Lena Groeger is an American investigative journalist, graphic designer and news application developer at

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...

. She creates data visualizations and interactive databases on a variety of subjects, including education, politics and healthcare. She also writes about design's role in society in a series calle
''Visual Evidence''
In addition to her work at ProPublica, her science writing has appeared in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...

'', ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'', ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', and '' Slate''.

Early life and education

Groeger was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and Philosophy from Brown University in 2008, and later earned an M.A. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in Science Journalism in 2011. Because of her interest in design, she also took classes at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

during her undergraduate years. Prior to attending

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

, she went to

Cambridge Rindge and Latin School The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, also known as CRLS or "Rindge," is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the Cambridge Public School District. In 1977, two separate schools, the Rindge Technical ...

in her hometown for high school. Groeger ran cross-country throughout high school and college. She ranked the 31st at th
USATF
New England Cross Country Championships during the 2006-2007 season.

Career

Groeger launched her career in science writing while pursuing her Master's degree under

's reputabl
Science, Health & Environmental Reporting (SHERP)
graduate program. Between 2011 and 2012, she consecutively interned for ''

'' magazine's digital edition and ''

''. She authored multiple notable articles, includin
her 2011 ''Wired'' report
on British Social Entrepreneur

Ken Banks FrontlineSMS is a free open source software used by a variety of organizations to distribute and collect information via text messaging (SMS). The software works without an internet connection and with a cell phone and computer. History The softw ...

and his

FrontlineSMS FrontlineSMS is a free open source software used by a variety of organizations to distribute and collect information via text messaging ( SMS). The software works without an internet connection and with a cell phone and computer. History The sof ...

messaging software an
her 2012 ''Scientific American'' piece
on the high-IQ

Triple Nine Society The Triple Nine Society (TNS) is an international high IQ society for adults whose score on a standardized test demonstrates an IQ at or above the 99.9th percentile of the human population. The society recognizes scores from over 20 different ...

, which ''

'' republished in 2014 and then in 2015. At the same time, she also contributed t
''ScienceLine''
a journal affiliated to her graduate program. Groeger has occasionally produced science journals since she joined

in 2011. He
influential coverage
on

mechanically separated meat Mechanically separated meat (MSM), mechanically recovered/reclaimed meat (MRM), or mechanically deboned meat (MDM) is a paste-like meat product produced by forcing pureed or ground beef, pork, mutton, turkey or chicken, under high pressure thro ...

in 2012 appeared in ''

'' and '' Slate'' magazine.

Data and graphics

The then-science writer turned her reporting focus to social trends, electoral politics, and foreign policy when she joined

for an internship, which also initiated her lasting

career that allows her to shift gears between a data journalist, a news app developer, and a designer. Groeger now lives in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and produces graphic-aided and data-oriented investigations on topics including

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

, and drones. Utilizing her proficiency in data, her literacy in political and social issues, and her background in design, Groeger also author
''Visual Evidence''
an essay series that zooms in on the social implications of biased default settings involved in technological and civic designs. Her writings and visualizations have been cited in many major news outlets such as ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', '' Slate'' magazine, and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. Groeger's data-related work, however, is not limited to

data journalism Data journalism or data-driven journalism (DDJ) is a journalistic process based on analyzing and filtering large data sets for the purpose of creating or elevating a news story. Data journalism is a type of journalism reflecting the increased ...

. She is also credited with multiple projects that aggregate, update, analyze, and communicate large datasets from public sources in a way that guarantees the accessibility, readability, and timeliness of the data presented. The projects to which she has made development contributions vary in topics, but the recurring themes are business, elections, and health information: th
New York State Subsidy Tracker
and th
"Tax Avoidance Has a Heartbeat"
program tracks corporate behavior; th
"Election DataBot"
performs near-real-time scraps from sources including Google search trends, news articles, and press releases by and about Congress members; th
"Treatment Tracker"
an
"Prescriber Checkup"
allows users to access information on Medicare health providers by searching for providers, zip codes, or cities.

Teaching

Groeger has also taught courses on design and data visualization at City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism,

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and

. She has also instructed a variety of workshops at th
ProPublica Data Institute
and has spoken at many

and

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

conferences around the world.

Other appointments

Groeger has served on the board of the

Society for News Design The Society for News Design (SND), formerly known as the Society of Newspaper Design, is an international organization for professionals working in the news sector of the media industry, specifically those involved with graphic design, illustration ...

since 2016.

Awards

Groeger co-authored the winning investigation of the 2015

Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...

(IRE) Medal and the 2016 Gerald Loeb Award for Explanatory business journalism,"Insult to Injury"
by

, a project exposing the unsatisfactory level of worker compensation in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She was also named finalist in the "Excellence in Local Reporting" category of the 201
Livingston Awards for Young Journalists
for her co-authorship the news application
"Tracking Evictions and Rent Stabilization in NYC"
that Groeger and three of her colleagues at

produced in 2016. The Award commends exemplary achievements of journalists under the age of 35.

References

External links

EIJNews Interview on Data & Interactive Journalism, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groeger, Lena American women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Brown University alumni American investigative journalists Rhode Island School of Design alumni 21st-century American journalists Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts New York University alumni Gerald Loeb Award winners for Explanatory 21st-century American women