Get to Know Columbia Journalism Investigations Fellows

During the six-month to year-long fellowships, several reporting teams tackle domestic and global investigations into critical issues of public interest involving four journalistic beats: climate change; immigration and migration; equity and accountability; and civil and human rights.

One of the 2023-24 CJI teams — consisting of Jana Cholakovska, ‘23 M.S. Stabile; Alec Gitelman, ‘23 M.S.; and Pooja Sarkar, ’23 M.A. Business and Economics — examined how chemical companies are reaping millions of dollars in public funding from the U.S. government’s push to ramp up America’s supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs). 

Some companies, previously responsible for polluting communities with so-called "forever chemicals," are the prime beneficiaries. The administration of President Joe Biden has been heavily investing in this sector and announced specific tariffs on the imports of EVs this spring.  

CJI’s investigation, dubbed “Chemical Windfall,” and done in collaboration with The Examination, The Post and Courier and Belgian public broadcaster RTBF, shines a light on how the same companies that spewed “forever chemicals” linked to cancer and other diseases in neighborhoods around the world are now key players in the development of EV batteries — sometimes with hefty taxpayer support. Often those companies keep their chemical formulas and emissions from the public, CJI and its partners found. 

CJI fellows’ work goes beyond the reporting, and each team member brings a unique perspective to the story. Get to know the team behind this investigation in their own words.

Jana Cholakovska, ‘23 M.S. Stabile

Cholakovska is originally from Skopje, North Macedonia, and spent her “most formative years” there before moving to New York City for college seven years ago. She hopes to stay in the city for years to come.

What were you working on as part of the Chemical Windfalls project?

I spearheaded our team's reporting in New Jersey, where chemical companies that produce materials using "forever chemicals" have been polluting communities for decades. Recently, one of the state's most prominent offenders — Solvay Specialty Polymers — reached a $394 million settlement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to clean up years’ worth of chemical pollution, although the company did not admit fault. 

I spoke with a family who lives near the facility and is suing Solvay Specialty Polymers and several other companies. The parents blame their now-adult daughter’s health ailments on the area’s forever chemical pollution. Solvay, along with the other companies, are fighting the claims. I considered it a privilege to be able to tell the family’s story. 

How did this fellowship impact you? 

The fellowship allowed me to further develop my investigative and shoe-leather skills. I was able to delve deeper into public records, learn to read lobbying disclosure forms and cultivate sources within local and federal government agencies. 

It was a pleasure collaborating with our stellar editorial team both stateside and in Europe. I'm truly grateful for the editors' guidance and support as we reported this difficult and important story. I hope to continue producing this kind of hard-hitting and impactful journalism in the years to come. 

Alec Gitelman, ‘23 M.S. 

Gitelman has had a varied career, from systems development to film and broadcast TV, before joining the 2023 Journalism School cohort. An immigrant from Ukraine, he was “adopted by the city of New York,” and discovered that journalism was a “guarantee that I wouldn't stop learning for the rest of my life, which is the way I like it.”

What were you working on?

At CJI, our project focused on the potential environmental impact of transitioning away from fossil fuels toward green technology, and specifically, the U.S. government's incentives to grow the domestic EV industry. After exploring several topics that eventually were put on the back burner, I worked on data collection and processing, as well as filing for and receiving documents from federal and state agencies. 

One of my jobs was to write a script using the U.S. Senate Lobbying Disclosure database to easily track the lobbying activities of chemical companies over any timeframe. I also reported on the underlying technology of lithium-ion batteries and market forecasts for the industry. 

How did this fellowship impact you? 

During my fellowship, I learned more about the investigative mindset, in-depth reporting and many of the intangible skills required to succeed in this job. I made progress as a researcher, as an interviewer and as a data journalist. I enjoyed these six months immensely working alongside my brilliant colleagues, under the insightful guidance of our editors and with the help of visiting lecturers. CJI was a welcoming and nurturing home for me these past six months – an experience that will last a lifetime. 

Pooja Sarkar, ’23 M.A. Business and Economics

Sarkar was born and raised in the suburbs of Mumbai, India, with parents who “couldn’t afford to finish their education due to financial distress.” A first-generation student and the first woman in her family to be employed, Sarkar came to Columbia to pursue her M.A. in Business and Economics.

Can you tell us a little about yourself? 

Upending my career at 35, I decided to come to college to finish my master’s in Business and Economics journalism — to write more nuanced stories about following the money. I was a financial journalist in India for over a decade covering private equity, financial investigations and the Indian government’s budget finance. In my last stint, I worked as a senior assistant editor and podcaster with Forbes India. 

What was your major focus as part of the Chemical Windfall project? 

I joined our CJI team a month later than my teammates in November and we essentially took on three different aspects of our project. We were investigating a large chemical company and my job was to dig into its expanding plant in Augusta, Georgia, for which the company has received a substantial grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. As part of ground reporting, I traveled to Augusta twice. 

On my first trip, I collaborated with our reporting partner and spent considerable time knocking on the doors of residents living near this expanding plant, meeting advocacy groups, building sources on the ground and interviewing local officials. I was able to find some substantial documents that helped us see the gaps in the company’s narrative and how the community lacks understanding of the new chemical product that will be manufactured in its factory.  On my second trip, I met the board management of the company for an official interview and saw a groundbreaking ceremony of the plant. I also focused on interviews with the Energy Department, analyzing lobbying datasets and finding critical documents.

How did this fellowship impact you? 

When I was in India, I came across the CJI fellowships while reading one of [CJI’s] stories and I’ve wanted to be a part of the unit since then. This was my first full-fledged work in America and to be able to dedicate six months to a single investigation, with outside news partners doing collaborative work, has been one of the most beautiful journeys of my career. It’s one of my most cherished projects. The fellowship helped me learn a lot of nuances about reporting in the U.S., like analyzing lobbying records and large investor datasets, and filing FOIA requests. Throughout the fellowship, I saw the importance of data and AI and now I have slowly started learning to code thanks to CJI.