frick
Allison Frick graduated in May from the University of Maryland with dual degrees in broadcast journalism and Spanish. She is a local girl, originally from Silver Spring, Md. During her years at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, she worked on the set of the college’s cable news station, UMTV, and interned with local CBS affiliate WUSA*9 and Metromix.com, one of the capital’s fastest-growing local entertainment sites. She also freelanced for Unwind! magazine, a quarterly literary magazine produced by students. Frick can be reached this summer at allison.frick@news21.com.
Jennifer Hlad
Jennifer Hlad has worked as a newspaper reporter in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, as a television producer and website editor for the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, N.C., and as the interactive content editor for The Daily News in Jacksonville, N.C. She has also interned for American Journalism Review, The (Annapolis, Md.) Capital and Morris Communications. She earned her bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2002 and graduated with a master of journalism degree from the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism this spring.
Brian Hooks
Brian Hooks, 21, is a recent graduate of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. His undergraduate focus was in print journalism, but he also worked at the campus television station and built a multimedia blog on nonprofit media organizations and other experimental methods of approaching the floundering newspaper market. Along with publishing numerous print stories in the greater D.C. area, he has also been active in the Society of Professional Journalists and the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda, out of Salzburg, Austria. His other interests are playing the drums, singing, listening to music, watching football and baseball, beaching and humor –extra dry. If his journalism career progresses, he hopes to be a documentary journalist and writer for National Geographic or the Discovery Channel. Otherwise, he will continue publishing stories and hopes to eventually go to grad school for creative writing. Hooks can be reached at brian.hooks@news21.com.
Justin Karp
Justin Karp, 25, is a multimedia journalism graduate student at the University of Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Arizona State University in 2007. At ASU, Karp logged countless hours as the sports director and general manager at The Blaze 1260 AM, the campus radio station. After graduating, Karp spent two years as the assistant program director at The Fan AM 1060 in Phoenix before packing up and heading to College Park to refine and expand his journalistic skills. Dynamic storytelling and innovation are what drive him. Karp also enjoys reading, working out, stimulating conversation and live music and is an ardent fan of his Sun Devils, Sharks, 49ers and Yankees. He can be reached at justin.karp@news21.com.
Jason Lenhart
Jason Lenhart, 22, is a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and an emphasis in photojournalism from the University of Missouri. Originally from upstate New York, Lenhart has been a freelance photographer for the Poughkeepsie Journal, in New York, as well as a staff photographer for the Columbia Missourian, in Missouri. He hopes after his fellowship this summer to launch a career as a freelance photojournalist covering news and features around the world. He can be reached at jason.lenhart@news21.com.
Alexandra Moe
Alexandra Moe, 22, is a May graduate of the University of Maryland with Bachelor of Arts degrees in broadcast journalism and government and politics. From January to May, she worked as a multimedia reporter and anchor for the College of Journalism’s Capital News Service TV. Her exclusive report about rape on campus was published on WTOP.com and several other news sites. More of her investigative reporting for CNS was heard on WBAL radio in Baltimore. Moe also reported in the Middle East with a Carnegie-Knight program, interned at CNN in Washington, D.C., and worked as a multimedia journalist for the campus’ daily independent newspaper, The Diamondback. She can be reached at alexandra.moe@news21.com.
Megan Pratz
Megan Pratz graduated from the University of Maryland in May with degrees in broadcast journalism and psychology. She loves getting behind the camera to show people the stories and events that affect their lives. Pratz has lived in the Washington, D.C., area her entire life, apart from a brief stint in the Great Wild West of Utah. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and reading. She can be reached at megan.pratz@news21.com.
Kate Yanchulis
Kate Yanchulis, 21, is an undergraduate at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. She plans to complete her B.A. in print journalism and American studies in December. Since her freshman year, she has worked as a sports reporter for the University of Maryland’s independent student newspaper, The Diamondback, covering sports ranging from field hockey to football. She also put her love of sports to use in her various internships, including her work last summer at the Sports Network Desk of USA TODAY, where she produced and managed online content and reported on local sporting events. Although new to environmental journalism, as a frequenter of the Delmarva shore she has had a longstanding connection with the Chesapeake. Yanchulis can be reached at kate.yanchulis@news21.com.