A Hidden Sexual-Assault Scandal at the New York Philharmonic
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Cara Kizer was the second woman to join the brass section of the New York Philharmonic, America's oldest orchestra. The summer after she was hired, she alleges she was sexually assaulted by one colleague. Another colleague was present the night of the assault.
Within two years, Kizer had been voted out of the orchestra. Another woman — the first woman to join the brass section — had been voted out for supporting Kizer. Sources around Kizer say she was offered an NDA; when I reached her this past year, she was unable to speak about certain aspects of her employment.
Kizer's two former colleagues remained in the orchestra when we published this piece. Though they were fired for cause in 2018 after the orchestra learned of additional allegations against both of them, they were reinstated in 2020 after arbitration brought by their union.
Behind the Badge: In New York City Homeless Shelters, the Same ‘Peace Officers’ Abuse Residents
New York Focus & MuckRock
I lead a team of three reporters including Annika Grosser and Sanjana Bhambhani as we investigated the disciplinary practices of New York City's Department of Homeless Services Police, a little-known police agency that maintains security in New York City-owned shelters. Using open records requests, we obtained files pertaining to 31 officers. The underlying incidents date back to 1998; they are substantiated, meaning that the Department's has investigated incident and found that the alleged event took place.
We found that a small prevalence of officers are responsible for a large portion of disciplinary incidents — three of the 31 officers committed over one third of the 66 misconduct incidents — and it can take years for officers to be suspended after the commit misconduct.
Tainted History: Former Juilliard composition students share allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct
VAN & the Investigative reporting workshop
I spent six months investigating allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against three current and former professors in The Juilliard School's prestigious music composition department. My reporting led the school to commission an independent investigation from an outside law firm that later corroborated much of the reporting. (One of the professors was removed from his position as a result of this investigation.)
Dying in Silence: Families, activists, ACLU question ICE’s accounting of deaths in detention
Investigative reporting workshop
I co-reported this story with Grace Vitaglione, a fellow intern at IRW that summer. We reviewed medical records, ICE press releases and academic reports for this reporting; we also spoke with numerous family members of former ICE detainees that were released from custody after developing fatal medical conditions. Our reporting found numerous unreported deaths of ICE detainees. ICE changed their reporting policies while we pursued this reporting alongside litigation and advocacy from the ACLU.
Music's Perpetually Open Secret: 18 years after they were first reported, allegations of sexual harassment at the Butler School of Music have continued
VAN
Allegations against noted composer and UT Austin music professor Dan Welcher were first reported publicly in 2001. My investigation revealed that students at the school continue to bring forward new allegations of sexual harassment despite the 2001 reporting and a 2002 investigation by the Department of Education. The school investigated the new allegations after my reporting was published; Welcher prematurely comleted his phased retirement from the school after the investigation found credible allegations against him.
Student Reporting (2017 - 2022)
Former students bring 40 years of misconduct allegations against SMTD professor
The Michigan daily
I was a sophomore arts critic on the student paper when I learned of an allegation of sexual misconduct against a professor, department chair, youth program director and former associate dean in my music school. This article was based on interviews with nine specific survivors of his alleged abuse and interviews with twenty classmates, former employees and colleagues of this professor. This article (and subsequent reporting) sparked local, state and federal law enforcement investigations. Shipps was convicted in 2022 on a federal sex crime charge — the survivor who came forward for this court proceeding was not someone I interviewed though the police became aware of her story because of this reporting.
Daily investigation finds divergence in U-M, outside organization’s handling of allegations against CSE professor
The Michigan daily
Nina Molina and I investigated allegations of sexual misconduct against a computer science professor. We found that the allegations had been reported both to our university and to a prominent research organization. We found that the research organization banned the professor from their events for at least five years after an investigation examined the allegations in aggregate; our university did not find the allegations credible after it considered each allegation separately. The second part of our investigation focused on the responses of the engineering and information schools. The professor resigned from the university after our reporting led prominent researching funding organizations to threaten to withhold money. The reporting also led a prominent computer science research organization to change their policies regarding reporting of investigations that found credible allegations against researchers.
Buying Silence: U-M spent over $1.26 million in 6 months on non-disclosure agreements
The Michigan daily
I led a team of three reporters as we investigated $1.265 million in previously unreported non-disclosure and non-disparagement reached between (public) our university and former employees alleging wrongdoing. We obtained these agreements after a lengthy public records process.
Former employees of Sava’s bring numerous allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct
the michigan daily
Zayna Syed and I investigated numerous allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against the then-head chef of a prominent local restaurant that often employs students. Our article documented numerous allegations along with the restaurant's internal response; the article also found a non-disparagement provision in initial employment paperwork and a specific legal threat from the restaurant's owner against a former employee who tried to speak out.