Rebecca Koenig

Features, news and data journalist in Washington, D.C.

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I prioritize reporting that highlights social justice movements and seek sources whose voices may not otherwise be heard.

EdSurge • November 2019

The Latest Innovation in Student Retention at Colleges: ‘Food Scholarships’

More than 30 percent of college students may not regularly get enough to eat. This podcast episode explores efforts to help.

EdSurge • October 2019

In DC, Teachers Run the Jail. It’s Turning Inmates Into Students.

“I’ve never seen an administration, a staff, an agency so supportive of programming for its incarcerated residents. I think they’re a model of what corrections officials around the country should be.”

EdSurge • September 2019

The Fight to Preserve—and Teach—African-American History

In this episode of the EdSurge On Air podcast, travel with Rebecca Koenig to Hampton, Virginia, where black scholars gathered to commemorate 400 years of black history and culture, and the scholarship that preserved both.

Sauce Magazine • March 2019

Wasted

St. Louis fights to reclaim food waste.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • March 2017

Baltimore Foundation Turns to Local Consultants to Reach the People It Serves

As philanthropy grapples with its lack of diversity, the Annie E. Casey Foundation is piloting a new approach to improve its job training programs: creating a pipeline of black consultants, who have experience with local organizing, drawn from the communities the foundation serves.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • July 2017

Soccer Program Helps Refugee Children Find Footing in America

Some refugees arrived in the United States with minimal schooling. Others who knew no English received only one hour of specialized language training a week and so filled out their worksheets with "gibberish," she says. And many suffered from the trauma of war.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • June 2017

‘We Are Powerful’

When you decide to commit $90 million to a cause, it’s best to consult some experts. For the NoVo Foundation, those experts are girls and women of color.

Sauce Magazine • November 2017

Food Deserts

Desert dwellers are looking inward to improve their food access.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • September 2016

Foundations Bet It All on Advancing Equity

The Ford Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Weingart Foundation have sought input from marginalized communities, recruited diverse board members, and shifted spending priorities to better address the country’s inequality crises.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • February 2016

Want Our Expertise? Pay Us, Grass-Roots Groups Say

Multiple emails from foundations, nonprofits, and government agencies land each week in Maria Poblet’s inbox, asking the executive director of Causa Justa, a social-justice nonprofit, to serve as an unpaid liaison to the black and Latino families she works with.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • May 2016

$34 Million, 3 Months, and a Chance for Change

An East Bay resident hoped to give $34 million anonymously to Oakland charities that serve struggling communities. The deadline to select recipients and announce the gift? Three months.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy • August 2015

A Year After Police Shooting, St. Louis Offers Lessons in Rebuilding

There’s a vacant lot in Ferguson, Mo., where last August a QuikTrip was looted and burned.