Four accomplished journalists named Schuster Institute senior fellows

Fellows to delve into social justice and human rights reporting projects

The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism welcomes four investigative journalists as senior fellows to the institute’s Ethics & Justice Investigative Journalism Fellowships. They join 14 other fellows in working with institute staff and Brandeis University student research assistants on reporting projects related to social justice and human rights issues that are often underreported by mainstream media.

The fellowship program is supported by a grant from the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation and a gift from the Elaine and Gerald Schuster Charitable Trust. Some fellows are selected through a Schuster Institute collaboration with the Fund for Investigative Journalism in Washington, D.C., which awards financial grants to investigative journalists for major projects.

The senior fellows are:

Trevor Aaronson

Aaronson is co-director of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and author of the forthcoming book “The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism.” He has won more than 25 journalism awards, including the Molly Prize, the Data Journalism Award and the John Jay College/H.F. Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award. His recent story for Mother Jones probed the FBI’s network of spies/informants created to thwart domestic terrorism attacks.

Phillip Martin

Martin is senior investigative reporter for WGBH Boston Public Radio, a regular panelist for Basic Black, and hosts PBS World TV Channel’s Presidential Primary coverage 2012. He has reported on human trafficking in southern New England, carbon offset schemes, police training and race, among other topics. Martin is an adjunct professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and Executive Producer for Lifted Veils Productions.

Maryn McKenna

McKenna is a journalist and author specializing in public health, global health and food policy. She blogs for Wired and is a columnist and contributing editor for Scientific American. McKenna writes for SELF, Nature, the Guardian, China Newsweek, MSNBC and other national and international publications and is the author of Superbug (2010) and Beating Back the Devil (2004), both published by Simon & Schuster.

James Verini

Verini is a journalist based in New York. He has written for Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Wired, Foreign Policy and Newyorker.com, among other publications. While a contributing editor at Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, he was twice nominated for a National Magazine Award. He’s reported from Russia, Palestine, India, Japan, and Latin American. When not chasing after thieves and smugglers, he likes to write about boxers and musicians.