Here are three facts about this year’s Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media: Among the 28 selected members, there are five countries represented; two women have the same first and last names; and reviewing applications took more than 100 hours of collective (wo)man power.
The 28 women, chosen from more than 300 applicants, will spend a week at Poynter for tuition-free training focused on the skills and knowledge needed to rise to the highest levels of digital media leadership. In a series of closed-door sessions, participants will learn how to develop effective management styles, grow business savvy, navigate newsroom and digital culture, master negotiation tactics, build collaborative teams and coach critical thinking.
“At this critical juncture in media history, we are honored to bring so many talented journalists together, from Iowa to Istanbul,” said Poynter President Tim Franklin. “With each class, we grow the cohort of women who will provide the leadership to guide our industry globally.”
This year’s participants are:
- Sara K. Baranowski, Editor, Times Citizen Communications (Iowa Falls, Iowa)
- Vera Maria Bergengruen, National Correspondent, McClatchy (Washington, D.C.)
- Mar Cabra, Editor, Data & Research Unit; International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (Madrid, Spain)
- Kayla Castille, Vice President of Content Development, CNHI (Metairie, Louisiana)
- Deblina Chakraborty, Digital Director, KMGH (Denver, Colorado)
- Eva Constantaras, Data Journalism Advisor, Internews (Istanbul, Turkey)
- Jennifer Ehidiamen, Founder, RuralReporters.com (Chevy Chase, Maryland)
- Gina Falcone-Rupp, Senior Manager, Product; McClatchy (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Andrea Gompf, Editor-in-chief, Remezcla (New York, New York)
- Megan Greenwell, Executive Features Editor, Esquire.com (New York, New York)
- Jessica Huff, Social Media Director, McClatchy (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Whitney Johnson, Deputy Director of Photography, National Geographic Partners (Washington, D.C.)
- Chao Li, Product Manager of Emerging Platforms, Thrillist Media (New York, New York)
- Melonyce McAfee, Senior Producer, CNN Digital (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Emma Patti Harris, Senior Visuals, The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland)
- Kelsey Proud, Managing Editor of Digital, WAMU (Washington, D.C.)
- Emmanuelle Saliba, Senior Editor, Digital Newsgathering; NBC News (New York, New York)
- Aidée Salinas, Content Managing Editor, Univision (San Antonio, Texas)
- Kelsey Scherer, Design Director of the Storytelling Studio, Vox Media (New York, New York)
- Ethar El-Katatney, Executive Producer, AJ+ (San Francisco, California)
- Yiqing Shao, Digital Editor, Boston Magazine (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Taylor Shaw, Executive Producer of Digital Media, KSHB-TV (Kansas City, Missouri)
- Shira T. Center, Politics/Assistant Metro Editor, Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Veronica Toney, Digital Editor, Features; The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.)
- Millie Tran, Director of Global Adaptation, BuzzFeed (New York, New York)
- Kathryn Westcott, Editor, Special Projects; BBC (London, England)
- Hannah Wise, Manager, Interactives; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Toronto, Canada)
- Hannah Wise, Engagement Editor, The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas)
Participants will spend March 19-24 together at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. The week will include sessions from leaders in the startup, tech, media and academic fields, including Melissa Bell, publisher, Vox Media; Michelle Ferrier, founder of Troll-Busters.com and an associate professor at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University; Tracy Grant, deputy managing editor at The Washington Post; Raju Narisetti, CEO, Gizmodo Media Group; and Vivian Schiller, an independent adviser and consultant, formerly head of news at Twitter.
The week of training is tuition-free, thanks to the generous support of the program’s naming sponsor, The McClatchy Foundation, as well as additional funding from PR Newswire and Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and craigconnects. Poynter will host future Leadership Academies for Women in Digital Media and is currently exploring opportunities to expand training opportunities for women journalists.
