Meet our team: Colleen Grablick
It takes a village to make The 51st. We’ll occasionally dedicate some space to introducing a member of the team.
Co-founder, The 51st
What’s your relationship to D.C.? Are you from the area and, if not, why did you move here?
I'm originally from Pennsylvania and I moved to D.C. for school. As it goes for many people, I ended up staying long past that. I bid the city a very teary (but never permanent) goodbye this past August to start graduate school, and I miss it every day.
What do you love about local news and why did you decide to become a co-founder of The 51st?
I first started working in local news as an intern with DCist, and I saw how it can create such a dynamic and passionate sense of place. I watched my coworkers edit a fun story about some hilarious, delightful, or genuinely bizarre local phenomenon — and then turn around the next day and publish an in-depth investigation. I think both types of stories are necessary to understanding the world around you. I became a co-founder of The 51st because I missed doing that type of journalism; as I watched sites like Hell Gate and Defector succeed, I realized a worker-led newsroom was the place to do it.
What do you wish people knew about D.C.?
That the Hill-staffer-brunch-goer-career-climber crowd does not represent the city! Not once in eight years did I meet a single consultant! (At least that I know of.) Whenever I asked people "what do you do" I always got a cool answer (a lot of the time not even work-related!) because people here are interesting and passionate and creative. And they really care about the place they live.
What’s a reality show concept that would be perfect for D.C.?
The Great D.C. Bake Off – a competition between the pastry chefs from D.C.'s many cafes and bakeries.
Where would you eat your last D.C. meal?
I guess I can technically provide a non-hypothetical answer to this. Before I (very carefully and very nervously) drove a large U-Haul down 16th Street on moving day, I stopped for a breakfast sandwich at Potter's House, a coffee shop down the street from my old group home in Columbia Heights. It was just an egg on a biscuit, but I could cry thinking about it now. (My other, real answer is a hot dog from Lyman's.)
