Who am I?

Reema Saleh is a writer, researcher, and multimedia producer in Chicago. Working with community journalism outlets like Chicago Reader, Change Agents Journalism Lab, City Bureau, and South Side Weekly sparked her passion for mission-driven, hyper-local journalism throughout the city. She previously led the Root of Conflict podcast, exploring global conflict and the people, societies, and policy issues it affects. Last year, she graduated from the University of Chicago with a master’s in public policy.

Podcast Production

Reema previously led Root of Conflict, a podcast on violent conflict around the world and the people, societies, and policies it affects. She also produced an audio documentary for Change Agents: The Podcast. She's gotten involved in all stages of the production process from research to booking guests, interviewing, editing, and marketing. Additionally, she's worked as a producer and editor on The Forum by University of Chicago Public Policy Podcasts, the Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities by Easterseals Serving Chicagoland and Greater Rockford, and Bridging Knowledge & Policy by the Institute for Governance Reform.

Production, Interviewing, and Editing Experience

• "Roots and Roofs: Building Wealth Through Chicago's Two-Flats," Change Agents: The Podcast
• "Looking Back, Looking Forward: Our CEO's Reflections After 5 Years," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "Employment for Individuals with Disabilities: HB Threads," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "Kurdish Women and Resistance | Rez Gardi," Root of Conflict
• "Lives Amid Violence | Mareike Schomerus," Root of Conflict
• "DEI Through HR: Making it Foundational, Conversational, and Real," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "Precarious Protections | Chiara Galli," Root of Conflict
• "Geography is Destiny | Ian Morris," Root of Conflict
• "Decolonizing Palestine | Somdeep Sen," Root of Conflict
• "Early Intervention," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "The Troubles | Jon McCourt," Root of Conflict
• "Everyday War | Greta Uehling," Root of Conflict
• "Somaliland's Independence | Bashir Goth," Root of Conflict
• "Trust After Betrayal | Erin McFee," Root of Conflict
• "A Conversation with Liz Hempowicz," The Forum
• "Gender and Conflict | Lina Haddad Kreidie," Root of Conflict
• "African Political Philosophy | Francis Njoku," Root of Conflict
• "How to Turn Around a Nonprofit in Crisis," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "A Conversation with Teng Biao," The Forum
• "The American War in Afghanistan | Carter Malkasian," Root of Conflict
• "Training First Responders to Understand Autism," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "Inflation and the Economy," Bridging Knowledge & Policy
• "Political Resistance in Myanmar | Jason Gelbort," Root of Conflict
• "Sierra Leone's Redenomination," Bridging Knowledge & Policy
• "African Solutions to African Challenges | Martin Kimani," Root of Conflict
• "Global Impact and Philanthropy | Liz Drew," Root of Conflict
• "Why We Fight | Chris Blattman," Root of Conflict
• "In Conversation with Carter Sanders," Embracing Abilities, Expanding Possibilities
• "Disinformation and Democracy | Nina Jankowicz," Root of Conflict
• "Quantifying Global Peace | Steve Killelea," Root of Conflict
• "Human Rights in Yemen | Afrah Nasser," Root of Conflict
• "Social Cohesion After Conflict | Salma Mousa," Root of Conflict
• "Refugee Mental Health | Aimee Hilado," Root of Conflict
• "Evaluating Peacebuilding Interventions | Ada Sonnenfeld," Root of Conflict

Photography

Since 2020, Reema has been dedicated to capturing life and people in Chicago. If you'd like to book her for a portrait session or to shoot an event, please reach out.

• Full Portfolio
• Get in Touch

Journalism and Writing

Community Journalism

• "The CTA's missing riders," Chicago Reader
• "How can Chicagoans adapt to climate-change-induced flash flooding?" Center for Media Engagement
• "West Side Community Gardeners Take Their Skills Home," Block Club Chicago
• "Bronzeville’s future as a real estate ‘gem’ threatens its legacy as Chicago’s Black Metropolis," City Bureau
• "COVID's Long Shadow," South Side Weekly
• "City council talks transit accountability," Chicago Reader
• "Q&A: Keeping Black Wealth in Bronzeville," City Bureau
• "The moment met the CTA," Chicago Reader
• "CTA Workers Put Pressure on Agency to Improve Working Conditions," South Side Weekly
• "Organizers Demand Affordable Housing Protections at CBA Summit," South Side Weekly
• "Title 42 Is Ending. What’s Next For Immigration?" Borderless Magazine
• "Changing of the Guard in Chicago’s City Council," South Side Weekly
• "A Breakdown of Key Ward Races," South Side Weekly
• "Chicago’s Welcome of Ukrainian Refugees May Come With Challenges," South Side Weekly
• "Blue Tin Productions Lays the Foundation for Ethical Manufacturing," South Side Weekly

Arts and Culture

• "Andrés Lemus-Spont centers relationships in his work," Chicago Reader
• "The Women’s LIVE Artist Studio aims to inspire," Chicago Reader
• "Steppenwolf’s “1919” Brings Eve Ewing’s Poetry to Vivid and Insightful Life," Chicago Maroon
• "Q&A with Fantastical Artist Martha A. Wade," South Side Weekly
• "Q&A with Little Village Oil Painter Sebastian Silverio," South Side Weekly
• "South Side Photographer Akilah Townsend Captures the Palette of the City," South Side Weekly
• "'Leave Me Alone': Q&A with Hailey Marie Losselyong, Creator of HML Art & Design," South Side Weekly
• "Stillness Complicated by Corners: A Reflection on Anne Carson’s Lecture Series," UChicago Arts

Books and Literature

• "Black Chicago Touches Everything: A Conversation with Arionne Nettles," Chicago Review of Books
• "Chicago in Flux: An Interview with Gregory Royal Pratt about 'The City is Up for Grabs'"
• "The Potential and Promise of Parole: An Interview with Ben Austen About 'Correction,'” Chicago Review of Books
• "Logging on for 'Extremely Online,'" Chicago Review of Books
• "I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times follows its road home," Chicago Reader
• "Rediscovering Frank London Brown," Chicago Reader
• "The Specters of 'Yellowface,'" Chicago Review of Books
• "'Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair,'" Chicago Reader
• "Found Family, Forests, and Fantastical Storytelling from In The Lives of Puppets," Chicago Review of Books
• "Poet José Olivarez Attempts to Resist Empire in ‘Promises of Gold,'" South Side Weekly
• "'Blissing Out:' Ling Ma's 'Bliss Montage' Stretches the Familiar into the Surreal," South Side Weekly
• "Community, Nostalgia, and Vaporub," South Side Weekly
• “Q&A with Author Sok-Khieng Hardy,” The Overseas Dispatch

Policy Writing

• "A Refugee Compact for the Rohingya," Chicago Policy Review
• "Maintaining the Future of Public Infrastructure," Chicago Policy Review
• "Opening New Pathways to Resettlement in the US," Inkstick Media
• “From Deterrence to Decriminalization: Reimagining How Immigration Violations Are Penalized Under the Biden Administration,” Policy Papers by Women of Color, A New Normal: Redefining National Security Beyond 2020
• “Reconnected in Refuge: Navigating ICT Use by Migrants & Refugee Assistance Organizations in Humanitarian Contexts,” University of Chicago Public Policy Theses
• “Muddled Waters: Fighting the Delegitimization of Eritrean Asylum Claims,” The Rights Stuff: UC Berkeley Review
• “The Weaponization of Antiquities in Palmyra,” The Chicago Foreign Policy Journal
• "Mapping Palestinian Migration Poetry in the 21st Century," 2020 University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium Proceedings

Copy Writing

• "Board Member Q&A: Thea Durfee Polancic Makes a Difference Through Leadership Development," ESCGR
• "How Can Universities Prepare Tomorrow’s Leaders to Use Big Data for Social Good?" Stanford Impact Labs
• "Leading with Curiosity: A Q&A with Stephanie Champi, Liaison to our Associate Board," ESCGR
• "COP28 Takeaways from Northwestern’s Delegation," Northwestern Buffett
• "Northwestern’s Third Delegation to COP28 Joins Global Partners in Fight Against Climate Change," Northwestern Buffett
• "U7+ Student Challenge Team Tackles Sustainable Electric Vehicle Battery Production," Northwestern Buffett
• "Undergraduate Research Assistant Develops New Passion for Antibiotic Resistance," Northwestern Buffett
• "Northwestern Buffett Global Social Innovation Hubs in Tokyo and Toronto Catalyze Transnational Research to Address Global Challenges," Northwestern Buffett
• "Former French President François Hollande Delivers Northwestern Buffett Lecture," Northwestern Buffett
• "Solutions-Oriented Research is a Badly-Needed Shift in Culture," Stanford Impact Labs
• "Six new grant awards support HarrysButtons expansion," ESCGR
• “Healing Resistance: A Conversation with Author Kazu Haga,” The PartnersGlobal Institute
• “Good vs. Toxic Polarization: Insights from Activists and Peacebuilders,” The PartnersGlobal Institute

White Papers and Reports

• "Buffett Briefs—Defusing Disasters, Epistemic Reparations, Empowering the Next Generation of Global Women, Making Water Insecurity Visible, Trauma, Music and the Breath," Northwestern Buffett
• "Pearson Global Forum Report on Discrimination & Marginalization—Welcome, Keynote, Discriminalization and Marginalization in the Digital Era, A New Colombia, Decolonizing Palestine, Crisis in Lebanon," The Pearson Institute
• "Pearson Global Forum Report—Discrimination & Marginalization (How to Make Multidimensional Poverty Visible and Actionable, Social Cost of Discrimination, Discriminatory Bias in Media Coverage of Conflict, Why We Fight," The Pearson Institute

Radio Guest Appearances

• "How Chicago’s two-flat could build wealth for South and West Side residents," WBEZ Chicago
• "ShotSpotter's Uncertain Future, Fish Rebrand Failing, and West Side Gardeners," City Cast Chicago

Creative Writing

Fiction

• “The Box Left Behind,” Euphony Journal
• “Sunday Peace,” MURAL Magazine
• “Scattered Memories,” Migration Stories: A Community Anthology

Poetry

• “Blossoms Snap from Painted Vases,” Sliced Bread Magazine
• “Sound Box Cackles.” Memoryhouse Magazine
• “Continental Drift,” Blacklight Magazine
• “Blinking at Self-Portraits,” MURAL Magazine
• “Berbere Blues,” Blacklight Magazine
• “Diaspora in Continental Drift,” MURAL Magazine
• “Light Switch,” The Flannel Underground

Videography

Members Only explores the ongoing privatization of public space through a focus on the South Shore Cultural Center, challenging us to imagine beyond existing structures toward new possibilities for accessibility and community. This documentary was produced through the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago and screened publicly on April 1, 2023. Please contact to watch the film.

• Public Screening at the Film Studies Center

She creates regular video essays and media commentary on her YouTube channel, Night Owls Media, which she co-produces with her sister.

• “LGBTQ+ Representation in Children’s Media,” Night Owls
• “What Went Wrong with Fate: The Winx Saga," Night Owls