Ali is an avid experimenter in the transformative applications of natural language processing in journalism. He firmly believes that technological innovation plays a crucial role in sustaining a fair and independent media landscape by creating a resilient business model for media. Ali’s academic journey has taken him across borders, studying statistics and digital media in Iran, Sweden, and the United States. Holding a Master of Arts in Data Journalism from Columbia University, he merged his background in statistics with journalistic expertise. Dedicated to empowering journalists and news organizations from diverse countries and cultures, Ali has spent the past five years working in the field of anti-censorship technologies.
Denise is an award-winning journalist based in New York. Her work focuses on exposing wrongdoing through investigative journalism and data analysis. She has published in major news outlets including The Guardian, Al Jazeera, France24 and The Christian Science Monitor. Denise has contributed to groundbreaking investigative collaborations, including the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ). Denise holds a bachelor’s degree from Iran’s flagship Tehran University and a Master’s from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Denise is a winner of the Online News Association’s MJ Bear Fellowship and continues to serve on its committee. She has been working at the nexus of data technology and journalism for more than a decade.