Almudena Toral, a multimedia journalist who taught web video at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and graduated from its Master’s program in 2010, is one of 25 women selected for the first Online News Association-Poynter Institute Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media.
The week-long seminar starting April 12 at Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Fla. aims to help women gain the skills and knowledge needed to rise to the highest levels of media leadership.
Sessions will be led by prominent women leaders in the startup, tech, media and academic fields. Faculty will include S. Mitra Kalita, executive editor (at large) for Quartz and Poynter adjunct; Liz Heron, Facebook’s manager of news partnerships; LaToya Drake, marketing manager/media outreach for Google, and Kelly McBride, media ethics expert and vice-president of academic programs for Poynter.
The participants were chosen from a pool of just under 500 applicants, screened for potential, need and diversity across ethnicity, age, geography, technology platforms and skill sets.
In addition to Toral, members of the first Academy are:
∙ Masuma Ahuja, National Digital Editor, The Washington Post
∙ Kainaz Amaria, Supervising Editor, NPR Visuals, NPR
∙ Heather Battaglia, Software Engineer, Northwestern University Knight Lab
∙ Libby Bawcombe, Digital Design Director, The Atlantic
∙ Kristina Budelis, Multimedia Producer and Freelancer
∙ Megan Chan, Director of Digital Product, Politico
∙ Kari Cobham, Social Media Digital Analyst, Cox Media Group
∙ Meghann Farnsworth, Director of Distribution/Engagement, The Center for Investigative Reporting
∙ Melisa Goh, Senior Home Page Editor, CNN, cnn.com
∙ Geneen Harston, Director of World/National News, Rivet News Radio
∙ Imaeyen Ibanga, Video Producer, NBC News
∙ Meagan Kelleher, Director of Digital Content, Tribune Broadcasting
∙ Christina Kline, Deputy Mobile Editor, The Wall Street Journal
∙ Amanda Krauss, Director of Technology, The Texas Tribune
∙ Sarah Marshall, Social Media Editor EMEA, The Wall Street Journal
∙ Rebekah Monson, Co-Founder, WhereBy.Us / The New Tropic
∙ Holly Moore, Managing Editor, USA TODAY
∙ Nuria Net, Editor, Emerging Arts & Special Projects, Fusion
∙ Tracie Powell, Founder, All Digitocracy
∙ Shadi Rahimi, Deputy Producer, Al Jazeera/AJ+
∙ Mariana Santos, Director of Interactive and Animation, Fusion
∙ Ruth Spencer, Managing Editor, Guardian US
∙ Elite Truong, Support Manager, Vox Media
∙ Mandy Velez, Lead Editor, A+ (aplus.com)
The Women’s Leadership Academy is made possible through the support of the Ford Foundation; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Google; the craigslist Charitable Fund; and the McClatchy Foundation, which will also provide seed funding for up to three additional academies. Poynter and ONA will jointly host the second academy in the Spring 2016.