Dana Amihere
Founder / Executive Director
Dana Amihere (she/her) is a designer, developer and data journalist. She left conventional newsrooms in 2021 to start Code Black Media, a digital media consultancy that lives at the intersection of data, design and equity. She previously worked in data reporting, interactive design and news apps development for Southern California Public Radio/KPCC + LAist, The Dallas Morning News, Pew Research Center and The Baltimore Sun.
Her pivot to full-time freelance work has included production of an audio documentary for the First Amendment Coalition; data and graphics work on investigative reporting with The Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News and Black Voice News; and leading a research study on diversity in Philadelphia’s news ecosystem with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
Amihere has taught data journalism and interaction design across the country at conferences and colleges. She currently teaches at UC Berkeley.
Steven Smith
Director of Operations
Steven Smith (he/him) is an independent media consultant who specializes in developing audience and operational strategies for multiplatform local news products and organizations. He worked as production coordinator and project manager at The Long Beach Post. He was integral in providing development and operational support to the launch of Long Beach Post Español and the Post’s audience engagement team and agency services.
Shady Grove Oliver
Projects Editor
Shady Grove Oliver (she/her) grew up in Southern California and has been involved in journalism spaces for the last 20 years. Her early love of photography led to projects in photojournalism and ethics. She later spent several years as a public radio reporter, news host and news director (and DJ) in Alaska and five years as the sole reporter at the only local newspaper in the U.S. Arctic. There, she covered everything from oil and gas to whaling, climate change, and MMIWGT2S.
Shady Grove has received multiple science journalism grants and was part of the team to win the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of rural law enforcement in Alaska’s villages. She has a background in narrative medicine, which seeks to make healthcare more ethical and compassionate through storytelling and narrative practice. In her spare time, she hangs out with her dogs and is trying to write a dystopian sci fi murder mystery novel.
J. Brian Charles
Editor-at-Large
J. Brian Charles (he/him) is a journalist who writes about urban affairs, education, criminal justice, race and inequality. His work has appeared in The Trace, Vox, Governing, Playboy, Wired and the Baltimore Beat.
Justin Allen
Technology Manager
Justin Allen has spent over a decade at the crossroads of content, engagement and technology. He’s won awards for news design and visual storytelling, built digital infrastructure from scratch, dug deep into data pursuing stories and been a resource for teammates on both strategy and implementation. Justin believes in a human-centered approach to design and technology and putting that in service of work that advances social justice. Currently based in Chicago, he’s California born-and-raised and knows (and loves) the state from Crescent City to San Ysidro.
Shwetha Ganesh
Newsletter Producer
Shwetha Ganesh (she/her) is a mission-driven creative at heart, positioning her many homes (India, Memphis and Los Angeles) at the center of all her professional endeavors. She’s always been a history and politics buff, and loves engaging with these topics through journalism and cinema.
Henry L. Davis III
Social Media Producer
Henry L. Davis III (he/him) is a writer and researcher from San Francisco. Born into a family of preachers, musicians, teachers and librarians, he grew up with an innate love for the arts. As he came into his own, Henry declared his own artistic passion to be storytelling. His years growing up in the Bay Area taught him how crucial organized efforts of self-reporting have been for people in his community. In turn, he places a heavy emphasis on different dimensions of Pan-Africanism, environmentalism and class struggle in his works. While studying at the University of Southern California, Henry developed a drive to communicate his voice across mediums. This shines through his love of film photography, fashion, teaching, archival work and his ventures as a DJ.
When reporting, Henry aims to highlight communities who have been stripped of their voice, namely blue collar laborers, the unhoused, incarcerated people and migrants.