Propublica selected Dana Chiueh and Aaron Brezel as AI Engineering Fellows as part of their participation in the Lenfest Institute’s AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program. The Lenfest AI program selected Propublica among 10 regional and national news organizations for its two-year fellowship.
Propublica Fellowships will be made possible through funding from both the Lenfest Institute and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dana and Aaron as our first AI engineering fellows,” said Ben Werdmuller, Senior Director of Technology at Propublica. “The unique combination of technical expertise and journalism experience is perfectly positioned to help AI explore ways to safely enhance research reporting while maintaining the strict standards, ethical principles and human expertise that define Propublica’s work.”
Chiueh is a news innovation engineer at the Minnesota Star Tribune and has recently joined the Renfest program on behalf of the newsroom. She is a recipient of the Brown Institute Magic Grant for developing Tipbot, a tool that automates the collection of missing information from submitted tips, and has been previously reported in Dallas Morning News and Los Angeles Times.
Brezel joined Propublica at the Brown Media Innovation Institute, where he served as a lead software engineer. Previously, he was a software engineer at the Washington Post and founding member of the Reporting Tools team, building software for journalists throughout the newsroom.
About Propublica
Propublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that creates investigative journalism in the public interest. With a team of over 150 dedicated journalists, Propublica covers a variety of topics and focuses on stories that may drive real impact. The report is contributing to the passing of new laws. Reversal of harmful policies and practices. Accountability to leaders at the local, state and national level. Since launching its publication in 2008, Propublica has won eight Pulitzer Awards, five Peabody Awards, eight Emmy Awards and 16 George Polk Awards.
About the Renfest Institute for Journalism
The Lenfest Institute creates solutions for the next era of local news by investing in sustainable business models at the intersection of local journalism.
About the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation is a charity dedicated to foraying artificial intelligence and data science solutions, creating a thriving, equitable and sustainable future for all. The PJMF works with public, private and social institutions to promote advancements in the most pressing challenges, including digital health, climate change, broad digital access, and data maturation in the social sector.
