Colette is a writer telling stories about what it means to belong. To that end, she covers diverse topics: race and equity, real estate, travel, education, wellness, and the places where these areas intersect. Prior to becoming a journalist, Colette worked at the Federal Reserve investigating bank fraud, with ed tech startups advising them on the K-12 market, at yoga schools leading community classes, and as a teacher in Los Angeles and Central Java, Indonesia. A Brooklyn native, she has lived, worked and traveled in many countries across the globe, everywhere from Venezuela to Vanuatu. She’s currently working on a memoir about her experiences across education.

Colette is an alumna of Yale University and Teach For America. She speaks Spanish fluently, French and Italian conversationally, and Bahasa Indonesia at a basic level.

A frequent contributor to The New York Times, Colette is a 2025-2026 Spencer Fellow at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her 2024 work in The New York Times won the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ President’s Award for Best Freelance Collection, and her article on Blaxit won the Gold Award for Best International Real Estate Article.