Columbia Journalism Investigations’ 2025–2026 Post-Graduate Fellows
Nine recent graduates of Columbia Journalism School are serving as post-graduate fellows with Columbia Journalism Investigations (CJI) during the 2025–2026 academic year. The fellows began their appointments in September and are spending the year reporting full time on investigative projects covering global migration, climate change, and accountability in the United States.
“This year’s CJI fellows bring to their beats not just a wealth of newsroom experience but a deep commitment to accountability reporting,” said Kristen Lombardi, Program Director and Editor. “
The 2025-26 fellows have joined one of three teams at CJI: Global Migration, Climate and Investigative.
The 2025-26 fellows joining the global migration team are Chris Caurla, ’25 M.A. Politics, and Fatima Khan, ’25 M.A. Politics. The team reports deeply on immigration and migration issues.
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.
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 allows recent graduates to use their skills to produce deeply reported and data-driven stories involving one of the defining issues of the 21st century: climate change.
The team welcomes three fellows: Carolyn Gevinski, ’25 M.S., Annika McGinnis, ‘25 M.S. Data, and Deep Vakil, ‘25 M.S. Stabile.
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.
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.
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.
CJI’s investigative team pairs postgraduate fellows with experienced reporters and editors to produce accountability-focused stories on urgent matters of public interest in the U.S.
They welcome Eryn Davis, ‘24 M.S., Callum Foote, ’25 M.S. Stabile, Amanda Purcell, ’25 M.S. and Larkin Smith, ‘25 M.S. Stabile.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Columbia Journalism Investigations Fellowships are among several exclusive paid fellowships available through the Journalism School. For more information, visit Exclusive Fellowships and Internships.