GCA Welcomes Craig Newmark Scholar, Julian Hayda

GCA Welcomes Craig Newmark Trustworthy Internet and Democracy Program Journalism Scholar Julian Hayda


Julian Hayda is an award-winning journalist, multimedia presenter, and community convener. As a lifelong Chicagoan, raised in the local Ukrainian community, he joins GCA to explore issues of democracy, identity, discourse, and privacy in the digital space.

“While the Internet has undoubtedly improved the lives of people who have access to it, it’s not something we can all take for granted,” said Hayda. “I’m excited at the prospect of leveraging GCA’s technical expertise into making the world a more just, equitable, and peaceful place.”

Hayda brings a wealth of nonprofit media experience. He spent four years as a talk show producer at several NPR member stations, three of which were producing the flagship global-issues talk show on WBEZ Chicago, Worldview. At the onset of the 2013-2014 revolution in Ukraine, Hayda co-founded the Euromaidan Journalist Collective, which has since merged with the New York-based group Razom Think. In that capacity, Hayda co-led several fact-finding missions to cover different sides of the protest movement and ensuing war in Donbas, presenting at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Fordham University, Stanford University, the DePaul University School of Law, as well as at other conferences around the United States. Hayda will bring his experience in facilitating issues-based dialogue across sectors and disciplines to GCA.

“I expect that the mission-oriented initiatives of GCA will have an ever-more important role in alleviating conflict and reinvigorating democratic institutions in the coming years,” said Hayda.

Hayda’s work in the multimedia space has included directing a feature-length documentary titled Block Four: Chernobyl 2011 and producing news segments surrounding deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych’s participation in the 2012 NATO Summit. He also participated in a research project on Romani music, culture, and human rights with the University of Pittsburgh in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia and completed a seminar in International Law with the DePaul University Law School at the University of Havana in Cuba. Hayda holds an M.A. degree in International Studies from DePaul University and a B.A. in Journalism and Digital Cinema Production, also from DePaul.

Welcome to the GCA team, Julian!