Our Team

Umbreen Bhatti

A champion for youth leadership and journalism equity, Umbreen serves as an advisory board member.

She is the Constance Hess Williams ‘66 Director of the Athena Center for Leadership at her alma mater Barnard College, where she works with young people to build a better world. Previously, Umbreen led the innovation lab at KQED, the Bay Area’s NPR | PBS station, and earlier in her career, practiced law.

Umbreen also serves on the boards of Global Press, a news organization dedicated to reinventing the craft and business of international journalism by recruiting diverse populations of local women and training them to become professional, ethical journalists and Catchlight, a hybrid nonprofit media organization combining the practices of art, journalism and social justice.

Tonie Chase

A recent graduate from Boston College with a passion for journalism and media, Tonie serves as advisory board co-chair.

She became an arts reporter during undergrad and later participated in The Bell’s Summer Youth Podcasting Academy. Her passion for storytelling and understanding cultures around the world soon urged her to switch gears to kickstart her career. Pivoting to social impact communications, Tonie works on purpose program planning & research and media strategy & execution for a variety of clients spanning verticals such as healthcare, technology and consumer products. When she’s not listening to grime, R&B, or soca, Tonie enjoys traveling around NYC and beyond. Tonie hails from Brooklyn by way of Caribbean heritage.

Yasmine Chokrane

An undergraduate at Yale College double majoring in Comparative Literature and Global Affairs, Yasmine serves as an advisory board member.

Originally from New York City, she joined The Bell as a Miseducation podcast intern in her freshman year of high school, and went on to advocate for reforming the specialized high school admissions process through The Bell’s youth advocacy program, Teens Take Charge. She's incredibly excited to continue her involvement with The Bell through the advisory board.

JoAnn DeLuna

An award-winning bilingual journalist/audio producer and poet originally from Texas, JoAnn is the executive producer. She’s produced and managed podcasts for Sony and OTHERTone (Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History), Pushkin (WorkLife with Adam Grant & Am I Normal? With Mona Chalabi), and NPR (Latino USA, Radio Diaries, KALW).

Before switching to audio, JoAnn was a print reporter covering the travel industry from Asia, Europe and the America’s for more than a decade. She was also a crime and education reporter for newspapers on the US-Mexico border. Her English and Spanish poetry is published in anthologies in California, New York and Texas.

Sabrina DuQuesnay

A 2022 graduate from Stony Brook University with a BA in Political Science and double minors in Philosophy and Creative Writing, Sabrina is the student programs manager. During her time in college, she was an active member of the Stony Brook Center for Civic Justice, a Student Ambassador, JFEW scholar, and worked as a recruiter at the International Rescue Committee. 

She has been involved with Miseducation since her junior year of high school, and was a co-host in its earlier seasons. She continually advocates for the elevation of youth voice, knowing that within countless communities, there are leaders, artists, scientists, writers, and more with untapped potential, whose success is limited only by a lack of opportunity. Her interest in audio storytelling stems from the narratives of Caribbean tales passed down through generations of her family. She loves meeting new people, hearing about their lives, and discovering new ways of capturing moments in time, whether through writing, photography, or other creative mediums. 

During her free time, she enjoys writing spoken word poetry, exploring the city with friends, singing off-key, escape rooms, naps, and trying foods from different cultures.

Kyle Finck

An experienced leader in journalism innovation, Kyle is the coordinator of the Youth Journalism Coalition, which The Bell facilitates.

Kyle is focused on the future of journalism, from who has access to joining a high school publication to the influence of the Open Social Web and AI in building sustainable media models. Previously, he led youth journalism at the Los Angeles Times and helped build the News, Sports & Video business at Apple.

Mira Gordon

Passionate about youth voice, educational equity, and audio storytelling, Mira is The Bell’s manager of partnerships and operations.

Previously, she worked as a High School Placement Assistant for Breakthrough New York where she guided middle schoolers through the high school application process. Originally from the Bay Area, California, Mira is a proud product of Berkeley public schools. In her free time she enjoys discovering new foods on long walks around the city.

Mira earned her BA in Anthropology from Barnard College.

David Hardy, Jr.

A visionary leader with years of management and executive experience, David serves as an advisory board member.

David is an educator by trade, a writer and speaker by passion, a father and husband by love, and a believer that our way forward is transforming the way we exist for another by seeking the best interest of the collective over the individual.

Renika Jack

An NYC public school graduate with a passion for writing and research, Renika serves as an advisory board member.

Originally from Guyana, Renika moved to New York City in 2019. She has worked with The Bell’s Miseducation Podcast since her junior year of high school. She enjoys writing stories of her life and conducting interviews. In her free time Renika listens to music or goes on mini adventures with her friends all around NYC. She is studying journalism and communications at York College and hopes to become a journalist for the New York Times or a news anchor for CBS or Good Morning America.

Ash’aa Khan

An undergraduate at Barnard College majoring in Urban Education, Ash’aa serves as communications and marketing lead.

She was born in India and raised in Manhattan. Ash'aa has been involved with The Bell through The Miseducation Podcast since her junior year of high school. Her episode was featured in The Hechinger Report, and she has also reported on COVID’s impact on college admissions for WNYC. Her time at The Bell has fostered her passion for education equity, which she plans to pursue post-grad.

Taylor McGraw

A longtime advocate for student leadership, Taylor is the executive director and a co-founder.

Prior to The Bell’s launch in 2017, he spent five years teaching middle school math and high school writing in New York City schools. He is an avid chess player, podcast listener, baseball fan, and barbecue connoisseur. His writing has appeared in USA Today, The New York Daily News, The Hechinger Report and Narratively.

He got his start in journalism working for his high school newspaper in Oxford, Mississippi.

Chandler Patton Miranda

An urban education scholar with a passion for student storytelling, Chandler serves as an advisory board member.

She is an Assistant Professor of Education at Molloy University, where her research focuses on urban im/migrant education in the U.S. context as it relates to school leadership, institutional culture, and the politics of language learning. Her work appears in scholarly journals including Harvard Educational Review, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Leadership and Policy in Schools, and Equity & Excellence in Education. She is a former high school science teacher.

Ayana Smith

A 2023 Cornell University graduate in urban and regional studies with a double minor in education and policy analysis and management, Ayana is an advisory board member.

She began organizing for equitable education in New York City schools in 2018 through Teens Take Charge, leading press communications and initiatives for the organization’s Enrollment Equity Campaign. She continues her advocacy at the local and federal levels as the Storytelling Programs Coordinator for Student Voice where she trains students in journalism, consults with firms on institutionalizing youth voice at their organization, and leads campaigns such as Next Up NYC. In her free time, she enjoys watching anime, playing video games, and video chatting with her younger sisters and lizards.

Lyric Thomas

An undergraduate passionate about social justice, advocacy, and community building, Lyric is a student at Pace University majoring in Political Science. Lyric was born and raised in Houston, Texas and is a Fellow for the Youth Journalism Coalition (YJC), primarily in charge of the Student Journalism Affinity Group. Lyric has been involved with the YJC through a summer internship with Press Pass NYC, where she focused on communications and marketing.  Her time with the YJC has greatly informed her with the NYC education system and helped sharpen her advocacy skills, which she plans to use after graduating.

Adrian Uribarri

A former teacher and journalist, Adrian is a co-founder and advisory board member. He works at Google, where he supports the company’s cloud collaboration and productivity apps.

Previously, he led the Esquire Mentoring Initiative, Hearst Magazines’ award-winning effort to rebrand the concept of male mentoring, and he developed wide-ranging communications for efforts related to social-emotional learning and character development in K-12 schools.

Adrian earned a B.A. in political science and B.S. in journalism at the University of Florida. He attended Miami-Dade County Public Schools and graduated from New World School of the Arts.