Twenty News Leaders From Around the World Selected for 5th Executive Program Cohort

J. Gabriel Boylan
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: Rest of World
Role: Head of Audience

 Gabe Boylan has been working on audience and digital strategy in journalism for 20 years. He is currently the Head of Audience for Rest of World, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization focused on the impact of technology in the non-western world. Since Rest of World’s launch in 2020, Gabe has led audience operations and built the team that now manages social media, newsletters, SEO, outreach & partnerships, analytics, and more. Formerly he worked as Senior Strategist for Fortune Magazine, was Director of Audience Engagement for First Look Media’s Topic.com, and was Managing Editor for BBCAmerica.com. With the rapidly evolving nature of audience work in recent years, Gabe’s focus has been on building trusting relationships with readers that transcend platform shifts.

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Paris Brown
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Baltimore, MD, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The Baltimore Times
Role: Publisher

Paris M. Brown, Publisher of The Baltimore Times, leverages her 25 years of business development and marketing experience to drive digital transformation and revenue growth. As Associate Publisher, Paris led the shift to a digital-first approach, significantly increasing digital revenue through innovative campaigns and advanced technologies like AI, VR, and AR to create content to engage diverse audiences. Under her leadership, The Baltimore Times has seen organic growth in social media engagement, peaking at over 200K interactions from a combined social media following of 10K+. Paris focuses on strengthening partnerships and providing integrated solutions across print and digital platforms. Notable initiatives include the Creatively Black Baltimore arts exhibition, partnerships with the Maryland Cycling Classic, and transforming newspaper boxes into promotional billboards, ensuring The Baltimore Times remains a vital community voice and partner. She serves on the National Marketing Committee, National Newspaper Publishers Association Board of Directors, and Mid-Atlantic Community Publishers Association. She is a Newmark J+ Social Impact Fellow.

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Danson Cheong
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Singapore, Singapore
Country of Origin: Singapore
Organization: The Strait Times
Role: Assistant News Editor

Danson Cheong is an assistant editor at The Straits Times in Singapore, where he oversees the newspaper’s coverage on housing and politics. He has reported from various countries in Southeast Asia, and also spent five years in Beijing (2018-2023) where his reportage focused on Chinese politics, foreign policy and the impact of growing geopolitical tensions in Asia. He has won national and regional awards for his work. Despite the disruptions to the industry, he remains passionate (and excited!) about journalism’s power to tell stories and help people understand the world around them.

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Mariah Craddick
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The Atlantic
Role: Executive Director of Product

Mariah Craddick is a product strategist with deep experience in the news and media industry. She’s currently leading product strategy at The Atlantic with a focus on driving subscription growth and enabling retention through feature adoption and delightful subscriber experiences. Previously, she led teams as product manager at The Wall Street Journal, McClatchy, and Crain Communications, playing a key role in building features that drive readership and engage subscribers. Prior to her product management career, she held several roles across the newsroom – from writing for the legendary Ebony and Jet magazines to executing social media strategy at Crain’s Chicago Business. She’s a fierce advocate for mentoring and training the next generation of media and product professionals and currently offers mentorship through organizations like the News Product Alliance, Online News Association, and The 19th. She also teaches product-focused programs at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

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Paulo Celso Da Cunha Pereira
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Current Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Country of Origin: Brazil
Organization: O GLOBO
Role: Executive Editor

Paulo Celso Pereira is the Executive Editor of O Globo, Brazil’s largest newspaper. In this role, he leads the editors through the digital transition and supports journalists in producing impactful stories that expand the readership and subscriber base. In addition to his leadership role, he frequently writes opinion articles about Brazilian politics for O Globo’s Opinion section and participates in podcasts. He has spent half of his life working as a journalist, with 12 years in the capital, Brasília. There, he worked for O Dia, a local newspaper, then moved to Veja, the leading news magazine in the country, and finally, in 2012, to O Globo. Two years later, during a deep institutional and political crisis, he became Political Coordinator and, in 2018, was appointed the director for Brasília’s branch.

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Rawan Damen
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Amman, Jordan
Country of Origin: Palestine
Organization: ARIJ
Role: Director General

Rawan Damen is the Director General of ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism) since January 2020. She had a 25+ years career as a documentary filmmaker, with extensive experience in TV and digital storytelling. She stands behind tens of award-winning TV documentaries and investigations in the Arab World. She was also a senior editor at Al Jazeera for 10 years where she commissioned more than 250 documentaries from all over the Arab world. During the five years as ARIJ’s Director General, Rawan has doubled the team and the budget of the foundation, has opened the first regional platform for fact-checkers and another first regional Arabic language whistleblowers platform; in addition to ARIJ Artificial Intelligence Strategy. She led the publication of more than 200 investigations with tens of award-winning reports. Rawan received a master’s degree with honourable distinction in media and communication from the University of Leeds in the UK, 2003. She was also awarded the Media Creativity Award from the Arab Thought Foundation in Beirut, 2015.

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Tara Francis Chan
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: New York, New York, United States
Country of Origin: Australia
Organization: The Appeal
Role: Managing Editor

Tara Francis Chan is the managing editor of The Appeal, which she helped relaunch as one of the first worker-led nonprofit newsrooms. Under her leadership, the team’s award-winning coverage of the criminal legal system has fostered the work of incarcerated writers, emulating the newsroom’s equity- and care-centered culture. Previously in her career, she was a senior editor at Newsweek, launch editor of Business Insider’s Asia desk, and the editor of a leading Australian magazine. She was a finalist for Young Australian Journalist of the Year, a 2022 cohort member of Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Women in Media, and is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Emerging Leaders Council. She is a graduate of the University of New South Wales and now lives in New York City.

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Antti Karvanen
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Helsinki, Finland
Country of Origin: Finland
Organization: A-lehdet
Role: Head of Digital 

Head of Digital with a passion for creating superior services and media experiences. Solid experience in UX, UI, Service Design, and digital business, leading the strategy and development of eight digital products at A-lehdet. Thrives at the intersection of tech, design, and journalism. Antti has a robust track record in digital product leadership within media companies. He served as Business Unit Director of the Tech & Design unit at a growth consultancy, and also shared his expertise as a lecturer in UX design. Antti runs a charity music festival, microbrewery and pond hockey tournament. He lives in Helsinki with his family and loves all the sports and almost all the music.

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Gary Lavariere
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Adams, Massachusetts, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The Berkshire Eagle
Role: Chief Revenue Officer

Gary Lavariere is a leader in the news industry who possesses a wealth of knowledge relative to data and digital strategies that drive success.  He is currently the Chief Revenue Officer at The Berkshire Eagle. In his eight years as a media executive at The Eagle & the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he has quickly risen to a leadership role and is highly regarded in the industry. He is a firm believer that the future for media will be driven by the digital subscription business.  To that end, he engages deeply in development of lifecycle journeys, digital funnel development, data-driven campaign management, and constant testing to improve conversion and engagement rates.

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Ross Maghielse
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Role: Deputy Managing Editor, Innovation & Development

Ross Maghielse is a Deputy Managing Editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer and helps shape audience growth, innovation, business and content strategy. He joined The Inquirer in 2017 and leads a newsroom team that oversees all forms of digital distribution for The Inquirer’s journalism and he also plays an active role in newsroom recruiting. Previously, Ross has worked in various editing and digital strategy roles for The Guardian, CBS, Bleacher Report and Digital First Media’s Project Thunderdome. He’s a Michigan native and began his journalism career as a reporter at local newspapers in the state.

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Andrea McDaniels
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Maryland, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The Baltimore Banner
Role: Managing Editor

Andrea K. McDaniels is managing editor at The Baltimore Banner, a two-year-old, all digital news site working to create a sustainable model for local journalism. As it goes with a startup, she holds a number of roles, including head of newsroom hiring, liaison with philanthropy, career development, newsroom strategy and content editing. Prior to that, she worked at The Baltimore Sun for 21 years as a business reporter, health reporter, deputy opinion editor and columnist. She also worked as a reporter at The Charlotte Observer.

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Preethi Nallu
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Barcelona, Spain
Country of Origin: India and Iran
Organization: Report for the World
Role: Executive Director

Preethi Nallu leads a journalism service program called Report for the World, which supports critical beats such as climate, corruption, criminal justice, health, education and migration in independent newsrooms across the globe. The program currently spans 28 countries and partners with 49 public interest media. Preethi was founding editor at Refugees Deeply. Born in Iran, raised in India, she has lived in 14 countries, while researching, reporting and campaigning about human rights and development issues. She has worked with mainstream media outlets, global think tanks, UN agencies and NGOs such as the Norwegian Refugee Council and International Media Support. Her films and reportage won three Webby awards, two Migration Media awards, and the Amnesty International Human Rights Press Prize. She also trains in Indian classical dance and produces multimedia projects on freedom of expression and climate activism.  

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Sophie Nicholson
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Paris, France
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Organization: Agence France Presse (AFP)
Role: Deputy Chief Editor

Sophie Nicholson is Deputy Editor in Chief, Digital Investigation at Agence France Presse (AFP) in Paris. Sophie has overseen the development of the news agency’s global fact-checking team, working closely with researchers, platforms and the public to tackle misinformation. She recently led the development of award-winning video playlists and an online training platform for journalists. Sophie previously worked as a foreign correspondent, reporting from more than 15 countries and based in Mexico City and Paris. She started her career in radio and television at the BBC in London.

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Franco Piccato
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Country of Origin: Argentina
Organization: Chequeado
Role: Executive Director

Franco Piccato is the Executive Director of Chequeado, a leading fact-checking organization in Latin America. As the head of a talented team, he is committed to ensuring the organization’s long-term success. An expert in news and digital media, he possesses a deep understanding of the media landscape and a strong passion for fostering media sustainability in the region. He has been at the forefront of technology and journalism since the early days of dial-up internet. His career includes executive roles at Clarín (Buenos Aires), La Voz (Córdoba), and América Economía (Chile), where he led initiatives in audience engagement, product development, business models, and reader revenue. At Facebook, as Strategic Partner Manager for the Southern Cone, he developed distribution, monetization, and media programs. Franco is the co-author of Disruptive Journalism (2015) and a former digital journalism professor. Outside of work, he is a fan of TED talks, good food, and engaging conversations with friends.

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Simone Salden
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Hamburg, Germany
Country of Origin: Germany
Organization: Manager Magazin
Role: Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Simone Salden is deputy editor-in-chief of manager magazin. The title is one of Germany’s leading magazines and websites when it comes to investigative business journalism and is part of DER SPIEGEL Publisher Group. Before she joined the manager-team in 2022, Simone was working 16 years for DER SPIEGEL in different roles, covering politics and business and coordinating research-teams on breaking news situations in the newsroom. When everything is on fire, she keeps her head cool. Simone is a trained change-manager and a dedicated teacher at Universities and Journalism Schools. As a journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and online she is driven by upholding independence and standards for next-generation reporters.

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Ken Schneck
Pronouns: he/him/his
Current Location: Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The Buckeye Flame
Role: Editor 

Dr. Ken Schneck is the editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio’s only LGBTQ+ newsroom. For this work, he was honored with the Sarah Pettit Award for National LGBTQ+ Journalist of the Year. He previously served as editor of PRIZM Magazine and regularly freelances for Cleveland Magazine, FreshWater Cleveland, The Land and a host of other publications. Schneck is the author of Seriously…What Am I Doing Here? The Adventures of a Wondering and Wandering Gay Jew (2017), LGBTQ Cleveland (2018), LGBTQ Columbus (2019) and LGBTQ Cincinnati (2020). For 10 years, he produced and hosted “This Show is So Gay,” the award-winning nationally-syndicated radio show. In his spare time, he is a tenured full professor of education at Baldwin Wallace University.

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Bernice Marie Sibucao
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Manila, Philippines
Country of Origin: Philippines
Organization: GMA Network
Role: Senior Manager and Deputy Head of Digital Strategy and Innovation

Bernice Sibucao is the Senior Manager and Deputy Head of GMA Integrated News’ Digital Strategy and Innovation Lab. Under her leadership, her team has successfully positioned GMA Network—the largest news organization in the Philippines—as a prominent player online. They have launched innovative programs and products that have garnered billions of views and won international awards. Bernice was a fellow in the Asian American Journalists Association’s 25th Executive Leadership Program and was the only Filipino selected for The Poynter Institute’s 2022 Leadership Academy for Women in Media. She is currently the Secretary of the Asian American Journalists Association-Asia and a fellow in the London School of Economics and Political Science’s JournalismAI program.

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Alexandra Smith
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
Country of Origin: United States
Organization: The 19th
Role: Chief Strategy Officer

Alexandra Smith is chief strategy officer for The 19th, leading strategic efforts across the nonprofit news organization. Previously, she built out The 19th’s first audience team, developed growth initiatives at the media and tech startup WhereBy.Us, and led audience development and engagement efforts at The Coloradoan and The Asbury Park Press. Alexandra brings design thinking principles and an experiment-first mindset to news organization strategy. She’s a graduate of the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University, the Poynter Academy Program for Women in Digital Media and a Knight Visiting Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

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Aldana Vales
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Current Location: Washington, DC, United States
Country of Origin: Argentina
Organization: Gannett – USA TODAY Network
Role: Director of Audience Experiences

Aldana Vales is the Director of Audience Experiences at Gannett – USA TODAY Network. Specializing in understanding how people interact with journalism, she leads a team that designs holistic news products for more than 200 local communities in the U.S. Previously, Vales worked on audience and community research for The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic and Documented. Originally from Argentina, she graduated from the University of Buenos Aires with a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences. She also has a master’s degree in journalism and digital innovation from New York University.

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