Media Transformation Challenge (MTC) Alumni: Full List

Note: From 2007 – 2018, the program operated as the original Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University. Since 2019 the program and its challenge-centric approach became the Media Transformation Challenge program, now operating at the Poynter Institute.

2024

Fisnik Abrashi, director of global customer engagement, the Associated Press
Saeed Ahmed, vice president of news for digital platforms, the Associated Press
Arturo Carmona, president, Latino Media Collaborative/Calo News Group
Jos Duncan Asé, executive producer and publisher, Love Now Media
Kristen Go, editor in chief, CalMatters
Kimberly Griffin, publisher and chief revenue officer, Mississippi Free Press
Andale Gross, managing editor, the Kansas City Star
Benjamin Hallman, executive director, The Examination
Karen Hawkins, story editor, The 19th
Amanda Hickman, chief operating officer, MuckRock Foundation
Lauren Johnston, executive editor, Yahoo News U.S.
Michael Kreisel, vice president of newsgathering, ABC News
Kensey Lamb, global director of platforms and distribution, the Associated Press
Karen Mahabir, director of standards and talent development, the Associated Press
Leigh Munsil, editor in chief, San Antonio Report
Mirta Ojito, senior director of news standards, Telemundo Network
Alberto Orso, senior broadcast producer/head of 8AM GMA, Good Morning America
Emma Patti Harris, head of newsroom audience and digital experience, The Baltimore Banner
Anna Pogarcic, director of content and communications, EdNC
Damaso Reyes, investigative editor, The New York Amsterdam News
Erica Schopmeyer, director of operations and finance, Outlier Media
Angilee Shah, CEO and editor-in-chief, Charlottesville Tomorrow
Maryse Sulimma, chief operating officer, The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Darya Ushakova, senior vice president of consumer marketing, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Hannes Vollmuth, senior editor for digital strategy and innovation, Sueddeutsche Zeitung

2023

Danielle Bergstrom, Executive Director/Managing Editor, Fresnoland
Natalie Collier, President and Founder, Black Girl Times
Maritza L. Félix, Founder and Director, Conecta Arizona
Conan Gallaty, CEO, Times Publishing Company
Sara Gillesby, Director of Global Video, Associated Press
Larry Graham, Founder, Executive Director, The Diversity Pledge Institute
Katrice Hardy, Executive Editor, Dallas Morning News
Lisa Heyamoto, Director of Programming, Member Education, LION Publishers
Angel Jennings, Assistant Managing Editor for Culture and Talent, Los Angeles Times
Jennifer Joseph, Executive Producer, George Stephanopoulos Productions; Senior Producer, 2020, ABC News
Jonathan Kealing, Chief Network Officer, Institute for Nonprofit News
Brendan Kinney, Senior Vice President of Development, Vermont Public
Karen Leo, Director, Newsgathering Staff Development, ABC News
Julie March, Director, Global Training and Development, Associated Press
Karen Marshall, Executive Producer, GBH Educational Foundation
Delano Massey, Managing Editor of Axios Local, Axios
Oyekunle “Dapo” Olorunyomi, Publisher, Premium Times Newspaper/Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Nigeria
Anika Palm, Director, Off-Platform and New Audiences Programming, CNN
Stacy Palmer, Editor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Paul Royall, Executive Editor, BBC News at One, Six, and Ten
Ravin Sampat, Head of UK Insight, BBC News
Norberto Santana, Publisher, Editor in Chief, Voice of OC
Beena Sarwar, Founding Editor, Sapan News Network
David Scott, Vice President and Head of News Strategy and Operations, Associated Press
Paul Shanley, Senior Director of Revenue Strategy, Associated Press
Andaiye Taylor, Editorial Director, URL Media
Amanda Zamora, Publisher, Co-Founder, The 19th*

One of the biggest takeaways that I had from (my MTC fellowship) was that you’re not just coming up with a good idea and saying, ‘This is how I’m going to implement it across my organization.’ When you run into roadblocks, there’s a method. It’s not just you against the world.

— Noreen Gillespie, Global Business Editor at The Associated Press

2022

Kelsey Ryan, The Beacon
Candice Fortman, Outlier Media
Michael Morisy, MuckRock
Irene McKisson, Arizona Luminaria
Sabina Allen, ABC Network News
Kirit Radia, ABC News
Linda Shapley, Colorado Community Media
Linda Shaw, Solutions Journalism Network
Andrea Valdez, The Atlantic
Danyelle White, The Salt Lake Tribune
Kenya Young, NPR
Brian De Los Santos, Southern California Public Radio
Mukhtar Ibrahim, Sahan Journal
Annie Shreffler, GBH
Jake Kreinberg, Associated Press
Jessica Navarro, Poynter Institute
Maria Reeve, Houston Chronicle
Rigel Lugo, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
Allison Hoffman, CNN
Manav‌ Tanneeru‌, CNN
Joanna Webster, Reuters
Jerome Vaughn, WDET
Ronald Vample, Associated Press
Troy Thibodeaux, Associated Press
Anup Kaphle, Rest of World
Sam Farah, BBC
Katy Searle, BBC

MTC has been a game changer for me both professionally and personally. The cohort and the coaches became a like a second family. One of my favorite (tools) was From-To: It helped me with clarity as to the essential practices needed to ensure NAHJ’s palabra will be here for a long time.

— Alberto Mendoza, Executive Director, National Association of Hispanic Journalists (now managing director of John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford), 2020

2021

Tom Williams, AP
Simon Peeks, BBC
Shelley Acoca, AP
Seniboye Tienabeso, ABC News
Rupa Jha, BBC
Becca Aaronson, News Product Alliance
Penda Howell, New York Amsterdam News
Pamela Johnston, WGBH
Naomi Underwood, AAJA
Margaret Coker, The Current
Madeleine Bair, El Timpano
Krishna Nair, CNN
Jahna Berry, Mother Jones
Felecia Henderson, Maynard Institute
Emiliana Garcia, Centro Latino Americano de Investigacion Periodistica
David Allan, CNN
Cynthia (CJ) Benjamin, Gannett
Catherine McKenzie, ABC News
Carolyn Robinson, Solutions Journalism Network
Alison McKenzie, The Ground Truth Project/Report for America

When I was thinking of applying, I worried about the size of the investment for a small enterprise like West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Now, I can give you 10 ways I have earned that investment back with substantial interest, not to mention the friendships and soul-supporting experience of being with people who have the same passion for telling stories.

— Scott Finn, Executive Director, West Virginia Public Broadcasting (now president and CEO of VPR and Vermont PBS), 2014

2020

Amanda Barrett, Associated Press
Sean Cavanagh, Education Week
Neil Chase, CalMatters
Allan Donald, BBC
Kevin Grant, The Ground Truth Project/Report for America
John Hassell, Advance Local
Lizzy Hazeltine, North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
Cierra Hinton, Scalawag
Evelyn Hsu, Maynard Institute
Jim Iovino, West Virginia University
Chris Krewson, Local Independent Online News Publishers
Tristan Loper, News Revenue Hub
Alberto Mendoza, National Association of Hispanic Journalists
Katie Mercer, Glacier Media
Margarita Noriega, CalMatters
Martin Reynolds, Maynard Institute
Mila Sanina, PublicSource
Simone Swink, ABC News/GMA
Lindsay Thomas, WUNC
Lia Valero, Chicas Poderosas
Sarah Ward-Lilley, BBC News
Fara Warner, Solutions Journalism Network
Ricardo Zuniga, ESPN

I am the only Fellow to take part in the MTC experience twice (to pursue two different challenges), and each time, I grew personally and professionally. The tools I learned allowed me to apply rigor and an outcome-based thinking to the projects at hand. I continue to draw on them in my daily work, but they are only part of the story. Individual coaching made those tools come alive for me and the insights, friendship and support of my fellow alumni have been invaluable. I expect those relationships to last long into the future.

— Amanda Barrett, Deputy Managing Editor, Associated Press, 2020

2019

Sally Lehrman, The Trust Project
Morwen Williams, BBC
Alex Watson, BBC
Mackenzie Warren, Gannett/USA Today Network
Tory Starr, WGBH
Jeff Sonderman, American Press Institute
David Smyrda, Google News
Fran Scarlett, Institute for Nonprofit News
Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor
JJ Yore, WAMU
Birgit Rieck, Knight-Wallace
Erika Owens, Opennews
Bill Nichols, Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity
Maeven McGovern, YR Media
Sam Lyon, ESPN
Sara Lomax-Reese, WURD Radio
Amy Kovac-Ashley, American Press Institute
Mitra Kalita, CNN
Anna Johnson, Associated Press
Lee Hill, WNYC
Nation Hahn, EducationNC
Noreen Gillespie, Associated Press
Ignacio Fidanza, La Politica Online
Jason Farkas, CNN
Katie Den Daas, ABC News
Travis Daub, PBS Newshour
Neal Carruth, NPR
Neil Brown, Poynter Institute
Ashley Alvarado, Southern California Public Radio
Phil Alongi, NJTV
Gavin Allen, BBC

We believe so strongly in the value of the program that we have continued to send group leaders from our organization year-after-year from all departments. And each time, they grow their personal skill set and contribute more fully to achieving our overall company goals of growth, innovation and increased market share. And each time, they tell us it has changed the way they work. It has been nothing short of revolutionary for us.

— Susan Daly, Editor at TheJournal.ie, 2013

2018

Jennifer Brandel, Hearken
Jacqueline Cheng, Wirecutter
Matt DeRienzo, LION Publishers
Vicente Argudo Esteve, Prisa
Lisa Gibbs, Associated Press
Mark Hansen, Columbia Journalism School
Jaime Holguin, Associated Press
Therese Hurlbutt, ABC News
Milind Kamlakar Khandekar, ABP News Network
Marc Lacey, The New York Times
George Lansbury, Fusion TV
Ximena Leon de Campo, Grupo RPP
Sophie Lyon, TVNZ
Kristen Muller, Southern California Public Radio
Jonathan Munro, BBC
Manuel Delgado Nachtigall Grupo, RPP
Sitara Nieves, Marketplace
John Pullman, Reuters
Michael Reilly, MIT Technology Review
Heidi Robdrup, Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Mona Sarantakos, Facebook
Kevin Sullivan, Reveal, Center for Investigative Reporting
Alan Whiston, BBC

Taking part in this program was challenging and inspiring in equal measure. It helped turn a back-of-a-napkin idea into a reality which is now generating many millions of dollars annually and gave me skills that I still use daily.

— Sue Brooks, former Director, Associated Press (now at Reuters), 2011

2017

Jane Barrett, Reuters
Amanda Barrett, Associated Press
Steve Beatty, The Lens
LaSharah Bunting, The New York Times
Fiona Campbell, BBC
Deborah Clark, Marketplace
Max Da Silva, The New York Times
Frida Delgado, Nachtigall Gruppo RPP
Bill Elward, Bankrate.com
Sam Feist, CNN
Laura Frank, Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting
Jim Giles, Timeline
Jabari Gray, Youth Radio
Aine Kerr, Facebook
Teri Lamitie, WBGH
Robin Pembrooke, BBC
Betsy Reed, The Intercept
Fernando Rodriguez-Vila, Fusion
Joy Russo, ESPN
Jag Sanger, AHG Pty, LTD
Dan Silver, ABC News
Rachel Smolkin, CNN Politics
Michelle Srbinovich, WDET Radio
Denise Vance, Associated Press

I applied to help save my business. My biggest customer was teetering on bankruptcy. I needed a strategy to survive. While my personal background was in journalism and general management, I didn’t have an MBA. MTC gave me the business skills necessary to develop strategy, manage change and measure results. The program helped me define my core business challenge and then, through classroom instruction and persistent focus, taught me the tools necessary to succeed.

— Steve Jones, former VP & General Manager, ABC News Radio (now at Skyview Networks), 2010