Could you or someone you know be a great nonprofit news leader?

INN is committed to building and empowering this next generation. We formed the Emerging Leaders Council (ELC) in 2017 to identify, connect, retain and build up the diverse leaders who will continue to innovate, grow and expand nonprofit news over the next 20 years. 

The Emerging Leaders Council (ELC) provides participants with individualized coaching as they complete a project for their news organization while also boosting their leadership skills and connections across the field. People who have benefited from the program include:

• Those rising into leadership positions for the first time
• Experienced leaders who are new to nonprofit news
• Leaders of small and midsize nonprofit news organizations who want to expand their skill set and forge connections across the field

Projects should focus on strategy, operations, product development or revenue generation and fundraising. Past projects include initiating major-donor programs, building audience growth strategies, undertaking new fundraising campaigns, reviewing hiring processes to ensure they are equitable, refining source tracking tools, building a new collaborations framework and improving onboarding processes.

Nominations for this year’s cohort are now closed. If you have questions about the program, please email Sara Shahriari.

2022 Emerging Leaders Cohort

Class of 2022, listed from top left to right:

• Deana Balinton, Civic Partnership Manager, El Tímpano
• Ryan Sorrell, Founding Editor, The Kansas City Defender
• Angela Saavedra, Audience Development Leader, El Paso Matters
• Kassie Kelly, Membership Manager, The Texas Tribune
• 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.

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 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 in our blog post.

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