Turning Points - Rose Burke

In this episode of Turning Points, Patricia Killeen speaks with Rose Burke, a Pittsburgh native who has made Paris her home since 1994.

Rose’s life took a turn for the worse in 2023 when her daughter Emma, then 22, was killed in a bicycle crash in Glasgow, where she was studying architecture and working.

Following this tragedy, Rose retired and, together with her husband John Newman, founded the nonprofit Emma Builds A Better World, Association EBN. The association is dedicated to honoring Emma’s legacy, advocating for safer streets, and creating opportunities for young people. Among its initiatives is a €5,000 annual arts grant awarded to emerging young artists, covering art, architecture, and the performing arts. It was recently announced U.K. artist Pax Alberto is the winner of the 2025 'EBN Art and Architecture' grant.

Rose spent a decade freelancing in Paris for outlets such as USA Today, BusinessWeek, and The Washington Post. From 2004 until her retirement, she was a senior writer at S&P Global. She also contributed to journalism education, designing and teaching Issues in Journalism at the University of Paris 8 and creating a journalism curriculum for the Sorbonne.

Earlier in her career, Rose worked as a policy analyst in Washington, D.C., before becoming an editor at Dow Jones and later writing for the international editions of the Wall Street Journal. An accomplished public speaker, she earned the title of Distinguished Toastmaster in 2020.

Find out more about Rose Burke on her LinkedIn. Discover the Emma Burke memoriam blog here. Check out the Association EBN website as well.