Melissa "Bunni" Elian

Melissa "Bunni" Elian is a Haitian-American multimedia journalist based in Yonkers, New York. Since graduating from The State University of New York at Albany, in 2010, her work has been published in The Journal News, ProPublica, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and the New York Daily News. She has created content for the United Nations and companies such as Google. Her personal work focuses on stories from the African diaspora, social justice, and issues of structural inequality. Elian, who is known as "Bunni," is a founding member of the Bronx Photo League, whose first book, The Jerome Avenue Workers Project, was named one of the top 50 photography books by American Photo Magazine. Her work is also included in the critically acclaimed photography book Mfon: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora. Elian studied at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, where she explored multiple branches of storytelling. Her master's project explored centuries of city planning and investigated its role in the creation and maintenance of inequality.