Mónica Orbé

Reporter

Mónica Orbé is a freelance journalist whose work ranges from articles to film to photography.

After graduating from the University of Southern California with a dual bachelor’s degree in film production and psychology, I went to work on a Nollywood feature film shot in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria. I not only honed my production skills, but was exposed to a country being torn apart by corrupt government practices. That experience led me into journalism and to covering social issues often neglected in the news.

I pursued documentary work for a couple years in New York and then got a master's degree in interactive journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. As a long-time storyteller — visual, oral and written — I aim to create stories that are accessible and engaging, whether I am covering local news in Westchester, NY for AOL or international news in Goroka, Papua New Guinea for PRI.

Dorothy Ketau

How a struggling single mom in Papua New Guinea found her cloth on a New York fashion runway

Florence Jaukae found herself abandoned by her husband, with children to feed and didn't know what to do. So she took a tradition from her Papua New Guinea village and reinvented it for a modern world.

How a struggling single mom in Papua New Guinea found her cloth on a New York fashion runway