Kathryn Cleary

Kathryn Cleary is an investigative journalist and media trainer with a passion for health, human rights, and social justice. Originally from the United States, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Rhodes University in South Africa. Cleary was the recipient of a Regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award for data journalism in 2019, the overall winner of the 2020 Isu Elihle Awards for child-centered reporting in Africa, and the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Rhodes in 2022. Recently, she was a 2024/25 Pulitzer Center AI Accountability Fellow where she produced a collaborative, data-driven, human centered investigation into the Global Majority labor fueling AI development and AGI hype. She has also served as a community coach for the Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series, training local journalism students, lecturers, communications professionals and community media.