Anna Deen

Journalist

United States

Hey there! I’m currently based in New York City as a freelance journalist and graduate student at CUNY’s Newmark J-School, where I specialize in urban, data, and investigative reporting. I’m also the Fix intern reporting climate solutions stories at Grist and a volunteer reporting obituaries at THE CITY’s MISSING THEM project.

I was previously the assistant editor for philosophy and religious studies at Oxford University Press, and an intern with the U.S. Department of State and U.N.C. School of Law's Center for Civil Rights. I received my B.A. in American culture studies, English literature and communication design from Washington University in St. Louis. As an undergraduate, I was the editor in chief of two collegiate magazines, a radio show host and DJ at KWUR 90.3 FM and a Lynne Cooper Harvey scholar in American culture studies.

You can probably find me eating Ben & Jerry's and plotting my next day trip upstate.

My full portfolio, including sample clips and data visualizations is available at annadeen.com. Feel free to reach me with any tips at [email protected].

Portfolio
Grist
12/23/2020
These gardens ask visitors to reconsider solitary confinement

Warren Palmer III earned a degree in horticulture and a landscaping license while incarcerated, which explains his uncanny ability to rattle off plants and their medicinal properties. He especially likes aloe vera, which he mentions often. It reminds him of his grandfather and life in the country: birds chirping, chickens scratching in the yard, family, and innocence.

Grist
02/23/2021
His vision for community buy-in on composting: Make it 'cool'

Domingo Morales will be the first to tell you that composting changed his life. It all started in 2015 when the Brooklyn resident spotted a flier for Green City Force — an AmeriCorps sustainability training program aimed at youth within the New York City Housing Authority.

Eater NY
11/24/2020
Brooklyn Duo Plans Expansion of Pay-What-You-Wish Fine Dining Meal Program

The COVID-19 pandemic has limited access to fine dining and highlighted inequities across the food industry. In response, Brooklyn-based dining collective Both And, a three-year-old culinary project founded by a team with Michelin credentials, is expanding access to its pay-what-you-wish fine dining meals, adding takeout and delivery options, and incorporating community support into its growth.

City Limits
10/29/2020
Tamping Down Turnout? Bronx Early Voting Sites Few & Far Between

Large numbers of people have come out to vote early in the city's mainland borough. But will the large distances between early-voting sites keep some voters away? For the first time, registered voters in New York City are able to vote in a general election in one of three ways: early voting in person, voting in person on Election Day, or mailing in or dropping off an absentee ballot.

NYCity News Service
01/13/2021
How a Nonprofit Plans to Outlive COVID | Next New York

Though digital performing has allowed the organization to reach wider audiences and incorporate accessible elements like closed captioning, there are drawbacks to not being in person. Palmquist notes that some of her students don't have the use of quiet spaces or reliable Wi-Fi.

Unpublished
02/18/2021
The Sweetest Treat

A data visualization of candy types based on data collected by FiveThirtyEight. The chart was created with Adobe Illustrator and informed by a project style guide I created.