Gretchen Rachel Hammond
Multi-award winning Journalist
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VIDEO OF ALLEGED VICTIMS
VIDEO OF ALLEGED VICTIMS
THE FORTRESS
A FIVE-PART, IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION INTO AN ALLEGED ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION RING AT MICHIGAN'S OAKLAND COUNTY PROBATE COURT 2019 FINALIST CHICAGO LISAGOR AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM
THE FORTRESS
A FIVE-PART, IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION INTO AN ALLEGED ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION RING AT MICHIGAN'S OAKLAND COUNTY PROBATE COURT
2019 FINALIST CHICAGO LISAGOR AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM
An August 23 investigation detailing a massive alleged elder abuse and exploitation ring operating out of a Michigan probate court led to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel fired three public administrators, John Yun, Jennifer Carney and Thomas Brennan Fraser.
Alongside, former public adminsitrator Jon Munger, they were exposed in the story as allegedly exploiting thousands of vulnerable Americans under their guardianship.
The investigation also implicates four Michigan probate court judges in the scandal and, in its wake, both the State Public Administrator and State Court Administrator stepped down.
In a first-of-its-kind exploration into the state's probate court system, a team that included award-winning investigative journalist Gretchen Rachel Hammond and forensic accountant Tim Mulholland, CFE, MSAF spent the past 13 months examining the stories behind more than 2,200 Americans under guardianship at the Oakland County Probate Court in the Detroit suburbs.
High-profile cases such as the ongoing dispute concerning the estate of famed musician Aretha Franklin have been affected.
Franklin's eldest son Clarence is under the guardianship of Michigan attorney Jon Munger who is one of the targets of the probe which uncovered an unsettling number of alleged crimes including abuse, neglect, robbery, and exploitation, often in cases that arguably didn’t merit guardianship in the first place.
In as little as a year, so called "incapacitated wards” are stripped of the entirety of their savings and possessions and rendered completely reliant upon social services and benefits such as Medicaid.
In a forensic review of the Oakland County Probate Court, available to the public for the first time in Michigan history, Mulholland also concludes that criminal investigations into the guardians are warranted.
The series was named as a finalist for the 2020 Peter Lisagor Award for Excellence in Journalism.
FOR THE FULL SERIES, AS PUBLISHED ON THE DAILY KOS, FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW
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Reporter
Long and short-form breaking and investigative news, arts and political features. Staying far ahead of the Chicago dailies.
Photographer
News-making moments flawlessly captured on camera.
Researcher
Proven use of the latest data and social media sources to generate investigative pitches, leads and sources.
A few words from me
“Being a fundraiser for 15-years helped make me a better journalist. It takes a great deal of fastidious research, data mining, use of astute sources and informed quotes to convince a conservative foundation in Indianapolis to fund a production of ‘Naked Boys Singing'.”
“In 2014, I completed a four-part investigation into the arrest and imprisonment of a Black transgender woman named Eisha Love and the subsequent murders of two women immediately following the incident. I worked entirely alone and uncovered a connectivity between all three cases as well as slipshod investigations by the Chicago Police Department (CPD). As a result of the stories, Love retained a top attorney. After nearly four-years in the Cook County Jail she was released in December, 2015. It’s not very often one can say a story changed a life that profoundly.”
"In 2016, I donated a kidney to one of the newspaper's readers. Although I have been nominated for or won awards every year that I have been writing for Windy City TImes, this was one of the proudest and most humbling moments of my life."
“I was born in Manchester England. Back then it wasn’t a place many Americans tended to visit unless they’d got lost on the way to Scotland.”
"When I was seven, I interrogated my father as to why the English were still in Northern Ireland when we obviously weren't wanted there. I refused to accept his answers of ‘it's complicated.’ After two hours, he left the room.”
“I arrived in the US as a foreign exchange student in 1988. American history and culture were not taught within the snobbery of an expensive English private-school classroom so the lesson on the American Revolution went something like this: ‘Oh and by the way in 1776, we lost the colonies.’ So when the exchange company asked me where I wanted to live, I picked the three places I’d seen on television- New York, Los Angeles and Miami (Vice). They gave my requests serious consideration and sent me to New Albany, Indiana.”
"I will always remember watching Bernard Shaw hunkered down in an Iraqi basement in 1990. I was burning with jealousy. So, a decade or so later, I joined Fox News as a film-critic. The response I received when I suggested anthropologists study Vin Diesel in a petri-dish was as close to the threat of aerial bombardment as I thought I could get.”
"As a journalist, whether on an investigative assignment or uncovering aspects of a story covering an event one must always go beyond due diligence. For me, the thrill of the hunt has become an addiction."
Major Accomplishments
- Winner of 2015 Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism – Best In-Depth Reporting in a Community Newspaper.
- Winner of 2016 National Lesbian and Gay Journalism Award for Excellence in News Writing (Non-Daily)
- Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism Finalist, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020 – Best In-Depth Reporting in a Community Newspaper.
- Nationally recognized in 2017 by The Algemeiner as One of the Top 100 Individuals Making a Positive Influence in the Jewish Community.
- 15 years successfully growing nonprofits through expert development, grant writing and public relations.
Work Experience
Tablet Magazine—Contributing Writer (one-year fellowship), 2017-Present
- Short and long-form breaking news, arts, political, educational and science features.
- Contribution of in-depth OpEds on issues affecting the Jewish community.
- All relevant research, interviews and copy completed individually.
- Weekly articles averaging 500,000 views and 1,500 social media shares.
Windy City Media Group—Senior Staff Writer 2013-2017
- Award-winning, multi-part investigative reports on issues including criminal and juvenile justice, violence and human rights violations.
- Award-nominated features on arts, education, activists, non-profits and community figures.
- Q & A reporting and features with leading political figures and candidates at the mayoral, aldermanic, state and federal level.
- Compelling breaking news reporting for print and online media scooping mainstream outlets.
- Articles cited by national and international outlets, national advocacy groups and authors.
- Published over 600 articles averaging 40,000 views and 3,000 social media shares.
- All relevant research, interviews, photography, video and copy completed individually.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)—Director of Development, 2011-2013
- Major gifts solicitation, grants, stewardship, research and leader of strategic development initiatives.
- Raised approximately $950,200 in individual gifts during year one: an increase of 115% over the previous year.
- Improved donor retention by 55% in year one. Improved sustaining gifts by 38% in year one
- Created and designed monthly newsletter, annual report, monthly mailers and ecampaigns.
Golden Apple Foundation—Assistant Director of Development, 2006-2011
- Primary event organizer of the Golden Apple Awards and Golden Apple Awards Central Illinois televised on WTTW and WILL TV respectively.
- Restructured both events turning an average $60,000 loss to a $300,000 average profit in under two years
WXIN Fox 59 News Indianapolis and WXNT Radio 1430 AM Indianapolis- Morning news on-air film critic and radio co-host 2001-2003
- Wrote and presented on-air film reviews during Friday morning segments for WXIN Fox 59.
- Produced, wrote and co-hosted on-air program Saturday Matinee focusing on film and entertainment for WXNT Radio.
- Live and pre-recorded interviews with local and national filmmakers and celebrities.
Theatre on the Square—Director of Development and Public Relations, 1997-2006
- Generated over $3,850,000 in donated funds and over $1,950,000 in In-Kind Services.
- Increased organization annual income by 45% in year one and improved donated/earned income percentages by 60%.
- Originated and successfully executed two-year, $1.7 million capital campaign for building purchase.
- Created and executed print, radio, and television campaigns.
- Represented the organization in media and public appearances.
Education
- Manchester University, United Kingdom, Bachelor of Arts: Communications
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Hollywood CA, Associate of Arts: Film Studies
Volunteer Boards
- American Jewish Committee—Advisory Board: community and political engagement. (2018-Present)
- Roosevelt University, Chicago College of Performing Arts—Advisory Board: Public Relations and Development Committees (2013-2015)
Other Experience
- Development Consultancy for nonprofits in Indiana, Kentucky, Chicago and California.
- Visiting lecturer at American Jewish Committee, Roosevelt University and Adler School of Psychology.
- English Tutor – Eye Level, Northbrook, IL
- Member: NLGJA, Society of Professional Journalists, Association of Fundraising Professionals.
- Author: The Last Circle (published December 2013/B&L Books).
- Screenwriter Represented by GSK and Associates, Los Angeles CA.
- Editor and designer of The Intersections— online community news magazine.
- Freelance feature reporting and theatre reviews NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis.
*Salary history, references, writing samples and demo reels available upon request.
In Detail
In Detail
News clips
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Photography
Photography
Testimonials
Testimonials
Since I grew up in England, naturally once I hit puberty the first thing to do was find a suitable pub that would become my ‘local’ and second home. It was a place separate and totally immune to the changing world outside it.
Found in an inconspicuous corner adjacent to the rail and bus station in the Manchester suburb of Altrincham, The Old Mill belonged only to those who had made themselves its natives from the moment they pushed open its heavy oak door. Outsiders were welcomed but only if they stayed no more than one evening. To visit any other pub was akin to vacationing in Spain—only go in drunken groups, pick up a few souvenirs, chase some local tail and immediately start complaining about how things just aren’t the same as at home.
We had a ritual at The Old Mill which allowed a person who had been dumped, lost a job, voted Labour or suffered any other traumatic loss or life-event to vent freely with the full support and encouragement of everyone around her/him on the understanding that the following day it was never discussed again.
To help the person in question along, everyone chipped in and bought six pints of harmfully strong ale. This blog is dedicated to the uncensored free-thought processes that usually emerged three hours later.
"And behold on the sixth pint, we saw all that we had made and we thought it good."
Contact Me
Contact Me
Gretchen Rachel Hammond
382 Spadina Rd,
Toronto,
ON M5P 2V9
Toronto,
ON M5P 2V9
(773)368-3782
gretchenrachelhammond@gmail.com