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J. has a new reporter on its masthead: Israeli American journalist Niva Ashkenazi.

Ashkenazi joined J. as a full-time reporter on Sept. 9 for the next two years as part of the California Local News Fellowship, a state-funded program run through the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The fellowship is designed to support and strengthen local journalism throughout the state. Ashkenazi is one of dozens of early-career journalists selected by the competitive fellowship.

“We are thrilled to have Niva join our staff,” J. managing editor Sue Barnett said. “She is bright, keen on getting to know the Bay Area Jewish community, and eager to expand her skills and hone her craft. She also brings diversity to our newsroom as an Israeli native who grew up in the U.S. We sensed early on Niva would be a great fit, and she’s proving us correct.”

Ashkenazi, 27, was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in Ramat Hasharon, a suburb northeast of Tel Aviv. When she was 9, she moved with her parents and older brother to the Seattle area, where her father worked at Microsoft. Ashkenazi graduated from the University of Washington in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and journalism.

Although her surname is “Ashkenazi,” she explained that the origin of the name is in fact Sephardic. That is true for her family, which she describes as both “proudly Sephardic” and “secular Israeli.”

Her mother’s side of the family comes from Bulgaria, while her father is of half Bulgarian and half Polish descent. She grew up with a “melting pot of Ashkenazi and Sephardic and Mizrahi traditions” at family meals and celebrations. 

After graduating from University of Washington, she lived in Jerusalem for six months working as a production intern for the award-winning podcast Israel Story.

“I just knew I wanted to come back to Israel after finishing college. And it just felt to me like the most interesting and relevant program for me to do,” said Ashkenazi, who is fluent in Hebrew. She was the only intern working on the podcast at the time — and the only native Hebrew speaker on the ground because the podcast’s co-hosts were temporarily working in the U.S. 

“It was a great experience,” Ashkenazi said, and “it was intense.”

More recently, Ashkenazi relocated from Seattle to San Francisco in February, to be closer to her older brother. Ashkenazi said she is thrilled to be reporting for J. and to learn more about the Bay Area’s Jewish community.

“I think there’s a lot of potential in having more stories that really show how many connections we have to other communities,” Ashkenazi said. “In the aftermath of Oct. 7, I think it can really help Jewish readers remember that … we have a lot of connections, and we should be highlighting and celebrating those.”

Earlier this year, J. announced the hiring of a different fellow, who later declined the offer.