From CMC to the Headlines: Success in Data, Cultural, and Investigative Journalism
Ellis Simani '17 is a data reporter at ProPublica. His recent work has focused on the stock trading of the wealthiest Americans. In “The Inside Edge,” he and his colleagues revealed several investment advantages that enable top executives and other well-connected investors to trade stock with remarkable timing.
Prior to that, he worked with a team of reporters on “The Secret IRS Files,” which investigated systemic inequities in the U.S. tax system that allow the ultrawealthy to avoid paying federal income taxes. The series won several awards, including the Selden Ring and the Barlett & Steele Award. He’s also covered issues related to housing and debt for ProPublica, with a particular focus on evictions. Before joining ProPublica, he worked on the Los Angeles Times’ data visualization desk. At CMC, Simani majored in Government.
Caroline Mimbs Nyce '13 is a staff writer at The Atlantic. She previously wrote the organization’s flagship nightly newsletter, helping guide readers through the early days of the pandemic, the 2020 election, and more. She also served on the team that developed and launched the organization’s iPhone app, which won the 2021 Shorty Award for best news app. Prior to all that, she worked in audience engagement, leading newsroom-wide training efforts around headline writing, SEO strategy, basic analytics, and social media. She is based in Los Angeles.
Before joining The Atlantic, Nyce was an editorial fellow at National Journal. And she began her career working in technology at Atlassian. These days, she obsesses over the future of the journalism and her dog, Rooster. At CMC, Nyce majored in PPE and Government.
Elise Viebeck '10 is a former Washington Post investigative reporter whose work explored the movements and controversies that shaped American democracy during the Trump presidency. Covering the nexus of the administration, Capitol Hill and the electoral system, Viebeck helped lead the Post’s efforts as the #MeToo movement hit the political world, including vetting and reporting on dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct against government leaders. She has written extensively about Donald Trump’s legal battles and first impeachment trial, as well as the legacy of Joe Biden’s Senate record. In her final, groundbreaking work for the Post, she directed a team monitoring hundreds of changes to voting rules during the covid-19 pandemic and documented the unprecedented effort by Trump and his allies to restrict ballot access and overturn his election loss.
Viebeck majored in Government at CMC and previously covered Congress and health care policy for The Hill newspaper. She writes and consults independently from San Francisco.
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This panel is co-sponsored by the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies at CMC. It is also part of the Athenaeum's 40th Anniversary Series, which celebrates the achievements of CMC alumni from across the years and invites them to return home to Claremont.