Reuters taps three for global race and justice team

Reuters race and justice editor Kat Stafford shared the following message with staff on Wednesday:

Dear colleagues,

I am thrilled to announce three appointments to the Global Race and Justice team. Together, the team will pursue new and ambitious projects with a view to producing agenda-setting coverage in the areas of race, identity and social justice. They will also collaborate and work with bureaus across Reuters‘ global newsroom.

Bianca Flowers, U.S. Correspondent — Bianca, a Chicago native and accomplished journalist, has spent the last two years at Reuters covering manufacturing, the bedrock of the U.S. economy. She covered global steelmakers, agriculture, and construction manufacturers. Her reporting has centered on the integration of automation in manufacturing and the advancement of smart farm technology. Bianca’s expertise also encompasses in-depth coverage of labor unions, including her contributions to covering the historic United Autoworkers (UAW) strike in 2023 and the acquisition of U.S. Steel. Previously, as a Senior Video Journalist at Dow Jones, she reported on personal finance, income equality, and diversity in the tech industry. She is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Bianca is based in Chicago.

Layli Foroudi, Europe Correspondent — Layli joined Reuters almost two and a half years ago as a correspondent in Paris and has worked on news and initiative stories related to migration, discrimination, police violence and the far-right. Prior to joining Reuters, she was based in Tunis for three years as a freelance journalist for the FT, Times of London, and Thomson Reuters Foundation, among others, and previously worked as a TV producer for Al Jazeera English in London. Layli speaks native English, fluent French and Russian, and colloquial Arabic. She completed a master’s degree in race, ethnicity and conflict at Trinity College Dublin in 2016 and has had stints working in the United Kingdom, Russia and Tajikistan. Layli is based in Paris.

Disha Raychaudhuri, Data Journalist — Disha joined Reuters in 2020 as a data reporter on the legal news team where she covered a wide range of topics including bankruptcy, opioid settlements and the legislative push to restrict transgender healthcare. She was previously a data reporter at The Star-Ledger in New Jersey, primarily covering demographics, inequality and policing. She moved to the U.S. in 2016, after stints in India and Bangladesh where she covered education and produced oral history projects. She has also been a mentor for the Maynard 200 fellowship and a co-creator of the JOC Resource Guide. Disha speaks fluent English, Bengali and Hindi and has intermediate proficiency in Urdu. Disha is based in Washington, D.C.

Bianca, Layli and Disha will report to me. Please join me in congratulating them.

Kat