Philippa Levenberg was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but grew up in Marin County, California. She has lived in South Africa for the last twelve years and recently moved to D.C. to pursue a Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism at American University.

She graduated, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Cape Town (UCT), in 2008, with an Honors (postgraduate) Degree in Political Communication, during which she researched the impact of Barack Obama’s rhetoric on the youth vote. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Print Journalism, Political Science and Media Studies from UCT.

Reporting for her college newspaper, she exposed a case of gender violence committed by a member of the Student Representative Council and urged the university senate to pass consequential motions for religious minorities on campus.

She has taught journalism to previously disadvantaged high school students in the South African townships, and most recently worked as a Features Reporter for Creamer Media, the Johannesburg-based publisher of websites and magazines Mining Weekly and Engineering News.