Our program
Flint Unfiltered is a School of Journalism reporting project led by Professor Carlene Hempel and funded by the College of Arts, Media and Design. From January through April 2025, eight enterprising journalism students delved into the story of Flint, Michigan, the site of one of the country's worst public health crises. With its in-depth articles, video and audio reports and photojournalism, this special report is a showcase of what students from Northeastern University’s School of Journalism are capable of. Please send comments or questions to Professor Hempel (c.hempel@northeastern.edu). We’d love to hear what you think of our work.‍
Left to right: Claire Adner, Emily Niedermeyer, Alaa Al Ramahi, Professor Carlene Hempel, Steph Conquest-Ware, Mary Raines Alexander, Alexa Coultoff, Harrison Zuritski, Asher Ben-Dashan
meet the team

Claire Adner

is an undergraduate student at Northeastern University, pursuing a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a minor in journalism. She has internship experience in electrical design for the biotech and aerospace industries. Combining technical expertise with strong communication skills, Claire is passionate about exploring the intersections of technology, innovation and human impact through storytelling. Claire served as our web designer.

Alaa Al Ramahi

is a second-year English and journalism major at Northeastern. She was born and raised in Boston by Moroccan and Iraqi parents. Alaa has always had a strong passion for writing. She pursued a journalism major in the hopes of shedding light on global and national events that do not get enough coverage. Through her work, she aims to amplify the voices of those who may be overlooked. Alaa served as our social media manager.

Mary Raines Alexander

is a junior studying international affairs with minors in Mandarin Chinese and French. Raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she has a passion for human rights and environmental justice within a postcolonial lens. Last year, she served as the international security assistant at Harvard Global Support Services, researching the ever-changing security landscape abroad and its impact upon travelers. Currently, she is an editor for Northeastern University's Political Review and has covered topics such as Bitcoin in El Salvador. Mary Raines served as our logistics coordinator.

Asher Ben-Dashan

is a fourth-year student from Chicago studying business administration and communications with a minor in journalism practice. He writes and takes photos for Northeastern’s independent student newspaper, The Huntington News, and The Scope, the School of Journalism’s digital magazine focused on telling stories of justice, hope and resilience in Greater Boston. Outside of school, he loves to skateboard and surf. Asher served as our photo editor.

Steph Conquest-Ware

is a senior from Texas studying journalism, film and Spanish at Northeastern University. Community journalism is their passion. Currently, Steph is a podcast and radio intern for GBH’s “Under the Radar” with Callie Crossley. On the weekends, they work as a messenger for The Boston Globe where they report on breaking and local news. Previously, Steph worked on the press team for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office as a digital media assistant. They are also a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Steph served as our audio/video editor.

Alexa Coultoff

is a junior studying journalism and criminal justice, originally from central Florida. She is particularly interested in telling community stories and writing about issues within the criminal justice system. She serves as the data editor for Northeastern’s student-run newspaper, The Huntington News, where she helps writers develop long-form and investigative stories. She previously interned on the Metro desk of The Boston Globe, where she now works as a weekend reporter. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors and playing guitar. Alexa served as our chief copy editor.

Emily Niedermeyer

is a fourth-year majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. With a focus on multimedia storytelling, she has contributed to a number of publications and is currently editor-in-chief of Woof Magazine. She also contributes to the Reinventing Local TV News Project as a research assistant, where she works to create more accessible, engaging local news coverage. In 2023, she worked at Boston City Hall’s Community Engagement Cabinet as a constituent advocate co-op and this past year, she worked at Melwood Global, a strategic communications firm in Boston as a PR co-op. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing frisbee. Emily served as manager of classroom operations.  

Harrison Zuritsky

 is a second-year finance concentration and minor in journalism practice from outside Philadelphia. After studying abroad his first semester in Portugal, he served on the social media staff at The Huntington News, designing Instagram and X (Twitter) posts for stories. Then, he participated in NextEcho Foundations’ mentorship for emerging writers and worked with former LA Times senior editor, Bob Sipchen. In his free time, he cooks, bakes, writes, plays guitar, runs and cycles. Harrison served as our source database editor.
As part of our special report, Flint Unfiltered has partnered with DCReport, a not-for-profit news service published by the Next Echo Foundation. The organization, which focuses on the policies, politics and events that affect our everyday lives, will allow our work in Flint to reach a national audience.

A special thanks to...

• Jonathan Kaufman, director, School of Journalism
• Elizabeth Hudson, dean, College of Arts, Media and Design
• Andrea Raynor, associate dean, College of Arts, Media and Design
• Timothy Blank, assistant dean of Student Experiences, College of Arts, Media and Design
• Professor Jody Santos, School of Journalism, who traveled with us to Flint and assisted on our video packages
• Professor Jeb Sharp, School of Journalism, who advised our audio reporters
• Professor Matt Carroll, School of Journalism, who advised on data visualizations
• Professor Dan Zedek, School of Journalism, who advised on web solutions
• Luis Brens, media services manager, College of Arts, Media and Design
• Joe Hoeltke, digital operations manager, Digital Technology + Services
• Chris Rousseau, web developer, Digitial Technology + Services
• Roseanna Yip, special assistant, data visualization designer and project manager in the Dean's Office for the College of Arts, Media and Design
• The Joe Thomas Explore the World Fund
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