Ben was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating Wesleyan University in 2005 with a double major in English and dance, he went to Memphis, TN, where he worked for the alternative weekly the Memphis Flyer. His writing there varied widely: movie reviews, hard news and color features. After one year Ben moved to Madison, WI, where he became a correspondent for the afternoon daily the Capital Times. At the Capital Times, Ben wrote dozens of front page features and also published in the morning daily Wisconsin State Journal and alternative weekly the Isthmus. Since coming home to attend the NYU Master's program in journalism he has published in the Brooklyn Paper, Brooklyn Rail, NY Observer, Men's Vogue, and the Daily Beast.

Brett is a current M.A. student in the Science, Health & Environmental Reporting Program at NYU. Brett graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology. He was working on a Ph.D. at Emory University when he started covering science for the Emory student newspaper and discovered a greater passion for writing about science than performing experiments. Brett joined SHERP with a particular interest in sustainability and transportation. In his free time, he is an avid Atlanta sports fan and a public transit advocate.

Elizabeth is a graduate student at New York University focusing on multimedia and metropolitan reporting. She has written about higher education, community activism, the arts, and social policy during her internships at The Nation, New York Daily News, Voice of America, ACORN's Social Policy Magazine and at NYU.  Her multimedia work includes video, audio, and photo slideshows on culture, politics and breaking news.

Erik hopes to combine his interests in science and the developing world after graduating from the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting program at NYU. His attraction to emerging economies developed over a two year period living in a Rongo, Kenya, a rural village near Lake Victoria, where he taught creative writing, solar cooker construction and use, and became a health advocate. Erik believes that the web has sparked a revolution in journalism akin to the invention of the printing press, and he strives to be an important part of creating a new paradigm. A climber in his spare time, Erik hopes to escape the "Black Hole" of New York City and enjoy the rock in the Gunks this summer.

Jelena has loved writing ever since English became her first language, 13 years ago. She was born in Banja Luka, Bosnia, from where she brought her love of good coffee and baklava. She speaks Spanish and is currently pursuing a joint MA in Journalism and Latin American Studies, with special interest in immigration studies.

Jonathan is a writer and a graduate student in New York University's journalism institute. His work has appeared in Newsday, USA Today, the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal and several smaller newspapers in Delaware, his home state.

Joy is a graduate student at NYU's school of Journalism.  She lives in Manhattan and interns at the New York Daily News.

Justine is a Northern California expat living in New York City.  She has written about food and booze for such publications as Saveur, Wine and Spirits, and the New York Post.  She is currently finishing up her graduate degree at New York University's Journalism Institute.  You can find her work as well as information about a scientologist and an agricultural major out in Kansas if you google her name.

Kamelia is a graduate journalism student at New York University specializing in urban reporting. Hailing from a small coastal town in Bulgaria, Angelova moved to the U.S. in 2001, and pursued a B.A. degree at Hunter College majoring in Political Science, Media Studies and Special Honors Curriculum. During her undergraduate studies, she interned at the New York City Council, at a non-profit organization for economic diversity, and at two news agencies — Women's eNews and City Limits. In 2007, Angelova spent the summer in the West Bank, Palestine where she was a copy editor and a writer for a local news group. Most recently, Angelova completed an internship at the New York Daily News.

Kate is a graduate student in the Reporting New York master's program at New York University. Born and raised in Oshkosh, Wis., she left the dairyland with dreams of covering crime and city politics in the Big Apple. She received her bachelor of arts in news-editorial journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and worked as a copy editor for Gannett papers before coming to New York.

Kathleen is currently enrolled in the Cultural Reporting + Criticism program at NYU.  After graduating from McGill University in 2004, she left to wander down narrow side streets in Tokyo and eat copious amounts of ramen.  Her interests are architecture, design, international politics, and cultural ephemera.

Lauren moved from Florida to New York after seeing The Devil Wears Prada. A graduate student in NYU's Magazine Journalism program she has worked for Glamour, Martha Stewart, and Cookie Magazine. She hopes to complete her role as Anne Hathaway's doppelganger by landing a position at a New York magazine this winter.

Linda is hoping to survive the Cultural Reporting and Criticism program in the journalism school at NYU. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Dance from the University of Texas at Austin (hook 'em horns!). Linda writes freelance music reviews and blogs for the Houston Press and has also been published in the Dallas Observer, the Denver Westword, and the Brooklyn Rail. She is a contributing writer of the NYU Studio 20 project at www.BeatBlogging.org, and you can read her "dead" stories at www.thekillfee.com (a work in progress). Linda is a member of the Dramatists Guild and wishes she had more time to avail herself of the New York theatre scene. She feels really weird writing about herself in the third person.

Lindsey is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting at New York University's graduate school of journalism. Prior to coming to NYU, she worked as an environmental educator at the New Jersey School of Conservation and as a technician in an animal nutrition laboratory at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Lindsey currently holds a B.A. in Biology from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Merry is a graduate journalism student in New York University's joint studies program concentrating on Latin America.  After graduating from Emerson College, she spent time in Mexico and Ecuador and is currently working on a project about Ecuadorian immigrants. 

Mike is a former finance analyst for the City of New York and a reporter for the Narragansett Times of Rhode Island. He is currently studying biomedical journalism at New York University.

Nina is a Master's candidate at NYU's News and Documentary program. A graduate of Northeastern University with a dual degree in English and Sociology, her inquisitive nature and multi-cultural heritage has brought her around the globe from France to Ghana to Japan. Her proudest moments are when she received her hard earned black belt in Karate, and when she was chosen to be her university graduating class commencement speaker. In addition to Viking comic books, Nina's interests include social justice and one day working for Frontline.

Nina has written for the New York Times online, Poets & Writers, and Nextbook, and is a regular contributor to Slate. A 2007 recipient of the Soros Fellowship for New Americans, Nina is a graduate student in NYU's cultural reporting and criticism program. You can find her work at ninashenrastogi.com.

Resalin moved to New York from Texas after watching the whole Sex And The City series.  By Christmas, she hopes to be a certified journalist so she can write about "fluff" and get paid for it.  When she's not writing, she's selling wine, running along the Hudson, or singing off-key in a karaoke bar.

Rich is a graduate student in the Cultural Reporting and Criticism program at NYU's School of Journalism.  While working for The Reeler, he reported on film screenings at the Lincoln Center, The Anthology Film Archives, and the Museum of Modern Art.  He has also published film and theater reviews for Houston's INTOWN and Curtain Rising.  He blogs regularly at remixedmetre.wordpress.com

Rima was born in 1983 in Poland but spent her childhood in Syria, where she developed a fascination with the magic of Arab culture. She attended Warsaw’s University, pursuing a degree in Middle Eastern Studies, concentrating on modern Arabic literature. In 2006 she studied and worked in Damascus, writing for Thara—an online magazine covering women’s and children’s situation in Syria. Since 2007, she is pursuing an M.A joint degree of Journalism and Middle Eastern Studies at New York University. She is fluent in Polish, Arabic, English, and has rudimentary abilities in Hebrew, Spanish, and German.

Robynne is a freelance journalist who covers environment, science, and health. Her work has taken her to all corners of the globe, including China, Turkey, and Uganda. While the world’s her home, her home office is currently in Brooklyn, New York. Robynne’s work has appeared in Scientific American online, WebMD, Earth Island Journal, Earth Negotiations Bulletin and Atlanta magazine.

Sharon graduated from the University of Michigan in 2005 with a degree in plant ecology, and has worked in Panama as a research assistant with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and in Chicago as a conservation botanist with the Field Museum.  She is also an artist focusing on film and time-lapse animation, and an indie-folk musician armed with a fiddle, viola and loop station.  In her career, she hopes to use her mishmash of talents to bridge the communication gap between scientists and the public in an entertaining, accessible way.

Shelley is in New York University's Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program.  She graduated from the University of California at San Diego with a B.A. in biological anthropology. Her experience in Costa Rica her junior year — collecting insects, tagging plants, and chasing capuchin monkeys — solidified her love of science. As a senior, she discovered UCSD's science writing curriculum and has pursued internships in the field ever since, most recently at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She also volunteered for three months on a sustainable farm in Ghana.

Sooyeon is a desperate graduate student who wants to make a living by doing things she loves. Having a strong Korean accent, she was lucky enough to meet people who patiently share their colorful lives in New York City and Sooyeon hopes to pay them back by discovering more stories that should be heard around the world.

Sophie Gilbert is a British-born journalist and graduate student. Her work has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Newsweek.com and Eyebrow Magazine. You can see more at www.sophiegilbert.net.

Tracie is currently completing a Masters of Science in Management at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service.  Outside of school, she works as a consultant to Women Make Movies where she oversees the Production Assistance Program. She is also the co-producer/director/writer of JOE PAPP IN FIVE ACTS, a co-production with PBS/American Masters. PAPP, which is in the final stages of completion, tells the story of New York’s indomitable, street-wise champion of the arts who introduced interracial casting to the American stage, created free Shakespeare in the Park, Hair, and A Chorus Line.