I write the weekly Proof Points column and newsletter for The Hechinger Report to explain what research really says about teaching and learning—and what it doesn't. I specialize in scrutinizing studies, interpreting statistics, and explaining complex findings without jargon.
My career in print-and-radio journalism began in Moscow during the collapse of the Soviet Union. Later, I became a business reporter, covering Wall Street finance and the intersection of money and politics in Washington D.C. After becoming a mom, I became obsessed with education and data, combining the two at The Hechinger Report.
I know that teaching is hard: I taught algebra to ninth graders during the 2013-14 school year. Previously, I was the New York bureau chief for Marketplace, a national business radio show, and have worked for The New York Times, the Financial Times, the Asia edition of The Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
I won the Education Writers Association’s Ronald D. Moskowitz Prize for Outstanding Beat Reporting in 2025. In 2019, I received the American Educational Research Association’s award for excellence in media reporting on education research.
I graduated from Brown University and hold master's degrees from the London School of Economics and Columbia University’s Journalism School.