Meet our newest reporter, Anastasiia Carrier!
Ana joined us in mid-May and our organization is already feeling the impact of her passionate and thoughtful journalism. Her focus is public health and safety, and she takes a broad view of all the things that impact our well-being.
She is a Russian-born and U.S.-made journalist with a master’s degree from the Columbia School of Journalism. Her work has spanned the hyperlocal to international. Before coming to Charlottesville, she was published by POLITICO, Insider, Al Jazeera, PassBlue and Harvard’s Radcliffe Magazine. Ana has also been featured on WNYC’s On The Media and Zerlina Maxwell’s show on MSNBC.
You might have already met Ana, because she is getting out into central Virginia communities and asking you to share your stories. But we thought we’d introduce her by asking her to share about herself, too.
Aliyah: What do you like to do in your free time?
Ana: I love reading and long-distance running, even though the Charlottesville heat and hills make the latter quite challenging. I’ve also been getting more into fiction writing and teaching myself to tattoo.
You’ve quickly become known around the office for your love of coffee! What’s your favorite way to brew?
I almost always opt for an espresso-based beverage, but I can also appreciate French Press and Turkish coffee. But I really do need coffee to function happily.
What are some of your favorite places in Charlottesville?
I’m still in the early stages of exploring the town, but I’m already in love with Cumbre Bakery’s coffee and strolling on the Downtown Mall whenever I get a chance. Vu Noodles is great. I’m also a big fan of the views from Carter Mountain Orchard.
You were living in Detroit before joining our team. What made you want to move to Virginia to work with Charlottesville Tomorrow?
I started my journalism career as a reporter in a small West Virginian town. Since then, even while working on national and international topics, I have gravitated towards stories that allow me to get to know communities — I’ve reported on everything from people who homeschool to people recovering from QAnon conspiracies. I want to get to know about many different kinds of people and write about the topics that matter most to them. Charlottesville Tomorrow offered me a way to do this full-time and won me over with its community-centered approach.
What’s one thing you are passionate about reporting on at Charlottesville Tomorrow?
I think it’s really important to probe the ways our infrastructures are often failing people with mental health conditions and developmental disabilities. Whether it’s the lack of a supportive system at work or school, a long waiting list for a hospital bed, or a struggle to find a mental health professional to see on a regular basis, these issues are critical. I’m particularly interested in how this lack of support overlaps with people’s experiences with the criminal justice system.
Meet our whole team, and our board of directors, at this link.
Take Action
Have an experience or idea about mental health for Ana to report on? While we can’t report on every story that’s important to you, hearing from many communities helps us decide where to focus our resources and plan for the future of the newsroom. Share your idea here.
