Windy City Times told LGBTQ stories when no one else would
Born during the AIDS crisis, the LGBTQ+ newspaper became a lifeline, a watchdog and a record of a community long overlooked.
Hey! I'm Jake 👋
I'm a Chicago-based journalist and digital producer studying at DePaul University, graduating June 2026. I serve as Digital Managing Editor at The DePaulia, where I combine data, web presentation and news editing to build products that engage readers.
I pioneered the live blog format for breaking news coverage, led a website redesign and grew newsletter audience sixfold. I'm also a newsletter intern at Block Club Chicago, creating daily emails that connect readers with local stories while contributing coverage and audience strategy.
I'm earning a GIS certificate to strengthen my data reporting skills and am excited to bring my passion for local journalism, data and audience engagement to any newsroom.
Selected work
Parents, lawmakers battle over Illinois Homeschool Act. What to know
Illinois is one of 12 states with almost no enforced homeschooling rules — and data analysis shows just how fierce the pushback is against changing that.
Technical skills
- Report and write across formats, including breaking news, features, investigations and explainers
- Pitch, source and interview independently for original enterprise reporting
- Edit stories for clarity, structure and AP style under deadline
- Capture and edit photos using Lightroom and Photoshop for daily and feature coverage
- Shoot and edit video and create motion graphics with After Effects and Premiere Pro
- File FOIA requests and report with public records
- Clean, scrape and analyze data Excel and Python (pandas, BeautifulSoup)
- Create data visualizations using Datawrapper and Flourish
- Build and style web pages & newsletters with basic HTML and CSS
- Map and analyze spatial data using ArcGIS Pro, including geocoding and choropleth maps
- Design layouts and visuals using Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop
- Write audience-facing content including social copy, newsletters and SEO-optimized headlines
Honors
Chicago Headline Club
Associated Collegiate Press & College Media Association
- 4th Place, Best News Story
- 6th Place, Best of Show — News Website
- 6th Place, Best of Show — Print Design
- Honorable Mention, Best In-Depth News Story
- Honorable Mention, Best Newspaper Front Page
- Honorable Mention, Best Informational Graphic
Illinois College Press Association
- 1st Place, Sports Page Design
- 1st Place, Opinion Page Design
- 1st Place, Newsletter
- 2nd Place, Feature Page Design
- Honorable Mention, Front Page Layout
DePaul Scholarships
- DePaul Presidential Scholarship
- New York Way Journalism Scholarship