Institute Personnel
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CHRIS KROMM – Executive Director and Publisher, Southern Exposure
chris [AT] southernstudies.org - DESIREE EVANS – Research Associate and Co-Editor, Facing South desiree [AT] southernstudies.org
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JORDAN GREEN – Investigative Reporter and Associate Editor, Southern Exposure
jordan [AT] southernstudies.org -
RANIA MASRI – Research Fellow and Associate Editor, Southern Exposure
rania [AT] southernstudies.org -
BILL REHM – Internet Development & Site Administrator
admin [AT] southernstudies.org -
SUE STURGIS – Editorial Director and Co-Editor, Facing South
sue [AT] southernstudies.org -
SHARON UGOCHUKWU – Finance & Circulation Director
sharon [AT] southernstudies.org
CHRIS KROMM – Executive Director, and Publisher, Southern Exposure
Chris joined the staff of the Institute and Southern Exposure in May 1997. From 1997 to 2000, he was the editor of Southern Exposure. Since becoming Executive Director of the Institute in 2000, the Institute and Southern Exposure have been recognized with an array of honors and awards, including a 2003 Defenders of Justice Award for Policy Research & Advocacy, the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting, and honors from the National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, and the White House Correspondents' Association.
Chris frequently appears on local and national TV and radio programs for his perspectives on Southern issues, and his writings on politics and economics in the South have appeared in The Nation, the Raleigh News & Observer, Southern Exposure, The Independent Weekly (NC), and other publications. Chris also writes for the Institute’s daily blog, “Facing South,” and is the author or co-author of several Institute reports, including “One Year after Katrina” (August 2006); “The Mardi Gras Index: The State of New Orleans Six Months after Katrina” (February/March 2006); “Missiles and Magnolias: The South at War” (August 2005); “The State of Voting” (November 2002); “Power Politics” (June 2002); and “Gold and Green: Debunking the ‘Jobs vs. the Environment’ Myth” (November 2000).
Chris has worked in the South for 14 years as a journalist, non-profit program director and community organizer. Before joining the Institute, Chris was an organizer with the N.C. Student Rural Health Coalition, working for health care justice in majority-African American communities in eastern North Carolina. From 1992 to 1994, Chris was Communications Director for the Student Environmental Action Coalition, the largest student environmental group in the country, and editor of SEAC's monthly magazine, Threshold.
email: chris [AT] southernstudies.org
DESIREE EVANS is a Research Associate at the Institute for Southern Studies, where she blogs at Facing South. She is formerly a policy associate at TransAfrica Forum, where she covered issues impacting the African world. Her writing has also appeared in Alternet, Chicago Reporter, In These Times, The Indianapolis Star, and elsewhere. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
JORDAN GREEN – Investigative Reporter and Associate Editor, Southern Exposure
Jordan has worked with the Institute since arriving as an intern in 1997. Jordan is currently News Director for YES! Weekly in Greensboro, N.C. and has previously reported for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Santa Fe New Mexican, The Nation, Rio Grande Sun, and other print and online media. Jordan holds a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University.
email: jordan [AT] southernstudies.org
RANIA MASRI, Ph.D. – Research Fellow and Associate Editor, Southern Exposure
Rania joined the Institute in December 2001. An internationally-known human rights advocate and environmental scientist, Rania is interviewed regularly on numerous radio and TV networks, including Fox, BBC, and NPR. Rania is a contributor to the book Iraq Under Siege (South End Press, 2000) and is author or co-author of the Institute reports “The South at War” (2002) and “Paying More, Getting Less: Grading North Carolina’s Corporate Subsidies” (September 2002). She has served as coordinator of the Iraq Action Coalition, on the board of Peace Action, and as the Arab Women's Solidarity Association's representative to the United Nations. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Balamand, Lebanon. Rania holds a doctorate in forestry from North Carolina State University, and a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University.
email: rania [AT] southernstudies.org
BILL REHM – Internet Development & Site Administrator
Bill joined the staff of the Institute in January 2005. Before joining the Institute, he worked for several Silicon Valley software companies, specializing in web application development.
email: admin [AT] southernstudies.org
SUE STURGIS – Editorial Director and Co-Editor, Facing South
Sue joined the Institute in November 2005. A former staff writer for the Raleigh News & Observer and Independent Weekly (Durham, N.C.), she is co-author of the Institute reports “One Year after Katrina” (August 2006) and “The Mardi Gras Index” (February/March 2006). Sue holds a Masters in Journalism from New York University.
email: sue [AT] southernstudies.org
SHARON UGOCHUKWU – Finance & Circulation Director
Sharon joined the staff of the Institute for Southern Studies in February 1985. She holds a degree in Business Data Processing. She was previously Data Systems Manager for NCOSH and Witness for Peace. She served as a board member of The Carolina Justice Center (formerly The North Carolina Prison and Jail Project) for ten years. In addition to her position at ISS, she is Monitor Team Leader at Research Triangle Institute and she is a private tutor for students with special learning needs in the Durham area.
email: sharon [AT] southernstudies.org
