Ulaby began her career as an intern for the features desk of the
Topeka Capital-Journal from 1993 to 1994 and later freelanced for the
Chicago Reader and the
Washington City Paper. Ulaby became managing editor of
Chicago's
Windy City Times in 1999, holding the post for one year, and later became co-host of the radio program ''What's Coming Out at the Movies''. She has taught classes in the humanities at the University of Chicago,
Northeastern Illinois University, and at high schools serving at-risk students. She has also edited fiction for
The Chicago Review and served on the editing staff of the prominent academic journal
Critical Inquiry. Ulaby joined
NPR in 2000 as part of their Next Generation Radio Initiative, and worked as an editorial assistant and producer before becoming a reporter in 2003. == Notable work ==