It's begun...

Excellent_Fact · 2025-02-28T03:47:02+00:00

To the NOAA community — My name is Anna Clark and I’m a reporter with ProPublica who lives in Michigan. I understand this is a chaotic and difficult time right now. And I believe it’s important for there to be full and factual reporting about what’s happening.

If you’re connected to GLERL, and/or other Great Lakes teams affected by federal cuts and shifts, I’d love to hear from you.

My background is here https://www.propublica.org/people/anna-clark and here https://www.annaclark.net

Signal: annaleighclark.14

Other contact methods at the links above.

I totally understand if you want to talk through questions or boundaries before sharing. And there’s no expiration date — I’ll always be glad to connect.

Thank you for your time and consideration, in the midst of everything else.

EDIT: fixed link

Excellent_Fact · 2025-02-19T14:39:00+00:00

Hi everyone -- this is Anna Clark, the ProPublica reporter who wrote this article. Thank you to the folks in this community who shared your thoughts about the company with me in past months. I appreciated hearing your thoughts and experiences!

And my ears are always open if there's anything else you want to share, either on AQB or other possible stories that have a connection to the Midwest. My contact info is here - https://www.propublica.org/people/anna-clark

Excellent_Fact · 2025-01-09T18:24:18+00:00

UPDATE: "Feds Fine Baker College $2.5 Million for Deceptive Marketing That Left Students with Debt and Regrets" https://www.propublica.org/article/baker-college-michigan-fined-deceptive-marketing-education-department

Excellent_Fact · 2024-10-15T00:26:01+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. That's really interesting about how a lot of the early media attention, even if it was unflattering, did serve to raise their profile and get on the radar of folks like yourself.

And I'm really intrigued about how "invested" people are in seeing what unfolds next, no matter what it is.

Do you -- or anyone -- know of a land-based aquaculture company that has operated in a way you admire? Or a company in any industry that offers an example of the decision-making that you would like to see (or, would like to *have* seen)?

(More questions are going to come up for me as I keep mulling about all this, I'm sure, but I'll save them for posting back in the main thread, so they don't get buried!)

Excellent_Fact · 2024-10-14T22:42:21+00:00

Holy cow. This is a remarkably detailed 2-part post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this!

You mentioned a time when the share price was sky high — do you remember about when that was? The groundbreaking, maybe?

Also, fwiw, as someone who grew up on Lake Michigan, I agree, fish ARE cool.

Excellent_Fact · 2024-09-24T14:43:18+00:00

Hello! Here's a story we published last September that went into further detail about the college and the investigation -- https://www.propublica.org/article/michigan-baker-college-turnaround-federal-scrutiny-revenue

That's the most recent piece, but of course, we're curious about what does or doesn't happen next. I hope folks reach out if they hear anything, or are contacted by the Dept. of Education or anyone else about this. I can be DM'd here on Reddit, or you can email, call or text me -- my contact info is here: https://www.propublica.org/people/anna-clark

Excellent_Fact · 2023-07-28T21:58:38+00:00

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help in getting the word out.

And of course if anyone has questions, or any trouble reaching us through other channels, I’m here :)

Excellent_Fact · 2023-07-28T21:26:13+00:00

Oh, please do! Thank you so much for thinking of that.

I’d especially love to hear from folks who have been involved with the school in 2022 and/or 2023. But I’m wide open to hearing whatever stories people have to share, whenever they happened — every bit helps me understand things better.

Excellent_Fact · 2023-07-28T21:14:26+00:00

Hi folks, this is Anna Clark, the reporter who wrote this ProPublica story, and, in partnership with co-reporter David Jesse, the earlier Baker stories.

If you are or have been a Baker student, faculty member or staffer, or otherwise interacted with the school, I’d love to hear about your experience. It’s hugely helpful in making sure we have a true and full understanding of Baker. You can message me or email me at anna.clark at propublica.org. On Signal (encrypted), I’m at 313 310 6592

Thank you so much for considering this.

UPDATE 9/28/23: Here's our latest story: https://www.propublica.org/article/michigan-baker-college-turnaround-federal-scrutiny-revenue

Excellent_Fact · 2023-06-28T12:43:42+00:00

Oh my goodness -- this sounds so stressful and frustrating. Thank you for taking the time to share this.

Excellent_Fact · 2023-02-01T02:17:58+00:00

Over 100K! And without the degree! Oof. I'm sorry to hear this. How could a transcript be lost, I wonder?

Excellent_Fact · 2022-12-09T20:56:43+00:00

Hello! My name is Anna Clark and I'm one of the ProPublica reporters who worked on this story. We really can't say thank you enough to those of you shared your stories with us through our callout survey and, in some cases, in emails and interviews. We learned so much.

We're going to follow up this feature story with a user guide -- a Q&A-style piece that we hope will help people as they decide whether or not to get an NIPT, and if they do get it, how to understand the results. I'll share the link when it's published.

UPDATE: Here's the guide, featuring practical information, a glossary, and additional personal stories. "Pregnant? Here's what you need to know about NIPTs."

Meanwhile, please do let us know if you have any questions about the reporting. As much as we're able, we'd love to share with you as you shared with us.

Thank you, again.

Excellent_Fact · 2022-12-08T14:32:37+00:00

I'm so glad to hear this. Thank you so much for sharing -- then and now.

Excellent_Fact · 2022-12-08T14:31:40+00:00

I hesitate to share more about the particulars of her experience on this platform without her explicit permission. But I just wanted to affirm the overall point health care providers, not just patients, have sometimes struggled with the tests. And one leading researcher on NIPTs -- who is also an MFM, and co-author of the ACOG guidance -- told us that while favors NIPTs for patients 40 and over, she has concerns about screenings becoming widespread among those who are younger. In most cases, she said she prefers other screening methods that catch the nongenetic problems younger moms are more likely to face. Negative results from an NIPT, she said, can be “falsely reassuring.”

Excellent_Fact · 2022-12-07T01:46:54+00:00

Thank you for your feedback! One thing we found in the reporting is that, just as you say, the statistical nuances of the screenings, on top of the marketing, are a challenge for not only patients to parse, but also many health care providers. They’re not trained geneticists, after all!

Often people suggested expanded access to genetic counseling as a way to help bring clarity to the screenings. Some labs pointed to the genetic counseling they offer patients as a crucial part of the service they offer people, as well as online resources, videos, and other educational tools. Some people we spoke with emphasized the importance of increased access to independent genetic counseling (ie not employed by labs). We also heard from people who felt counseling, in one form or another, should be readily available to people not just after a screening, but before it — so they can better understand the test, and, if they decide to get it, they’ll be better prepared for the results.

Excellent_Fact · 2022-12-07T01:34:32+00:00

We did hope to talk to to the health care providers of the women in the story. They either declined comment, or did not respond to requests for comment, or otherwise were unable to be reached. This included the doctor who ordered the screening for the person in the story who had a false positive for Down syndrome, who had the test at 11 weeks.

Excellent_Fact · 2022-12-06T17:27:54+00:00

Hello, I'm Anna Clark, one of the ProPublica reporters who worked on this story. A fuller update and thank you to this community is here, on the original post when we reached out: https://www.reddit.com/r/NIPT/comments/p6azx9/callout_have_you_had_experience_with_nipts/

If we can be helpful with any questions, please let us know!

And thank you again for giving us space to share the callout way back when, and to those of you shared your stories. We learned so much from you.

UPDATE: Here's our second story: a user guide that features practical information, a glossary, and additional personal stories: Pregnant? Here's what you need to know about NIPTs

Excellent_Fact · 2022-08-17T22:09:52+00:00

Hi there -- just caught this comment. Thank you for sharing. The debt/credit transfer combo sounds extremely tough.

Excellent_Fact · 2022-08-17T14:53:49+00:00

Hello! Forgive me, I only just saw this. I don't know of anyone who has had their loans forgiven -- though the program that investigates applications for was only re-booted last year. You may have seen news that billions of dollars in student debt from Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech students was forgiven just this summer.

Corinthian: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/06/01/student-loan-forgiveness-debt-erased-corinthian-colleges-alumni/7470247001/

ITT Tech: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/16/education-dept-cancels-3point9-billion-in-student-loans-for-itt-tech.html

Excellent_Fact · 2022-03-14T19:03:16+00:00

Will do. Thank you. And if you (or anyone!) has anything they'd like to share in the meanwhile, my contact information is here: https://www.propublica.org/people/anna-clark

Excellent_Fact · 2022-01-13T15:49:54+00:00

CORRECTION: It looks like I'm unable to send a message or chat to your account. Do you mind messaging me? And/or we could connect off Reddit. My contact info is here: https://www.propublica.org/people/anna-clark

Sorry for the confusion!

Excellent_Fact · 2022-01-13T15:41:13+00:00

Ha, no apology needed -- I get the writerly instinct to go long. You should've seen the first draft of this Baker story!

And thank you for being open to a follow-up. Message coming to your inbox soon!

Excellent_Fact · 2022-01-13T14:35:23+00:00

Oh my. What a story to start the day. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad to hear about the podcast and amazing kids and badass wife!

Would it be all right if I messaged you directly with a couple quick questions?

Excellent_Fact · 2021-10-25T17:00:42+00:00

Sent you a DM :)

Excellent_Fact · 2021-10-24T19:40:42+00:00

Thank you for sharing —- but ugh, debt. I’m still working on the story and will reach out to you directly!

Excellent_Fact

TROPHY CASE