Our people

Meet the team and board members behind the American Journalism Project’s work to build a sustainable future for local news.

Team members
Board members

Sarabeth Berman

Chief Executive Officer

René Gornall

Chief of Staff

Michael Ouimette

Chief Investment Officer

Amar Rajwani

Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

Patty Slutsky

Chief Advancement Officer

Program Team

Spearheads efforts to grow and build nonprofit local newsrooms, ensuring news organizations scale sustainably and strengthen their communities.

Jason Alcorn

Vice President, Growth Investments

Liam Andrew

Technology Lead, Product & AI Studio

Linnea Ashley

Director, Market Research & Strategy

Flannery Berg

Finance Lead

Mitchell Bloom

Vice President, Local Partnerships

Funmilayo Brown

Development Lead, Specialized Support Team

Dave Burdick

Vice President, Newsroom Strategy

Loretta Chao

Head of Startup Studio & Local News Innovation

Natalie Choate

Vice President, Growth Investments

Ashleé Clark

Senior Manager, Community & Learning

Gonzalo del Peon

Program Strategy & Operations Lead

Tina Dyakon

Senior Vice President, Growth Investments

Upasna Gautam

Head of Product & AI Studio

Stephen George

Head of Emerging Markets

Lisa Heyamoto

Vice President, Portfolio Learning

Darrin Kerr

Head of Growth Investments

David Lopez

Vice President, Growth Investments

Matthew Mantica

Business Strategy & Expansion Lead

A.X. Mina

Senior Vice President, Specialized Support

Alina Panek

Senior Associate, Local Partnerships

Will Schick

Editorial Impact Lead

Zainab Shah

Vice President, Audience Strategy

Kate Yoo McCrery

Vice President, Growth Investments

Heidi Zheng

Senior Manager, Data & Insights

Communications Team

Advances the national conversation about local news by helping audiences understand what’s at stake, elevating effective solutions, and amplifying the people and organizations building a stronger future.

Roshni Neslage

Head of Communications

Alexis Price-Waddy

Communications Associate

Advancement Team

Builds support for the American Journalism Project’s mission by engaging and educating funders, cultivating partnerships, and raising resources.

Amber DeLind

Director, Individual Giving & Advancement Operations

Shawnie Dockery

Director, Foundation Partnerships

Julia O’Connell

Senior Manager, Philanthropic Engagement

Baybars Orsek

Head of Strategic Partnerships

Courtney Parker

Senior Development Analyst

People & Operations Team

Supports the systems, culture and infrastructure that powers our high-performing team.

Tyrell Byrd

Director, Operations & Finance

Christy Johnson

Executive Assistant

Nguyen Phan

Finance Manager

Helen Zeineddine

Manager, People & Operations

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