August 30, 2011
In her first story back from cofounding a journalism nonprofit, Maha Atal ’09 wrote a cover story for Forbes Magazine about Christine Lagarde, the new head of the International Monetary Fund.
Lagarde, the first woman appointed head of France’s economic policy, was chosen as head of the International Monetary Fund this summer following the high-profile resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.“I’ve been working full time for the past nine months launching a journalism nonprofit with Damian Kahya ’09 and this was my return to practicing journalism,” Atal said. “The challenge – and thus the reward – was teaching myself to write all over again. It was a sobering experience.”Atal’s story took three months to produce, and is the cover of Forbes’ annual issue on powerful women.“Reporting is a skill like riding a bike, a set of instincts and reflexes about how to drive a conversation,” Atal said. “Those came back naturally as soon as I started asking questions.”The issue of Forbes featuring Maha Atal’s story is available on newsstands now.
