Virginie Wembey, American University

Virginie Wembey worked on the international Directory of Women's Media. Virginie is studying for a B.S. in Biology, Premed, with a minor in Economics. She attended the Universite Rene Descartes in Paris, France. She is fluent in French and knows both English and German.

Virginie is from Cameroon and studied in France for about nine years.

She loves writing and has written many poems in both French and English. She wrote a novel, not yet published, and plans to translate it to English for publication.

Like the rest of us here at WIFP, Virginie has a passion for justice.

 

  "I look out for the well-being of others, especially underrepresented people (women and children). In fact in the manly world we live in, women's lives are jeopardized on a daily basis. Now it's time for women to cry out loud STOP! Women should not be unheard, mistreated, abused, isolated, deprived, and minimized anymore. The vast communication networks available will be used to free women from their bondage and promote women's contribution to society. This is my vision, which is shared at Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, thus my adhesion to WIFP as an intern."

Nadia Baksh, James Madison High School, Vienna, Virginia

During her short internship, which she worked into her High School schedule by coming into Washington on Saturday afternoons, Nadia worked on the Directory of Women's Media.

Nadia Baksh moved to Virginia from Miami where she had attended Miami Senior Palmetto High School. She wrote for the school newspaper for two years, a paper which is one of the best in the country. She was on their staff for her sophmore year. Now at her new school she is again writing for the school paper, the Hawk Talk.

Nadia has written poetry for the National Poetry Contest. She is active in lyrical writing and has been writing lyrics for some local bands. Of course we love it when women start their own periodicals and that is exactly what Nadia plans to do. She says that next year she hopes to start her own magazine pertaining to local bands.

  "i've always been dedicated to local music, it's just something that i've grown up with, that's just the plain fact of it. i think there's a point between love and infactuation, well i'm somewhere in between them. I've pretty much been going to shows since the last three years, learning the ropes and actually making friends with bands and the fans just out of my curiousity. I've always wanted to start my own local music magazine. It's more or less because i feel like most kids underestimate the local scene everywhere. they're mostly into the mainstream radio hits and they don't know what kind of exposure they'll get because they think local shows aren't worth the time and money. I want to expose bands and different local scenes to people who are willing to accept the fact that there are bands out there trying to make it and they can't ignore them and wait till they make it big. More or less, I want people to come out and support their local scene, before the local scene fades in their area and it's too late.
 "I plan to have interviews with bands, news that is conflicting the local scene, opinions from the kids who actually know about scenes, cd reviews, and other odds and ends that might interest readers as well as a section with graffiti, additional art, photos, and skating pics. I also want to introduce a local artist or photographer for every issue to do most of the feature graphics in the issue.

Matt Camp, Digital Artist

Matt designed the excellent cover page to the second section of the Directory of Women's Media. His artwork makes the cover an important contribution to the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press.

Matt grew up in Northern, VA, and enjoys making art using computer programs and conventional methods.

For his free time he likes going to shows, museums, and anything to do with the outdoors. He was recently accepted to transfer into Savannah College of Art and Design where he plans on majoring in computer art/animation and minor in sound design.

"I enjoyed my internship at the WIFP because it challenged me to work and think about my art in different ways than I had before. Also I enjoyed learning about the Adams Morgan neighborhood."

Ilana Sabban, St. Mary's College of Maryland  

Ilana Sabban helped keep the office operating well during her internship. She also worked on editing the Directory of Women's Media. Ilana did research and wrote during her internship.

"I am interested in all forms of artistic expression, but my passion lies in using writing (especially poetry) as a tool to bring awareness to all forms of oppression; particularly sexism and racism."

Ilana is a poet, writer, and editor. Her published poetry includes a poem published in The Four Seasons, 2000. She is on the Avatar staff."

Ilana Sabban, at the Ross Place office, May 2000

Claudia Brown, Marymount University
   Claudia Brown helped with the the international entries of the Directory of Women's Media. Claudia was a communications major at Marymount University in Arlington VA.

"Last summer I did an internship for the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. I encourage any student to apply for this intership. It is an incredible experience. You learn about the media and how it works, but above all you learn about yourself. Nowadays women are aware of their rights and the opportunities that are out there, but there are so many things that we can do to improve our lives. I learned that alternative media shows you another way of seeing the world. The main businesses such as NBC, CBS, FOX among others are owned and run by men. Women are left out for higher positions and we end up thinking and acting the way these companies want us to. They decide the role we play in society, the jobs we can or can not do, the salaries we get. You will not regret the opportunity that the Women's Institute has to offer you."

Rita Deng, Walter Johnson High School
  Rita Deng assisted with the Directory of Women's Media and contributed to the Associates Newsletter. Rita is a poet and writer. Her writings have been published in the school literary magazine, as well as poetry anthologies including A Treasury of Great Poems and the anthology issued by The Internatonal Library of Poetry. She is the finalist of many poetry contests including ones held by the Live Poets society of NJ, the Famous Poets Society, as well as Sparrowgrass Poetry Forum.

Chloe Giselle Frommer, Syracuse University

Chloe G. Frommer at the Calvert Street office, July, 2000

Chloe Frommer edited the Summer 2000 edition of the Associates Newsletter, Voices for Media Democracy. She also contributed the cover design of the Directory of Women's Media.

Syracuse University  Chloe graduated in May 1999 and worked as a paid editorial intern for Yes! Magazine, Bainbridge Island, Washington. Previously, she has had impressive media experience in Harare, Zimbabwe and at The Redmond Spokesman in Oregon. Most recently she did in logistics and set-up of the Independent Media Center and interviews for the Mobilization for Global Justice.

Rose Gordon, American University, Washington, DC

Rose Gordon continued the wonderful work that Maria Romstedt done on the Directory of Women's Media. Rose was able to attend the Expo 2000 in Baltimore, sponsored by the Feminist Majority. Rose is the Prose Editor of American University's American Literary Journal. This journal includes art, photography, prose and poetry pieces done by students. She is also assisting the Design Director with the layout. "Writing, editing and creating publications is what I love to do," she told us.

It is no surprise, then, that she worked on the design for the cover of the Directory of Women's Media. She also put together a brochure about WIFP.

We knew Rose would be a great intern at WIFP when she wrote to us: "As a literature major and communications minor I am developing my skills as a writer, analytical thinker, and researcher. Also, as a young woman I am concerned with the position of women in the media today. Not only by the way we are portrayed, but also our representation in the different forms of media. I am interested in one day having a career in the field of publishing, possibly writing for a magazine . . ."

This photo of Rose Gordon and Maria Romstedt was taken in February, 2000 at the Ross Place office.

Maria Romstedt, Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont:

Maria joined WIFP full time for seven weeks (January 3 - February 18) from Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont. She served as the office coordinator, staffing the office, answering the phone, receiving the faxes, and keeping things running smoothly.

She and Martha launched a project to update the Directory of Women's Media, beginning with women's periodicals and media organizations.

"I am very interested in women's rights, the media, and writing. It really astounds me how one-sided media reports are.... It is vitally important that everyone's interests are represented and expressed, especially with the growth of mass media... Presently I am considering a career involving writing."

Monique Lavie:

Monique's WIFP project launched the newsletter for the former interns who are scattered around the world.