Jill Watanabe covers downtown Manhattan.

Though she isn’t wordy herself, Jill has been thinking about words for a good part of her life. The native Washingtonian graduated with a degree in English literature and communications from Northwestern University, where she resisted the temptation to study journalism at the Medill Journalism School in favor of a liberal arts education. But author Alex Kotlowitz’s class on nonfiction writing convinced her to apply to the Columbia Journalism School to brush up on her skills and hone her craft.

Jill works in public relations at Time Warner, where she helps Time, Fortune and Money magazines and CNNMoney.com publicize their content. She lives in downtown Manhattan.