1:1 Coaching for IIJ Members

Benét J. Wilson is a training director for Investigative Reporters and Editors. She was previously the lead credit cards writer for Bankrate and director of the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship for early-career journalists. Before that, she was a senior editor and writer for The Points Guy. She serves on the boards of Mercer University’s Center for Collaborative Journalism and the Institute for Independent Journalism. She has served on the boards of the Online News Association and the National Association of Black Journalists. She graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism.

Areas of expertise: Pitching, Negotiation, Networking, Branding, Business structure, Time Management, Social Media, Management Roles

Damaso Reyes is Editor-at-Large at the New York Amsterdam News and was previously Executive and Investigative editor as well and founding editor of its Blacklight investigative unit—the first of its kind at a legacy Black newspaper.

He has been a freelance journalist for 30 years and has reported from across the globe—including Iraq, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Germany—and published with outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle, The Irish Times, and The New York Times.

Damaso is a 2026 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Standford and the recipient of the 2024 NABJ Ida B. Wells Award, the Deadline Club Award, and multiple fellowships and grants.

Areas of expertise: Pitching, Negotiation, Networking, Staying Organized, Time Management, Photo Journalism, Consulting, Management Roles, Nonprofit Clients

E.J. is an award-winning journalist and author whose reporting and provocative commentary have appeared in a wide range of venues, from early gay and lesbian print publications to The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Policy, The Nation, Newsweek, and The Washington Post. For nine years, she was managing editor of TMC at the Washington Post, helping political scientists reach a wider audience. While continuing to report and comment, she works an editorial coach and consultant for academics, advocates, and passion-driven organizations that need to reach an educated public.

Areas of expertise: University clients, Academy, Consulting, Opeds and essays.

Ellen Lee is a journalist and children’s book author in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Real Simple, and the BBC, among other publications. As a senior staff writer for The New York Times Wirecutter, she reviews and writes about kid-related products, from squishies to technology for kids. She’s also the author of several books of Mad Libs and The Trails We Blaze, a forthcoming nonfiction children’s book about Chinese Americans from the 1850s to today.

Areas of expertise: Pitching, children's book writing, publishing and querying, non-fiction book proposals, consumer journalism/product reviews, parenting journalism

Emma Carew Grovum is the founder of Kimbap Media and an operations and culture design leader. She helps news organizations develop strong leaders and build thoughtful systems and cultures where teams can thrive and create their best work.

Emma has worked in newsrooms for more than 15 years as a reporter and editor, a leader, a product manager and a strategy consultant. She has assigned and edited independent journalists and has recruited and hired reporters, editors, audience/data journalists, technologists, and multimedia creators in multiple newsrooms. Emma also serves as the Special Projects editor and a co-instructor of Master the Business of Freelancing course with the IIJ.

Her coaching practice prioritizes rigorous empathy and shared curiosity, and is often based in human-centered design thinking.

Areas of expertise: Pitching, Negotiation, Rate Setting, Networking, Time Management, Social Media, Audience and Engagement, Product Work, Consulting, Management Roles

Sara Murphy came to journalism from academia after she received her PhD in English literature from Columbia University. An independent journalist from the start, she has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Guardian US, National Geographic, AARP, and more. Sara also served as managing editor of a local newspaper in her home in Western North Carolina, and is the head newsletter writer at the IIJ. A K-pop stan and cat mom to two voids, she runs The Pitching Hour, a weekly online community centered on pitching, writing, and community.

Areas of expertise: Pitching, Rate Setting, Networking, Staying Organized, Content Creation / Newsletters, Scripted and Fiction Work, Work/life balance, Idea generation, Genre conventions, Interview techniques and sourcing, Career pivots, Alt-academia, Editing

Trained at Howard University to report news before the decimation of the Dewey Decimal System and the arrival of Google, Zerline’s writings have been featured in publications including The Washington Informer, The Los Angeles Times, Ebony, Dance Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

Additionally, using her newsroom experience, Zerline led local and national communications outreach campaigns which helped move the needle on reforming legislation on voter disenfranchisement, drug policy, policing, and juvenile justice.

A former adjunct professor at Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication in Baltimore, Zerline holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and photography from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a Master of Science degree in communication management from Simmons University in Boston.

Zerline is an avid traveler who promotes self-care, loves to dance and teaches Zumba Fitness.

Areas of expertise: Pitching, Negotiation, Rate Setting, Staying Organized, Consulting, Nonprofit Clients

Mónica Ortiz Uribe is an independent reporter born and raised in El Paso who writes about the U.S./Mexico border and the American Southwest. Her work has appeared on National Public Radio and the El Paso Times. In 2020, she co-hosted the podcast Forgotten: The Women of Juárez about the disappearance and murder of women in El Paso’s Mexican sister city. The production was listed among the top ten podcasts of 2020 by the Atlantic.

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Nicki Mayo runs Nicki Mayo News, an audio/video company specializing in video, podcast and social media campaign production for small businesses, civic groups and faith-based organizations. The Baltimore native and Syracuse University alumna is: editor-at-large for Black Women Unmuted, a correspondent for TV One and a journalism adjunct professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. Nicki has worked to launch several news orgs including: Spectrum News 1 Buffalo, The List and Crofton Patch. She has also worked as a reporter, producer and manager for: Associated Press Radio and AP’s Race and Ethnicity Team, The Philadelphia Tribune, WAMU, WJHL-TV 11, SNN News, CTV 76, BET News and WAER-FM. 

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Clayton Gutzmore a is a freelance journalist in South Florida who covers health and entertainment. He has byline several news outlets including The Miami Times, The Miami Herald, BET, Billboard, and Variety. Gutzmore is a graduate of Florida International University During undergrad, he served on the board of the local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Gutzmore currently writes for the Atlanta Voice covering their health section. He is 2021 Dori Maynard Diversity Fellow for The Society of Professional Journalists. Gutzmore is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

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Jamila Bey is an independent journalist, moderator, and former editorial director at WHYY News who asks the kinds of questions that make comms teams sweat. With more than 20 years reporting and hosting for NPR, The Washington Post, and Viacom/BET, she’s made a career out of telling uncomfortable truths and pushing newsrooms to stop doing things the way they've always been done. Now she works independently — advocating for journalists of color to get paid, get free, and take up space. Her work appears in NPR, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

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