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Faculty

Eleni Economides Gastis (Journalism Department Chair | Citizen Advisor)

Eleni Economides Gastis’ journey began at Laney College. She transferred to San Francisco State University in 2004, where she received her bachelor’s  degree in Journalism and International Relations. After working for a few years as a reporter for the Bay Area News Group and the San Francisco Examiner—where she covered local governments, culture and crime—Eleni returned to San Francisco State University for a master’s in English Composition and a Certificate in Teaching Postsecondary Reading.

Eleni started teaching at Laney College as adjunct faculty in 2011 and got her dream full-time position there in 2015. Initially serving as English faculty and co-chair of the English department, Eleni became journalism department chair and took over Peralta’s only student-run publication, The Laney Tower, in August 2019. She embarked on a full-scale rebranding of what would become The Citizen, successfully revitalizing the department to increase enrollment, form a top-notch advisory committee, overhaul curriculum to mirror industry demand and remodel the journalism lab to become an inviting space for students.

In addition to her work in the journalism and English departments, she currently serves as the Laney College Academic Senate President and is the co-coordinator for the college’s Guided Pathways initiative. Eleni is passionate about teaching students to advocate for themselves and their communities through writing. She believes every student should be supported and uplifted during the learning process, and shudders when she thinks about students who aren’t. When she isn’t at Laney, she enjoys spending time in Greece with her family and nerding out about all things journalism.

Journalism students harness the true power of democracy, rooted in free speech and the landmark protections of Tinker vs. Des Moines, as they afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.

You can reach Eleni Economides Gastis at eegastis@peralta.edu


Dan Kopf (Journalism Faculty)

Dan Kopf is the San Francisco Chronicle’s data editor. Before The Chronicle, Dan was a reporter and editor for Quartz , where he wrote about economics, music and statistics. He has also contributed to The Atlantic and The Pudding. Dan worked as a data scientist prior to becoming a journalist.

You can reach Dan at dkopf@peralta.edu

 

 

 


instructor Chloe ReynoldsChloe Reynolds (Journalism Faculty)

Chloe Reynolds is an award-winning Multimedia journalist and class of 2021 alum of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She works to bring news to emerging platforms and present them in engaging ways using animation, motion graphics, and multimedia packages. She has assisted several newsrooms in expanding their online digital engagement including VoxBuzzfeed, ProPublica, and Wired. She also worked for the Covid-19 data tracking effort at the New York Times. Currently, she is a rotating lecturer at UC Berkeley and Peralta Colleges.

You can reach Chloe at creynolds@peralta.edu

 


Matt DrangeMatt Drange (Journalism Faculty)

Matt Drange is a senior correspondent with Business Insider. He previously reported on money and power in Silicon Valley for The Information, Forbes magazine and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Matt has received numerous journalism honors and most recently was a finalist for the prestigious Livingston Award for National Reporting. Matt sits on SPJ NorCal’s Freedom of Information Committee and also volunteers locally with Biketopia, a nonprofit bicycle repair shop in Berkeley. Matt’s investigative reporting has been published by ProPublica, The Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle, Pacific Standard and elsewhere. He holds a master’s degree from the Columbia Journalism School and also teaches journalism at his alma mater, Cal Poly Humboldt.