Maynard Institute partners with UNC Chapel Hill Hussman School community to welcome second regional training cohort

By Maynard Institute Staff

The Maynard Institute’s Regional Training Series will welcome another dynamic cohort of emerging media leaders on July 17 and 18, hosted by UNC Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media (CISLM).

The program will provide customized training from 15 news experts and a community of support for early and mid-career editors and managers in newsrooms as well as nonprofit and/or communications organizations. The first training day will kick off with a welcome from Dr. Raul Reis, dean of the Hussman School.

“The UNC Hussman Community deeply values the transformative work of the Maynard Institute,” Dr. Reis said. “We are proud to support their mission by sharing our space, time and expertise to help cultivate the next generation of leaders in journalism.

The Maynard Institute’s partnership with the UNC Hussman School and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media builds on the allyship of both organizations. Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, director of the Maynard Regional Training Series, said the Institute is grateful for the exceptional support from the university.

“The deep knowledge of regional news and innovative frameworks of the UNC Hussman community’s faculty and specialists will be instrumental in propelling our mission. Alongside the expertise of executive-level Maynard faculty, they will help us continue incubating emerging media leaders who authentically represent our communities and are shaping newsrooms with integrity and courage,” Alcazaren-Keeley said.

“Our second regional training will provide concrete toolkits, cutting-edge frameworks, coaching and the Maynard community of support that will bolster the competency, successful leadership and resilience of frontline editors and managers,” she said. “It is crucial, especially in these adverse times with threats to journalism and vital institutions, to stand with them and their work that defends democracy.

Trainees represent a wide range of state, local, hyperlocal, community-powered and ethnic media outlets serving communities in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Their work includes covering neighborhood businesses and the arts with The Carrborean, reporting on public education through EdNC, and sharing stories from Black communities in Gary, Indiana, through Capital B, among others.

Over the two days, attendees will explore leadership development topics ranging from editorial decision-making and finding the heart of the story to managing difficult conversations, a session led by the Institute’s senior director of strategic initiatives, Felecia D. Henderson.

“We have been very intentional about the sessions we are offering in this program,” Henderson said. “As former news leaders, we know the issues emerging news leaders face, such as having difficult conversations with employees. We want to provide frontline editors and managers with the confidence needed to lead with clarity, navigate change, and make a meaningful impact on those they supervise.

Jean Marie Brown, associate professor of professional practice at Texas Christian University’s Bob Scheffer’s College of Communication, will facilitate the Leaning into your Fault Lines® – Managing News Coverage session, which centers the Institute’s signature Fault Lines framework, designed to help editors understand how biases and blindspots inform the way they guide news coverage. 

Marisa Porto, UNC’s Knight Chair in Local News and Sustainability, will lead a session on Best Practices & Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, a topic that is impacting news organizations. “AI is going to continue evolving,” Porto said. “To adapt and remain successful, news organizations will need to have a strategic plan in place for how they can use AI to grow their audience, increase efficiencies, and improve their bottom line, while being prepared to adjust along the way.”

Attendees will also engage in a unique, live demonstration and interactive workshop of CISLM’S local news audience assistant – a custom GPT built to compile best practices, Q&As, tip sheets and more from journalism support organizations. The session will be led by CISLM’s Sarah Vassello and Yanan Sun. 

The two-day training will conclude with a discussion of news leaders representing organizations across North Carolina, such as the Charlotte Observer, La Noticia, Qcitymetro.com, the Asheville Citizen Times and The Assembly. CISLM interim director Jessica Mahone will moderate the discussion, which will focus on the state of media in North Carolina and the challenges of covering news in the midst of distrust of local and national media and government.

Also joining are Alli Pardue and Daneen Khan, respectively editor-in-chief and community engagement managing editor of The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s award-winning daily student newspaper.

Meet the Maynard Regional Training Faculty & Partners – July 2025
Faculty:

Faculty:

• Diego Barahona, editor, La Noticia
• Jean Marie Brown, associate professor of professional practice, Bob Schieffer College of Communication, TCU
• Glenn H. Burkins, founder/publisher, Qcitymetro.com
• Maria Carrillo, consultant and coach, Carrillo & Associates
• Rana L. Cash, executive editor, Charlotte Observer
• Karen Chávez, executive editor, Asheville Citizen Times 
• Tom Huang, assistant managing editor, Dallas Morning News
• Kyle Villemain, founder/editor, The Assembly
• Paul Hunton, president, North Carolina Public Radio- WUNC

UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and CISLM
Partners & Faculty:

• Raul Reis, dean, UNC Hussman School of Journalism & Media
• Jessica Mahone, interim director, CISLM
• Prof. Marisa Porto, Knight Chair in Local News and Sustainability, CISLM
• Yanan Sun, local news researcher, CISLM
• Sarah Vassello, project manager, CISLM 

Maynard Institute Executive Team:

• Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, director, Maynard Regional Training Series
• Nadia Campbell-Mitchell, director of development, Maynard Institute
• Felicia D. Henderson, senior director of strategic initiatives, Maynard Institute 
• Evelyn Hsu, co-executive director, Maynard Institute 
• Martin G. Reynolds, co-executive director, Maynard Institute

“At a time when trust in institutions is under strain, our partnership with the Maynard Institute reflects our shared commitment to integrity, empathy and equity in journalism,” Mahone said. “We’re proud to support this program that gives emerging editors and managers the space, tools and community to lead with clarity and purpose and to build newsrooms where truth and a deep sense of responsibility to the public are at the center of decision-making.” 

The Maynard Regional Training Series is made possible thanks to the support of our generous funders The Ford Foundation and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and donations from individuals who support our mission of diversifying journalism.

About the Maynard Institute

For more than 45 years, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs which give media professionals the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs. 

The Maynard Institute would like to thank Craig Newmark Philanthropies for a generous grant of $50,000 in support of our mission to diversify news.

This grant will support our new training programs which build on the Maynard Institute’s Fault Lines® framework and the success of the Maynard 200 fellowship program.

Our new initiatives, the Maynard Communities of Practice and the Maynard Regional Training Series, will support existing alumni of Maynard legacy programs and expand our ever-growing network of journalists, media executives and entrepreneurs.

Through these community-focused programs we’re training journalists, editors, managers and media professionals in everything from authenticity in management and AI for audience to ethical editorial decisionmaking and reporting on race, gender and culture.

This generous grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will help underwrite convenings and strategic planning sessions with a coalition partner, support research and resource development for policy advocacy and expand our Maynard Regional Training Series to reach more journalists and further propel diversity and belonging in news.

Since 2018, Craig Newmark Philanthropies has contributed $1 million to suppprt the Maynard Institute and was among the first funders of Maynard 200.

Building community is central to the Maynard Institute’s mission. In April we launched our Maynard Communities of Practice, a tuition-free initiative for all institute alumni. This new program serves as a hub for specialized instruction, peer learning, coaching, open conversations, networking and support across various cohorts. It strengthens the network of Maynard alumni across different programs and generations.

This resilient support system helps community members navigate their pivotal roles in newsrooms and media spaces, grounded in belonging. Modeled after the Maynard 200 Fellowship curriculum tracks, the program offers customized training and open conversations led by newsroom executives and subject matter experts. Some themes for discussion include leading through change, ethical editorial decision-making, entrepreneurial journalism, audience & community engagement, innovation and media sustainability.

Each cohort engages in skills-based instruction and expert coaching led by high-caliber faculty. Participants will take part in open dialogues, sharing of best practices, collaborative projects and a supportive network designed to accelerate career growth and leadership development.

In line with one of the key frameworks of the program – peer-to-peer learning, alumni will drive discussions and also lead some sessions, to ensure the communities have relevant, solutions-focused conversations.

Guided by our Maynard legacy and recent programming alumni, our initial meetings discussed their desired topics reflecting the main challenges our alumni face as frontline editors, mid-career managers, executives, storytellers in traditional and remote newsrooms; and as freelance journalists and media entrepreneurs.

Our Maynard Communities of Practice wanted to know:

• How to adapt leadership to change
• How to utilize AI tools in storytelling and management
• How to lead difficult conversations
• How to create a path to sustainability for media entrepreneurs
• How stories can hold power to account
• How to ensure career viability and growth amid industry shifts and volatility
• How to structure teams to create multilingual content
• How to manage up, down and across generations
• How to manage time and projects effectively

Keeping up with the fast-changing world of digital journalism and the news needs of diverse communities, our Maynard alumni are incorporating new and trusted wisdom in team management, ethics & authenticity in storytelling, and audience engagement in their journalistic practices.

They’re also incorporating crisis management, newsroom and journalist safety, and community-centered story development while managing work/life balance and gender equity.

Embracing AI tools with guidance on ethics and a focus on dispelling misinformation in an increasingly social-media driven news environment, they’re examining the responsibility of media in current political climate and finding ways to rise to the occasion, cultivating media literacy while reporting the news.

Guided by our Maynard Communities of Practice Lead Advisors, those who have joined the Communities of Practice are adapting the skills they need to ensure career sustainability amid shifts in the journalism industry.

In continuing our Maynard Communities of Practice virtual gatherings, we will hold sessions in late May/early June, as well as in September and early December.

Registration for the Maynard Communities of Practice is open. 

If you are a Maynard Institute alum and have not signed up yet, please click on any of the links below. Alumni can be members of more than one community.

• Maynard Managers Community
• Maynard Frontline Editors Community
• Maynard Executive Leaders Community
• Maynard Media Entrepreneurs & Product Developers Community
• Maynard Storytellers Community

Meet the Communities of Practice Lead Advisors:

If you are a Maynard Institute alum and have not signed up yet, please click on any of the links below. Alumni can be members of more than one community.

This year’s Maynard Communities lead advisors have served as former track executives-in-residence, track deputies, keynote speakers and mentors for the Maynard 200 Fellowship Program. They are respected newsroom leaders specializing in different journalism disciplines.

Maynard Media Entrepreneurs & Product Developers Community Co-Lead Advisors:

Dickson Louie – Principal, Dickson Louie Case Writing and Consulting (Dickson Louie & Associates). Visiting Assistant Professor and Lecturer, UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Board Treasurer, Maynard Institute.

Dickson is principal of Dickson Louie Case Writing and Consulting (Dickson Louie & Associates).a Bay Area consultancy providing strategic planning, competitive analysis and executive development services to startups, nonprofits and Fortune 500 companies.

He was a research associate at Harvard Business School, where he authored over 20 management case studies for the second-year MBA course.

He is an adjunct at UC Davis Graduate School of Management and the Executive MBA Program at San Francisco State. He has a bachelor’s in business administration from California State University, East Bay, and an MBA in finance, marketing and statistics from the University of Chicago. He also serves on the board of the Maynard Institute.

Linda Lloyd da Silva – Brand, Marketing & Communications Strategist. Former Maynard 200 Track Deputy, Media Entrepreneurs & Product Developers Track.

Linda is a marketing and communications strategist whose career spans private and public sectors across diverse areas including media, consumer technology, and international development.

She began her career at the Los Angeles Times as a financial planning department analyst helping the times wrestle with major strategic decisions such as market expansion and new product development.

Linda previously worked for Gemstar TV Guide, marketing products that helped shape the way consumers interact with screen-based content. Later, she directed her interests back to global development and joined World Vision, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations.

She currently works as a Senior Consultant for Greater Life Communications, a communications firm serving nonprofit and humanitarian organizations.

Maynard Managers Community Lead Advisor:

Maria Carrillo – Consultant and Coach

Maria is a former enterprise editor at the Tampa Bay Times and The Houston Chronicle and, before that, managing editor at The Virginian-Pilot. She has edited dozens of award-winning projects, frequently lectures on narrative journalism, co-hosts a podcast (WriteLane) about craft and has been a Pulitzer Prize juror six times.

She is a board member of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism. Carrillo was born in Washington, D.C., two years after her parents left Cuba in exile. She now lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., with her husband, and they have two grown children.

Maynard Executive Leaders Community Lead Advisor:

Virgil Smith – Principal, Smith Edwards Group, LLC. Author, The Keys to Effective Leadership. Board Member, Maynard Institute.

Virgil, principal of the Smith Edwards Group, LLC, started the consulting firm in October 2015 after retiring from the Gannett company, where he worked for 24 years as a president and publisher at The Record in Stockton, California, and the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Before joining Gannett, Smith spent 20 years with the McClatchy company, where he held several executive positions, including director of consumer marketing and chief labor negotiator.

He continues involvement with diversity and leadership issues, serving on the Fox News Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council, as a consultant and career coach for the Asian American Journalists Association Executive Leadership Program, the WAN-IFRA World Newspaper Congress and as executive-in-residence for the Maynard 200 Advanced Leadership Program.

Maynard Storytellers Community Co-Lead Advisors:

Tom Huang – Asst. Managing Editor, The Dallas Morning News. Adjunct Faculty, The Poynter Institute.

Tom Huang is the Assistant Managing Editor for the The Dallas Morning News and Adjunct Faculty at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Tom is Assistant Managing Editor for Journalism Initiatives atThe Dallas Morning News, where he edits enterprise stories,oversees the newsroom’s internship program and leads the newsroom’s community-funded journalism initiative, which seeks philanthropic support of public service journalism.

Since 2020, he has helped launch The News’ Education Lab, which has expanded education reporting with the support of local foundations; Arts Access, a partnership with KERA that covers arts and culture through an equity lens; and the Dallas Media Collaborative, an alliance of news outlets and universities focused on solutions-based reporting on affordable housing.

As an adjunct faculty member of The Poynter Institute, he organizes seminars for professional journalists on writing, reporting and editing. For the past six years, he has served as a coach in the Poynter Table Stakes program, which helps newsrooms make the transition to sustainable digital publishing.

Monique O. Madan – Award-Winning Investigative Journalist

Monique O. Madan is an award-winning investigative journalist with over 17 years of experience at legacy publications across the country. Throughout her career, Madan has tackled complex issues at the intersection of social justice, criminal justice, government accountability, immigration and technology. As an investigative reporter for CalMatters and The Markup, she uncovered pivotal stories on these topics. While at USA TODAY, she led a groundbreaking investigation, “Left to Rot,” revealing botched construction and evidence of money laundering in the tragic collapse of the Surfside condominium in South Florida.

Earlier in her career, Madan covered immigration for the Miami Herald, earning accolades for her in-depth series, “Immigration Pandemic.” Her investigative work has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, and El Nuevo Herald and The Dallas Morning News. Her reporting was instrumental in the release of a man who had been held in solitary confinement in ICE detention for an astounding 11 years, and she also exposed coercive self-deportation tactics and significant flaws in immigration policies.

In 2019, she was selected as a fellow at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. Madan is a graduate of both Harvard University and Emerson College.

Aaron Glantz – Annenberg Fellow at Stanford University, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

Aaron Glantz served as Executive-in-Residence for the Maynard 200 Fellowship’s Investigative Storytelling Track in 2023.

He served as California bureau chief and a senior editor at The Fuller Project, the global newsroom dedicated to groundbreaking reporting that catalyzes positive change for women.

Aaron is a two-time Peabody Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist, who produces journalism with impact. His work has sparked dozens of Congressional hearings and investigations by the FBI, DEA, Pentagon inspector general, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary execution. One project prompted the second largest redlining settlement in Justice Department history, against Warren Buffett’s mortgage companies.

In 2024 Aaron joined Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, an interdisciplinary research lab at Stanford University, as a fellow.

Maynard Frontline Editors Community Lead Advisor:

P. Kim Bui – Media Consultant. Founder, Quen Media.

P. Kim Bui is a digital journalist and consultant who’s spent her career exploring new ways to tell stories and helping newsrooms become more inclusive and supportive. She runs Quen Media, where she works with news organizations on audience strategy, editorial workflows, and leadership development. She was most recently a 2023–24 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford. In past roles, she led product and audience innovation at the Arizona Republic, was editor-at-large at NowThis News, and helped shape social reporting at reported.ly (http://reported.ly/).

Originally from Iowa, she was part of the first cohort of CUNY’s Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership. She’s spoken around the world on journalism, equity, and newsroom culture, and her writing on empathy and power in journalism has been published in a range of research outlets.

Questions?

For more information about the Maynard Regional Training Series, please reach out to: Maynard Regional Training Series Director, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley at okeeley@mije.org.

In light of recent proposed legislation and executive orders that affect nonprofit organizations, DEI, and press freedom, the Maynard Institute sat down with several Maynard alumni and faculty members to discuss the values that keep them grounded in journalism and in DEI.

They agreed that amid growing political and legislative threats to journalism, DEI, and nonprofit organizations, core values—community, diversity, and press freedom—remain essential. Despite shifting policies, they emphasized that journalism’s mission endures: serving the public with integrity and holding power to account.

Ernesto Aguilar is the Executive Director of Radio Programming and Content DEI Initiatives with Bay Area PBS affiliate KQED. He also runs the Substack newsletter OIGO, about Latino/a, Latine, Latinx content, audiences and engagement in public media.

A Maynard 200 alum, Aguilar recently became Maynard Institute faculty, teaching on the intersections between AI and DEI in journalism.

Remaining grounded and values-oriented, he said, will allow journalists to center community and chase solutions, rather than running from fear.

“I think the big hurdle is…grounding those who are in the journalism space around what our core values are,” Aguilar said. “People asked me how it felt after the election, and I said my values don’t change from administrations or policies or what happens in the news cycle on a day-to-day basis.”

Dickson Louie is a consultant and case writer as well as institute faculty, Treasurer and member of the Maynard Institute Board of Directors since 2015.

He’s recently finished working on a case study with the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, established by the state of New Jersey in 2018 to address news deserts and the growing crisis in local news.

“New Jersey is the first state to use state-appropriated funds to address the local news crisis and the rise of news deserts and misinformation by supporting news startups, early-state, and more established products/outlets that seek to rebuild the community information network and grow the local news ecosystem,” the case study’s executive summary explains.

Itself a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the consortium builds on the American public media model to “reimagine how public funding can be used to address the growing problem of news deserts, misinformation” and seeks to support and foster informed communities.

Colloquially known as the “Nonprofit Killer Bill,” House Resolution 9495 would give unilateral discretion to the Executive Branch to designate nonprofit organizations as supporters of terrorism without any appeal process or adjudication.

“Under the leadership of an unscrupulous authoritarian, it is not hard to imagine how an administration could use the powers in this bill to hinder or dismantle organizations that its leaders do not like,” Rep.Don Beyer (D-VA) said during debate on the House floor Nov. 21.

By shifting their focus from creating a profitable product to providing a sustainable service, newsrooms are staying open and connected to audiences, according to the 2024 State of Local News Report through Northwestern University’s Medill School of journalism.

“Of the startups included in the 2024 State of Local News Project, 53% are nonprofits. Among just the digital startups, that number rises to 60%,” the report stated.

“I think the nonprofit model is the way to go,” Dickson Louie said in an interview with the Maynard Institute, “because basically, you get that multiple revenue support, from donations, from grants.”

Among the key takeaways from Louie’s work on the case study with the NJCIC: encourage entrepreneurship, promote civic engagement, empower underserved communities, and re-invest in local communities.

“Aside from promoting civic engagement, grant money reinvested in community journalism addresses a public service,” the case study concluded. “It helps local news organizations to re-engage in their traditional roles as an economic driver in their local communities. They hire local people, tell local stories, encourage local business, and act as a resource when the community experiences a natural disaster such as a hurricane or fire.”

As more and more newsrooms shift to a nonprofit model, the threat of having their 501c3 status revoked in the midst of allegations of materially aiding terrorism, without evidence or judicial due process, presents a threat not only to the livelihoods of the journalists they employ, but to the communities they inform.

Senate Bill 4516, the Dismantle DEI Act, may now be redundant legislation after a day-one Trump executive order called for immediately dismantling DEI offices in departments operated by the federal government. The bill, put forward by then-senator and now Vice President JD Vance, would not only dismantle DEI offices in the federal government, it would prohibit DEI practices.

“I think they’re ignoring the fact that having a diverse population in the U.S. is a mega trend that will continue to not be reversed,” Louie said.

The effects of DEI backlash are already evident throughout nonprofit organizations that receive government grants, as well as institutions of higher education.

Louie believes the math will bear out that diversity, beyond considerations of equity, is profitable. Diversity, especially as a practice and not merely a demographic calculation, is a strength.

“Embracing diversity is just good for business,” Louie said.

It’s also good for national security.

Jaisal Noor is a Maynard 200 alumni, Democracy Cohort Manager at Solutions Journalism Network, and reporter for Baltimore Beat. He also worked with Montclair State University’s Center for Collaborative Journalism on Democracy Day 2024, a national pro-democracy reporting collaboration coinciding with International Democracy Day.

In an interview with the Maynard Institute, Noor referenced a Dec. 2024 court decision upholding racial considerations in admission to the U.S. Naval Academy in which Senior District Judge Richard D. Bennett upheld Supreme Court exemptions from the historic SCOTUS ruling which struck down Affirmative Action in civilian colleges and universities, but not military higher education.

“For decades, our Nation’s military leaders have determined that a diverse officer corps is vital to mission success and national security,” Bennett stated in his 179-page opinion.

“If that makes sense for the military, I think it makes sense for our society more broadly. Journalism should more broadly reflect the society we live in,” Noor said. “And we know historically Black and brown communities have been systematically excluded from these kinds of opportunities.”

Beyond reflecting reality in a demographic sense, Aguilar said journalism and newsrooms must create a sense of community, of shared interest.

“DEI really is work in which we embrace the differences among our workforce and as journalists about our communities and the walks of life who join us along these paths within our communities, and that’s why I think it’s so important,” Aguilar said.

He also connected DEI and community investment to one of the most graphic depictions of police brutality and one of the most galvanizing instances of citizen journalism on American soil.

Darnella Frazier, then 18, was recognized with a Pulitzer Prize in Special Citations and Awards in 2021 for recording George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Aguilar recalled the recorded murder of George Floyd “one of the starkest reminders of the power of citizen journalism.”

HB 4250, the “Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act” or the “PRESS Act,” was introduced in Congress by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and despite bipartisan support, has stalled in Congress.

The bill would broadly define a journalist protected under the law to include citizen and independent journalists, ensuring digital protection by requiring federal entities to subpoena service providers before being provided with information from a journalist’s phone or computer, including their personal devices and accounts.

After the murder of George Floyd, seen through Darnella Frazier’s camera phone, Aguilar said there was more interest in DEI programming and understanding diversity.

“George Floyd was killed, and then there was a lot of interest from broadcasters about how we represent voices within our communities,” he said. “In that moment was this opportunity for the public to understand that we as individual citizens and individual residents have agency to help represent what’s happening in our communities.”

While Aguilar is using his free OIGO newsletter to connect people to information on Latinx audience engagement and sees centering citizen journalism as a 21st century challenge to innovating newsrooms, Jaisal Noor said he understands fear of suppression of citizen journalism that documents abuses and holds power to account.

“I think it’s pretty reasonable for the media to be expecting a crackdown from the incoming Trump administration. I think there are legitimate concerns there,” Noor said. “We’re seeing a lot of repression of dissenting voices in the U.S.”

To understand suppression of journalism, Noor said journalists must understand their history. He referenced the FBI’s CounterIntelligence Program (COINTELPRO), the anti-communist Red Scare, and the labeling of Black press and Labor press initiatives as terrorist insurgents by the Wilson administration during WWI.

According to Noor, the solution to suppression of critical journalism is a pro-democracy approach, building trust with audiences and positioning journalism as a public service integral to community.

“What the media needs to be doing, regardless of who’s in office, is building those connections and building trust,” Noor said.

Journalists from diverse backgrounds are not just covering the community, they are the community. This relationship between journalists covering their own neighborhoods, cultures, or particular areas of sensitivity builds trust with audiences and communities based not only on perceptions of shared interests, but shared risks.

Growing up a member of the Sikh community post 9/11 during a time when Sikh men were often victims of hate crimes and discrimination, Noor said he saw journalism as a mission to humanize those who had been dehumanized in dominant media narratives.

“The media has a choice, whether to humanize or dehumanize ‘the other,’” Noor said. “That’s basically why I became a journalist, because I saw that my community, and people that look like me, were being excluded.”

Aguilar wants journalists and news leaders to “remind people about the value of having all these perspectives in our organizations, to help make what we do stronger.”

Louie believes the backlash against DEI will fade as it is realized across industries that diversity is a reality that is here to stay.

“Don’t worry about what people are saying about DEI,” Louie said. “Or, as Dan Rather would say: ‘don’t let the bastards scare you.’”

About the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Since 1977, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. The Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs , which gives media professionals of color and those of diverse backgrounds the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs.

The 2024 Maynard 200 Fellowship is designed to sharpen skills, provide hands-on training as well as a one-to-one year-long mentorship, and build a community of peer support. This year’s curriculum has been updated with a hyperfocus on the critical role editors and managers play in today’s newsrooms. Hosted by the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU, fellows benefit from two weeks of in-person training sessions and workshops led by industry leaders. This blog highlights just a few of the 2024 Maynard 200 Faculty who will be leading the fellows through their second week of training with presentations carefully crafted to build leadership skills and hone managerial instincts.

Ethical Editorial Decision-Making

Faculty: Maria Carrillo

Maria is a consultant and coach after spending 36 years in seven newsrooms. She was enterprise editor at the Tampa Bay Times and Houston Chronicle, and, before that, managing editor at The Virginian-Pilot. She has edited dozens of award-winning projects, frequently lectures on narrative journalism and co-hosts a podcast about craft called WriteLane.

She is a board member of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism as well as the National Press Photographers Association and a juror for the Hillman Prizes.
Maria was born in Washington, D.C., two years after her parents left Cuba in exile. She now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Managing Up, Down and Across Generations

Faculty: P. Kim Bui

P. Kim Bui is a 2023-24 John S. Knight Journalism fellow. Recently, she was senior director of product and audience innovation at the Arizona Republic. A native Iowan, she’s focused her career on leading real-time news initiatives and creating new storytelling forms for digital, print and broadcast companies catering to local, national and global audiences.

Prior, she was editor-at-large for NowThis News and deputy managing editor for reported.ly, a distributed social journalism startup.

She was in the inaugural class of the Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership from City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She’s spoken on journalism and leadership worldwide and written about empathy in journalism for a number of research outlets. She writes a newsletter for emerging leaders: The Middles.

Breakout Workshop: Human Capital: Training & Retaining Talent

Faculty: Caroline Ceniza-Levine

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is a career expert, media personality, and founder of the Dream Career Club. Caroline is a Senior Contributor to Forbes.com, Top LinedIn Voice for Executive Coaching, Career Counseling, and Personal Development, and former career columnist for Money.com, Time.com, CNBC, and Portfolio. She has been a repeat guest expert on CBS, CNN, CNBC, and Fox Business and has been quoted in major media outlets, including BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Fortune, Inc, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal.

As an executive coach, Caroline has worked with professionals from Amazon, American Express, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Tesla, and other leading firms. She designed and oversees the career program for the Columbia Business School Executive Program in Management and is the creator of the online courses “Behind the Scenes in the Hiring Process” and “Making FIRE Possible.”

Caroline is the author of “Jump Ship: 10 Steps to Starting a New Career.” A classically-trained pianist at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, Caroline performed stand-up comedy in NYC clubs for 10 years and is currently a producer and writer with FBC Films. A native New Yorker, Caroline divides her time among Florida, New York, and Costa Rica and blogs about her journey to the land of Pura Vida on Costa Rica FIRE.

Keys to Effective Leadership

Faculty: Virgil Smith

Virgil L. Smith is the founder and Principal of the Smith Edwards Group, LLC, a consulting firm he established in 2015 after a distinguished 24-year career at the Gannett Company. Prior to his retirement, Smith held various leadership roles, including President and Publisher at the Stockton Record and Asheville Citizen-Times as well as a corporate HR executive responsible for talent development and diversity across broadcast, print, and digital operations.
Before joining Gannett, Smith spent two decades at the McClatchy Company, where he held executive positions such as Human Resources Director, Director of Consumer Marketing, and Chief Labor Negotiator.

Throughout his career, Smith has helped numerous professionals achieve their career and life goals. In addition to his work as a consultant and career coach, Smith is currently the President of the Board of Trustees for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. He has served as a Trustee since 2005.

Smith authored the book “The Keys for Effective Leadership” and has been recognized for his contributions by numerous professional and community organizations.
His awards include the Ida B. Wells Award for Distinguished Leadership, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asheville Human Relations Council, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy of Peace, Justice, and Community Award. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree from the University of San Francisco and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of North Carolina Asheville. He resides in Atlanta with his wife, Joann Smith, PhD.

Strategizing Audience Growth Across Multiple Platforms & Special Projects

Faculty: Marian Chia-Ming Liu

For the past two decades, Marian Liu has worked across newspapers and digital platforms, diving into what resonates with readers in the local, national, and global news cycle.
Her career has always been about reflecting the communities she represents – Asian, immigrant and female, covering everything from Korean Pop to health disparities across communities.

Currently, Marian Chia-Ming Liu is The Washington Post’s Projects Editor of Special Newsroom Initiatives and Partnerships, focused on developing innovative new ways to reach new readers. She’s managed several projects and section launches, including the new Style section covering news from the frontlines of culture; Well+Being, wellness stories on bodies of all shapes, sizes and colors, and the Pulitzer-winning series “The Attack: Before, During, and After.”

Before The Post, she was a writer, music critic, and editor at CNN in Hong Kong and several newspapers, including the Seattle Times, San Jose Mercury News, Source Magazine, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, where she launched a hyperlocal entertainment site and app. Liu also directed the student multimedia convention projects for the Asian American Journalists Association and UNITY. She serves as National Vice PResident of Civic Engagement for AAJA and is developing an updated style guide for the AANHPI community.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Artificial Intelligence

Faculty: Ernesto Aguilar

Born in East Houston, Ernesto Aguilar’s life was transformed by public media. His career has traversed daily newspapers and alternative weeklies to public radio news and program director roles.

At KQED, he oversees radio broadcast content and DEI initiatives in the organization’s Content division. He is former co-chair of the KQED DEI Council.

In his spare time, he writes OIGO, a newsletter on public media and diverse audiences. Prior to KQED, Aguilar served stations as executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. He was also part of the founding committee of Public Media for All, an initiative aimed at organizing radio stations around actionable DEI outcomes.

A Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Fellow, Sulzberger Executive LEadership Fellow, and Public Media CEO/COO Bootcamp graduate, Aguilar has a B.A. in journalism, with minors in sociology and Women’s Studies from the University of Houston.

Keys to the Executive Office

Faculty: Katrice Hardy

Katrice is vice president and executive editor of The Dallas Morning News. Previously, she was executive editor of The Indianapolis Star and Midwest regional editor for USA Today Network. When Katrice joined the network in 2016, she was the executive editor of The Greenville News and then took on responsibilities as the South regional editor overseeing news organizations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia.

Previously, she had worked for 20 years at The Virginian-Pilot where she started as an intern and left as managing editor. Her IndyStar newsroom and its reporting partners The Marshall Project, AL.com, and Invisible Institute were awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for “Mauled: When Police Dogs Are Weapons,” and the newsrooms where she has led have won multiple IRE and Editor and Publisher awards, and myriad state honors as well. She is a board member of the Marshall Project, a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Dallas Assembly and the International Women’s Forum.

Katrice believes strongly that a news organization’s role is to shine light on wonderful people and organizations making a difference in local communities and to uncover the problems, ills, misuses and abuses to help make positive change.

Difficult Conversations With Role Play

Faculty: Sandra Clark

Sandra Clark, featured in Editor and Publisher’s “15 Over 50” Class of 2024, is CEO of StoryCorps and is a leading voice in journalism and beyond, challenging norms and practices that create barriers to building trust and meaningful, sustainable connections with communities. At StoryCorps, she leads the award-winning organization’s mission to help us believe in each other by recording and sharing stories from everyday people that illuminate the humanity and possibility in us all.

Prior to joining StoryCorps, Clark was Vice President for News and Civic Dialogue at WHYY in Philadelphia. Her innovative approaches to collaborating with grassroots information providers garnered national recognition. Previously, Clark served as Managing Editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, leading the paper to a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. She is a longtime visiting coach and mentor for the Maynard Institute.

Faculty: Andy Alford

Andy Alford is The Texas Tribune’s director of recruitment, training and career development. She also manages the Tribune’s fellowship program, which employs student fellows to work in all areas of the organization, including on teams in the newsroom, as well as the events, product development, and marketing and communication teams.

Andy came to the Tribune in 2022 after a long stretch at the Austin American-Statesman, where she rose from reporter to managing editor. Alford had a nearly 19-year tenure at the Statesman where she had various roles, including local editor, data journalist on the investigative team and community affairs reporter.

Convening in-person on July 15

The Maynard 200 Fellowship program is made possible thanks to all members of the 2024 faculty and mentors and the second training week kicks off on July 15.

Our university host partners at TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication have been instrumental in welcoming the Maynard 200 Fellowship, including Chair of the Journalism Department, Dr. Uche Onyebadi, and long-standing TCU faculty member, Associate Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Student Media Journalism, Jean Marie Brown has also been instrumental in welcoming the Maynard 200 Fellowship. The reception on July 18 will include an address by the Dean of TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Dr. Kristie Bunton.

Also rejoining the fellows for week two of their Maynard 200 training are Executive-in-Residence Felecia Henderson and faculty members John X. Miller, Tom Huang, and Dickson Louie.

Read the bios for all week 2 faculty (PDF).

About the Maynard Institute

For more than 45 years, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in America’s newsrooms through our Maynard 200 fellowship program, which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired media entrepreneurs.

About the Maynard 200 Fellowship

Maynard 200 is the cornerstone program advancing the Maynard Institute’s efforts to expand the diversity pipeline in news media and dismantle structural racism in its newsrooms. Since 2018, the Maynard Institute has trained media leaders, storytellers, editors, managers and entrepreneurs through the fellowship program. Maynard 200 is designed to sharpen skills, provide hands-on training as well as a one-to-one year-long mentorship, and build a community of peer support for diverse journalists. In 2024, the program returns with two weeks of in-person training rounds — specifically designed to support the success of newsroom editors and managers. Hosted by the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, the program will convene in March and July of 2024.

Maynard 200 is made possible thanks to the support of our generous funders Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation and McClatchy.

Questions?

For more information about the Maynard 200 Fellowship, please reach out to:
Maynard 200 Director, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley at okeeley@mije.org.

We want to hear from you! The Maynard Institute’s annual community survey helps us to better understand the needs of our alumni and to shape our programs, training offerings, and events. We strive to foster an inclusive sense of ownership and empowerment within our community through this survey practice. Take the survey and join us in shaping the future of the Maynard Institute.

Survey input creates real-life impact

When we launched our first community survey in 2022, we learned that certain communities of our alumni were less engaged than others. For example, a lower percentage of survey respondents were Asian American journalists than we had expected. We used this feedback to prioritize reconnecting with the community in a few ways.

First, as part of the Vision 25 Belonging in the News virtual discussion series, coordinated in partnership with Online News Association and Open News, we featured editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, Versha Sharma. From 2015 to 2021, Sharma was managing editor at NowThis, where she shared in a 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award for a documentary on Hurricane Maria’s effects on Puerto Rico. Teen Vogue, a web-only Condé Nast publication, pivoted to become a strong voice on social justice issues in recent years and we invited Sharma to share her experience as the first South Asian American woman to helm Teen Vogue.

Second, we hosted a networking happy hour at the 2022 Asian American Journalists Association conference featuring Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, guest speakers and co-authors of the book RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now. The sold out, outdoor reception was a joyous celebration and for many attendees, it was the first in-person networking gathering since the pandemic began in 2020. The success of the event proved that our extended Maynard Family is eager for opportunities to connect with each other.

Third, the Maynard Institute’s local community journalism program Oakland Voices hosted a meetup featuring special guest, Thi Bui. Thi Bui was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1978 as part of the “boat people” wave of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia at the end of the Vietnam War. Her debut graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do (Abrams ComicArts, 2017) has been selected for an American Book Award, a Common Book for UCLA and other colleges and universities, an all-city read by Seattle and San Francisco public libraries, a National Book Critics Circle finalist in autobiography, and an Eisner Award finalist in reality-based comics. In a lively and frank discussion, Bui shared the challenges of getting a fine arts degree with professors who did not have the cultural competency to value storytelling that centered her Asian American identity.

These programming efforts were not only successful events, they helped increase the engagement among Asian American journalists in our community survey the following year.

How will your survey input help guide our programming in the future? We can’t wait to find out! Take the survey today.

About the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Since 1977, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs , which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs.

The Democracy Fund held its annual grantee convening in Detroit on May 6-8, 2024. The convening serves to connect leaders across fields in a collaborative and inclusive environment to build a vision for the future. On the second day of the convening, the Maynard Institute’s Co-Executive Director Martin G. Reynolds was surprised to be honored with a speech by Paul Waters, Director of the Digital Democracy Initiative.

Each year, Waters surprises someone in attendance whose commitment to upholding democracy through the advancement of journalism makes them a lynchpin of the community. Previous honorees have included Tracie Powell of the Pivot Fund, Geneva Overholser, former editor of the Des Moines Register, and Maynard Institute Co-Executive Director Evelyn Hsu.

On the convening’s second day at the historic Gem Theater, Waters honored Reynolds, saying, “I would like to recognize someone who has lived out the command to love your enemies. Someone who recognizes that forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. Rather, forgiveness means that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship.”

Waters related Reynolds’ accomplishments as Editor-In-Chief of the Oakland Tribune, Co-Founder of Oakland Voices, and Co-Executive Director of the Maynard Institute. His many years of experience, infectiously positive attitude, and tireless dedication to building community place him firmly in the path of his Oakland Tribune predecessors, Bob, Nancy, and Dori Maynard and the intrepid Chauncey Bailey.

Waters continued, calling Reynolds “an emissary for an America that does not yet exist,” in reference to his work implementing the Maynard Institute’s Fault Lines training program.

“Instead of sowing hate and division, Martin has taught and trained newsrooms to span the Fault Lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography, and class, as they apply to journalists, newsroom collaboration, and coverage,” Waters said.

Read the full remarks by Waters below.

“Loving your Enemies – Strength to Love”

Speech by Paul Waters honoring Martin G. Reynolds
Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Ye have heard it said of old that thou shall love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.

Good Morning and welcome to day two of our stakeholder gathering.

Starting all the way back in the Spring of 2017, I have been lucky to be able to lift up some of the values and practices required to successfully push for reform in spite of overwhelming odds and challenging circumstances. Given the exceptional group of folks Angelica has assembled, I could pick almost anyone as a role model for demonstrating what Martin Luther King called the Strength to Love.

In our very first meeting in Washington, DC, we honored Tracie Powell as a transformed nonconformist, someone fighting to improve journalism in ways that are always costly and never altogether comfortable, but with an enduring humble and loving spirit. Even while recognizing that change will not come overnight, Tracie continues to work with the faith that it is on the horizon.

In our second gathering, we saluted Geneva Overholser as a leader who had taken the desire to be first in recognition and importance – that drum major instinct – and recast it to be first in love, first in moral excellence, and first in generosity.

In our 2018 gathering in St. Petersburg, Florida, we recognized Evelyn Hsu…A leader who for over a quarter century has dedicated her personal and professional life to creating opportunities for journalists and communities of color. Since that time, I have come to revere Evelyn’s work to further the legacy and piece together the dreams of Robert and particularly Dori Maynard, following her tragic and sudden death.

In Austin, TX, we commended Dr. Michelle Ferrier as someone who has truly hewn a stone of hope out of a mountain of despair. Neither glamor nor glory await a canary in a coal mine and few have emerged from their mountain so dedicated to lifting up others.

In our last gathering in 2019, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, (shout out Lea!) we celebrated Dr. Jessica Mahone and Estizer Smith, Esq. Their lives are a testament to Justice Sonya Sotomayor’s declaration that there are uses to adversity, that don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unsuspected strengths.

From the Chocolate City, to the Sunshine City, to the Motor City, turn to your neighbor and say: We’ve been at this for a minute.

And so now, with the very brief time I have remaining I would like to recognize someone who has lived out the command to love your enemies. Someone who recognizes that forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. Rather, forgiveness means that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship.

All Gop: 1:08 – 2:08

Who’s that knocking on your door?
Who’s that peering through your window?
Who’s that got you on the floor?
Bop City baby, Bop City baby

This is Bop City’s version of hip hop / neo soul
I’m the mad hatter in control
My zodiac sign Leo
Occupation – journalist, lyrical pro
Some say son you need to grow up
You can’t rely on the fact that one day you might blow up

I could hunker down pull my bootstraps up
Become Johnny journalism make my way on up through the ladder

And all the bad dress writers scatter
Sitting in endless meetings having to relieve my bladder
I could do it – run a newspaper or few, but putting down the mic ain’t the thing Ima’ bout to do

Huah

Win a Grammy and a Pulitzer
Wanna be the lyrical CNN Wolf Blitzer
Sittin’ in the Bay Wolf drinking a spritzer with Bu and D sippen in the town baby rippen

Who’s that knocking on your door?
Who’s that peering through your window?
Who’s that got you on the floor?
Bop City baby, Bop City baby

Who’s that? Our soul brother, Martin Reynolds aka MC Hoflow, is thankfully not the sole brother at this gathering.

Martin grew up in Berkeley and worked his way up the ladder at the Oakland Tribune from a 1995 Chips Quinn Scholarship to Editor-in-Chief from 2008 to 2011.
A journalist, lyricist, and father, Martin is the co-founder of Oakland Voices and the co-Executive Director of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Martin has engaged newsrooms across the country as an emissary for an America that does not yet exist. Instead of sowing hate and division, Martin has taught and trained newsrooms to span the faultiness of race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography, and class, as they apply to journalists, newsroom collaboration, and coverage.

Martin, continue to work with the faith that one day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. Your work to appeal to the heart and conscious will win our enemies in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of this community.

About the Democracy Fund

Democracy Fund is an independent foundation that works to ensure the American political system operates with equity, adapting to new challenges in the 21st century and safeguarding democracy for all Americans. “Committed to building an inclusive and multiracial democracy in the United States,” the Digital Democracy Initiative is grounded in creating “equitable digital civic infrastructure” to guarantee that civil and human rights protections extend to the digital realm.

The work of the Maynard Institute would not be possible without generous support from the Democracy Fund and our additional funders.

Our blog readers are invited to check out the track with lyrics by Reynolds referenced in the speech above. Listen to All Gop by Bop City Pacific on Spotify.

Do you live in Oakland and have a story to tell? The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is now accepting applications for Oakland Voices, a six-month program designed to empower Oakland residents through newswriting, photography, and community storytelling. The 2024 program is hybrid model, with both in-person meetings and virtual instruction via Zoom, plus a planned in-person graduation celebration. Correspondents will receive a $1,500 stipend for participation and completing assignments. No previous media experience required.

Applications are due by Sunday, April 14, at 11:59 PM PDT. Apply using this online form (Google account required). Select applicants will be invited for an interview. Interviews begin April 8.

Program Overview

• Oakland Voices correspondents will be expected to attend virtual meetings throughout the six-month program, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.
• Attend an in-person orientation at the beginning of the academy.
• Attend at least three in-person Saturday trainings, May – October.
• Complete six assignments and other activities and exercises.

Storytelling with a love for the Town

Many of our correspondents join Oakland Voices because they want to reshape common misperceptions of their communities, portraying them instead as dynamic places where real people struggle, succeed, and thrive. Our team members also join the program because they have a passion for telling stories — with the camera, and with the pen. Oakland Voices allows correspondents to explore both their sense of mission and their love for storytelling, while also acquiring skills they can take into their personal and professional lives.

Oakland Voices correspondents are trained in digital media storytelling — writing blogs and online pieces, taking photos, shooting video, and using social media to discuss issues that matter most in their communities. Correspondents also learn journalism ethics and editorial decision-making, interview basics, and story craft. They use those tools to report on a wide range of issues highlighting the triumphs and challenges of life in Oakland, including community heroes and heroines, health and wealth disparities, and more.

Application Requirements

Online applications must by submitted by Sunday, April 14, 2023, at 11:59 PM PDT. Applicants must be an Oakland resident over 18 years old with access to a stable internet connection via computer or mobile device in order to participate in virtual meetings. Students in their senior year of high school are eligible and unhoused residents, low-income, and community members of color are encouraged to apply. A Google account is necessary to access the online application form. Visit the Oakland Voices website to learn more about the program requirements and submit your application using this online form (Google account required).

Maynard Institute programs are open to all. The Institute is committed to addressing the under-representation of people of color and other historically disadvantaged groups in media-related professions. For questions about sponsoring an Oakland Voices correspondent or donating to the program, contact us to learn more.

2024 Program Dates

Intensives

• Friday, May 10 – Opening Dinner
• Saturday, May 11 – Orientation and Training #1
• Saturday, June 15 – Training #2
• Saturday, July 13 – Training #3
• Saturday, August 10 – Training #4*
• Saturday, September 14 – Training #5
• Saturday, October 12 – Training #6*

Bi-Weekly Learning Sessions

• Thursday, May 9, 6-8 p.m.*
• Thursday, May 23, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, June 13, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, June 27, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, July 11, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, July 25, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, August 8, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, August 22, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, September 12, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, September 26, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, October 10, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, October 24, 6-8 p.m.

Note: Attendance is optional May 9, August 10 and October 12.

History of Oakland Voices

Founded in 2010, Oakland Voices emerged from a partnership between the Oakland Tribune and The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Oakland Voices connects correspondents with more than a dozen media professionals to teach correspondents. Participants work individually and in teams, creating content for the Oakland Voices website. This content may also be published by program partners such as The Oaklandside or KALW Public Radio. The collaborative, applied learning approach means correspondents quickly become aware of their power and responsibility as storytellers, and as members of the media.

Staff and Alumni Correspondents

Rasheed Shabazz and Momo Chang serve as Co-directors of the Oakland Voices program. Martin Reynolds co-founded Oakland Voices and is co-executive director of the Maynard Institute. Evelyn Hsu is co-executive director of the Maynard Institute and contributes the training curriculum of the program.

Multiple cohorts of Oakland residents have completed the Oakland Voices program. Check out a summary listing of all the correspondents by project years since 2010.

The first training week of the 2024 in-person Maynard 200 Fellowship Program hosted by TCU Bob Schieffer College of Communication, concluded with a call-to-action. This year’s cohort of 32 editors and managers from diverse backgrounds were encouraged by the Maynard Institute’s Board Chair John X. Miller to take their top three lessons from Maynard 200 workshops and apply them in their newsrooms. Fellows explored benefits of new editing toolkits, management frameworks and thought-provoking discussions with long-time leaders in the industry, while furthering the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in journalism. This blog highlights key takeaways from faculty on editing, storytelling and community building, as well as testimonials from fellows who described their Maynard experience as transformational.

In the week’s concluding session, Maynard 200 Director Odette Alcazaren-Keeley lauded the fellows for their courageous conversations, including sharing direct experiences with barriers to a sense of their belonging in newsroom culture.

“We listened to each other with empathy and insight, which has been key to the success of our shared learning,” said Alcazaren-Keeley.

“Your voices on these issues are crucial as fellows…the totality of who you are is powerful. Continue to challenge ideas, challenge us, each other and yourselves. Know that alongside our Maynard 200 alumni, you represent the future of media. You have us now, as your newest community on the frontlines of this mini-movement especially amid ongoing upheaval, to dismantle systemic racism in our field.”

The Maynard Institute’s Director of Cultural Competency, Felecia D. Henderson serves as this year’s Maynard 200 Executive-in-Residence. Henderson and Alcazaren-Keeley worked together in crafting a high-impact, hands-on curriculum for the fellows that they could apply in their roles as editors and managers. Henderson said the 2024 curriculum is specifically aligned with what newsroom leaders are looking for in a professional development program because “frontline editors and managers are often thrust into crucial positions with little to no training.”

Fellows describe the first week of training as transformational

In addition to learning practical skills, another unique benefit of the Maynard 200 Fellowship professional development program is the opportunity fellows have to bond with a community of their peers. Some fellows shared heartfelt testimonials about their experiences in post-training surveys (shared below with permission).

The ability to meet so many curious, intelligent, and gracious journalists was a gift. I absolutely left the training both renewed and transformed.
Teri Henderson, Baltimore Beat, Arts & Culture Editor

The Maynard 200 fellowship offers key support to front-line managers. With editing, coaching and management training, fellows can walk away with new tools and language to better engage with their reporters and the newsroom.

Sabrina Bodon, The Sacramento Bee, Equity Lab Editor

The program was transformational. I feel inspired, energized, and more confident.

Carmen Castro-Pagan, Bloomberg Industry Group, Team Lead (Editor)

The Maynard faculty were incredibly helpful during the first week of training. Many of the techniques they shared throughout the week came with real world examples that made it easier to translate their guidance to our own work. Kristopher Hooks, The Boston Globe, Money, Power, Inequality Editor

This was the first time in my career where someone distilled the basics of editing – what to look for and what techniques to use. I finally have an editor toolbox that I can use everyday.
Fahmida Y Rashid, Dark Reading, Informa Tech, Managing Editor, Features

The first week of the Maynard 200 fellowship was extremely rewarding. It was refreshing and insightful to collaborate with such an esteemed group of journalists who are committed to their work! While all of the sessions were extraordinary, I found the editing sessions to be most beneficial. I walked away feeling empowered to utilize editing tips I learned.

Erica McIntosh, WNPR, CT Public, Sr. Regional Editor, Southern CT

I did not realize how much of this I was missing and needing until I went through this past week, and knowing there’s a community of folks I can reach out to is/will be invaluable.

Kai Teoh, Dallas Morning News, Data & Interactives Editor

Political journalism really struggles with diversity, so, on some basic level, I just feel energized being around talented journalists of color who are making it work in the bigger ecosystem of our profession. It was therapeutic to be around so many news nerds.

Darius Dixon, POLITICO; Deputy Managing Editor, Policy

Maynard 200 faculty and staff pictured (clockwise from top left): Michelle Johnson, Leslie Rangel, Merrill Perlman, Aaron Glantz, Delano Massey (seen on far right coaching fellow Matthew Vann), John X. Miller, Jean Marie Brown, Evelyn Hsu, Martin G. Reynolds, Felecia D. Henderson, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, Cara Owsley, Steve Padilla, Tom Huang and Maria Carrillo.

Curriculum designed by industry leaders and rooted in real-world examples

“Fine-Tuning Your Story Pitch” and “Mounting and Managing the Big Project” with Aaron Glantz

Aaron Glantz is California Bureau Chief and Senior Editor at The Fuller Project, the global newsroom focused on women. A two-time Peabody Award winner and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, he is a seasoned manager of complex projects, who delivers excellence simultaneously across mediums and newsrooms so that stories land with maximum velocity. His work has sparked new laws, dozens of Congressional hearings, and investigations by the FBI, DEA, Pentagon inspector general, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary execution. A former foreign correspondent who worked as an unembedded journalist in Iraq, Glantz is the author of four books, among them 2019’s Homewreckers, which tracks hedge fund profiteering off the 2008 financial crisis.

Glantz presented two sessions “Fine-Tuning Your Story Pitch” and “Mounting and Managing the Big Project.” During his session on best practices for managing a big project, Glantz explained, “It’s really important that your big project be aligned with your newsroom’s mission.”

He advised fellows to become advocates for the big project. “Nobody advocates for your story as well as you do. You know your story. You know the stakeholders, you’re building relationships,” Glantz said.

“Some of you are at local outlets, you want to have a local story that’s going to speak to these greater, bigger themes. And when you really have a winner is when you can have a story that can hit in multiple metros at the same time…It’s so hard to cut through the fog, your reporting will cut through more if the stakes are high, if people can say this is an issue on my block, in my neighborhood, in my community.”

“AI: What You Need to Know” with Michelle Johnson

Michelle Johnson is an Emerita Associate Professor of the Practice in Journalism, Boston University. She retired from BU in 2022, where she taught a variety of courses focused on online journalism and multimedia storytelling. Johnson is a former editor for the Boston Globe and boston.com. She is currently an Expert in Residence with BU’s Spark! program, an experiential learning and innovation lab based in the Center for Computing and Data Science.

For more than 20 years, Johnson conducted multimedia training workshops for student and professional journalists for a variety of organizations, including the Online News Association, the Maynard Institute, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

Johnson hopes her presentation emboldens fellows with an understanding of “the potential and pitfalls of AI, and that this will prepare them to take part in conversations that will shape policies in their newsrooms and organizations going forward.”

“Improving Collaboration between Reporters and Photographers” with Cara Owsley

Cara Owsley is a national award-winning visual journalist/director of photography at The Cincinnati Enquirer. In 2018 The Cincinnati Enquirer won a Pulitzer Prize in the local reporting category. The story “Seven Days of Heroin” was recognized by the Pulitzer board “for a riveting and insightful narrative and video documenting seven days of greater Cincinnati’s heroin epidemic, revealing how the deadly addiction has ravaged families and communities.” Cara was a photojournalist and photo editor for the project.

Before working for The Enquirer, Cara was a staff photojournalist at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Mississippi, and The Repository in Canton, Ohio. She has been in the industry for 28 years. Cara found her love of photojournalism while attending Western Kentucky University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in photojournalism.

Owsley stressed in her talk that the key ingredient in improving the collaborative work of reporters and photographers is communication. She explained: “involve the photo staff in the beginning stages, not after interviews…Work as a team and support each other.”

“Holistic Resilience and Finding Work-Life Harmony in Turbulent Times” with Leslie Rangel

Leslie Rangel is an Emmy-nominated and United Nations-recognized journalist, morning news anchor and author. Her journalism is community-focused at the intersection of equity and social injustice. She’s a 2023 recipient of the The Chauncey Bailey Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellowship. She’s spent 12+ years working in newsrooms and is a certified yoga, mindset, meditation and life coach. Rangle is also the founder and CEO of The News Yogi Coaching, on a mission to cultivate soul centered spaces and conversations that allow high-achieving marginalized folks to feel seen and see themselves. She provides mental wellness and holistic leadership coaching to high-achieving humans, particularly those who are often the firsts in their family from a non-dominant culture.

Rangel’s keynote fittingly capped an insightful week, and she started by leading fellows and faculty in a grounding meditation. This pause was impactful, amid relentless demands of the news cycle, ongoing turbulence across media spaces, and also the globe.

She exhorted this next generation of news leaders to: “Remember to be a human first, journalist second. Normalize living sustainably in our industry and actually take action to rest. Remember, it’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to admit you’re not okay. It’s okay to prioritize yourself.”

“Finding the Heart of the Story” with Tom Huang

Tom Huang is Assistant Managing Editor for Journalism Initiatives at The Dallas Morning News, where he edits enterprise stories, oversees the newsroom’s internship program and leads the newsroom’s community-funded journalism initiative, which seeks philanthropic support of public service journalism.

Huang walked fellows through the 5 focusing questions that editors can ask to help guide reporters to find the heart of the story and become better storytellers. He says he “starts with questions that spark a writer’s imagination… I push the writer to think harder about the story’s theme…and try fresh approaches to storytelling,

According to Huang, these questions that he uses as an editor were developed by David Von Drehle and Chip Scanlan:

• Why does the story matter?
• What is the point of the story?
• Why are we telling the story now?
• What does the story say about life, the world and the times we live in?
• What is the story truly about – in one word?

“Coaching for Story” with Maria Carrillo

Maria Carrillo is a consultant and coach after spending 36 years in seven newsrooms. She was enterprise editor at the Tampa Bay Times and Houston Chronicle and, before that, managing editor at The Virginian-Pilot. She has edited dozens of award-winning projects, frequently lectures on narrative journalism and co-hosts a podcast (WriteLane) about craft.

Carrillo stressed that building trust and relationships based on mutual respect to each other’s expertise, is foundational in the effective partnership between editors and writers. Her session aimed to “grow editors’ confidence as coaches, and give them tools to help guide writers to tell better stories.”

“Editing for Tone” with Merrill Perlman

Merrill Perlman spent 25 years at The New York Times in jobs ranging from copy editor to director of copy desks, in charge of all 150-plus copy editors at The Times. Now, she coaches writers and editors in self-editing, grammar, language and clarity, where her clients have included the Poynter Institute, Honolulu Civil Beat, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Weather Channel, FoxNews, The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the U.N., as well as communications companies, corporations, law firms and foundations. She’s a freelance editor who has worked for such places as Center for Public Integrity, Investigative Reporting Workshop, ProPublica, Rosetta Books and Amazon Kindle Singles.

According to Perlman, it is imperative for “editors to make sure that each sentence and word is in service of the story. They also need to watch out for unintended bias in adjectives and labels.”

“Editing Techniques” with Steve Padilla

Steve Padilla is editor of Column One, the front-page showcase for storytelling at the Los Angeles Times. He joined the Times in 1987 as a night police reporter but soon moved on to editing. He helped guide the Times’ Pulitzer-winning coverage of a botched bank robbery in North Hollywood in 1997.

In his 36 years with the Times, he has edited a wide variety of subjects—national politics, higher education, California state news and religion among them. Before his current assignment, Padilla was enterprise editor on the foreign-national desk. He also served as director of Metpro, the Times’ training program designed to bring diversity to newsrooms.

Padilla summed up his talk with the hope that the fellows will remember that “when editing or coaching writers, positive direction, rather than negative, often produces good results—they’re longer lasting and the process is more fun, too.”

“Name it, Claim it and Aim it: Leveraging Your Strengths” with Jean Marie Brown

Jean Marie Brown is an associate professor of professional practice in the Department of Journalism at TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication. In addition to serving as a full-time faculty member, she is also director of student media.

A former newspaper executive, Jean Marie spent most of her professional career working for Knight Ridder and later, for McClatchy newspapers. She held management positions at The Fort
Worth Star- Telegram and The Charlotte Observer. Her management career included time as a deputy features editor, city editor, assistant managing editor and managing editor. She directed local news coverage for the Arlington and Northeast edition of the Star-Telegram. Her strengths as an editor were line editing, story idea generation and staff development.

The Gallup Strengths Assessment and 1:1 coaching sessions with fellows by Prof. Jean Marie Brown has been a pillar in the Maynard 200 curriculum since its pilot. In this pivotal process, she explains how we as leaders can name, claim and aim our strengths in order to leverage them – in work and relationships.

Brown encouraged fellows “to lean in and own who you are, make other people accept who you are…and to celebrate yourself for the things that you do really well.” She stressed that it is critical “to bring our authentic selves to our newsrooms.” She added “that in understanding our strengths and of our team members, you are able to recognize what you do best, and you let other people do what they do best.”

Fault Lines® with Professor Jean Marie Brown and Martin G. Reynolds

One of the Maynard Institute’s mainstay professional development offerings is a series of trainings for newsrooms based on the Fault Lines® methodology. Designed by founder and namesake Robert C. Maynard, the Fault Lines® framework helps newsrooms address bias along lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography, class and more, as they apply to journalists, news coverage, newsroom collaborations and community engagement. This keynote session was co-led by Professor Jean Marie Brown and the Maynard Institute’s Co-Executive Director, Martin G. Reynolds.

Prior to joining the Maynard Institute leadership, Reynolds was senior editor for community engagement and training for Bay Area News Group and served as editor-in-chief of The Oakland Tribune between 2008-2011. His career with Bay Area News Group spanned 18 years. Reynolds was also a lead editor on the Chauncey Bailey Project, formed in 2007 to investigate the slaying of the former Oakland Post editor and Tribune reporter.

Reynolds is also co-founder of Oakland Voices, a hyperlocal storytelling project that trains residents to serve as community correspondents that first launched in 2010 as partnership between the Oakland Tribune and the Maynard Institute. He was named as Digital First Media’s Innovator of the Year for his work on Oakland Voices.

In his opening remarks at the 2024 Maynard 200 Fellowship session, Reynolds spoke about the challenging and vital role the 2024 Maynard 200 fellows play in their newsrooms.

“Here you are. Frontline editors, navigating it all. You have among the most challenging jobs in all of journalism. Sitting at the nexus of the community, the organization and the storytellers.”

He added, “This program is about equipping you with the skills, but perhaps even more importantly…this is about community so that you have what you need to be supported, to be seen, to be cared for as you move through this journey.”

Hands-on coaching and mentorship that makes a difference

Fellows benefited from hands-on breakout sessions that were customized to tactical coaching workshops relevant to editors across three primary platforms:

• print/digital led by Maria Carrillo and Steve Padilla
• photography led by Cara Owsley
• broadcast led by Delano Massey

Delano Massey, a Maynard Institute alum, has been serving as a Maynard 200 mentor for the last 2 years. In 2024, Massey served as the coach for the broadcasting breakout coaching sessions. He shared his multi-layered experience in this space, including the importance of creating and leveraging influence. He is currently managing editor for Local at Axios, overseeing operations across 30 markets. He was also the former supervising producer of the Race & Equality Team at CNN. His impact extends from major outlets like CNN and the Associated Press to local platforms like News 5 Cleveland, WKYT, and the Lexington-Herald Leader.

Coaches also held one-on-one office hours with fellows.

Reconvening in July thanks to generous supporters

Fellows and faculty alike expressed an eagerness to reconvene in a few months for the July weeklong training sessions. In addition to the generous university partner host TCU Bob Schieffer College of Communication, the 2024 Maynard 200 Fellowship would not be possible without the support of Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Hearthland Foundation, McClatchy and individual donors.

This program is about strengthening newsroom leaders for a sustainable future in media. The cohort of 2024 marks a special milestone. When the fellowship program launched in 2018, the Maynard Institute set the goal to provide professional development to two hundred journalism professionals and the 2024 fellows have exceeded that goal.

During the March training, the Maynard Institute’s Co-Executive Director Evelyn Hsu shared the pivotal history that is part of the fellowship surpassing its mission, through the lens of the vision and legacy of the institute’s nine founders.

The next round of sessions in July will conclude with a special celebration to honor this achievement while acknowledging the marathon continues.

About the Maynard Institute

For more than 45 years, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in America’s newsrooms through our Maynard 200 fellowship program, which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired media entrepreneurs.

About the Maynard 200 Fellowship

Maynard 200 is the cornerstone fellowship program advancing the Maynard Institute’s efforts to expand the diversity pipeline in news media and dismantle structural racism in its newsrooms. It is designed for and serves the next generation of media leaders, storytellers, editors and entrepreneurs, in order to advance their career growth and leadership power in newsrooms and organizations. The professional development program provides customized training courses, resources and 1:1 mentorship by industry professionals, to fellows who have represented a wide spectrum of racial, gender and geographic backgrounds.

Questions?

For more information about the Maynard 200 Fellowship, please reach out to:
Maynard 200 Director, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley at okeeley@mije.org.

The 2024 Maynard 200 Fellows (clockwise from top left): Aaron Foley, Allison Jing Yang, Blanca Méndez, Carmen Castro-Pagán, Carolyn Copeland, Daarel Burnette II, Darius Dixon, Erica McIntosh, Estefania Mitre, Fahmida Rashid, Fernanda Santos, Heather J. Chin, Iftikhar Hussain, Jacob Sanchez, Jamilah King, Joshua Barajas, Juan Michael Porter II, Kai Teoh, Kim Johnson Flodin, Kris Hooks, Luella Brien, Martin Garcia, Mason Bryan, Matthew Vann, Maya Valentine, Pamela De La Fuente, Sabrina Bodon, Teri Henderson, Tierra Hayes, Torrance Latham, William Sanchez II and Zeke Minaya.

OAKLAND, CA (February 29, 2024): The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding diversity in the news media and dismantling structural racism in newsrooms, announced today the recipients of its 2024 Maynard 200 Fellowship. Since the program’s inception in 2018, the Maynard Institute has trained and mentored journalists, editors, managers, executives and media entrepreneurs of diverse backgrounds. With its latest class of 32 fellows, the Maynard Institute will surpass its mission of cultivating 200 media leaders dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in journalism.

The tuition-free program includes two weeks of in-person training rounds as well as supplementary sessions, office hours and ongoing support throughout the year. Maynard 200 returns to the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas for two weeks of customized workshops, hands-on coaching and peer networking sessions in March and July. The in-person training weeks are followed by a year-long, one-on-one mentorship phase, wherein each Fellow is paired with an industry expert for dedicated coaching.

In 2024, the institute’s cornerstone training program Maynard 200 Fellowship will focus on the professional advancement and year-long mentorship for frontline editors and mid-level managers. The customized curriculum addresses the challenges editors and managers struggle with daily in their newsrooms, especially those who have recently transitioned to higher leadership roles. This year’s program is made possible thanks to the generous support of Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation, McClatchy and individual donors.

“Maynard 200 has served as a lifeline to many BIPOC journalists, especially those navigating upheavals in the industry. Our graduates leave the program with a renewed fire in their roles and growth. They are emboldened to shift cultures in their newsrooms to create spaces of equity and belonging, knowing they have the support of the Maynard Family as their enduring community,” said Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, Maynard 200 Director.

“This year’s Maynard 200 Fellows are another outstanding class of 32 media leaders, representing diverse racial, gender, age, and geographic backgrounds. Alongside legacy media peers, the powerful voice of journalists affiliated with ethnic, community-powered and niche media make this cohort unique. Their collective impact will help us craft future Maynard programs that are adaptive to the challenges of the field,” Alcazaren-Keeley added.

“We are excited about the curriculum we have designed, which will be led by subject matter experts in the industry,” said Felecia D. Henderson, the Maynard Institute’s cultural competency director and Maynard 200’s new executive-in-residence. “The fellows will graduate the program as more confident and proficient newsroom leaders.”

“This year we will surpass our goal of training 200 storytellers, managers, entrepreneurs and executives. It is exciting and inspiring to see the good work that has emerged from our training and to see the contributions our graduates are making to the profession,” said Maynard Institute co-executive director Evelyn Hsu, the architect of the program.

Meet the Maynard 200 Fellows of 2024:

• Aaron Foley, News Editor, New York Amsterdam News and Managing Editor, Model D
• Allison Jing Yang, Senior Editor (Partnerships & Initiatives), Initium Media
• Blanca Méndez, Community Engagement Editor, San Antonio Report
• Carmen Castro-Pagán, Team Lead (Editor), Bloomberg Industry Group
• Carolyn Copeland, News Editor, Prism
• Daarel Burnette II, Senior Editor, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Darius Dixon, Deputy Managing Editor-Policy, POLITICO
• Erica McIntosh, Senior Regional Editor-Southern CT, WNPR-Connecticut Public
• Estefania Mitre, Social Visuals Producer/Editor, NPR
• Fahmida Rashid, Managing Editor-Features, Dark Reading, Informa Tech
• Fernanda Santos, Contributing Editor, NAHJ palabra. / Prof. of Practice, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, ASU
• Heather J. Chin, Deputy Editor, Billy Penn at WHYY
• Iftikhar Hussain, Managing Editor, Voice of America
• Jacob Sanchez, Fellowship Editor and Enterprise Journalist, Fort Worth Report
• Jamilah King, Editorial Director, Mother Jones
• Joshua Barajas, Senior Editor-Digital, PBS NewsHour
• Juan Michael Porter II, Senior Editor, TheBody.com and TheBodyPro
• Kai Teoh, Data Editor, Dallas Morning News
• Kim Johnson Flodin, Deputy Director-U.S. News, Associated Press
• Kris Hooks, Money, Power, Inequality Editor, Boston Globe
• Luella Brien, Executive Director, Four Points Media
• Martin Garcia, News Inside Manager, The Marshall Project
• Mason Bryan, Senior Editor, Prison Journalism Project
• Matthew Vann, Senior Producer, “Good Morning America”, ABC News Washington
• Maya Valentine, Photo Editor, The Washington Post
• Pamela de la Fuente, Assigning Editor, NerdWallet
• Sabrina Bodon, Equity Lab Editor, The Sacramento Bee
• Teri Henderson, Arts & Culture Editor, Baltimore Beat
• Tierra Hayes, Digital and Engagement Editor, Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Torrance Latham, Breaking News Editor, Miami Herald
• William Sanchez II, Executive Director-Business Development and Digital Operations, Fox News Audio
• Zeke Minaya, Assistant Editor-Metro Desk, The New York Times

Read the bios for the 2024 Maynard 200 Fellows (PDF).

Get to know the Maynard 200 Fellows

Interested in learning more about the 32 media leaders joining the fellowship in 2024?

Read their bios

About the Maynard Institute

For more than 45 years, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in America’s newsrooms through our Maynard 200 fellowship program, which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired media entrepreneurs.

About the Maynard 200 Fellowship

Maynard 200 is the cornerstone fellowship program advancing the Maynard Institute’s efforts to expand the diversity pipeline in news media and dismantle structural racism in its newsrooms. It is designed for and serves the next generation of media leaders, storytellers, editors and entrepreneurs, in order to advance their career growth and leadership power in newsrooms and organizations. The professional development program provides customized training courses, resources and 1:1 mentorship by industry professionals, to fellows who have represented a wide spectrum of racial, gender and geographic backgrounds.

Questions?

For more information about the Maynard 200 Fellowship, please reach out to:
Maynard 200 Director, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley at okeeley@mije.org.