Columbia Journalism Investigations Staff and Fellows
Staff
Director and Editor Kristen Lombardi
Kristen Lombardi heads Columbia Journalism Investigations, where she has the privilege of helping produce great investigative stories while training the next generation of investigative reporters. Under her editorial leadership, CJI fellows have dug into the neglect of those living in climate disaster zones, the mental-health toll of climate-fueled disasters and the unequal consequences of dangerous heat, among other stories, while winning accolades from the Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Peabody Awards and more.
Before joining the school in August 2018, Kristen spent 11 years as an investigative reporter at the nonprofit newsroom The Center for Public Integrity, covering environmental and social justice issues. She has been a journalist for more than 25 years and has received numerous national and regional awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Award, the Dart Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Trauma, the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service. In 2013, President Barack Obama signed a law addressing problems exposed by her 2009-10 Public Integrity investigation, “Sexual Assault on Campus.” She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and an Ochberg Fellow at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. She graduated from University of California at Berkeley and has a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University. She has taught investigative skills classes at Columbia and served as a master’s adviser for students in the Stabile investigative-reporting program.
Investigative Team
"Journalism is not an easy field to succeed in. CJI takes in young reporters who have shown promise and skill but need a few more nudges in the right direction. The program provides mentorship and advice that helps those eager journalists produce world-class, award-winning investigative reporting on par with some of the best stories in the country."
Eryn Davis, ‘24 M.S.
Davis is an investigative and data journalist covering criminal justice in state courts. Prior to CJI, she was a research fellow at the Columbia Journalism School’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation, where she co-developed DataTalk, an AI-driven newsroom tool, in partnership with Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab and Big Local News.
Callum Foote, ’25 M.S. Stabile
Foote is an investigative reporter based in New York City, covering international tax evasion, healthcare and politics. Before joining CJI, he reported for the London Stock Exchange Group as its senior Australian correspondent and previously worked at an investigative outlet in Sydney.
Amanda Purcell, ’25 M.S.
Purcell is a reporter with Columbia Journalism Investigations, focusing on criminal justice and accountability. Before joining CJI, she covered the opioid crisis, courts, and public-safety issues for newspapers across New York’s Hudson Valley and upstate regions. Her work centers on investigative and narrative projects that reveal systematic gaps in how justice is administered and reported.
Larkin Smith, ‘25 M.S. Stabile
Smith is an investigative reporter originally from Colorado. She has covered a number of legal issues, including criminal justice and the death penalty, environmental regulations, and cannabis law. Before joining CJI, she worked as a paralegal and legal researcher.
CJI’s Global Migration Team
"The CJI program's editors are resistant to the quick-hit or quota, affording fellows the rare opportunity to earn deep trust with sensitive sources, craft compelling narratives and expose harm-causing systemic failures for maximum accountability."
Chris Caurla, ’25 M.A. Politics
Caurla is an investigative journalist covering migration and conflict. He has reported extensively on Israel and Palestine for outlets including Al Jazeera and Hyperallergic, and received a Pulitzer Fellowship to examine dissent within Israel’s army. He has worked across formats, contributing to the environmental YouTube channel Planet A and producing narrative podcasts. His reporting for Deutsche Welle, and in collaboration with The Guardian and Netra News, has exposed corruption and abuse across Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Fatima Khan, ’25 M.A. Politics
Khan is an investigative journalist covering politics. She has covered hate crimes against minorities and national politics in India, and was named the Young Journalist of the Year in 2024 for her reporting there by the Human Rights and Religious Freedom Foundation. She has won the United Nations Laadli award for gender reporting and the International Press Institute award for her coverage of COVID-19.
CJI's Climate Team
Carolyn Gevinski, ’25 M.S.
Gevinski is a journalist who has most recently reported on Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers and immigration issues for El País. She has also covered gender inequality and U.S. politics for GLAMOUR, as well as international news for Al Jazeera. In 2024, she founded a local nonprofit news outlet, “Grassroots Magazine.” Before joining CJI, she worked at Fortune Magazine.
Annika McGinnis, ‘25 M.S. Data Journalism
McGinnis is a data and investigative journalist covering environment, science, health and justice. Before joining CJI, she co-founded and ran an environmental data journalism organization called InfoNile in Uganda, which connects journalists with scientists and reports cross-border stories in 10 countries of the Nile River Basin.
Deep Vakil, ‘25 M.S. Stabile
Vakil is a New York City-based investigative reporter and formerly a Toni Stabile Fellow at the Columbia Journalism School. He is interested in stories about power and money unfolding in an era of climate change. Originally from India, he has previously reported on energy for Inside Climate News and Reuters.