It truly takes a village to build our nonprofit newsroom from the ground up, and today we welcome two new staff members to help us in our continued work of building it. Zurii Conroy joins us from Orlando, Florida as our new People Operations Manager, while Marissa Nelson joins us from Chicago, Illinois, as our new Events Producer. Both will be joining us at the end of the month.

Zurii is a graduate of Howard University and a Senior Certified Human Resources Professional with the Society of Human Resources Management. She has 17 years of experience in human service fields in Northern Virginia, New York City and Central Florida. Her work has ranged from engaging with youth and supporting seniors, to convening community advisory councils and even collaborating with the White House on a community event in Falls Church, Virginia. Dedicated to serving individuals and communities of varying backgrounds, Zurii is passionate about creating positive experiences for those impacted by her work, directly and indirectly.

Marissa earned an undergraduate and master’s degree in journalism from DePaul University. At DePaul, she helped found the university’s online magazine, 14 East, and led its engagement initiatives by leveraging events, partnerships and digital tools to better serve readers wherever they are. Marissa’s work in journalism exists at the intersection of engagement and public service. She most recently worked at WTTW News (Chicago’s PBS station), where she produced for the channel’s nightly news program “Chicago Tonight.” In that role, she covered breaking news, COVID-19’s disparate impact across the city, health inequities and community-based approaches to addressing violence. She also led WTTW’s source audit, which tracked voices to determine how well the newsroom’s stories reflected the communities it served. You can follow her on twitter at @ByMarissaNelson.

We look forward to working with these incredibly talented individuals. Please join us in welcoming them to the team!