Reynolds Center Staff Bios
Reynolds Center Staff
Andrew Leckey, President
Leckey is the founding director of the Reynolds Center and the Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School. At the center, he has launched workshops, online seminars and the Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism. Prior to coming to ASU, Leckey was a longtime syndicated investment columnist for the Chicago Tribune and a CNBC television anchor. He is the author or editor of 10 financial books. He spent the spring of 2014 as a Fulbright Scholar in China focusing on business journalism and was named a 2016 Fulbright Specialist in Uganda. He is frequently interviewed on business journalism topics.
Kristin Gilger, Executive Director
Gilger leads operations at the Reynolds Center and oversees the Cronkite School’s professional programs. She also serves as director of the National Center on Disability and Journalism. She spent 21 years in various reporting and editing roles at newspapers across the country, including the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, the Salem Statesman Journal in Oregon and The Arizona Republic. She conducts training in leadership and management for newspapers and other organizations nationally and internationally.
Rian Bosse, Digital Content Editor
Bosse manages production of the center’s digital content. Prior to working at Reynolds, Bosse covered business as a reporter at a small daily newspaper in his home state of Minnesota. He is a 2016 graduate of the Cronkite School’s master’s degree program, where he developed the passion and skills for digital storytelling.
Businessjournalism.org Contributors:
Jennifer Backer
Jennifer Backer is a freelance business reporter. She has been a business writer for The Commercial Appeal and The Daily News in Memphis, Tenn., and finance reporter for Phoenix Business Journal. Her work has been published by Bloomberg, The Arizona Republic, The Fiscal Times, St. Louis Business Journal, Houston Business Journal, China Daily and others.
Kristena Hansen
Kristena Hansen covers the Oregon Legislature for the Associated Press. She previously covered business for The Arizona Republic, Phoenix Business Journal and NPR’s Phoenix member station KJZZ. Hansen received a 2015 Edward Murrow award for investigative reporting.
Ellen Ranta Olson
Ellen Ranta Olson is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience crafting content for regional publications and national brands. She has created and managed digital, print and social marketing campaigns for brands such as CBS, Delta Faucet and The Children’s Place, and her work has been featured in various southwestern publications, including Dorado and Arizona Bride.
Steven Orpurt
Steven Orpurt is a professor teaching corporate governance and sustainability in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Amy Wu
Amy Wu covers politics and government at The Californian a Gannett paper in Salinas, Calif. She has 23 years of journalism experience and has worked at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and the San Francisco Chronicle. She earned her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Erik Sherman
Erik Sherman is a freelance journalist, author, and writer whose work has appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Technology Review, Chief Executive, and The Fiscal Times. Primarily covering business, technology, economics, and public policy, he frequently contributes to Inc.com, Forbes.com, and Fortune.com.
Susan Johnston Taylor
Austin-based freelance writer Susan Johnston Taylor has written about business and entrepreneurship for The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Entrepreneur and Fast Company. She’s also a weekly contributor to the money section of U.S. News & World Report online.
Danika Worthington
Danika is a general assignment and breaking news reporter with the Denver Post. She has previously worked with the Phoenix Business Journal, Arizona Republic and MSN News. She graduated with a dual bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in May 2016.
Dorianne Perrucci
Personal finance journalist and editor Dorianne (Dori) Perrucci specializes in reporting on investing for retirement and saving on health care costs. She is the co-author of Asset Allocation For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons) and previously contributed to Jane Bryant Quinn’s Washington Post and Newsweek columns on personal finance and economic policy, after reporting on the newspaper business for Editor & Publisher and MediaWeek.
