is originally from Portland, Ore., and was an English teacher in Spain and a tour guide in New York before earning a master’s from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she wrote about food, housing issues and cultural events. She speaks French, German, Russian and Spanish, in addition to English. Her lifelong goal is to become fluent in all six official languages of the United Nations; she is learning Mandarin and plans to tackle Arabic next. Next fall she will complete a second master’s degree through Columbia’s dual degree program with the journalism school at SciencesPo in Paris.

Stories

• Visualizing Our Future Selves
• Sharing a home to ease the burdens of old age