On The Record with Ambi: Recent Episodes
Ambi Narula
A podcast for Merrill College students to learn about different careers by alumnus. The podcast is created and hosted by Merrill alumna, Ambi Narula. New episode drops every Monday
Toyin Akinwande is a 2018 Merill College graduate. She is currently working as the Public Relations and Marketing Specialist at Adventist HealthCare. She is also getting her Master's degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University.
Karen Denny is the current Merrill College of Journalism Internship and Career Director. Previously, she worked as the CNS Annapolis Bureau Cheif and as an adjunct journalism professor. She graduated from Merrill College with her Bachelor's in 1991 and her Master's in 2002.
Zainab Mudallal graduated from Merrill College in 2014. She currently works as a senior operations editor at the Washington Post. Previously, she worked as an assistant editor for digital and operations at the Post.
Twitter: Zainab_Mudallal
Rebecca Rainey graduated from Merrill in 2017. She is a senior reporter covering the labor department at Bloomberg Law. Previously she worked as a reporter at POLITICO.
Twitter: @RebeccaARainey
Kira Barrett graduated from Merrill College in 2020. She recently started a new job as a content marketing associate at Publicis Sapient. Previously, she worked as a fellow at Venture For America.
Jessica Campisi is a 2018 Merrill grad. She recently started a new job as a social media editor at Peacock. Previously, she worked as an Audience Producer at WAMU 88.5.
In 2020, Sean graduated with his Master's in Journalism from Merrill College. Currently, Sean works as a Data reporter for the Richmond Times- Dispatch.
Nick Munson graduated from Merrill in 2014. After 5 years in the broadcast industry, Munson made the switch to work in communications. He currently works as the Director of Communications at Marymount University.
Beth Ward (B.A.'06) and Lindsay Kishter (B.A.'07) work together as Directors of Nexight Group, a consulting firm.
Jason Fontelieu graduated from Merrill College in May 2021. After graduating he worked as an Editorial Fellow for the Washingtonian magazine. Recently he started a new job as a Community News Reporter for the Baltimore Sun.
Follow him on Twitter @JasonFontelieu
Samantha Caruso graduted from Merrill college in 2020. During the pandemic, she started working as a Public Relations Associate for Technology clients at ICR, a strategic communications firm in Connecticut.
Maeve Dunigan graduated from Merrill in 2018. Since then, she has explored comedy writing. Maeve currently works at NYU and is getting her master's in Journalism. Her writing has been published in Reductress and the New Yorker.
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @maevedunigan
Julia is a 2021 Merrill College grad. She currently works as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at DLA Piper.
Natalie Koltun graduted from Merill College in 2016. After graduating, Natalie joined Industry Dive. She currently works as the Editor of Marketing Dive.
Follow her on Twitter: @natalie_koltun
Linkedin: @nataliekoltun
Jermaine Rowley graduated from Merrill College in 2019. Upon graduation, Jermaine worked at FOX43 WMPT as an Assignment editor and then as a multi-platform content producer. Recently, Jermaine joined AMC Networks as a Social media Marketing Specialist.
Folllow him on Twitter: @_JermaineR
Add him on Linkedin: @jermaine-rowley
Alexandra "Allie" Wilding graduated with her Masters' from Merrill in 2012. She currently works as a Journalism and Digital Media Educator at Washington International School.
Josh Land graduated from Merrill College in 2004. He currently works as the Communications Manager at Merrill College. Previously, he worked as a Sports Reporter and Editor at the Baltimore Sun.
Mackenzie graduated from Merrill College in 2019. Currently, she works as a travel editor at US News & World Report.
Mary Clare is a 2014 Merrill College graduate. She currently works as a PR Representative for Michigan Medicine.
Aline is an immigration reporter for Voice of America’s News Center in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Merrill College in 2013
Follow her on Twitter @@AlineBarros2
Lexie Schapitl is a 2017 Merrill College Graduate. She currently works as an Assistant Producer at NPR.
Natalie McGill is a 2007 Merrill College graduate and a D.C. stand-up comic. She has worked as an on-air correspondent and writer for the political satire TV show “Redacted Tonight” on RT America. She will be joining as a writer for the Season 3, Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO.
Simone Thomas is a 2017 Merril College graduate. She currently works as a Social Media Producer at POPSUGAR.
Follow her on Twitter: @simoneathomas
Connect with her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-thomas-65b452b1/
Katie graduated from Merrill College in 2018. She has recently come back to UMD working as a Communications Coordinator for the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-bemb-5b573a105/
Hannah Yasharoff is a 2019 Merrill College graduate. She currently works as an Entertainment & Wellness Reporter at USA TODAY.
Alanna Delfino is a 2015 alumna of Merrill College. She currently works as VERIFY as a Video and Photojournalist. She also currently works as an adjunct lecturer at Merrill.
Eleanor Mueller is a 2017 graduate of Merrill College. Since graduating, Eleanor has had different roles at POLITICO. Currently, she works as a Labor Reporter.
Follow her on Twitter: @eleanor_mueller
Adam Longo is a 2001 graduate of Merrill. He works as a News Anchor and Reporter at WUSA - TV. He also works as an Adjunct Professor at Merrill since 2017 for the Broadcast classes.
Sue Kopen Katcef, now a freelance reporter for Maryland Public Television, is an award-winning journalist who served as an instructor for two decades at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. For the last 10 years, she was the Broadcast News Bureau Director of Merrill College's Capital News Service. Both her students and their show, Maryland Newsline, won numerous awards at the local, regional and national levels. She graduated from Merrill College in 1976.
Connect with her Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-kopen-katcef-a850a86/
Follow her on Twitter: @UMNewsie
Marjorie (Tharp) Mckee is a 1987 Merrill College graduate. She currently works as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at mdlogix.
Connect with her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjorietharp/
Amanda graduated from Merrill College with her bachelor's in Broadcast Journalism in 2017 and a minor in Astronomy. She currently works as a Content Planner at WMMAR.
Add her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acdrazen/
Kathy Jentz graduated from Merrill in 1990; She is also the editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine. A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable. Her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration.
She is also the editor of the Water Garden Journal (IWGS), The Azalean (ASA), and Fanfare, for the local daylily society.
She is also currently the Green Media columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Grower newspaper, where she does a great deal of hand-holding and coaxing to get independent garden centers, plant breeders, and other horticultural businesses to join the social media revolution and maximize their online brands.
Connect with her Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyjentz/
Julie is a 2017 Master's graduate of Merrill College. She currently works as an Audio Producer for Opinions at The Washington Post.
Twitter: @JulieDepenbrock
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-depenbrock-15436790/
George Gerbo is a 2017 Master of Journalism graduate from the Merrill College of Journalism. George is currently a podcast host and media coordinator at The Washington Times, providing daily podcast and social media content and coordinating on-air bookings for Times talent.
Connect with him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgegerbo/
Matt Bylis is a 2016 graduate of Merrill College. He currently works as a Senior External Communications Associate at PwC.
Learn more about him by listening to his episode.
Twitter: @mattbylis
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbylis/
Julia Karron graduated from Merrill with her Master's in 2018. Since then, she has worked at: the Washington Post, NBC sports, WAMU and Buzzfeed.
Twitter: @jkitsjulia
Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakarron/
Alex Glass’s goal is to capture raw emotion on camera and use it to produce captivating stories. After earning a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Philip Merrill College in 2014, he has gone on to produce award-winning work in the US and Australia and started his own video and marketing company: Cottage Creative.
Follow him on Social Media: @alexandersglass
Michael Stern is an Account Executive at Pinkston Co. Michael manages several accounts in several industries including education, tech, non-profits, and healthcare.
Before joining Pinkston, Michael was the Executive Producer of Good Morning Richmond at WRIC-TV in Richmond, Virginia. Michael started working at the station in 2017 after graduating from Merrill College, producing every newscast before being promoted to EP. He was named the best producer of the Virginias by the Associated Press. His work has also taken him down to Florida to field produce during Hurricane Michael.
Jessica Wilde graduated from Merrill with her Masters's in 2013. Since 2017, Jessica has worked as a Video Producer at NASA 360.
Twitter: @WildejessicaL
Since graduating last year in May 2020, Lisa Woolfson freelanced for Washington Jewish Week and the Baltimore Jewish Times. Recently she became a Newscast Producer at WRGB-CBS6. Learn more about Lisa by listening to her episode!
Kelly Farmer doesn't have the most traditional journalism path. After graduating from Merrill College in 2002, Kelly started working in the administration side of higher education. She has worked at Villa Julie College, Stevenson University, and John Hopkins University. She also received her Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration in Higher Education from UMD in 2008. Kelly works as the Executive Director of Admissions for the Hopkins Carey Business school. Learn more about her and her career journey by listening to her episode.
Connect with her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymfarmer/
Ira Chinoy has 24 years of experience as a journalist at four newspapers: The Washington Post, The Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, The Lawrence (Massachusetts) Eagle-Tribune, and The Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Commercial. Ira has been on the Merrill College faculty since 2001, first as a visiting professor and now as an associate professor. His courses include journalism history, researching emerging media in journalism, the use of archives as a resource for journalists, computer-assisted reporting, and news reporting and writing. In May 2010, he completed his Ph.D. in Journalism Studies at the University of Maryland with a dissertation exploring the intersecting histories of journalism and technology, titled “Battle of the Brains: Election-Night Forecasting at the Dawn of the Computer Age.” It was awarded the 2011 Margaret A. Blanchard Doctoral Dissertation Prize by the American Journalism Historians Association.
Follow him on Twitter: @ichinoy
Heather Travaglini is a 2002 graduate of Merrill College. Since graduating from Merrill, Heather has ventured into different industries and workplaces using her skills from journalism. In the last six years, Heather has worked as a Content Marketing Manager at Major, Lindsey, & Africa in Hanover, Maryland. Follow her on Instagram: @paisleyphoto Email: htravaglini@mlaglobal.com
Hallie graduated from Merrill College in 2018 with a double major in broadcast journalism and government and politics. She started at the Baltimore Sun as a part of the audience engagement team and now currently works as a reporter for business & health.
Email her: hmiller@baltsun.com
Follow her on Twitter: @MsHallieMiller
Alex Flum graduated from Merrill College in 2018 with a focus in sports reporting. He currently works as a Sports reporter at WDVM.
Follow him on Social media @AlexFlumTV
Jacquline is a Merrill College graduate of 2018. She also graduated from UMD with her M.Ed. specializing in Secondary Education for English in 2019. She is currently working as a senior editorial assistant at School Administrator magazine from AASA.
You can contact her on Twitter: @jacqbh58
Savannah works as a Digital Content Producer at 13News Now (WVEC) in Norfolk, VA. She graduated from Merrill College in 2018. Learn more about her and her career journey in her episode.
Follow her on Twitter @SavHaugdahl
Josh Davidsburg is an award-winning broadcast journalist, documentary filmmaker, and 2001 Merrill College alumnus.
Following his education, Josh started his career at WMDT in Salisbury; three years later, he moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where he worked for NBC-2 WBBH for two years. He then returned home to work for WBAL in Baltimore and Maryland Public Television, where he reported for two years.
Trained as an on-air broadcast reporter, Josh taught himself cinematography and videography. Josh's first full-length documentary, “Queen of the Capital,” appeared at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival. He has also directed documentary shorts that have shown at prominent film festivals across the country.
Email: jdavidsb@umd.edu
Twitter: @jdavidsburg
Sam Nassau is a Producer at SiriusXM Radio for the Joe Madison show. He graduated from Merrill in 2012. Learn more about Sam and his career journey by listening to his episode.
Contact him:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-nassau-94875728/
Twitter: @samuelnas
Sung Min is a 2014 graduate of Merrill College. He is an aspiring sports industry professional interested in scouting, analytics, and other inner workings of professional sports team operations. He will be returning back to the States from Korea for his Masters's in Sports Management.
Contact him at
Twitter: @sung_minkim
Email: sung.mink16@gmail.com
Ryan Connors is a 2017 Merrill College graduate. He has worked for Cox Media Group, Turner Sports, U.S. News and World Report, and Silverback Strategies. Learn more about him and his career takeaways by listening to his episode.
Add him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-connors-b46945b4/
Follow him on Twitter: @RyanConnors_
Emily Stern is a 2014 Merrill College graduate. She works at Aloysius Butler & Clark in Philadelphia as a Senior Public Relations & Social Media Account Executive. Learn more about Emily and her journey from broadcast journalism to the PR industry.
Contact:
Email: eastern1216@gmail.com
Twitter: @emilyannstern
Claudia Renehan is currently a teacher resource at Damascus High school, in Montgomery County MD. She graduated from Merrill College in 1998. Learn more about her story with her episode.
Joshua Axelrod is a features writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and received his Bachelors from Merrill College in 2014. He also studied at George Washington with a Masters in Media and Strategic Communications in 2018.
To contact Joshua
email: jaxel22@comcast.net
Twitter and Instagram: @jaxel222
In this episode, meet the creator and host behind "On the Record With Ambi" - Ambi Narula, 2020 Merrill College graduate. Susannah Outhier, a friend of Ambi's and also 2020 Merrill College graduate interviews Ambi about her love for Social media, Podcasting, and Comedy.
To contact Ambi:
Social media: @bambiambi313
Email: ambinarula@gmail.com
Leah Brennan received her bachelor's from Merrill College in 2020. Upon graduation, she joined the Heart Fellowship program. The program consists of two 12-month rotations at top metro papers. Leah is currently located in Connecticut. Learn more about Leah's journalism journey after Merrill with her episode!
To contact Leah:
Email: leah.b.brennan@gmail.com
Twitter: @allhaeleah
Rafael Lorente is the associate dean for academic affairs and the director of the master’s program. Previously, he served as director of the Capital News Service Washington, D.C., and Annapolis bureaus.
Lorente, a 1992 Merrill master's alum, is a former reporter with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald. As a reporter in Washington for the Sun-Sentinel, Lorente covered the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the attacks of Sept. 11, and U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America, particularly Cuba.
Email: rlorente@umd.edu
Twitter: @ProfLorente
Rachel Hirschheimer is a Multimedia Journalist reporting for WVIR-TV NBC29 in Charlottesville, VA. She graduated from Merrill College in 2020.
To contact Rachel:
Email: Rachel.Hirschheimer@nbc29.com
Twitter: rhirschheimer
Carly Haynes is a Multimedia Journalist at CBS19 in Charlottesville, VA. She graduated from Merrill college in 2020. Learn more about Carly and her work at CBS19 in this episode.
To contact Carly
Email: chaynes@cbs19news.com
Facebook: @CarlyHaynesNews
Instagram: @carlyhaynes1
Twitter: @CarlyEHaynes
website: https://www.carlyhaynes.net/
Alex Murphy is a recent graduate of Merrill College. He is a multimedia sports reporter and currently works as a freelance reporter and hosts multiple podcasts.
To contact Alex
Email: alex_murphy1@aol.com
Twitter: Alex_MurphyJour
Peter Mehlman is an American television writer, comedian, and producer, best known for serving as a writer and producer on the TV series Seinfeld through nearly all of the show's nine-year run from 1989–98. Before his Seinfeld fame, he was a sportswriter for the Washington Post and then became a freelance magazine writer in New York. He graduated with his degree in Journalism from Merill College in 1977.
To learn more about Peter, check out his episode!
Social media:
Twitter: @PeterMehlman
Disclaimer: This episode is published on the podcasts: "On the Record with Ambi" and "Comedy convos with Ambi"
Teddy Amendabar is the Metro Audience Editor at The Washington Post. He graduated from Merrill College in 2015 and started working at the Post as an intern and has been working there since. Learn more about Teddy and career in audience engagement in his episode.
To contact Teddy
Email: Teddy.amenabar@washpost.com
Instagram: @teddyamen
Twitter: @TeddyAmen
Anika Reed is currently the Deputy Editor (Life section) at USA TODAY (NYC). She is obsessed with all things pop culture, well-written interviews, and memes. Anika graduated from Merrill College with her bachelor's in 2016.
To contact Anika:
Email: ajreed@usatoday.com
Twitter and Instagram: @heyitsanika
A self-described “professional bisexual,” Helen Parshall serves as the Communications Manager for AIDS United. She is an avid writer and passionate social justice advocate, who uses digital media to bring visibility to marginalized communities. Before joining the team at AIDS United, Helen spent five and a half years at the Human Rights Campaign, working on issues at the nexus of racial justice, transgender justice, and bisexual visibility within the broader LGBTQ movement. Helen graduated from St. Marys in 2014 with a Bachelors's in English. In 2017, she received her masters in Journalism from Merrill College.
To contact Helen:
Email: hparshall@aidsunited.org
Twitter and Instagram: PartiallyHelen
Marissa Parra is a reporter with CBS WBBM-TV who is thrilled to call Chicago her new home. She hails directly from the Washington D.C. Metro area where she produced with ABC News network, focusing primarily on segment producing political and investigative stories with GMA. Previously, she reported in Virginia where she was also producing the shows she anchored on the weekends, but her true love is and always will be chasing stories out in the field. Marissa graduated from Merrill college in 2015.
Get to know Marissa in her episode
Email: mbparra@cbs.com
Twitter and Instagram: @MaParNews
Daniel Oyefusi is the Ravens and sports breaking news reporter at The Baltimore Sun. He is a Merrill College graduate of 2019.
To learn more about Daniel and his career check out the episode.
Email: doyefusi@baltsun.com
Twitter and Instagram: @danieloyefusi
Ulysses Muñoz is an award-winning multi-platform journalist focusing on DSLR videography and digital storytelling. He's currently a videographer and video editor with the Baltimore Sun. He graduated from Merrill College in 2015.
Check out his episode to learn more about him and his career path.
Email: umunoz@tronc.com.
Twitter and Instagram: @y00lz
Marlena is the Communications Specialist, Water at the World Resources Institute. She leads communications for the Water Program, crafts narratives and communication strategies for publications, edits blogs, manages the program's newsletter and social media, and facilitates events.
She also has two books of poetry, Crumb-sized: Poems (Unnamed Press) and On that one-way trip to Mars (Bottlecap Press). Marlena graduated from Merrill College and Jimenez - Porter Writers' house in 2013
To learn more about Marlena be sure to check out her episode!
Email: marlenalynne@gmail.com
Twitter and Instagram: Mchertock
Jaclyn (Jackie) Borowski is the Visuals Editor at Education week and is an adjunct faculty professor for Merrill College teaching photojournalism. Jackie has received her Bachelor's degree from Merrill in 2011.
To learn more about Jackie be sure to check out her episode
To contact Jackie:
Twitter and Instagram: @jaclynborowski
David Oliver is the social media editor at USA Today, where he runs the Travel section’s social media, and writes and reports across Travel, Entertainment, and Life. David has received his Masters in Non-fiction writing from John Hopkins in 2019 and his bachelor's from Merrill College in 2014.
To learn more about David check out his episode!
His social media handles is: doliver8 on Twitter and Instagram
Alex Pyles is a lecturer at the University of Maryland, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, audience editor for Capital News Service, and contributing editor at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
In more than a decade as a journalist, he’s covered sports, politics, business issues, and more for publications including The Baltimore Sun, The (Maryland) Daily Record, AOL’s Patch.com, and The (Wilmington, Del.) News-Journal. Since 2012, Pyles has taught courses in digital design, social content creation, and audience at Merrill College.
To learn more about Alex, check out the episode!
Contact Alex at:
Email: aapyles@umd.edu
Twitter: @aapyles