Meet The Team
Founder
Jim Mintz
Jim has spent his life conducting investigations and training investigators. He began as an investigative reporter. For more than 15 years, he has been an adjunct professor of investigative reporting at the Columbia Journalism School. He is retired from Mintz Group, a global investigation company he founded in 1994. Jim is based in New York City.​
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Brandi Swicegood
Brandi is a veteran investigative journalist. She spent nearly two decades reporting and editing stories about issues ranging from politics and immigration to criminal justice and the environment. She has worked for publications including The Texas Tribune, where she was a founding staffer, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News and USA Today. Brandi is based in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Director of Research
Elizabeth Clemons
Elizabeth is an investigative researcher. She has conducted research on various topics, including gender-based violence in areas of conflict, data privacy in Colorado, and Russian disinformation in American public health systems. She has worked for the Department of Defense, a US Ambassador to Oman and Campaign for Accountability. Elizabeth is based in Boulder, Colorado.​
Senior Advisor
Marc Fader
Marc is an investigator, attorney, and photojournalist. He has served in legal and advisory roles for nonprofits such as The Commons Project, DigLab, Sunlight Search, and Accountable.US. Marc was a partner and associate general counsel at the Mintz Group, an international investigations firm, where he led large, complex investigations. Marc began his career as a staff photographer at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He was also a photographer and photo editor for nonprofit news outlets City Limits and The Solutions Journal. His photojournalism has appeared in print and online news sources around the world. Marc is based in New York City.
Associate Research Manager
Seraphina Feron
Seraphina is an investigative researcher. Her research has centered on political campaigns and candidate accountability, trend analysis, enterprise risk management and corporate compliance. She began her career at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Seraphina is based in New York City.​​​​​​​​​​
Research and Data Specialist
Michael Nolan
Michael Nolan is an investigative researcher and journalist reporting on politics, business, science and engineering. His reporting and writing has appeared in MinnPost, IEEE Spectrum, Undark, Simons Center for the Global Brain. Prior to journalism, Michael was a biomedical engineer and research scientist at the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Michael is based in New York City.
Research Manager
Diara Townes
Diara is an engagement journalist, disinformation researcher, and educator with a background in environmental science and media studies. She holds a marine science degree from Hampton University and has reported on environmental justice in NYC. Diara has coordinated disinformation projects for First Draft and served as Research Manager for the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder. Currently, she researches for the Disinfo Defense League, countering targeted racialized disinformation campaigns. Diara is based near Raleigh, North Carolina.
Communications and Operations Specialist
Chelsea Verrette
Chelsea is a communication designer and researcher with a background in organizational development and education. She holds a Masters in Strategic Communication from Texas Christian University and is currently pursuing her PhD in Curriculum Studies. She was in educational leadership and school development for 14 years and now consults with companies and small businesses making a positive difference in the world. She is based in Fort Worth, Texas.
Expert Research Trainer
Barbara Gray
Barbara Gray is an associate professor and chief librarian at Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, where she runs the research instruction program. She is the former director of news research at the New York Times and an expert in investigative research. Barbara is based in New York City.
Expert Research Trainer
Misty Harris
Misty Harris is a former news researcher at the San Antonio Express-News. She earned a Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s in Library Science from the University of North Texas. She is currently working as a freelance journalist and researcher based in San Antonio, Texas.
Expert Research Trainer
Lecia Kaslofsky
Lecia is a licensed private investigator and certified fraud examiner with 25 years of investigation and training experience. She specializes in teaching how to find obscure and historical facts with public records and web research. She was also the co-founder of FactBox, a fact-management tool for lawyers, and ReportWriter, a fact-management tool for investigators, before its sale in 2020. Lecia is based in San Francisco, California.
Research Fellow
Jonmaesha Beltran
Jonmaesha holds bachelors and masters degrees in journalism from Arizona State University. Her work has appeared in Inside Climate News, Wisconsin Watch and The Arizona Republic. She is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Research Fellow
Thomas Cason
Thomas is an experienced data scientist. He specializes in open source data analysis, visualization and automated report writing. He began his career in clinical research before transitioning to athletics media relations, analytics and consulting. Thomas is based in Missouri.
Research Fellow
Mrinalini Nayak
Mrinalini is an investigative data journalist. She began as a social media and marketing professional before starting grad school for journalism at City University of New York. Mrinalini is based in New York City.
Research Fellow
Audrey Nielsen
Audrey is a researcher and data journalist focused on investigative and public accountability projects. Her research specialties include sourcing historical documents, court records, data analysis and custom-built research tools. She earned a Bachelor’s in Professional Writing - Journalism from Western Connecticut State University and is earning her Master’s at the City University of New York Newmark School of Journalism in New York.
