April 27, 2023

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) welcomes the members of the 2023 Emerging Leaders Council – our largest cohort yet. Now in its sixth year, the program supports diverse news leaders who will innovate and grow the nonprofit news field. The 16 people in this year’s cohort represent the wide scope of nonprofit news organizations in the INN Network — from a local digital media startup to a long-established national magazine.

“The commitment to bold innovation and service to their communities I see in these nonprofit news leaders is thrilling,” said Sara Shahriari, director of leadership & talent development at INN. “I also know their work is complex and sometimes draining, and that’s why the Emerging Leaders Council is so important. When we bring together leaders with experienced coaches, they share knowledge that builds sustainability in our field and forges an uplifting community that renews each person and accelerates their leadership growth.”

Over four months, participants engage in one-on-one coaching and connect with a network of their peers to launch ambitious and transformative projects focused on revenue, readership, policy and more.

Ryan Sorrell, a member of the 2022 Emerging Leaders Council cohort, launched the Kansas City Defender in July 2021 to provide trusted news for Black people in Missouri and Kansas. Through last year’s program, he worked with his coach to produce short- and long-term goals for the news organization, as well as a projected budget.

“As a first-time entrepreneur — only a few years out of college might I add — I do not have experience with organizational strategy/planning or how to scale an organization,” said Sorrell. “Through this program I was able to accomplish both of these important goals in a way that gave me clear direction on how to move forward in the short term in a way that enables me to also move closer to our long-term vision.”

The Emerging Leaders Council is made possible by the generous support of the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Knight Foundation and INN’s general support funders.

About the 2023 emerging leaders

LaTrina Antoine is editor-in-chief of American Witness. She has experience reporting on local criminal justice systems, national agriculture policies, the Military District of Washington and the accounts receivable management industry. She instructed college classes on advertising, news writing and multimedia design, and was selected for John Jay Juvenile Reporting Fellowships in 2019 and 2018. LaTrina holds a Master’s Degree in strategic public relations; a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with concentrations in women and gender studies, Africana studies and creative writing; and a certificate in web design.

Jina Chung is the executive director at Making Contact and a Korean-American nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience in fundraising and nonprofit management. She is a fierce advocate of community-centric fundraising and helps mission- driven organizations use fundraising models rooted in equity and social justice to support their vision. Previously, Jina was the senior director of development & partnerships at the International Documentary Association (IDA), overseeing membership, institutional and individual giving, and corporate sponsorship programs. Gina also managed a diverse portfolio of income-generating programs, including Screening Series, IDA Awards, Awards Spotlight, and advertising.

Thalia Henderson is director of development for EdSource. Previously, she was director of development for Fostering Media Connections, where she ensured journalism focused on foster youth, youth justice, and youth homelessness was well-supported. She began her career providing employment case management to foster youth at The RightWay Foundation, where she also started fundraising. Thalia is a graduate of USC with B.A. degrees in Creative Writing and Social Sciences and lives in Los Angeles.

Nina Misuraca Ignaczak is founder and editor of Planet Detroit, a digital media startup telling Detroit’s environmental stories while building a community of engaged readers who are informed and empowered to take action. She’s an award-winning journalist and a documentary filmmaker who writes and produces stories about the environment, place, and identity. Before her journalism career, she worked in urban planning in local government and nonprofit sectors. Nina has a Master of Science in natural resource ecology and a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Jenny Jacklin-Stratton is managing editor at CatchLight, a visual-first non-profit media organization that believes in the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect and transform communities. Jenny leads engagement strategy and editorial production of impact-driven projects, including the CatchLight Local Visual Journalism Initiative and California Visual Desk. She completed a U.S. Education Department FLAS fellowship in Arabic Language, and was a Lewis Hine Fellow at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University focusing on restorative narratives and maternal healthcare.

Zsuzsanna Lippai is the chief operations and strategy officer of The Fuller Project. Previously, at the Open Society Foundations, she served as the director for strategy and impact at the Human Rights Initiative and as the acting director of OSF’s women’s rights work. Prior, Zsuzsanna served as an advisor on assessing national policies on women, peace, and security for the Institute for Inclusive Security. Zsuzsanna holds an MA from American University and a BA/MA from Corvinus University in Budapest, Hungary.

Anna Massoglia manages editorial content and investigations at OpenSecrets as well as dark money and foreign influence research. She holds degrees in psychology and political science from North Carolina State University and a J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law. Prior to rejoining OpenSecrets in June 2018, Anna worked as a research analyst and editor at Bloomberg Tax.

Kate Miller is the director of major gifts at The Intercept, where she supports organizational and development strategy, manages a portfolio of institutional and individual major donors, and directs major donor engagement and communications. Kate is an experienced development professional passionate about social impact and mission-driven work. She has experience securing and stewarding five and six figure gifts through strategic cultivation of meaningful relationships with philanthropic partners. 

Daniel Nichanian is the editor-in-chief of Bolts, a publication that covers the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up. He is also the executive director of The Political Report, Inc., the nonprofit that runs Bolts. Daniel has a PhD in political science at the University of Chicago, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York Mag and Vox, among other publications. From 2018 to 2021, he was the founder and editorial director of The Political Report vertical at The Appeal.

Inae Oh is senior news and engagement editor at Mother Jones. She previously served as Mother Jones’s Associate News Editor and News and Engagement Editor. Inae’s prior experience includes roles at HuffPost as both New York editor and associate editor, an editorial coordinator position at AOL for Patch, and an editorial internship at New York Daily News. Inae completed her BA in History and Journalism at New York University.

Alyia Paulding (she/they) is the membership and development manager at PublicSource, working to establish and nurture relationships with donors and funders. She’s worked in the nonprofit field for over 15 years, where she’s built and managed systems to capture and communicate impact and inspire action. She holds an associate’s degree in social science from the Community College of Allegheny County and is currently working to obtain her Grant Professionals Certification (GPC) credential.

Jada Pulley (they/them) is the operations manager at MinnPost. Jada acts as the organization’s human resources specialist and facilitates a working group that advances diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. This mirrors their personal passion of increasing access to improv theater for people who are traditionally marginalized on and off stage. Jada holds a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology from Brown University.

Teresa Tauchi is the Prison Journalism Project’s chief operating officer. She is a business and marketing professional with over 25 years of experience helping entrepreneurs, best-selling authors, start-ups, small businesses, high-tech corporations, arts organizations and nonprofits with consulting projects. She previously worked for several start-ups, as well as Adobe Systems, Inc. and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Teresa holds a B.A. in economics from U.C. Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley.

Courtney Teague is newsletter editor at Honolulu Civil Beat, where she manages email products and builds digital audiences. She’s worked as a reporter in Hawaii and California, and draws on that editorial experience to keep readers at the forefront of Civil Beat’s audience strategy by crafting emails that break down complex news reporting in an accessible, conversational manner. Courtney holds degrees in English and philosophy from the University of Hawaii Manoa.

Michelle Williams is the growth and partnerships director at Capital B. She was previously the editorial director of TexasMonthly.com, where she oversaw a team that won a 2021 City and Regional Magazine Association Award for Excellence Online. Prior to that, she was an editor and producer on CNN’s Newsource Digital team, and a business and technology editor at The Washington Post.

Richard Young is the founder and executive director of CivicLex. He lives in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, and serves as a founding steering committee member of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange, the preeminent national framework for bringing together rural and urban communities to understand their interdependence. Richard’s work has been featured on/in Lenfest Institute for Journalism, PBS NewsHour, and Foreign Affairs, and his work has invested more than $4.5M into Kentucky’s civic fabric.

Sara Shahriari (she/her) is director of leadership and talent development at the Institute for Nonprofit News. Sara believes everyone benefits when people make time and have support to build leadership skills–and that programs like the Emerging Leaders Council are crucial to sustainability, growth and talent retention in nonprofit news. Sara builds the Emerging Leaders’ curriculum and coaching experience with the support of many talented collaborators, and she celebrates the enduring connections leaders form during the program. If you have questions about the Emerging Leaders Council or journalism talent development, reach out to sara@inn.org.