Meet LION’s Fall 2023 Community Ambassadors

LION Publishers is thrilled to announce the launch of our community ambassador program with the selection of 24 independent news leaders across the United States. 

From September to November 2023, LION’s community ambassadors will reach out to local independent news organizations in their assigned region as a part of Project Oasis, an initiative to map the growing digital, local, independent media landscape. 

Community ambassadors will also share information about industry support opportunities, including LION’s learning opportunities, resources and community for independent news entrepreneurs as they build and develop sustainable businesses.

After the initial phase of the community ambassador program, LION will use participant feedback and other insights to expand the community ambassador program in 2024. Our goal is to create a community-led program that helps LION members throughout the U.S. and Canada build regional networks with other independent news publishers to share resources and knowledge with one another. 

Read on to learn more about the community ambassadors selected for each region. And if you know of any organizations that should be included in Project Oasis, please contact us at [email protected].

Region 1: California 

Annelise Pierce

Director, Managing Editor and Community Reporter, Shasta Scout

Location: Redding, CA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

[I’m] deeply motivated to increase collaboration and connection between local, regional and national news organizations.

Region 2: Oregon, Washington, Idaho

Chas Huntley

Owner, Gales Creek Journal

Location: Gales Creek, OR 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I have been involved for many years in the leadership of the Oregon Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists … and have a keen interest in many of the new digital publications in and around the greater northwest area. 

Region 3: Montana, Wyoming 

Will Hill

Owner and Publisher, County 10 

Location: Riverton, WY

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I have been actively engaged in working with other publishers and networking to support our industry in Wyoming. Together with other digital-only publishers, we have brought Google to Wyoming for training, teamed up reporters for education, and created content sharing agreements. 

Region 4: Colorado, Utah  

Corey Hutchins

Journalist and Educator, Inside the News in Colorado
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I’m a journalism instructor at Colorado College where I oversee the database for the Colorado News Mapping Project and publish the weekly Substack newsletter “Inside the News in Colorado.”

Region 5: Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada

Dylan Smith

Editor & Publisher, Tucson Sentinel
Location: Tucson, AZ

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I’ve spent the last 12 years recruiting LION members. 

Region 6: Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska 

Marlee Baldridge

Director of Special Projects, The Objective 

Location: Des Moines, IA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

After growing up and living in the Midwest for the majority of my life, my belief in Project Oasis goes beyond academics or professional interests. I’d like to use this opportunity to get more familiar with my local news services, and offbeat information sources that wouldn’t classify themselves as traditional “news,” such as the climate-data pamphlets published by EPA reps in Indigenous lands or SMS-based information services.

Region 7: Illinois, Wisconsin 

Joe Coughlin

Editor-in-Chief, The Record North Shore

Location: Wilmette, IL 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I am dedicated to the independent news community and believe local news needs energized, thoughtful reform. 

Region 8: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan

Gabrielle Dion

Founder and Publisher, MedicateOH

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

We’ve wanted to reach out to local news organizations to build a current list, so this would be a great project for me and my team. I’m a seasoned journalist of 25+ years with colleagues all over the region.

Region 9: Pennsylvania, Delaware  

Ambassador 1: Indah Nuritasari

CEO and Co-Founder, Indonesian Lantern Media

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I have been living in Philadelphia since 2001 and have been working with the immigrant communities there since 2003. I co-founded Indonesian Lantern Media in 2014. In 2022, I was selected as one of the 13 participants of the Philadelphia Media Founder Network held by The Lenfest Foundation.

Ambassador 2: Madison Rae Karas

Editor, 2PuntosPlatform
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I’m well-connected in local journalism in my region due to my previous involvement in local news communities … I’d love to be a community ambassador for this project because I enjoy meeting independent publishers and news entrepreneurs and want to be a part of connecting them with resources to support them.

Region 10: Kansas, Missouri

Jennifer Hack

Independent Journalist 

Location: Kansas City, MO

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I have a very strong understanding of the local news landscape from working in Midwest journalism for more than 20 years and very recent involvement with The Wichita Journalism Collaborative and the Kansas City Media Collective. 

Region 11: Texas, Oklahoma

Keri Mitchell

Founder and Executive Director, Dallas Free Press

Location: Dallas, TX 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I worked with a partner at the Dallas Morning News to launch the Dallas Media Collaborative, so that local media outlets can work together to explore solutions to systemic inequities. … A major goal of Dallas Free Press is to change the way we do journalism in Dallas (and beyond) to center communities and public service in our work.

Region 12: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas 

Christiaan Mader

Editor and Founder, The Current LA

Location: 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

The Current has thrived in a difficult environment for a local news outlet. And much of that success has followed mentorship from LION programming. I can speak to the issues that uniquely confront Southern and mid-market publishers with recent (and ongoing) tribulations. 

Region 13: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky

Apryl Pilolli

Technology Director for Houston Defender, Sacramento Observer, Atlanta Voice and other publications 

Location: Atlanta, GA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I have worked in local news for 25+ years and am passionate about helping to build sustainability and new revenue models for these publications.

Region 14: Florida, Puerto Rico

Mariela Santos-Muniz

Founder, BoriMas

Location: Guayanilla, PR

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I’m based in Puerto Rico and keep up-to-date on the news industry here. As a volunteer, I founded and run a Twitter/X account that shares job opportunities, industry news, and the work of fellow female Puerto Rican journalists (regardless of location). 

Region 15: North Carolina, South Carolina 

Rose Hoban

Editor and Founder, North Carolina Health News 

Location: Chapel Hill, NC

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I’ve already started the process! I was (recently) at the NC Press Association annual convention and spoke to publishers/editors from three small publications about LION. 

Region 16: Virginia, West Virginia 

Luanne Rife

Executive Director, Cardinal News

Location: Roanoke, VA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

Cardinal News has been part of an nascent effort to form a coalition of independent news agencies in Virginia. We are already attempting to identify others. 

Region 17: District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia

Ambassador 1: Lillian E. Agosto Maldonado

Founder and Editor, Mundos Paralelos

Location: Washington, D.C. 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

As part of my D.C. community commitment, I have been involved in organizations like the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Online News Association (ONA), and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). I am also a doctoral student working with ethnic media and how journalists have been covering health and minorities during COVID-19.

Ambassador 2: Catherine Hollingsworth 

Founder, Publisher and Editor, The Bowie Sun

Location: Bowie, MD

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I’m involved with a number of professional associations, including the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Maryland Innovation Extension, Women’s Business Center, Small Business Development Centers, U.S. Black Chamber of Commerces, Black-Owned Media Equity & Sustainability Institute, Ida B. Wells Society, and the Journalists of Color Slack.

Region 18: New Jersey

Kenneth Miles

Publisher, Trenton Journal 

Location: Trenton, New Jersey

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I am an independent news publisher dedicated to filling in the information gaps and highlighting the positive voices in my community. I also have an extensive, successful background in community building as a journalist and as an entrepreneur. 

Region 19: New York

Ambassador 1: Akash Mehta

Editor-in-Chief, New York Focus 

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I run the only statewide nonprofit news organization in New York. We’re expanding our relationships with local publishers and building a syndication network, and this could be a powerful way to connect with more potential partners.

Ambassador 2: Gabriela Barzallo

Founder, LAT Media

Location: Sunnyside, NY 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

As a bilingual journalist and media founder in New York City, I’ve collaborated extensively with independent journalists from community media outlets in both New York and Pennsylvania. Our joint efforts have been dedicated to serving marginalized communities, particularly people of color, immigrants, and Spanish-speaking populations. 

Region 20: Connecticut, Rhode Island

Ryan Belmore

Owner and Publisher, WhatsUpNewp

Location: Newport, RI 

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

As a 12-year publisher and advocate for local, independent online news throughout the country, I’ve been connected to many publishers across the United States. For a couple of years, I hosted/co-hosted a weekly virtual call with publishers across the United States, and I’ve helped coach both LION and non-LION members.

Region 21: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts

Nicci Kadilak

Founder, Burlington Buzz 

Location: Burlington, MA

Why are you a good fit to be a community ambassador? 

I am active in collaborating with local journalism outlets and have been working to build connections with small independent local news providers. 

NOTE: No applications were received from Alaska or Hawaii. If you’re an independent news publisher and/or someone who is interested in supporting independent news and you’re based in Alaska or Hawaii, please reach out to Community Engagement Manager Samantha Matsumoto at [email protected] about being a community ambassador.