Nithyani Anandakugan

I’ve developed a deep appreciation for good storytelling, having grown up listening to the stories my parents used to tell me about their young lives in Sri Lanka and their new lives after migrating to the United States. For me, good stories share important truths about the world. I believe journalists engage in one of the most powerful forms of storytelling, shedding light on pressing current events and other issues affecting ordinary people around the globe. At ICFJ, I work with the Knight and Innovation team to support journalists who are developing cutting-edge projects and using innovative strategies to advance the practice of journalism and journalistic storytelling.

Background: I joined ICFJ after completing my master of philosophy in world history at Cambridge University, where I studied the role of universities in the Sri Lankan conflict and the experiences of Tamil youth at the start of the war. I earned my bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, where I also studied history with a thesis on a 1986 case of Sri Lankan Tamil refugee boat migration into Canada via Newfoundland.

Ask me about: My research on the Sri Lankan conflict and Tamil diaspora, oral history, and my quest to make the perfect grilled cheese

My pronouns: She/her