In March, the Stigler Center will welcome eight world-class journalists from across the globe for an intensive 12-week program of professional development at Chicago Booth.
Launched in March 2017, the Stigler Center’s Journalists in Residence (JIR) Program provides a transformative learning experience for print and broadcast journalists from around the world. It aims to shape the next generation of leaders in political economy reporting.
The program will take place over approximately 12 weeks at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus, during which selected participants will audit classes, participate in events, collaborate with peers, and socialize with the university’s greatest scholars.
Nikou Asgari (United Kingdom) – Financial Times
Nikou Asgari is the Financial Times’ digital markets correspondent based in London, where she reports on the cryptocurrency industry and capital markets. She has worked at the FT since 2018 in both London and New York, in roles including covering corporate finance, and the US pharmaceutical industry during the coronavirus pandemic.
David Feliba (Argentina) – Freelance
David Feliba is an independent business journalist based in Buenos Aires, specializing in Argentina and Latin America. His work appears in leading English-language outlets, including The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Haaretz and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. A former financial reporter for S&P Global, David has covered major stories such as the rise of libertarian President Javier Milei in Argentina, Latin America’s fintech revolution, and the lithium industry’s expansion in South America’s Southern Cone. He has reported across the Americas, conducting high-profile interviews with top executives and government officials throughout the region.
Bianca Flowers (United States) – Reuters
Bianca Flowers is an award-winning multimedia journalist and U.S. Race & Justice Correspondent at Reuters, where she focuses on enterprise stories about race, identity, and social justice. Based in Chicago, Flowers began her Reuters career as a manufacturing correspondent, reporting on the bedrock of the U.S. economy, including global steelmakers, agriculture, construction and industrial advancements in automation and technology. Her expertise extends to labor unions, with notable coverage of the 2023 United Auto Workers strike, the Silicon Valley Bank collapse’s impact on commercial real estate, and the controversial debate over the acquisition of U.S. Steel. Before Reuters she was a Senior Video Journalist for Dow Jones, producing stories on personal finance, income inequality, and diversity in tech, and co-led MarketWatch’s “The Value Gap,” where she interviewed leaders on reducing racial and social disparities in various industries. Flowers started her career at Fortune and held editorial roles at LearnVest, Investopedia, and ABC News.
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria) – Freelance
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a Nigerian journalist and novelist. Her reportage has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Guardian. A regular contributor to the BBC’s Letter from Africa, her work often sheds light on Africa’s overlooked humanitarian issues. Nwaubani’s debut novel I Do Not Come to You by Chance delves into the world of Nigeria’s ‘419’ email scammers, while her Young Adult novel Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree is based on interviews with girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Both novels have earned critical acclaim, winning prestigious awards and recognition for their powerful storytelling and social relevance.
Nikunj Ohri (India) – Reuters
Nikunj Ohri reports on the India’s economic policies for Reuters, and is based in New Delhi. He has extensively reported on India’s privatisation plans, its erratic stance on cryptocurrency regulations, and public listing of the country’s largest insurer. Nikunj has also reported on federal government’s investigations against top companies, and Tesla’s India investment plans.
Ana Poenariu (Romania) – Public Record, Factual.ro
Ana Poenariu is a Romanian investigative journalist who co-founded PublicRecord.ro in 2024. Specialized in exposing politicians’ and criminal groups’ hidden real estate assets, she was part of the international team coordinated by OCCRP, which published the Riviera Maya Gang series and won two EPPY awards in 2021. She also leads Factual.ro, Romania’s first fact-checking platform.
Edmund Tadros (Australia) – The Australian Financial Review
Edmund Tadros is the Professional Services Editor at The Australian Financial Review, writing about the major firms and regulation of the sector. His 2023 coverage of the PwC Australia tax leaks scandal, with Neil Chenoweth, won all three of Australia’s major journalism prizes, including the Gold Walkley. The coverage has led to multiple government inquiries, widespread reform to the way the sector is governed, and a dramatic reduction in the use of consultants by the Australian government.
Rachelle Younglai (Canada) – The Globe and Mail
Rachelle Younglai is the housing and commercial real estate reporter for The Globe and Mail in Toronto. She covers the rising cost of housing and its impact on society, as well as lending, land development and the return to the office. Previously she was a Reuters News correspondent in Washington DC where she covered Congress, economic policy and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
