Stacey Vanek Smith is a senior reporter for Marketplace, where she covers banking, consumer finance, housing and advertising. She began her career with Marketplace in 2003 as an assistant producer and has worked as an editor, reporter and fills in as host on the Marketplace Morning Report. Vanek Smith is a graduate of Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and creative writing. She holds a masters degree in French cultural studies and a masters in broadcast journalism from Columbia University. She also received a fellowship from the National Press Foundation to attend the Wharton Business Journalist Seminars in 2010. She is fluent in French and proficient in German. Vanek Smith’s work has appeared in TIME magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Boise Weekly, Idaho Weddings, Freakonomics Radio, Weekend America, The California Report and Marketplace. A native of Idaho, Vanek Smith now lives in Brooklyn. She spends most of her free time exploring the city, cooking, watching reality television and trying to decide who makes the best pizza in New York.