Kenzie O’Keefe, Executive Director
Kenzie O’Keefe has led ThreeSixty Journalism since 2023. She sees journalism as an essential component of civic health and a powerful tool for building a more just society. She is driven by a commitment to helping young people pursue truth, deepen their understanding of their communities, and find agency and purpose through storytelling.
Prior to ThreeSixty, she was editor of North News, a classroom journalism teacher at North High in Minneapolis, and a nonprofit leader. Most recently, she served as head of mobilization and narrative strategy at Pillsbury United Communities. There, she managed the organization’s community media social enterprises and led a team of community-based storytellers producing media and strategic messaging designed to shift narratives about people, place, race, and poverty and to support policy and systems change rooted in equity.
Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kenzie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where she was editor in chief of a top ten student newspaper in the country, the Los Angeles Loyolan. She has completed executive education in public policy design and behavioral insights from the Harvard Kennedy School and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in psychology from the University of St. Thomas.
Denise Huang, Associate Director of Operations and Systems
Denise joined ThreeSixty in December 2022. Previously, as a community engagement manager, she worked with Asian American and immigrant nonprofits in the Chicago area, providing community education and culturally responsive programming to diverse groups on topics related to immigration, gender, structural violence, and Asian American histories.
Denise is drawn to compelling and incisive storytelling and enjoys working with young people to explore their voice.
Denise is from San Francisco and is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts and the University of Chicago, where she studied political theory. She brings a love for fluffy prose and dislike for run-on sentences.
Pechulano Ngwe Ali, Associate Director of Programs
Pechulano joined ThreeSixty in June 2025. Pechulano is multimedia storyteller and educator with experience in journalism, public communication, and external relations. He has a knack for persuasive, engaging and impactful journalistic storytelling that centers people and communities. He is passionate about leveraging his skills in media production and curriculum design and implementation, to train and mentor young people in finding, developing and using their voices for civic engagement in their communities.
Previously, he taught college courses in data journalism, podcasting and narrative audio storytelling, long form multimedia journalism and international communication. He has also worked in the humanitarian sector, including with UNHCR, where he helped communicate the needs and stories of displaced communities in the Republic of Congo.
Outside of work, Pechulano is an avid reader, a devoted fan and producer of narrative audio stories, an amateur tennis player and an at-home chef.
Mackera Molomangai, Youth Voice Project Associate
Mackera joined ThreeSixty Journalism in August 2026 as a Civic Bridgers Fellow. She is a 2025 graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Entertainment Marketing and a foundation in film and television. Her work is grounded in the intersection of creativity, strategy, and storytelling. She is particularly passionate about fostering greater diversity among storytellers across industries and addressing the “danger of a single story” by creating space for a broader range of perspectives and experiences.
Mackera is drawn to ThreeSixty Journalism’s commitment to uplifting young people in underrepresented communities, supporting them in finding their voices, and equipping them with the tools to create meaningful impact within their communities. Her professional experience spans entertainment, fashion, media, and the arts, including projects with Vogue Czech Republic, TEDx Columbia College Chicago, and Chicago Fashion Week Powered by FashionBar. She has also developed marketing campaigns and creative strategies for independent filmmakers and emerging artists. Through her work at ThreeSixty, Mackera aims to further develop her skills and contribute to the intersection of storytelling, creativity, strategy, and civic engagement.
