Devi Shastri is currently the O'Brien Intern at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. At the JS, Devi writes for the investigations team with the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter, Mark Johnson. Together the two co-authored an installment of the JS's Outbreak series. Devi traveled to Miami, Florida for the piece to gather narratives from last year's Zika outbreak for that story. In between projects, she also writes for the arts section, community features, PolitiFact Wisconsin and police/crime/breaking news on night and weekend shifts,
As an undergraduate at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Devi became the first at the university to create her own science writing program by combining the university’s pre-medical (biomedical sciences and neuroscience) and journalism curricula.
She also worked on campus for the university’s award-winning student newspaper, where she spent a year as the outlet’s only health, science and technology reporter, paving the path for what is now a robust two-reporter beat and another year as investigative/special projects reporter, In her senior year, she lead a 20-person team of reporters, designers and editors to create the Wire's first multi-platform, multimedia investigative project, in addition to leading her desk reporters' individual projects. The project, including TV, radio, newspaper and magazine writing focused on suicide in the college-age population and culminated in a live televised town hall forum.
As an undergraduate at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Devi became the first at the university to create her own science writing program by combining the university’s pre-medical (biomedical sciences and neuroscience) and journalism curricula.
She also worked on campus for the university’s award-winning student newspaper, where she spent a year as the outlet’s only health, science and technology reporter, paving the path for what is now a robust two-reporter beat and another year as investigative/special projects reporter, In her senior year, she lead a 20-person team of reporters, designers and editors to create the Wire's first multi-platform, multimedia investigative project, in addition to leading her desk reporters' individual projects. The project, including TV, radio, newspaper and magazine writing focused on suicide in the college-age population and culminated in a live televised town hall forum.
Interviewing the operations manager of Miami-Dade Mosquito Control Team while reporting in Florida. March 2017
Before the JS, Devi was a news intern at Science Magazine, the independent news magazine of the world's largest interdisciplinary journal, where she often wrote about national STEM education issues. She was also a reporting intern for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where she spent a summer reporting from the under-covered and often under-served neighborhoods of Milwaukee and with Marquette University’s O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism for two years, during which she worked on a project on government transparency under the guidance of Fellow Miranda Spivack, a former editor and reporter for the Washington Post, and on Johnson's aforementioned project. While working for Spivack, she traveled to Flint, Michigan during her spring break for a two-day solo reporting trip for her piece on the public health system’s role in the city’s water crisis.
In her spare time, Devi enjoys traveling and exploring the world around her. When not in the newsroom, you can find her hopping on a Metro or bus to check out museums and street festivals, or ducking into the best restaurants she can find to satiate her inner foodie. As a Diversity Travel Fellow for the National Association of Science Writers conference, she was able to visit Boston for a few days while networking with the greats. She loves talking to people and learning from their stories, and has a passion for writing about science in a way that gets lay audiences excited about it. She believes that scientific literacy is the key to increasing social equity. As a science journalist she hopes to take steps to achieve just that.
Thank you for visiting this site. You can contact Devi through Twitter (@DeviShastri), Facebook, LinkedIn, or email her at shastridevi17[at]gmail[dot]com.
In her spare time, Devi enjoys traveling and exploring the world around her. When not in the newsroom, you can find her hopping on a Metro or bus to check out museums and street festivals, or ducking into the best restaurants she can find to satiate her inner foodie. As a Diversity Travel Fellow for the National Association of Science Writers conference, she was able to visit Boston for a few days while networking with the greats. She loves talking to people and learning from their stories, and has a passion for writing about science in a way that gets lay audiences excited about it. She believes that scientific literacy is the key to increasing social equity. As a science journalist she hopes to take steps to achieve just that.
Thank you for visiting this site. You can contact Devi through Twitter (@DeviShastri), Facebook, LinkedIn, or email her at shastridevi17[at]gmail[dot]com.
