A Washington Post editor, 35 years old Neema Roshania Patel has died, after a long battle with gastric cancer.
The married mother of one was born to immigrant parents in Maplewood, New Jersey in 1987 and has always been fascinated by stories.
She decided to work with her high school newspaper and afterward, she graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a degree in journalism.
Washington’s post announced it, as Neema has been working for the company since 2016.
According to the Washington Post, Patel spearheaded projects such as the “Anxiety Chronicles,” which documents mental health struggles.
She also oversaw a months-long project called “The Jessicas,” which chronicles the lives of women born with the most popular name in 1989 to today.
In an op-ed to the Poynter Institute, she wrote about diversifying sources and young readers:
“Younger audiences want to see their experiences and the experiences of their peers reflected in the journalism they consume.”
“They want to see how policy affects the lives of everyday people. And they want to feel personally connected to what they read.”
“Diverse sourcing makes us more trustworthy arbiters of the news.”
Neema Roshania Patel was a popular journalist at The Washington Post, as she made her mark when she came in 2016.
She was also one of the founders of ‘The Lily,’ as she helped build The Lily into a website focused on original and curated material for and about women and helped grow the brand in newsletters and social media platforms including Instagram and Twitter.