[2] Her mother, Carrie, is a social worker; her father, Barry, is the former longtime coach of Timberlane Regional High School's decorated wrestling program and is of Armenian descent; and she has a younger sister, Cara.
[2] Chooljian began her journalism career after college as an intern for the National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate WBEZ, reporting on local politics in Chicago.
[7] She stayed at WBEZ for almost six years, reporting and producing stories in a variety of fields—including politics for most of Rahm Emanuel's mayoral tenure—and occasionally serving as a guest host.
[3] In March 2022, NHPR published an investigation by Chooljian that revealed allegations of sexual misconduct against Eric Spofford, the founder of Granite Recovery Centers, a major drug rehabilitation network in New Hampshire.
[11][13] In September 2022, Spofford filed a libel lawsuit against Chooljian and NHPR, something the American Civil Liberties Union described as chilling toward free speech; a superior court judge dismissed the suit in April 2023.