Our Team
Akash Mehta, Editor-in-Chief
akash@nysfocus.com
Akash’s reporting on New York politics has appeared in The Intercept, The Nation, THE CITY, Jacobin, City & State, and Gothamist.
Rebecca Klein, Publisher
rebecca@nysfocus.com
Rebecca was previously a senior reporter at HuffPost and teaches journalism at NYU. Her work has also appeared in outlets including NPR, The Guardian, and The Hechinger Report.
Maia Hibbett, Managing Editor
maia@nysfocus.com
Maia was previously the associate politics editor at The Intercept. She has also worked as a fact checker at New York magazine and has written for The Nation, The Baffler, and Lux magazine.
Lee Harris, Co-Founder and Contributing Editor
lee@nysfocus.com
Lee’s reporting has appeared in The American Prospect, The Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times. In 2020, she graduated from the University of Chicago, where she was editor-in-chief of the independent student newspaper.
Sam Mellins, Senior Reporter
sam@nysfocus.com
Sam’s reporting on New York politics has appeared in The Appeal, THE CITY, The Intercept, The Nation, and City & State.
Chris Gelardi, Criminal Justice Investigative Reporter
chris@nysfocus.com
Chris covers the criminal-legal system in New York. His work has appeared in over a dozen other outlets, most frequently The Nation, The Intercept, and The Appeal.
Colin Kinniburgh, Climate and Environmental Politics Reporter
colin@nysfocus.com
Colin covers New York climate, energy, and environmental politics. His reporting has appeared in outlets including Grist, France 24, Dissent, and The Nation.
Spencer Norris, Investigative Reporter
spencer@nysfocus.com
Spencer covers drug policy in New York, with an investigative focus on addiction treatment facilities. He was previously the investigative data reporter at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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