Chicago, Illinois, United States
I am an independent print/audio journalist and editor based in Chicago, where I explore how migrants are pitted against other marginalized groups to compete over scarce resources and how interracial solidarity can be built. I also lead the data journalism training program for emerging journalists at the Investigative Project on Race and Equity, and write arts criticism for the Chicago Reader. My work has been supported by FIJ, ICFJ, and IWMF, where I am a 2024 Gwen Ifill and Lauren Brown Fellow. My print and audio reporting has been nominated for four Peter Lisagor Awards and a Chicago Journalism Associations' Award. In my first career, I worked on refugee response projects in the Middle East and East Africa, and completed a short stint as a comparative politics PhD student. I always welcome collaboration with others inspired by the power of global interactions and human-focused storytelling. For examples, check out my personal website at http://wendyweiwrites.com
I cover migration, racial equity, and gender for publications including the Chicago Reader, Chicago Sun-Times, Borderless, Block Club Chicago, Truthout, and more. I am especially interested in exploring how migrants are pitted against other marginalized groups to compete over scarce resources – whether that be in Darfur or the US – and documenting movements rooted in interracial solidarity.
The Investigative Project works with emerging journalists of color to produce investigative projects that expose systemic bias through a lens on race and equity. I am developing the training program that teaches the fundamentals of investigative reporting, including obtaining public records, information gathering, working with data, reporting, fact-checking and interviewing sources.
ART WORKS Projects’ mission is to use design and the arts to raise awareness of and educate the public about significant human rights issues. As co-chair of the programming committees, I serve on the selection jury of Emerging Lens - a fellowship and unrestricted grant for emerging photographer.
As part of FRONTIERS, an European Research Council-funded science journalism initiative, I chose Peace Research Institute Oslo as my host institution to spend three months researching surveillance technology in migration enforcement and promoting journalist-academic collaborations.
Manage team of editors, set schedules, and track assets/progress to met delivery deadlines for a high-profile tech company