About

Caryl Anne Francia

kæ.rɪl an fræn.ʃə, alternatively “kɛ.rʌl,” and “fræn.siə”

For those not familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet: ka-ril — the “ca” in “Catherine,” and the “ril” in “brilliant” — is the correct pronunciation, per parents.

But ker-il — as in “care” and “ill” — works, too. The Anne is an optional add-on.

キャリアーン・フランシア（「キャリルアン」はもっと妥当けど、高校の日本語先生からその名をもらった。「フランシャ」の発音もいいです。）

📍 New York City + Elsewhere

Mainly, I’m a journalist and writer. I also double as a photographer, illustrator and copy editor as needed.

I currently write for Pensions & Investments. As I explain to college students and younger peers — yes, it’s a trade newspaper centered on pension funds, retirement plans and, well, investments.

But I somehow make it sound more exciting and interesting by talking about endowments and foundations — because those are what college students sort of understand, or are gaining more fascination in — as well as emerging and diverse talent and investment vehicles within asset management.

I joined as an editorial intern in September 2023. That moment came after spending three months writing about stock trends, corporate news and economic releases as a freelancer and intern with the markets team within Morningstar’s editorial department.

I graduated from Baruch College, where I majored in Journalism and Creative Writing and minored in Japanese. I’m still quite involved through alumni affairs.

I served as the business editor for The Ticker, Baruch’s independent student-run newspaper. From December 2021 to May 2023 as well as January 2024, I dedicated my time to helping students grow as writers and the section flourish as something representative of not only the college but the grander business world. I was privileged to work with such a talented group of people.

I’ve worn other hats for The Ticker, notably starting as a copy editor for all six sections. I’ve also been a graphics artist, occasional photographer and theatre columnist. On top of that, I maintained the editors’ databases and spreadsheets of writers.

If my passion for journalism hasn’t been emphasized here enough, I was also the founding secretary for Baruch’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Elsewhere, I’ve lent my Japanese-to-English literary translation services to RareAudreyHepburn, a blog capturing the life of the actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. You’ll find my name acknowledged in the blog writer’s first book, debuted February 2024.

All of my passions are rooted in my upbringing — so that entails exposure to good storytelling via local news in New York, national magazines as well as Japanese media — thanks to my grandfather, parents and teachers. But the biggest push comes from falling in love with feature stories and radio news, as well as the support of the diverse staffers for The Ticker’s business section.

Extra kudos to my high school Japanese teacher for advocating for my interests in studying the language as well as pursuing journalism as a career.

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