About Us
285 South launched in August 2021, creating the first ever English language publication dedicated to Metro Atlanta’s growing immigrant and refugee communities.
The region has seen immense demographic changes in the past 20 years alone – especially in the growth of its immigrant and refugee communities. The most recent U.S. Census numbers confirm this new reality: Metro Atlanta is now made up of majority non-white residents. The shifts here have been analyzed in political terms – but what do they mean on a human to human level?
Our mission is to improve the quality of life for first and second generation immigrant and refugee communities in the Metro Atlanta area through news, information and storytelling, as well as to increase understanding between diverse groups in the region.
285 South was recognized with a Good Trouble Honor in 2025 from the Center for Civic Innovation, for the publication’s contribution to Democracy and Transparency in the Atlanta area. That same year, 285 South reporter Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow won the Atlanta Press Club’s Rising Star Award.
In 2024, 285 South was awarded a grant from The Pivot Fund, a venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing in hyperlocal Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)-led community newsrooms. 285 South is also a grantee of Press Forward’s ‘Closing Local Coverage Gaps” fund.
285 South is a member of LION Publishers, a professional association for local independent news publishers in the U.S. and Canada, and a member of the Georgia News Collaborative.
285 South adheres to the standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News
Sophia Qureshi
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Sophia is the founder of 285 South, Metro Atlanta’s only English language news publication dedicated to the region’s immigrant and refugee communities. Before launching 285 South in 2021, she worked for over 15 years in media and communications, including at Al Jazeera Media Network, CNN, the United Nations Development Programme, and South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).
Her writing has been published in Atlanta Magazine, Canopy Atlanta, the Atlanta Civic Circle, the Atlanta History Center, and The Local Palate. She won the Atlanta Press Club award for Narrative Nonfiction in 2023 and 2024; and was a recipient of the Raksha Community Change award in 2023 and was a fellow of Ohio University’s Kiplinger Public Affairs Journalism Program in 2024.
Contact her at sophia@285south.com and learn more about her here.
Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow
Reporter
Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow is a bilingual journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia, covering local news, immigration, and healthcare.
She has previously worked at The Miami Herald, CNN, and Miami Today News, and her work has been featured at the Atlanta Business Chronicle, WABE, Rough Draft, and Documented NY. In Venezuela, she worked at the investigative journalism outlets RunRun.es and Armando.info, covering politics, human rights, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gabriela won the Atlanta Press Club’s Rising Star Award in 2025.
CONTRIBUTORS
Sam Worley
Executive Editor
Sam Worley is a former editor at Atlanta Magazine and the Chicago Reader, and a writer whose work has appeared in Canopy Atlanta, Garden & Gun, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Epicurious, and elsewhere.
Liliana Alvarado
Fellow
Daniela Cintron
Born in Mexico, Daniela Cintron immigrated with her family to Georgia in 1999. As a journalist, editor and producer, she is passionate about shining light on the stories of underrepresented communities. Her work has been featured in publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Discover Atlanta, and OZ Magazine.
Gabriella Nuñez-Garcia
Hailing from the land of palm trees and cafecito, Gabriella Nuñez-Garcia is a Cuban-Panamanian journalist born and raised in Miami. Since moving to Atlanta in 2021, she’s immersed herself in the very different, and very diverse, cultures that exist even OTP. She’s passionate about exploring different perspectives and amplifying voices that may feel overlooked.
Lola Pak
Lola Pak is a Korean American writer and communications professional born and raised in Georgia. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in journalism and French from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in global communication from the George Washington University. Throughout her career in communications, Lola has worked in various sectors, including nonprofits, higher education, government, and healthcare IT. She currently resides in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband, daughter, and dog.
Fiza Pirani
Digital Audience Manager
Fiza Pirani immigrated to the United States from Saudi Arabia with her family in the mid-90s. Though she was born in India — and is still hoping to revisit her birthplace one day — Atlanta has been home for more than two decades. Fiza was previously a staff writer at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she earned a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism and founded Foreign Bodies, an award-winning mental health newsletter centering immigrants and next-gens. Her freelance work has been published in 285 South, Teen Vogue, The Guardian, and Electric Literature, among other publications. Fiza is currently at work on a memoir-in-progress.
Tasnim Shamma
Tasnim Shamma is a first generation Bangladeshi-American. She was born in Dhaka, moved to Queens, NY as an infant and now resides in Lilburn, GA. She was most recently the business/tech reporter at WABE 90.1 FM in Atlanta. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English Literature and certificate in Creative Writing and Journalism.
Are you a freelance writer and looking to pitch an idea for a story? Contact sophia@285south.com.