The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Alumni Awards for Excellence. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 23 at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice in New York City.
This year — alongside honoring alumni achievements in investigative, business, social justice, and general reporting — the J-School will present the inaugural Executive Leadership Alumni Award. The award will recognize an alumnus of Newmark’s Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership. The award is generously supported by Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis and a member of the school’s foundation board.
“Our alumni award winners are a source of inspiration for all of us. Their commitment to public service continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in our profession,” said Dean Graciela Mochkofsky. “We are especially proud this year of our new award, which recognizes excellence in news executive leadership, and deeply grateful to Vivek Shah for his contribution.”
The 2024 honorees are:
Dashiell Allen ‘23 is the recipient of the Sidney Hillman Award for Social Justice Reporting. Allen is a multimedia journalist and photographer based in New York City, with experience reporting on immigration, local news, and the LGBTQ community. He holds a Master’s in Bilingual Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a Bachelor’s in Spanish-language literature from Reed College. His work has been published in both English and Spanish by Univision, City Limits, Gay City News, and more. Allen is currently a reporter for the local news site W42ST and an engagement journalism intern at Resolve Philly.
Safiyah Riddle ‘23, honored with the Frederic Wiegold Prize for Business Journalism, specializes in economic and business reporting on both the local and national scale. In her first year at Newmark J-School, Riddle earned the Dennis Dugan Award from the Silurians Press Club. Her work has appeared in Reuters, THE CITY, WNYC, Chicago Crain’s Business, and Chalkbeat. Riddle is currently a fellow for This American Life, producing stories on congressional elections and school gun violence. She is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.
Naoufal Enhari ‘23, winner of the Newsweek Alumni Prize, is a versatile reporter fluent in English, French, and Arabic, with a passion for visual and broadcast journalism. Before joining the Newmark J-School, he worked as a foreign correspondent in Washington D.C. and at the United Nations in New York. In June of this year, Enhari will join the Moroccan News Agency as a senior reporter and editor in Rabat, Morocco. He holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Rabat.
Karen Shakerdge ‘15 will be recognized with the Stephen B. Shepard Prize for Investigative Reporting. Shakerdge is an audio journalist focused on editing and reporting investigative podcasts. Her award-winning WNYC series “Imminent Danger: One Doctor and a Trail of Injured Women” delves into the track record of one OB-GYN and information Shakerdge discovered in over 4,000 pages of records. Told in five episodes, “Imminent Danger” includes detailed interviews with former patients and ultimately exposes the shortcomings of systems used to vet doctors and protect patients. Shakerdge’s stories have aired on public radio stations nationwide and earned recognition from the Associated Press Association, the Public Media Journalists Association, and others. She is currently a senior editor at Pushkin Industries, where she has edited podcasts such as “Deep Cover,” “Hot Money,” and “Playing God.”
Cynthia DuBose ‘21 is the inaugural recipient of the Executive Leadership Alumni Award. DuBose is McClatchy’s Senior Vice President for Products and Experience, leading cross-departmental collaboration to develop new media platforms, products, and experiences. She champions product innovation, novel user experiences, analytics, project management, SEO capabilities, and more. Recently, she spearheaded McClatchy’s artificial intelligence strategy, leading the charge to improve the company’s information gathering techniques. DuBose started her career as a reporter and has held roles at Newsday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Fans1st Media. An active member of the J+ alumni network, she coaches and teaches within programs designed for executive and emerging news professionals.
About the Excellence Awards: Established in 2008, the annual awards honor alumni and other members of the Newmark J-School community for their outstanding reporting and leadership across various categories. The Sidney Hillman Award recognizes reporting that advocates for social justice issues. The Frederic Wiegold Prize honors exceptional talent in business reporting. The Newsweek Alumni Prize highlights graduates who embody the values and spirit of Newsweek through their journalism. The Stephen B. Shepard Prize, named after Founding Dean Emeritus Stephen Shepard, honors exemplary investigative journalism that exposes injustice. The Executive Leadership Alumni Award acknowledges an alumnus of the Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership who has demonstrated an outsized impact in their career, newsroom, and the news industry.
The 2024 ceremony is open to select members of the media and special guests by invitation only. Inquiries can be sent to .