Introducing the 2026 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator!
Photo caption:
From left, top row: Megan Pratz, Nurviana Mubtadi, Sabrina Slipchenko, Sherkiya Wedgeworth, Gal Tziperman Lotan, Sura Ali, Jenna Watson, Viktorya Vilk
From left, second row: Jasmine Williams, Sophiko Vasadze, Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denise Blostein, Euna Lee, Cassandra Szklarski, Emily Dugdale, Desirée Yépez
From left, third row: Diamond Naga Siu, Astrid Csuraji, Jillian Melero, Helena Bertho
From left, fourth row: Caroline Bauman, Jamila Bey, René Kladzyk, Nabawoia Dawod, Clarissa León, Bianca Pallaro, Christina Jedra, Caitlin Havlak
The Online News Association is excited to announce the 2026 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator. The Accelerator is an intensive four-month program of mentoring, peer learning and workshops with today’s media innovators and leaders.
The 28 women and nonbinary journalists chosen for the 2026 cohort represent five countries outside the United States and 11 states in the U.S. They serve audiences from Honolulu to Baghdad; Mississippi to Massachusetts. About 60 percent of this inspiring group identify as people of color, and all members represent a range of journalism backgrounds.
We are thrilled this cohort includes founders and solopreneurs, as well as leaders with deep experience in investigative journalism and audience development. Local public radio, local and national outlets, independent news organizations and journalism support organizations are all represented.
Applicants to the Accelerator share an example of how they are working to create change within their organizations, and/or ultimately the journalism industry at large. The leaders selected for the cohort demonstrate that the future of journalism lies in knowing how to serve audiences, to build community and to take care of people working in the industry.
Their work ranges from preservation of cultural narratives to AI-based prototypes that promote radical listening, leading teams, launching new outlets, and more.
In the course of the program, participants work closely with coaches on challenges unique to their careers and also receive support from ONA throughout their Accelerator experience.
The program nurtures career-long connections to a powerful community of leaders, both within each program’s cohort and across a broader network including Accelerator alums, mentors and speakers. A group of WLA alumni reviewed the applications, along with ONA staff, which further strengthens the WLA ecosystem.
The 2026 schedule includes a kickoff four-day workshop in September in Boston, individual virtual coaching, and virtual learning sessions from September through December. Cohort members also receive complimentary registration to the ONA27 conference and a one-year membership.
Meet the 2026 cohort:
- Astrid Csuraji, CEO, tactile.news
- Bianca Pallaro, Data and Investigations Reporter, The New York Times
- Caitlin Havlak, Co-founder & Strategic Advisor, Indiegraf
- Caroline Bauman, Deputy Managing Editor for Growth and Community Operations, Chalkbeat
- Cassandra Szklarski, National Editor, The Canadian Press
- Christina Jedra, Deputy Editor, Honolulu Civil Beat
- Clarissa León, Deputy Editor, Documented
- Denise Blostein, senior video journalist, The Wall Street Journal
- Desirée Yépez, Managing Producer for National News, Radio Bilingüe
- Diamond Naga Siu, Newsletter Editor, The Boston Globe
- Emily Dugdale, Executive Editor, LA Public Press
- Euna Lee, Executive Producer, Acquired and Commissioned Programs, Voice of America
- Gal Tziperman Lotan, Newsletters Producer, GBH News
- Helena Bertho, Strategic Director, AzMina
- Jamila Bey, Founder, Aincora LePear Institute for Narrative Preservation
- Jasmine Williams, Producer, The Margin
- Jenna Watson, Art Director, Mirror Indy
- Jillian Melero, Founder & Publisher, Connect Puerto Rico
- Megan Pratz, Senior Political Editor, NPR
- Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Business Reporter, The Seattle Times
- Nabawoia Dawod, Investigative Journalist, freelance
- Nurviana Mubtadi, Founder and Content Creator, Suara Amerika
- René Kladzyk, Senior Investigator, Project on Government Oversight
- Sabrina Slipchenko, Digital Investigator, Lighthouse Reports
- Sherkiya Wedgeworth, Managing Editor and Editorial Leader, Colorado Association of Black Journalists / Executive Producer (freelance)
- Sophiko Vasadze, Executive Producer/Creative Director, Coda Media
- Sura Ali, Investigative Journalist, freelance
- Viktorya Vilk, Director, Digital Safety and Free Expression, PEN America
Supporting women in digital journalism
The 2026 Women's Leadership Accelerator is supported by lead funder Dow Jones Foundation with additional funding from the Tiffany Shackelford Foundation.
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ONA has organized cohort-based leadership training for women since 2015. Beyond the Accelerator, ONA's initiatives to support women in digital journalism have expanded to include the acquisition of the Digital Women Leaders coaching initiative, inspiring conversation series on advocating for your team and leadership styles and entrepreneurship, facilitated networking events, training tailored to women in local news, dedicated programming at the annual conference, and a learning series for women executives.
We welcome partnership support for the Women’s Leadership Accelerator and ONA’s year-round leadership and training programs. To explore support and sponsorship opportunities, email Hanaa Rifaey, Deputy Director, at [email protected].
To learn about the latest training opportunities and resources from the Online News Association, subscribe to the ONA Weekly newsletter.
Founded in 1999, the Online News Association (ONA) is a nonprofit membership organization and the essential hub for adaptive leadership in journalism. We convene and equip changemakers in journalism with the insights, training and connections they need to shape the future of the industry. To sustain our mission, we welcome you to become an ONA member or make a donation.