About

LADYZHETS_HEADSHOT_squareIf you have questions about COVID-19 data, you’ve come to the right place. I’m Betsy—an independent journalist and writer working at the intersection of science/health and data/investigative reporting, based in Brooklyn, New York. I’m co-editor at The Sick Times, work part-time at the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, and am open for additional freelance projects.

My work is currently focused on COVID-19, Long Covid, and the future of public health, with a particular interest in surveillance systems, government accountability, and the people left behind by the so-called “end of the pandemic.” I’m also passionate about educating my fellow journalists, building community, and promoting data literacy and accessibility.

I founded the COVID-19 Data Dispatch in July 2020 in an attempt to make the wildly complicated world of pandemic data more accessible for other reporters, friends, and family members. The publication quickly grew into a trusted source for COVID-19 news and resources, and I started doing more interviews, analysis, and original reporting. In late 2020, I enrolled in the first cohort of the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, with the COVID-19 Data Dispatch as my central project. Additionally, in the winter of 2021, I organized a series of virtual workshops on COVID-19 data, supported by an Idea Grant from the National Association of Science Writers.

In September 2021, I joined the Documenting COVID-19 project as a senior journalism fellow. This project obtained, published, and reported on COVID-related public records in collaboration with other news outlets; it later transitioned into MuckRock’s accountability-focused editorial team. My projects there included Uncounted, an investigation into excess deaths during the pandemic with the USA TODAY network, and an investigation into the NIH’s RECOVER initiative with STAT News, as well as local stories in Missouri, Utah, Idaho, and New York City.

After more than three years of writing the COVID-19 Data Dispatch, I concluded that project in November 2023. Shortly after sending my final COVID-19 data newsletter, I launched The Sick Times, a new publication chronicling the Long Covid crisis, with fellow journalist Miles Griffis. You can read more about why I started The Sick Times here.

Prior to freelancing, I worked as a data journalist at Stacker, where I launched and managed the publication’s Science & Health vertical. I also served as a volunteer Shift Lead for the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, working on the core Testing & Outcomes dataset and the COVID Racial Data Tracker. I graduated from Barnard College in 2019, with a dual degree in English (official concentration in Creative Writing) and Biology (unofficial concentration in Loving Trees).

Outside of data and writing, much of my energy is spent biking around the city, overanalyzing movie scores, and wondering when the next C train will arrive.

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