Jean Friedman-Rudovsky and Cassie Haynes

Resolve Philly

In five short years, Jean Friedman-Rudovsky and Cassie Haynes grew Resolve Philly from a two-person operation to an organization with 24 full-time staff members and a $3.6 million annual budget through effective shared leadership and staff-centered workplace practices.

Resolve’s reporting model is seen as the gold standard for local news collaboration; it has been replicated in dozens of newsrooms worldwide, written into school curricula and cited in case studies as a best practice. Now, they’re helping other newsrooms and journalists through Modifier, a practice change and professional development service that concentrates on earned revenue.

In 2020, the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy recognized Resolve as one of nine organizations globally with the highest impact return on investment, and a former Pulitzer Prize president called Resolve a groundbreaking solution to the crisis facing local news. In 2022, the co-leaders won the Al Día Women of Merit nonprofit leadership award.