Daniel Mollenkamp
Award-Winning Journalist & Researcher
Background
Award-winning enterprise reporter, feature writer and editor.
I am currently an investigative correspondent for The Emancipator, a nonprofit newsroom housed at Howard University, the only HBCU classified as a tier-1 research university.
In that role, I investigate institutions that claim to create opportunity, revealing the ways they actually distribute power and inequality.
In 2026, I was a Chauncey Bailey Investigative Reporting Fellow for IRE, the most prestigious precision reporting association in the world, covering the impact of voucher programs on the country's most vulnerable families.
Published in: The Guardian, USA Today, The 19th News, The Emancipator, EdSurge, The Christian Science Monitor, Investopedia, Tennessee Lookout, Daily Yonder, Platforms-Intelligence, CBD-Intel, Tobacco Intelligence, Diplomatic Courier, as well as newspapers across the United States.
With experience on several continents, I've also contributed to regulation trackers on vaping, cannabis, gene editing, and the platform economy — tools used by regulators in both the U.S. and Europe. And I have conducted investigative work on the gambling industry.
Articles
An edtech company in the early childhood selection space is expanding to point families to private school options in K-12. The company argues that the lessons learned from the child care subsidy system could help families navigate private school options, too. But experts warn — because of the differences between these systems — it could muddy the waters instead.
Resource-strapped schools, especially in rural areas, are tapping AI-enabled platforms to assist with student mental health. Some say the students are more comfortable bringing their problems to AI than humans. The things they tell AI might surprise you. What does this mean for schools?
We like to think of education as beginning in early childhood. But what if it starts earlier? Those who argue that inequality in birthing conditions negatively affects educational outcomes would say that education begins in the womb. It’s a challenge that edtech may be beginning to address.
* This story won a 2023 Regional Gold Award (Pacific) for enterprise reporting from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
