THE INTERCEPT - Key Persons
Adam Gunther is a musician, philanthropist, and investor living in Los Angeles. As a musician, Adam works in pop production, multimedia theater, and film scoring. He currently runs a recording studio and focuses on producing independent artists.
As an investor, Adam focuses on real estate and early-stage technology. And as a donor, Adam is active in Los Angeles's vibrant environmental justice and criminal justice reform communities with a focus on policy and systems change.
He was the vice board chair of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition for three years and served on the board for seven. During his time at ARC, the organization grew from an upstart to one of California's most far-reaching criminal justice reform organizations with a strong voice in the California Legislature. This experience provided Adam with a deep appreciation for policy and its impact on communities.
More recently, he has been active in the environmental justice movement and the fight to end urban oil drilling in Los Angeles via support and participation in the STAND LA coalition, which recently won hard-fought battles to phase out drilling in the nation's largest urban oil field.
Adam Gunther is a musician, philanthropist, and investor living in Los Angeles. He currently serves as treasurer of The Intercept's board of directors.
Akela Lacy is a Senior Politics Reporter at The Intercept and co-host of The Intercept Briefing podcast. She was previously The Intercept's inaugural Ady Barkan Reporting Fellow; prior to that, she was a Politics Fellow in the D.C. Bureau.
She has also worked at Politico, covering breaking news and immigration. She produced Politico's flagship newsletter, Playbook, and co-authored the afternoon newsletter, Playbook PM. Prior to that, Lacy worked in international reporting at the Pulitzer Center. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in sociology and Italian. She is based in New York.
Akela Lacy
Senior Politics Reporter
Akela Lacy is a journalist based in New York.
akela.lacy@theintercept.com
Ali Gharib is The Intercept's Senior News Editor. He was previously the chief politics editor at Mic, a contributor to The Nation, and a reporting fellow with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, now Type Media Center. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Brooklyn Magazine, the New Republic, Foreign Policy, Haaretz, and the Daily Beast, among other outlets. He lives in Brooklyn.
Annie Chabel is The Intercept's inaugural Chief Executive Officer. Annie was previously the Chief Operating Officer at the Center for Investigative Reporting, where she oversaw all business operations for the organization and served as interim CEO in 2021. During her time at CIR, Annie developed organizational strategy, improved and professionalized CIR's financial management and operations, and worked to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace. Prior to serving as the CIR's COO, Annie focused on institutional fundraising and philanthropic partnerships, significantly expanding the organization's foundation giving. Annie served on the Institute for Nonprofit News's Emerging Leaders Council in 2021. She is based in the Bay Area.
Ben Muessig is Editor-in-Chief of The Intercept.
Previously he was assistant managing editor for storytelling at the Los Angeles Times, where he led an initiative to bring innovation and creativity to coverage across the newsroom. Projects he edited have been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize and a Gerald Loeb Award. He served as environment and business editor at the Times, and led the business department at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Job Titles:
- Chief Philanthropy Officer
- Development Strategist
As Chief Philanthropy Officer, Celine Piser brings her passion for narrative-driven fundraising strategy to her work at The Intercept. With a focus on fundraising and communication strategy, Celine leads efforts to develop partnerships with institutional and individual supporters. An experienced development strategist, she has supported nonprofits in journalism, education, and the arts. She holds a doctorate in comparative literature from UC Berkeley and has taught at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and San Quentin State Prison. A Berkeley native, Celine is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Celine Piser is an experienced development strategist passionate about using narrative-driven fundraising to support nonprofit journalism.
Chelsey B. Coombs is an engagement editor, producer and journalist who has crafted social strategies for publications for a decade. In that time, she has worked as a social editor and strategist for The Weather Channel, VICE News, Spectrum Autism Research News, Popular Science, and Futurism.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Biden Decries Civilian Deaths in Gaza As Pentagon Fails With Its Own Safeguards
- CNN Runs Gaza Coverage past Jerusalem Team Operating under Shadow of IDF Censor
- New Report Reveals Dirty Secret of Army Psychological Operations
- U.S. Government Seeks "Unified Vision of Unauthorized Movement
Daniel Boguslaw is an investigative reporter based in Washington, D.C. His interests include corporate corruption, congressional and White House investigations, American influence overseas, and organized labor. Prior to joining The Intercept, Daniel worked at the New Republic, The American Prospect, and as a firefighter in the Pacific Northwest.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Counsel to the Intercept, David S. Bralow
As counsel to The Intercept, David S. Bralow brings a wealth of experience in media law including First Amendment expertise, national security issues, FOIA prosecutions and appeals, defamation, and privacy. Prior to joining First Look, Bralow was of counsel in the Media, Communication and Entertainment Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton LLP. He also served as senior vice president and general counsel at Digital First Media, a multi-platform media company with the second-largest newspaper circulation in the United States; and as assistant general counsel for 13 years at the Tribune Company, where he provided legal advice to its newspapers, websites, and television stations.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is one of six medical workers with the Chicago-based organization MedGlobal who remain in Israeli custody.
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Product and Design Manager
Fei Liu is a designer, educator, and artist based in New York. She has an MFA from Parsons School of Design, and teaches in the Design and Technology department.
Fei Liu
Product and Design Manager
Fei Liu is a designer and educator based in New York.
fei.liu@theintercept.com
Lawyer Isabella Salomão Nascimento on knowing your rights - and getting the cops to respect them.
Job Titles:
- Spreads to 16 Nations As Biden Admin Says There 's No War
Iran's retaliatory strikes on Israel highlight an America-led regional war spanning Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others.
Job Titles:
- President of Arab American Institute
Jeehan Mikdadi is the assistant for The Intercept's senior executives and general counsel, and is based in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Politics Reporter
Jessica Washington is a political reporter for The Intercept covering the intersection of politics and identity, and co-host of The Intercept Briefing podcast. She has words in The Guardian, the Washington Post, The Root, Teen Vogue, Jezebel, Mother Jones magazine, and other notable publications.
Jessica Washington is a reporter covering the intersection of politics and identity.
Jonah Valdez is a reporter for The Intercept covering politics, U.S. foreign policy, Israel and Palestine, human rights issues, and protest movements for social justice.
He previously was a staff writer with the Los Angeles Times where he joined the paper as an inaugural member of the L.A. Times Fellowship. For the Times, Valdez covered stories about environmental justice, gentrification, transportation, labor, pop culture, and the Hollywood industry. Valdez got his start covering local news for the Southern California News Group. His work can also be found in The Guardian, Voice of San Diego, and the San Diego-Union Tribune. He was raised in San Diego and now resides in Los Angeles, where he also writes poetry and is working on his first collection.
Job Titles:
- Supervising Producer, TI Podcasts
Laura Flynn has been working in audio for over 10 years, starting off in public radio in San Francisco. She currently oversees podcast productions at The Intercept. At The Intercept she led production on season two of Murderville, a nine-episode audio documentary investigating a wrongful conviction case from Texas, the death penalty capital of the country. She also produced the miniseries No Way Home, which recounts the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in the summer of 2021. And she produced Dissent, a miniseries that dives deep into major cases before the Supreme Court's 2023 term. On a more regular weekly basis, she manages production of Deconstructed and Intercepted. Previously, Flynn was a story editor for "70 Million" and producer for "What's Next," a tech podcast by Samsung Next. She has also produced radio stories covering topics ranging from energy to education for public radio stations throughout California, and for several years she was the producer for "Your Call," a live public affairs show.
Lauren Schilli is a Development Officer supporting fearless journalism through strategic fundraising and data systems.
Job Titles:
- Journalist and Editor
- Senior Reporter
Liliana Segura is an award-winning investigative journalist covering the U.S. criminal justice system, with a longtime focus on harsh sentencing, the death penalty, and wrongful convictions. She was previously an associate editor at the Nation Magazine, where she edited a number of award-winning stories and earned a 2014 Media for a Just Society Award for her writing on prison profiteering. While at The Intercept, Segura has received the Texas Gavel Award in 2016 and the 2017 Innocence Network Journalism Award for her investigations into convictions in Arizona and Ohio. In 2019 she was honored in the Abolitionist category of the Frederick Douglass 200, a recognition given by the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives and the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University.
Segura has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, CNN International, Democracy Now!, and numerous other outlets. Her speaking engagements have included public interviews with authors such as Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post and Colorlines, and has been reprinted in outlets ranging from prison magazines to the anthologies "The Best American Legal Writing" and "Against Equality: Prisons Will Not Protect You." She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Liliana Segura is a journalist and editor with a longtime focus on the failings and excesses of the U.S. criminal justice system.
Job Titles:
- Has No Education Experience Except Wanting to Defund Public Schools
Job Titles:
- Journalist
- Research Editor for Investigations
Margot Williams is a journalist and research editor who was part of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams at the Washington Post.
Job Titles:
- Member Emeritus of the Board
- Co - Founder and CEO of Rappler
Maria Ressa is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler, the Philippines's leading investigative news site, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.
Mark Kelly has taken a "no corporate PAC money" pledge in his run for Senate in Arizona, but has given dozens of speeches to corporate clients.
Matt Sledge
Politics Reporter
Matt Sledge is a political reporter.
sledge+matt@theintercept.com
Michael D. Mann combines more than 15 years of leading U.S. SEC international regulatory and enforcement strategy with more than 25 years of private practice experience in counseling public companies, financial firms, and individuals in navigating the myriad of strategic challenges they confront.
Michelle Taylor was accused of setting a fire that killed her son for insurance money - even though the arson evidence didn't hold up.
Miroslav Macala is a New York-based senior executive focusing on business strategy and operations, originally from the Czech Republic.
Cornell student Momodou Taal's lawyers said the demand was "retribution" for his lawsuit against the crackdown on pro-Palestine speech.
Job Titles:
- Inaugural National Security Reporting Fellow
- National Security Fellow
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Managing Director of the Omidyar Group
Pat Christen is a managing director of the Omidyar Group, serving as a senior adviser to philanthropists Pierre and Pam Omidyar.
Rahm Emanuel spent his career in the Democratic Party punching left. Last week, the left hit back.
Rep. Deborah Ross became the latest Democrat to swear off AIPAC amid pressure to hold Israel accountable for its genocide in Gaza.
Job Titles:
- Reporter
- Senior Technology Reporter
Sam Biddle is a reporter focusing on malfeasance and misused power in technology.
Shawn Musgrave
Newsroom Counsel
Shawn Musgrave is a media law attorney and reporter based in New York.
shawn.musgrave@theintercept.com
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy Officer
- First Chief Strategy Officer
Sumi Aggarwal is The Intercept's inaugural chief strategy officer and an investigative reporter and editor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Adds Journalist
- Journalist
Susan Smith Richardson is a veteran journalist and journalism educator based in New York.