Hello.
It’s been over 15 years since I’ve told stories.
Now I finally know why.
When you turn your eyes, camera, or voice recorder towards someone, you show them that you see them. That they matter. Those who feel seen don’t harm others. Those who feel fulfilled have more to give. I believe in the healing power of stories. Stories are simply a way to direct attention, to create understanding. The more we learn how to do that, the more we all win.
I am constantly learning and experimenting, finding ways to shine a light on the more complex issues.
Trust can only be built on understanding.
In order to be able to trust me, you'll need to know me better. So let me tell you a little bit about my life.
And so I started traveling.
After my BA journalism studies at Tartu University (Estonia) and work at various newspapers, I went to Australia for a year. I wanted to practice my English and experience life outside academic spaces, archives, and offices.
Australia showed me how meaningless titles and tags are. I was liberated from the need to be seen as a highly accomplished journalist. Being always human comes first, I realised. Biking through the bushes and hitchhiking alone on a faraway continent can do that to you. Nobody seemed to care that I used to write for Estonia’s prestigious weekly or that I had met ministers. They could barely find my country on a map!
I then decided to dance for a year. I learned the art of Flamenco in Seville until I returned to studying.
I finished my double Master’s at Aarhus Universitet (Denmark) and Hamburg University (Germany), where I studied with around 50 journalists worldwide. I worked at a Danish research agency and as my professor’s assistant in Hamburg.
Since then, I have also lived in the Netherlands and France, continued collaborating and working with diverse groups in newsrooms or NGOs like Greenpeace International, Reporters Without Borders, and Transparency International. The best results, I learned, come out when diverse backgrounds come together if you embrace them.
Born and brewed in Estonia, I now landed and nested in Moldova.
I once finished working as a media analyst in Amsterdam on Friday, and on Monday morning, I sat down at a news desk as a journalist in Estonia.
Jumping in cold water is what I do best (growing up by the Baltic Sea, did I have a choice?).
It has helped me grow.
My adventures showed me who I am and what matters most: creating meaningful connections.
As a US State Department fellow, I spent a month listening to some of the best journalists in the US, a big part of it at the Pulitzer-winning Miami Herald.
One of the biggest Estonian newspapers hired me as the country’s first data journalist. With our small team, we created interactive visualizations for the daily news. I fell in love with Excel. I soon discovered a bug for the business and start-up world.
Over the weekends, we went to teach Estonian at a refugee center in Estonia with friends. Before moving to Moldova, I won the country's most prestigious investigative award, the Bonnier Award.
I speak fluent English and Estonian, can converse in Romanian and Spanish, and understand some Russian and German.
I am now a proud founder of a media agency, Journo Birds. Our Moldovan-Estonian team supports mission-driven people with storytelling in the form of videos and articles.
Wishing you a wonderful day!
With love, Marian