The Herald is proud to announce the members of our 134th Editorial Board, which will oversee the paper through its 133rd year.
The 134th editorial board will be led by Editor-in-Chief and President Neil Mehta ’25. A resident of Long Island, New York, Mehta is a public health and statistics concentrator who currently oversees coverage of institutional equity and student affinity groups as a University News editor. Having served as The Herald’s design chief, a copy editor and a member of our Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Mehta has worn many hats at the organization — almost as many as the total number of concentrations they’ve attempted at the University.
Mehta has been instrumental in expanding The Herald’s coverage, ensuring that we hold the University accountable in its efforts towards institutional equity and diversity. From his early coverage of the University’s Slavery and Justice Report to his investigation into the Haffenreffer Museum’s relationship with the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Mehta’s work has consistently focused on highlighting the diverse array of perspectives on College Hill.
Julia Vaz ’25 will be The Herald’s next vice president and managing editor of the newsroom, transitioning from her role as a Metro editor and chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Vaz, a political science and Modern Culture and Media concentrator, is more than ready to take on the wild ride that is leading The Herald — despite her well-known track record of passing out on roller coasters.
Vaz, who is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is stepping into her role after years of experience reporting on the environment and crime and justice beats in Providence. In her tenure as a section editor, Vaz has covered it all — from unidentified individuals breaking windows in University Hall to local BioBlitzes that are bringing together nature-loving community members. A dedicated narrative nonfiction writer who has written for The Herald’s very own post- magazine, Vaz has made sure to keep The Herald’s coverage both informative and exciting.
Charlie Clynes ’25, an applied math and history concentrator from Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be steering The Herald towards its digital-first future as managing editor of digital content and technology. As a University News editor, Clynes has led The Herald in its coverage of University Hall, taking everlasting inspiration from his favorite publication: Wikipedia. (Clynes was quick to clarify that he has “never used Wikipedia to source or verify Herald content.”)
From one of his first stories about the Graduate Labor Organization’s annual contract negotiations to most recent coverage diving into the University’s endowment, Clynes has spent his tenure as a reporter drawing back the curtain on what goes on behind the scenes at University Hall. Having worked on an abundance of data and digital-based projects over the past year, from The Herald’s analysis of Corporation members to our semesterly poll, Clynes will bring important insights in a moment when the publication works to keep up with the evolving digital journalism landscape.
After spending nearly two years as a pivotal member of The Herald’s podcast team — starting as a producer on the weekly Bruno Brief podcast and eventually moving up to lead the team in its investigation of University myths — Finn Kirkpatrick ’25 will begin a new role as senior editor of multimedia. Kirkpatrick, a comparative literature and East Asian studies concentrator, has spent the past year redefining the podcast team, which he will continue to lead starting this spring.
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Kirkpatrick has brought a certain Cali-swagger to The Herald’s Arts & Culture section, reviewing everything from 2021’s “Dune” to the albums redefining hyperpop. And while he may struggle with opening most child-resistant packaging, Kirkpatrick will certainly thrive managing The Herald’s photo, illustration and design teams as he oversees the publication’s visual identity.
Studying English and comparative literature on the nonfiction and translation tracks, respectively, Kathy Wang ’25 will continue to pursue her passion for language and writing as The Herald’s next senior editor of community and post- magazine liaison. Coming from Beijing, China and overseeing the international student life beat, Wang has taken The Herald’s reporting all over the globe — covering important student advocacy efforts in places like Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan.
While people may know Wang by one of her former names — Catherine, Katherine and Angel, among others — The Herald newsroom knows her as the go-to source on all things student government. During her tenure as a University News editor for the student government beat, Wang has seen it all. From UCS coup attempts to UFB budgetary disasters, Wang has always ensured to keep the Brown community informed on the bureaucratic happenings affecting them on the daily.
The 133rd editorial board could not be prouder of these incoming editors. As we prepare to hand 134 the reins, we wish them good luck and good sleep for the hectic year to come.
134 will also be joined by a new slate of section editors, business leaders, post- editors and multimedia and production heads:
Section Editors
Arts & Culture
Daphne Dluzniewski ’26
Isabel Hahn ’26
Rya Vallabhaneni ’25
Metro
Avani Ghosh ’26
Mikayla Kennedy ’26
Tom Li ’26
Rhea Rasquinha ’25
Jack Tajmajer ’24
Science & Research
Owen Dahlkamp ’26
Ryan Doherty ’26
Kelvin Jiang ’26
Gabriella Vulakh ’24
Sports
Dennis Carey ’26
Linus Lawrence ’25
University News
Samantha Chambers ’26
Julianna Chang ’26
Owen Dahlkamp ’26
Ryan Doherty ’26
Katie Jain ’25
Kelvin Jiang ’26
Anisha Kumar ’26
Aniyah Nelson ’25
Jennifer Shim ’26
Opinions
Opinions Chief
Alissa Simon ’25
Opinions Editors
Juliet Fang ’26
Anusha Gupta ’25
Paulie Malherbe ’26
Yael Wellisch ’26
Business
General Managers
Alex Zhou ’25
Benjamin Moshes ’25
Finance Director
Mason Mead ’25
Sales Director
Samantha Sinensky ’25
post-
Editor-in-Chief
Joe Maffa ’25
Managing Editors
Klara Davidson-Schmich ’25
Katheryn Gonzalez ’25
Elijah Puente ’26
Tabitha Lynn ’25
Copy Chief
Eleanor Peters ’24
Multimedia & Production
Design Chief
Gray Martens ’25
Photo Chiefs
Claire Diepenbrock ’25
Dana Richie ’25
Illustrations Chiefs
Jennifer Chen ’25
Rhea Rasquinha ’25
Social Media Chief
Kaiolena Tacazon ’26
Head of Technology
Ty Pham-Swann ’25
Copy Desk Chief
Anna Dubey ’25
Editors’ notes are written by The Herald’s 133rd Editorial Board: Will Kubzansky ’24, Katy Pickens ’24, Alex Nadirashvili ’24, Augustus Bayard ’24, Caleb Lazar ’24, Peter Swope ’24 and Kaitlyn Torres ’24.
