Faculty in Focus: The Alumni Edition

Aida Alami, ‘09 M.S.

James Madison Visiting Professor on First Amendment Issues 

A Moroccan journalist based in New York, Alami reports on migration, human rights, religion and race. She contributes to the New York Times and has written for the New York Review of Books. A contributor to Our Women on the Ground, she is working on a documentary about civil rights in France. Alami, who has reported from North Africa, the Middle East and the U.S., earned her M.S. from Columbia Journalism School in 2009.

This year, she taught Reporting, “Crafting Compelling Narratives (The New New Yorkers)” and “The Foreign Correspondent.” 

Nina Berman, ‘85 M.S.

Professor of Journalism

Berman is a documentary photographer and filmmaker, examining war, trauma and American life. Her books include Purple Hearts, Homeland and An Autobiography of Miss Wish. Her work has appeared in Time, Life, the New York Times Magazine and is held in the Whitney, Smithsonian and Library of Congress collections. She is a recipient of fellowships from MIT, World Press Photo and the Guggenheim Foundation, among others.

This year, she taught the Photo I course, “Image & Sound.”

Alexis Clark, ’02 M.S.

Assistant Professor of Journalism

Clark writes about race, politics and culture during World War II and the civil rights era. She is a writer for History.com and Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien and has contributed to the New York Times, Smithsonian.com and NBC News Digital. Her book “Enemies in Love” is being developed for TV. A former Town & Country editor, she is now writing a book about Black sororities.

This year, she taught Reporting, and the Written Word course “Write What Should Not Be Forgotten.”

Ari Goldman, ‘73 M.S.

Professor Emeritus

Goldman spent more than 30 years teaching at Columbia, where he created the Covering Religion seminar. A former New York Times religion reporter, he is the author of The Search for God at Harvard and three other books. He was a Fulbright Professor in Jerusalem and a Skirball Fellow at Oxford. 

Although he retired from full-time teaching in 2024, Professor Goldman continued to direct the school’s Scripps Howard Program in Religion, Journalism and the Spiritual Life. 

This year, he taught the Covering Religion seminar. 

Marguerite Holloway, ‘88 M.S.

Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Science and Environmental Journalism

Holloway has reported on science, climate and health for the New York Times, New Yorker and Scientific American, where she was a longtime editor. She is the author of The Measure of Manhattan and has led data-driven journalism projects supported by the Brown Institute and Tow Center. She has received Columbia’s Distinguished Teacher and Presidential Teaching awards. Award in 2009; the New York Observer named her one of the city’s top professors in 2014. She recently published “Take to the Trees: A Story of Hope, Science, and Self-Discovery in America's Imperiled Forests.”

This year, she taught Reporting, "Written Word: Environmental Writing" and "Covering Climate: Connecting the Dots," along with an independent study for M.A. Science students.

Jacob Kushner, ‘13 M.A. Politics

Newsday/David Laventhol Visiting Assistant Professor of Journalism

Kushner is a freelance journalist covering Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s and National Geographic. A former Fulbright Scholar and Livingston Award finalist, he is the author of “Look Away” and “China’s Congo Plan,” based on his Columbia thesis. He reports in English, German and Spanish. He recently published “An Unnatural Disaster,” an eight year investigation into Canaan, Haiti—a new city born from devastation.

This year, he taught “Magazine Writing: Telling Refugee Stories.”

Alexander Stille, ‘83 M.S.

São Paolo Professor of International Journalism

Stille is an award-winning author and journalist whose work explores history, politics and power. His books include “Benevolence and Betrayal,” “Excellent Cadavers,” “The Future of the Past” and most recently, “The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune.” A longtime contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times and La Repubblica, he has received the Los Angeles Times Book Award, Italy’s Premio Acqui and the Alicia Patterson Fellowship.

This year, he taught Journalism of Ideas and Politics & Government Journalism. 

Duy Linh Tu, ‘99 M.S.

Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Professional Practice

Tu is a journalist and filmmaker focusing on climate, science and environmental stories. He teaches reporting and video storytelling and is the author of Narrative Storytelling for Multimedia Journalists. His work has appeared in various media outlets and festivals. As Dean of Academic Affairs, he oversees curriculum and faculty development.

This year, he taught Reporting, Video and “Multimedia Storytelling: Video.” 

CJS Alumni Adjunct Roster

• Assistant Dean, Student and International Programs Elena Cabral, ‘99 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Rosalind Z. Adams, ‘15 M.S. 
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Denise Ajiri, ‘15 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Seyma Bayram, ‘19 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Keren Blankfeld Taqqu, ‘09 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Sean Campbell, ‘17 M.S. Data Journalism
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Olivia Carville, ‘18 M.A. Business
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Juanita Ceballos, ‘13 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Alex L. Clark, ‘15 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Professor Liz Donovan, ‘19 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Randi Hutter Epstein, ‘85 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Ellen P. Gabler, ‘07 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Sean M. Gregory, ‘02 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Payton Guion, ‘16 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Léo Hamelin, ‘12 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Mia J. Hariz, '20 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Lila I. Hassan, 20 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Pamela J. Hogan, '83 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Jennifer Jo Janisch, ‘09 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Adiel Kaplan, '18 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Derek Kravitz, ‘13 M.S. Stabile
• Adjunct Associate Professor of Journalism Tami Luhby, ‘97 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Andrew McCormick, ‘18 M.S.
• Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Adjunct Professor George Miller, ‘97 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Rita Omokha, ‘20 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Akisa Omulepu, '07 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Janmaris Perez, '20 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Irene Plagianos, '09 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Nushin Rashidian, ‘10 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Jimmy So, ‘11 M.A. Arts & Culture, and Editor of Columbia Global Reports
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Deborah S. Sontag, '83 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Naomi I. Starobin, ‘99 M.S.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Sebastian A. Tuinder, ‘21 M.S.