25th Anniversary Event

YJI’s 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 

In 2001, Steven and Cynthia Brill made a generous donation to launch the Yale Journalism Initiative, which has since benefited from the support of Bob Woodward, Elsa Walsh, Bradley Graham, and Lissa Muscatine. Over the past 25 years, YJI has empowered hundreds of Yale students to become journalists. 
 
To celebrate this milestone, we are hosting an afternoon of panel disucssions with our esteemed alumni, which will be open to the Yale community. Following the panels, we will host dinner for current students and alumni of Yale’s journalism seminar (English 4460/467).
 

Logistics

DATE: Saturday, March 28, 2026

LOCATION: Sterling Memorial Lecture Hall

TIME: Panels from 1 pm to 5:30 pm open to the Yale community, with dinner to follow for current students and alumni of the Journalism seminar (ENGLISH 4460/467)

CO-SPONSORS: Poynter Fellowship in Journalism; Traphagen Alumni Speakers Series, Yale College Office of Student Affairs; Yale Alumni Journalism Association

Event Program

1:00 – 1:10 PM

Welcome by Yale Journalism Initiative Director Haley Cohen Gilliland (YC 2011) and Opening Remarks by Yale Journalism Initiative Founder Steven Brill (YC 1972, YLS 1975) 

1:10 – 2:10 PM

Political Reporting in an Age of Peak Polarization (60 minutes)

Moderator: Steven Brill (YC 1972, YLS 1975) - Yale Journalism Initiative Founder and professor of Yale’s core journalism seminar (ENG 4460); Founder of NewsGuard, The American Lawyer, and Court TV

Panelists:

●      Isaac Arnsdorf (YC 2011) — Senior White House Reporter, The Washington Post

●      Elaina Plott Calabro (YC 2015) — Staff Writer, The Atlantic

●      Elise Jordan (YC 2004) — Host, MS NOW’s The Weekend: Primetime

2:10 – 2:20 PM

Break (10 minutes)

2:20 – 3:20 PM

Narrative Journalism (60 minutes)

Moderator: Susan Dominus (YC 1992) - Professor of Yale’s core journalism seminar (ENG 4460) and staff writer at The New York Times Magazine

Panelists:
 

●      Ava Kofman (YC 2014) — Staff Writer, The New Yorker

●      Martine Powers (YC 2011) — Audio Journalist, Former Host of The Washington Post’s “Post Reports”

●      Aliyya Swaby (YC 2013) — Reporter, ProPublica’s South Unit

●      Vivian Yee (YC 2012) — National Correspondent, The New York Times
 

3:20 – 3:30 PM

Break (10 minutes)

3:30 – 4:30 PM

The Art of Editing (60 minutes)

Moderator: Jill Abramson - Leader of the Burnes Center’s Initiative on Investigative Solutions Journalism; Former Executive Editor of The New York Times and former professor of Yale’s core journalism seminar (ENG 4460)

Panelists:

●      Alexandra Suich Bass (YC 2008) — Culture Editor, The Economist

●      Sophie Haigney (YC 2017) — Former Web Editor, The Paris Review

●      Adrian J. Rivera (YC 2020) — Op-Ed Associate Editor, The New York Times

●      Amy X. Wang (YC 2015) — Story Editor, The New York Times Magazine
 

4:30 – 4:40 PM

Break (10 minutes)

4:40 – 5:30 PM

YJI’s Recent Grads Reflect (50 minutes)

Moderator: Haley Cohen Gilliland (YC 2011) - Yale Journalism Initiative Director

Panelists:

●      Evan Gorelick (YC 2025) — Reporter for “The Morning” Newsletter, The New York Times

●      Abigail Sylvor Greenberg (YC 2025) — Assistant to the Global Editorial Director, Vanity Fair

●      Rose Horowitch (YC 2023) — Staff Writer, The Atlantic

●      Anika Arora Seth (YC 2025) — Visual Investigations Reporter, Wall Street Journal

●      Isaac Yu (YC 2024) — Reporter, The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News

 

5:30 – 5:35 PM

Wrap-Up / Closing Remarks (5 minutes)

Reception until 6:30 PM in the Memorabilia Room

6:30 PM - Dinner for alumni and current students of ENGLISH 4460/467 at Mory’s

Confirmed Speakers

(In alphabetical order)

Isaac Arnsdorf

Isaac Arnsdorf (YC 2011) - Senior White House Reporter for The Washington Post

Elaina Plott Calabro (YC 2015) - Staff Writer at The Atlantic

Evan Gorelick (YC 2025) - Reporter for “The Morning” Newsletter, The New York Times

Abigail Sylvor Greenberg (YC 2025) - Assistant to the Global Editorial Director, Vanity Fair

Sophie Haigney (YC 2017) - Web Editor at The Paris Review

Rose Horowitch (YC 2023) - Staff Writer at The Atlantic

Elise Jordan (YC 2004) - Host of MS NOW’s The Weekend Primetime

Ava Kofman (YC 2014) - Staff Writer at The New Yorker

Martine Powers (YC 2011) - Audio Journalist, Former Host of The Washington Post’s “Post Reports”

Adrian J. Rivera (YC 2020) - Op-Ed Associate Editor at The New York Times

Anika Arora Seth (YC 2025) - Visual News Designer at The Associated Press

Alexandra Suich Bass (YC 2008) - Culture Editor at The Economist

Aliyya Swaby (YC 2013) - Reporter in ProPublica’s South unit

Vivian Yee (YC 2012) - National Correspondent for The New York Times

Amy X. Wang (YC 2015) - Story Editor at The New York Times Magazine

Isaac Yu (YC 2024) - State Government Reporter with the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News

We will update this site with more speakers and programming info as we have it.  For questions, please contact YJI director Haley Cohen Gilliland at haley.cohengilliland@yale.edu.

Travel Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at each of the following hotels for the nights of Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28. To make a reservation, please call the number listed below or make your reservation online.

THE BLAKE HOTEL

+1 203.390.5352  |  Room rate: $249 (plus tax)

Mention that you are part of the Yale Journalism Initiative or use group code PXX. The room block will be held until February 20, 2026.

THE STUDY AT YALE HOTEL

Yale Journalism Initiative Room Block

+1 203.503.3900  |  Room rate: $259 (plus tax)
Mention that you are part of the Yale Journalism Initiative. The room block will be held until March 6, 2026.