Introducing the 2024 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator
The Online News Association is excited to announce the 2024 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator (#ONAWLA). The Accelerator is an intensive program of mentoring, discussion and learning from some of the top minds in digital media.
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 women selected for the cohort have demonstrated that they not only have a deep understanding of the digital journalism landscape but are actively helping to advance it. 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.
The 2024 schedule will include a kickoff virtual gathering in July, individual virtual coaching and learning sessions throughout the summer, a two-day in-person workshop during the 2024 Online News Association conference (#ONA24) in Atlanta in September, additional virtual learning and coaching through the fall, and conclude with a closing virtual workshop in January.
The 26 women chosen for the 2024 cohort represent six places outside of the contiguous United States and 9 states or territories within the contiguous U.S. They serve audiences from Omaha, Nebraska, to Beirut, Lebanon. The majority of this inspiring group identify as women of color, and all members represent a range of journalism backgrounds.
We are thrilled to welcome a variety of changemakers to the group this year. Leaders with expertise in AI, product, audience, social video, television, operations/planning, strategy, training, data, audio, local public radio, local and national newspapers, local independent news organizations, and journalism-adjacent organizations are all represented.
Meet the 2024 cohort:
- Andrea Waner: Director of Engagement, Association of Health Care Journalists
- Anna Kook: Field Producer & Host, AJ+
- Annie Connell-Bryan: Supervising Planning Editor, POLITICO
- Casey Silvestri: Head of Digital + Social Video, Associated Press
- Ciara Lee: Audience Manager, Nebraska Journalism Trust
- Desirée García: Director of Digital Content, EFE News Agency
- Farah Miller: Strategy and Operations Deputy, Culture and Lifestyle, The New York Times
- Fernanda Braune Brackenrich: US Editor, Audience Engagement, Financial Times
- Gaby Brenes: Training and Media Development Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, Institute for War and Peace Reporting
- Jai-Leen James: SEO Analyst, CNN
- Kaila White: Digital Editor, MPR News
- Kanyakrit (Yu) Vongkiatkajorn: Assignment Editor, Metro, The Washington Post
- Katarzyna (Cathy) Rainone: Senior Manager of Audience Retention, NBCUniversal Local
- Mago Torres: Data Editor, The Examination
- Manjiri Carey: News Editor, BBC News Labs, BBC
- Mayra Báez Jimeno: Audience Strategist, Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística – CLIP
- MJ Daoud: Media Entrepreneur, Independent Journalist and Editor
- Nadia Harrald: Audience and Marketing Manager, The TRiiBE
- Nahima Ahmed: Independent Evaluator and Science Communicator
- Nikita Roy: Knight Fellow, AI Journalism Lab Program Lead, Podcast Host, International Center for Journalists, City University of New York, Newsroom Robots
- Patricia Madej: Deputy Editor, Content Strategy, The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Sara Clarke: Assistant Assigning Editor, NerdWallet
- Shyla Nott: Product Manager, CalMatters
- Stefanie Ritoper: Producer, Early Childhood, LAist
- Stephanie Serrano: Audio Documentarian and Story Editor
- Zia Thompson: Audience Engagement Editor, Bloomberg
Supporting women in digital journalism
The 2025 Women’s Leadership Accelerator is supported by lead funder Dow Jones Foundation with additional funding from the Tiffany Shackelford Foundation and Ballard Spahr LLP.
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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 seek funders for each new program and have several opportunities to support this program as well as our other year-round programs for women in digital news leadership. To learn more about supporting the programs, contact Hanaa Rifaey, Head of Strategic Partnerships, at hanaa@journalists.org.
To learn about the latest training opportunities and resources from the Online News Association, subscribe to the ONA Weekly newsletter.
ONA was founded in 1999 as a forum for digital news pioneers to collaborate on common challenges and encourage the highest journalistic standards. Become an ONA member or make a donation to sustain our mission to inspire and support innovation and excellence in digital journalism.