Emerging Leaders Council

From 2017 to 2025, INN ran the Emerging Leaders Council (ELC) to identify, connect, coach and retain the diverse leaders who will innovate and strengthen nonprofit news over the next decade. Over the years, Emerging Leaders Council (ELC) provided 90 participants with individualized coaching as they completed a project for their news organization while also boosting their leadership skills and connections across the field.

2024 Emerging Leaders Cohort

Class of 2024, listed from top left to right:

  • Laurén Abdel-Razzaq, executive director, BridgeDetroit
  • Khadijah Bland, director of major gifts, The Beacon
  • Tara Francis Chan, managing editor and operations director, The Appeal
  • Andrew Fan, executive director, Invisible Institute
  • Ja Keen Fox, founder, The Dreamland Report
  • Alex Ip, founder and editor-in-chief, The Xylom
  • Kathryn Juricic, development and impact manager, The Narwhal
  • Vandana Kumar, president and CEO, India Currents Foundation
  • Christiaan Mader, founder and executive editor, The Current
  • Colleen Murphy, managing editor for the Local Network, Open Campus
  • Lupita Parra, development director, MLK50
  • Celine Piser, senior director of development, The Intercept
  • Jessica Silverman, executive director, Tradeoffs
  • Mia Warren (she/her), managing director, Feet in 2 Worlds

Emerging Leaders Alumni

These leaders represent the excellence and diversity of nonprofit news organizations working to inform communities through factual journalism and build philanthropic support for news. Positions are those held at the time of their participation in the program.

Class of 2023, listed from top left to right:

  • LaTrina Antoine, editor-in-chief, American Witness
  • Jina Chung, executive director, Making Contact
  • Thalia Henderson, director of development, EdSource
  • Nina Misuraca Ignaczak, founder and editor, Planet Detroit
  • Jenny Jacklin-Stratton, managing editor, CatchLight
  • Zsuzsanna Lippai, chief operations and strategy officer, The Fuller Project
  • Anna Massoglia, editorial and investigations manager, OpenSecrets
  • Kate Miller, director of major gifts, The Intercept
  • Daniel Nichanian, editor-in-chief, Bolts
  • Inae Oh, senior news and engagement editor, Mother Jones
  • Alyia Paulding, membership and development manager, PublicSource
  • Jada Pulley, operations manager, MinnPost
  • Teresa Tauchi, chief operating officer, Prison Journalism Project 
  • Courtney Teague, newsletter editor, Honolulu Civil Beat
  • Michelle Williams, growth and partnerships director, Capital B
  • Richard Young, founder and executive director, CivicLex

Read about the 16 news professionals in the 2023 cohort.

Class of 2022, listed from top left to right:

  • Deana Balinton, Civic Partnership Manager, El Tímpano
  • Angela Saavedra, Audience Development Leader, El Paso Matters
  • Kassie Kelly, Membership Manager, The Texas Tribune
  • Ryan Sorrell, Founding Editor, The Kansas City Defender
  • Will Schick, Editor-In-Chief, Street Sense Media
  • Miriam Valverde, Deputy Editor, Politifact
  • Bevin Christie, Project Manager, News 414
  • Tanner Curl, Executive Director, MinnPost
  • Cassie Young, Director, Grey Matter Media/Matter News
  • Dan Weissmann, Founder and Host, An Arm and a Leg
  • Keri Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director, Dallas Free Press
  • Emily Churchill, Director of Operations, Religion News Service
  • Shazdeh Omari, Director of Development, Global Press
  • Safeena Dhalla, Director of Operations and Impact, The Narwhal
  • Jacob Fries, Executive Director, InvestigateWest

Read about the 15 news professionals in the 2022 cohort.

Class of 2021, listed from top left to right:

  • Zenobia Jeffreys Warfield, Executive Editor, YES! Magazine
  • Yukari Kane, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Prison Journalism Project
  • Nathalie Applewhite, Strategic Director of Development, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
  • Julián Aguilar, Editor, El Paso Matters
  • Georgiana Ausan, Assistant Director, Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance
  • Bethanie Glaser, Chief of Staff, Chalkbeat
  • Sumi Aggarwal, Interim Editor in Chief, Reveal
  • ‎Kristine Villanueva, Project Editor, Resolve Philadelphia
  • Nissa Rhee, Executive Director, Borderless Magazine
  • Kimberly Griffin, Founding Publisher, Mississippi Free Press
  • Jennifer Hack Wolf, Audience Development Manager, The Beacon
  • Janeen Jones, Design Editor, Center for Public Integrity
  • Elliott Robinson, News Editor, Charlottesville Tomorrow

You can learn more about the 2021 cohort.

Class of 2020, listed from top left to right:

  • Suzanne Behnke, Executive Director and Editor, The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism
  • Jahna Berry, Chief Operating Officer, Mother Jones
  • Annie Chabel, Chief Operating Officer, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting
  • Lauchlin Fields, Audience Development Director, Mississippi Today
  • Mukhtar Ibrahim, Editor and Executive Editor, Sahan Journal
  • Judy Lin, Assistant Editor, CalMatters
  • Loren Lynch, Chief Revenue Officer, The Texas Observer
  • Corrie MacLaggan, Managing Editor, Texas Tribune
  • Jim Malewitz, Investigations Editor, Wisconsin Watch
  • Irene Romulo, Co-Founder, Cicero Independiente
  • Brandon Quester, Executive Editor and Director, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting

Class of 2019, listed from top left to right:

  • Thomas Brennan, Founder, The War Horse
  • Brian Calvert, Editor-in-Chief, High Country News
  • Candice Fortman, Chief of Engagement and Operations, Outlier Media
  • Lucas Grindley, Executive Director, Next City
  • Andrea Faye Hart, Co-Founder and Director of Community Engagement, City Bureau
  • Brian Hiatt, Marketing and Membership Director, Mother Jones
  • Kay Lima, Director, INN Labs
  • Byrhonda Lyons, Video Journalist, CALmatters
  • Asraa Mustufa, Digital Editor, The Chicago Reporter
  • Akoto Ofori-Atta, Managing Editor, The Trace
  • Tasneem Raja, Executive Editor, The Tyler Loop

Class of 2017, from top left to right:

  • Jim Small, Executive Director and Editor, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
  • Natalie Choate, Director of Media Relations and Partnerships, Texas Tribune
  • Lauren Fuhrmann, Associate Director, Wisconsin Watch
  • Sarah Garland, Executive Editor, The Hechinger Report
  • Dave Levinthal, Federal Politics Editor and Senior Reporter, Center for Public Integrity
  • Ben Nishimoto, Director of Philanthropy, Honolulu Civil Beat
  • Brad Racino, Senior Reporter, Assistant Director and Director of Partnerships & Innovation, inewsource
  • Amber Rivera, Engagement Editor, Inside Energy
  • Paula Saha, Director of Audience and Donor Development, NJ Spotlight
  • Halle Stockton, Managing Editor, PublicSource

The Emerging Leaders Council is made possible by the generous support of the Knight Foundation.

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