Jeff Kelly Lowenstein

Lecturer

I am an independent writer and lecturer at Columbia College Chicago. Previosuly, I was the Database and Investigative Editor for Hoy, the Chicago Tribune's Spanish-language newspaper.

Prior to working at Hoy, I was a staff reporter for five years at The Chicago Reporter, a bimonthly publication that does investigative work around race and poverty issues.

I am also president of the Dart Society, an organization of journalists that works to tell stories about trauma and violence with sensitivity and compassion, and that also works to help journalists deal with the impact of doing that work.

I live in Evanston, IL with my wife and son.

Articles

Fear in Beardstown

Photographer Omar Robles and I witnessed many emotions during our recent trip to Beardstown in central Illinois. However, an emotion seemed to underpin many of the interactions we had with the residents there: fear.

Migrant Workers' Forum Highlights Need for Change

Hoy is engaged in a year-long project looking at the health challenges of Latino workers and communities in the Midwest as well as the degree to which enforcement agencies are, or are not, protecting them.

Ramireze Homer accuses Jack DeCoster, (right) of abuse.

The Struggle of Homer Ramirez

Wright County Egg conducted the largest egg recall in U.S. history, withdrawing first 228 million eggs and then another 380 million. Many complaints were filed from people seeking compensation for health damages they claim to have suffered after eating eggs produced by these companies.

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz explain The Power of Full Engagement.

<p>We've all done it at some point or another. Waking up after a fitful night of sleep, we've pumped ourselves full of caffeine and sugar to get through the day. Despite our efforts, we remain on the verge of exhaustion, struggling to concentrate on any topic for more than about 12 seconds. Fortunately, there's lots of help. Stephen Covey's phenomenally successful The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Covey and Roger Merrill's First Things First are just two of the many avalable time management books and seminars.

The Beginning of the AIDS Epidemic: Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On

Reading some books is like feeling a cool breeze wash over you on a sun-dappled beach as waves gently lap nearby.

The whole effect is soothing, restorative, healing.

But then there are other books which grab you with an urgency the way your mother’s voice called you by your full name when you were in trouble.

Richard Kluger's Ashes to Ashes

This post discusses Richard Kluger's magisterial history of the tobacco industry in America, Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, an the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris.

Day of Dart

<p>This post describes the Dart Society reunion I attended last month. Named after eminent psychiatrist Dr. Frank Ochberg, he fellows supports journalists who cover issues of trauma and violence to help them both tells stories about those issues with sensitivity and compassion and to deal with the emotional consequences of doing that work.</p>