Katharine Lake Berz

Katharine Lake Berz is a freelance journalist who writes about the impact of national and international issues on people’s lives. Her work has appeared in the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, CBC, Broadview, National Post, The Canadian Press, TVO, News Decoder, The Walrus and others.

Katharine won two North American awards for her article about Canadian children in a Syrian refugee camp and was nominated for a National Newspaper Award for her series on Ukrainian women and children who survived Russian war crimes. Her award-winning film Unbroken: A Story of Resistance portrays these victims fighting to stay alive.

Before becoming a journalist, Katharine worked at McKinsey & Company and advised a number of not-for-profit organizations. She holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Queen’s University, a master of philosophy degree in international relations from Cambridge University and was a fellow in the Fellowship of Global Journalism at the University of Toronto.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Articles
Donald Trump gave this evangelist a job at the White House. Now they push for God’s ‘glorious mission for America’
Toronto Star
Donald Trump gave this evangelist a job at the White House. Now they push for God’s ‘glorious mission for America’
Toronto Star

A White House task force, which includes Paula White, will “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society,”

Toronto Star
She could have fled to Canada. She stayed in Ukraine to help others, after three years of war and her own fight for life
Toronto Star
She could have fled to Canada. She stayed in Ukraine to help others, after three years of war and her own fight for life
Toronto Star

This young mother once struggled to survive. Now she’s a lifeline for Ukraine’s most vulnerable. 

Toronto Star
“Safe consumption sites gave me a second chance at life. Their closure could be my death sentence”
Toronto Life
“Safe consumption sites gave me a second chance at life. Their closure could be my death sentence”
Toronto Life

Chris Halls, a 53-year-old college-educated father, is battling a severe opioid addiction. He says his survival depends on Moss Park Consumption Treatment Services, one of the harm reduction sites the Ford government plans to shut down.

Toronto Life
Stuck in a Syrian refugee camp, this mother could send her children to Canada. But she may never see them again
Broadview Magazine
Stuck in a Syrian refugee camp, this mother could send her children to Canada. But she may never see them again
Broadview Magazine

Samia's Canadian children are in danger of dying or becoming victims of violence, but she faces an impossible choice.

Broadview Magazine

  • “Katharine will raise the game immensely for the profession”

    – Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Company

  • "I’ve worked with many journalists since Marie Colvin was killed, but none have matched her passion and skill for telling these kind of stories - till now."

    Paul Conroy, Photographer and filmmaker