Peter Adams became the News Literacy Project’s senior vice president of research and design after several years as the organization’s head of education. He began his career as a classroom teacher in the New York City schools through Teach For America. He has also taught in the Chicago public schools, at Roosevelt University and at Chicago City Colleges’ Wilbur Wright campus. In addition, he has worked with the NYC Teaching Fellows program, with After School Matters and as an independent education consultant.

Since joining NLP in 2009, he has coordinated classroom and after-school programs, served as Chicago program manager, worked on organizational strategy and developed NLP’s digital program. He has also provided news literacy training and workshops to educators and others throughout the area. He was promoted to his current position in January 2014 and oversees NLP’s education team, which develops resources and training for teachers. He and the other team members are based in Chicago.

Peter is a graduate of Indiana University, where he majored in English and African American studies and co-founded an independent monthly student newspaper, and has a master’s degree in the humanities from the University of Chicago.

Media Appearances

Chicago Media Talks, Teaching Media Literacy in the ‘Fake News Era’

Wired, The Election-Swinging, Facebook-Fueled, Get-Out-the-Vote Machine

Columbia Journalism Review, ‘Disinformation Weekly’: How midterm newspapers are failing the electorate

The New York Times, When Teens Find Misinformation, These Teachers Are Ready

WTTW, News Educators Say Journalists Should ‘Slow Down’ on Social Media

New York Times, Lesson of the Day: ‘How to Deal With a Crisis of Misinformation’

NPR, Misinformation Around the Coronavirus

Education Week, How to Talk About Social Media and the Capitol Insurrection: A Guide for Teachers

The Hechinger Report, The in-school push to fight misinformation from the outside world

The Denver Channel, Everyone should fact check; this is how easy and quick it can be done

Illinois Public Media, How can you tell if the news you read is real?

@AJStream, What is being done to thwart Russian disinformation on Ukraine?

NBC News, Gen Z isn’t immune to misinformation. These zoomers are making sure their peers don’t get fooled.

Fox 5 DC, How to separate online fact from fiction

Scientific American, Schoolkids Are Falling Victim to Disinformation and Conspiracy Fantasies

The 74, A Year After Jan. 6 Insurrection, Teachers Wary of Anti-CRT Laws Careful How They Broach Capitol Attack

WBEZ Chicago’s Reset with Sasha Ann-Simons, Changes at X encourage spread of false claims, especially about Israel-Hamas war 

C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, Peter Adams on efforts to combat misinformation 

TVNewsCheck, News Literacy Project targets a threat to democracy 

Fox 5’s On The Hill, News Literacy Project’s ‘RumorGuard’ seeks to stop misinformation as 2024 elections near 

Scripps News, The war on misinformation in modern wartime  

Obama Foundation 2023 Democracy Forum, Spot the real news: Three tips for staying informed 

AARP, 11 ways to fight election misinformation 

United Press International, Violent threats, rhetoric becoming commonplace, researchers warn   

Wired, The election-swinging, Facebook-fueled, get-out-the-vote machine 

The New York Times, When teens find misinformation, these teachers are ready 

NPR, Misinformation around the coronavirus 

NBC News, Gen Z isn’t immune to misinformation. These zoomers are making sure their peers don’t get fooled. 

Keynote

Celebrating News Literacy Change-Makers 2021, Keynote speech by Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Education

Claudia Borgelt joined the News Literacy Project in July 2018, and now oversees the organization’s fundraising efforts, impact and data operations, and its civic engagement programming.

Claudia has spent her career in nonprofit management and fundraising roles with focuses on partnership development, corporate and foundation portfolio management, volunteer engagement, event planning, and adult education programming. Prior to joining NLP, Claudia was the associate vice president of development at BUILD Inc., a national youth entrepreneurship program headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. She previously led the daily operations, board management and continuing education efforts for membership-based healthcare associations in Georgia, and she began her career in university fundraising and alumni relations.

Claudia earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in comparative religions from Emory University and holds a financial success for nonprofits certificate from Cornell University.

Mary has over 20 years of experience with nonprofit organizations as an administrator, community outreach and volunteer coordinator, and board member. She joined the News Literacy Project as program administrator in December 2011 and became vice president of administration in January 2014.

Prior to joining NLP, she was associate director of the Falls Church Housing Corporation in Falls Church, Virginia, where she oversaw the staff, budget, fundraising, marketing and community advocacy and outreach. She previously worked for the Dominican Retreat in McLean, Virginia, the Hospice of Northern Virginia and the Northern Virginia Hotline.  She is a former board member of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as a member of the town council in the Town of Bath, WV.

Mary is a graduate of American University, where she majored in economics and urban studies.

Erin Moore is the Senior Vice President for Development at the News Literacy Project. She engages with and actively listens to donors to understand their philanthropy goals and align them with NLP’s mission.

Moore previously worked at myAgro, where she led the international Development team in raising more than $30 million annually. Erin has a proven track record in securing major gifts from foundations, corporations, governments, and individuals. Before myAgro, she spent over 10 years as chief of staff in the nonprofit sector, managing aspects of fundraising, leading organizational strategic planning, and directing cross-functional initiatives.

Erin is a graduate of Monmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in business and communications and has completed executive education certificate programs at the Harvard Kennedy School and Cornell University. In her free time, Erin enjoys trying her hand at a variety of creative endeavors, including knitting and pottery.

Ebonee Otoo joined the News Literacy Project in April 2020. A strategic coalition builder and community engagement expert, she has spent her career successfully scaling up campaigns and programs in the pursuit of equal access for all.

From 2015 to 2017, she led the national partner engagement program at Enroll America, a nonprofit created to ensure that members of often underserved communities were able to enroll for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Her work resulted in millions of people within minority, women and young adult communities gaining health coverage. After Enroll America closed its doors, she joined the District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education as a community outreach specialist, building compelling digital experiences for constituents that led to positive outcomes for children, educators and families.

Ebonee began her career as a marketing/outreach coordinator for the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and has also worked for Golden Girl Media, BET Networks and the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute. A native of Los Angeles, she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Media Appearances

KGUN 9, Talking to people who believe misinformation
Different types of misinformation and how to identify it

Ms. Magazine, A Tribute to Women in Journalism Who Cracked Glass Ceilings

School Library Journal, News Literacy Project Launches NewsLitNation, a National Educator Network 

Mozilla Foundation’s Misinfo Monday, How to Tell Fact from Crap in the Newsfeed  

WRTV Indianapolis, “We live in the most complicated landscape in history:” The importance of news literacy 

WERA Public Radio, Arlington, Virginia, The News Literacy Project, with Ebonee Rice 

The Hechinger Report, More states should require teaching kids how to read the news and spot what’s true and what’s not

KCRW, Can teaching media literacy in schools help fight misinformation?

Shondaland, Three warriors on the front lines of the war against misinformation

University of Barcelona’s “Dismantling disinformation. Learn to check media literacy summit for educators,” Students are living in the most complicated information landscape in history

Charles (Chuck) Salter joined the News Literacy Project (newslit.org) as its first-ever chief operating officer in 2018 and was named president and chief operating officer in 2019. He became NLP’s second-ever CEO on July 1, 2022. Prior to joining the team, he spent nearly two decades working in the education space – particularly to advance opportunity in under-resourced communities – as a teacher, school leader, teachers union president and as a senior executive with several national education organizations, including: Teach For America in California, New York and Nevada; the Bay Area After-School All-Stars in California; and as regional director, vice president and superintendent of schools with Lighthouse Academies, a national, non-profit charter management organization, where he managed a group of 6 schools outside of Chicago that enrolled more than 2,200 students. Most recently before NLP, he was president and chief operating officer of BUILD Inc., a national youth entrepreneurship organization with programs in the Bay Area of northern California, Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York City and Boston.

Chuck earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and German with university and departmental honors from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania.  He holds a juris doctor degree from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in Bloomington and has graduate certificates from Indiana University and Harvard University in nonprofit management, from Ball State University in business studies and from Cornell University in change leadership. He is a member of the Indiana Bar and is also a trained community mediator.

Video profile, Introducing NLP’s New CEO, Taking NLP from Mission to Movement

NLPeople Q & A, Chuck Salter, president and CEO

Media Appearances

School Administrator, Teaching Fact from Fiction

EdSurge, Nonprofit News Literacy Project Welcomes Former Educator as CEO, With Plans to Expand

EducationWeek, We Americans Risk Losing the Ability to Govern Ourselves. Better Civics Education Can Help 

WOSU NPR affiliate, America‘s lapse in civic education 

ABC 7 Denver, Scripps, News Literacy Project join forces to promote news literacy education 

Cap Radio NPR affiliate, California’s Challenge To Modernize Government, Technology / Improving Civic Knowledge And Engagement In The U.S.  

The Cap Times, Opinion | For the sake of democracy, teach more civics in schools

Life of Gusto podcast, Charles Salter, President and COO, News Literacy Project 

The George W. Bush Presidential Center, The Strategerist podcast, News Literacy Project

United Press International, There’s still hope for local news

Chronicle of Philanthropy, Philanthropic efforts to fight misinformation should start in the classroom

National Association of Elementary School Principals’ Principal Magazine, Knowing fact from fiction

Darragh Worland became the News Literacy Project’s senior vice president of creative, media and marketing in July 2024 after two years as the organization’s SVP of creative strategy and three years as the organization’s vice president of creative services and several years as the organization’s vice president of production and digital media prior to that. In her current role, Darragh oversees all external written and visual storytelling, messaging and communications for the organization.

She joined NLP in 2011 as the New York program coordinator and was soon promoted to program manager. In that position, she rapidly expanded the New York program.

Prior to joining NLP, Darragh was a journalist for several major news organizations, including six years as a writer, web producer and field producer at NY1 News, at the time, a local 24-hour news channel covering New York City owned by Time Warner, now owned by Charter Communications. She then covered the financial crisis as a senior producer at MSN Money, shooting and producing video features for the web.

From 2007 to 2011, Darragh was an adjunct assistant professor at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, where she helped launch the Local East Village blog in partnership with The New York Times. In 2010, ABC News retained her to train its staff in digital video production. She has also designed and taught online and in-class multimedia courses and seminars for UCLA Extension, Mediabistro, PRNDI and other media organizations — helping journalists and communications professionals around the world keep pace with the changing media landscape.

Darragh is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where she studied English and drama, and has a master’s degree in journalism, with a focus on cultural reporting and broadcasting, from NYU.

Media

What the Media,  2022 Midterms — Information, Misinformation, Disinformation

New York Daily News, Don’t let social media spoil your news judgment: A guide to navigating our information jungle 

Cause Pods, Interview with Darragh Worland of the Is that a fact? podcast 

Chicago Daily Herald, The News Literacy Project keeps pressure on fact checking  

Newsy

Conspiracy Theories Linking 5G and COVID-19 Spread 
QAnon Conspiracy Movement Gains Followers in Uncertain Times
COVID-19 Is Enabling Some Governments to Limit Press Freedoms 

The Washington Post, 3 things everyone’s getting wrong about AI

Katie Aberbach is NLP’s senior director of marketing, developing campaign strategy and overseeing a team responsible for running the organization’s email, web and social media marketing efforts. She joined NLP in August 2021 and has a background in marketing, communications and journalism.

Katie worked as a marketing writer/editor at Wesleyan University, where she developed and executed strategic initiatives in support of the university’s mission. Previously, she was a senior marketing writer at the Harvard Art Museums, editor-in-chief at Culture magazine, and a senior editor at the Washington Post Express. She has freelanced for the Washington Post, Google and Zagat, among others.

Katie received a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree in communication, culture and technology from Georgetown University.

Matt Arnold is NLP’s Executive Assistant to the CEO & Senior Manager of Development Projects. He joined NLP in July 2022, after spending almost fifteen years in higher education administration.

He is a member of the National Board of Governors for the Human Rights Campaign—the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization—advocating for equality as a leader, ambassador, and fundraiser for the 501(c)(3) HRC Foundation.

Matt earned a bachelor’s degree in music from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and a master’s degree in journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago. He also holds a Certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University.

Aji Bakare is the Senior Major Gifts Officer, East at the News Literacy Project.

Aji previously worked as the Development Manager at State Voices in Washington, D.C., writing grants, managing a sponsorship program, and building and deepening relationships with a portfolio of traditional foundation and corporate supporters, and individual donors. Aji previously served as Senior Development Associate at State Voices, where she supported fundraising and helped funders and donors understand its vision.

Aji has a master’s degree in Woman and Gender Studies from Towson University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Maryland. She was born in Nigeria.

Ellie Barnes is a Marketing Associate at the News Literacy Project. Ellie previously worked as NLP’s Communications Intern. Before that, she worked as a freelance reporter for her hometown newspaper, The Carlisle Sentinel, and as a marketing assistant at Wellspring Therapy Associates, a Florida-based counseling practice.

Ellie is a graduate of American University, where she majored in journalism and French. She is currently pursuing a law degree from Northeastern University.

Theresa Berna joined NLP in October 2023 as Educator Success Manager.

Theresa has spent more than 20 years in education, including teaching math and statistics.

For the past four years, she has served as a digital learning specialist, supporting educators with digital tools and teaching students digital citizenship, digital literacy, and media and information literacy skills.

In 2021, Theresa become an ISTE Certified Educator.

Theresa holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in computer science from Keene State College in New Hampshire, and she earned her master’s degree in mathematics for educators from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Ana Bitter joined NLP in February 2021 as a visual designer and was named design lead in 2024.

She previously worked at Hawaii Business Magazine, an award-winning regional business publication, as an intern, and she served as the associate design director at Ka leo O Hawai‘i, her university’s student newspaper.

Ana attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where she earned her bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design, and a certificate in French language. While completing her degree, she produced work commissioned by the Hawai‘i Labor Relations Board and a piece that was exhibited in Tokyo Midtown’s “Open the Park” event, an international exhibition. In addition to her design and copy editing work at Mānoa’s newspaper, she also served as a designer and student manager at the university’s campus graphics office, designing and producing promotional and advertorial materials.

Kim Bowman is NLP’s senior manager of research.

After teaching middle school social studies for six years in Virginia, Kim earned her Ph.D. in curriculum, culture and change from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), focusing on gender equity and assessment design. During her graduate studies, Kim helped VCU’s Office of Alumni Relations launch and manage its online platform for networking and career advice. She also worked with VCU’s School of Education to support mentor teachers and student teachers in the field.

Kim also has an undergraduate degree in history from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and a graduate degree in teaching and learning from University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine.

Media Appearances

The Washington Post, Civics class is more than memorization

Freeda Brook is NLP’s senior manager of data and impact.  She joined the development team at NLP in March 2022.

Prior to NLP, Freeda worked as an academic librarian, most recently at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. She taught college students information literacy skills, including a course on the topic of fake news. As the Acquisitions and Resource Management Librarian, she managed the library’s research collection and acquisitions budget. She researched, published, and presented scholarship on feminist leadership and anti-racist practices in library work. 

Freeda holds a master’s degree in library and information science from the Information School at the University of Washington and a master’s in public administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs, also at the University of Washington. She graduated with honors from Grinnell College with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Pamela Brunskill is a senior director of education design at NLP.

Pamela joined NLP in August 2021 after 20 years of experience in education and education publishing. She was a teacher in Clarence and Williamsville, New York; a literacy coach at Enterprise Charter School; and an adjunct instructor at Bloomsburg University, Bucknell University and the University at Buffalo.

As a literacy specialist and consultant, she worked to align and enhance K-8 writing programs in Western New York. She also founded and operated Authors and Educators, a company dedicated to developing curriculum resources for publishers and authors. Additionally, she authored five books for the education market and co-authored Information Literacy: Separating Fact from Fiction.

Pamela holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from SUNY College at Buffalo and a master’s degree in education from the University at Buffalo.

Media Appearances

The 74, As Misinformation Rages, Educators Focused on Improving News Literacy Turn to Outside Groups to Help Kids Parse Fact From Fantasy

The Horn Book Magazine, Teaching news literacy

EducationWeek, Students are bringing up the Israel-Hamas war in class. Here’s how teachers are responding

Encyclopedia Britannica, What is news literacy (and why does it matter)?

Nierra Coleman-Jones is Senior Manager of Educator Engagement for NLP.

Nierra joined NLP in September 2023 after a career in the education sector. She taught eighth grade English language arts and reading intervention in Nashville, Tennessee, where she also worked on professional development for social-emotional learning.

Nierra also curated video media for higher education textbooks and is currently volunteering with a college and career readiness organization.

Nierra has a Bachelor of Arts in education studies from the Spelman College and a master’s degree in education with a specialization in curriculum and instruction from the University of San Diego in California.

Hannah Covington is NLP’s senior director of education content. She joined the education team in August 2020.

Hannah has experience in both the newsroom and the classroom. As a journalist, she covered local government and breaking news at the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, the state’s largest newspaper. She has also written for the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman. Previously, she was an adjunct instructor, working with high school and undergraduate students at Tulsa Community College and the University of Tulsa. She anchored her writing classes in media literacy and rhetorical skills, training students to think like reporters to navigate today’s information landscape.

Hannah studied literature at Oral Roberts University, where she majored in English and Spanish. She also holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Tulsa.

Media appearances

NewsNation, Misinformation is everywhere during war — here’s how to stop it

TVNewsCheck, News Literacy Project targets a threat to democracy

KRTV,  Great Falls feels the effects of news crisis

Kymberly Deane is NLP’s senior manager of development. She joined NLP in May 2022 and is responsible for overseeing the stewardship of our supporters and prospects, while also enhancing the overall donor engagement experience.

Kymberly previously worked at Part of the Solution (POTS), an anti-poverty nonprofit in the Bronx, New York, where she served as an institutional giving manager. She cultivated institutional relationships and managed a grant portfolio that contributed over $1 million annually to the organization’s program and operating budget. She also served as the organization’s grant writer.

Kymberly majored in English with a writing concentration and minored in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Gettysburg College. She is also a graduate of Prep for Prep, a leadership development program in New York.

Dan Evon is a senior manager of education design at NLP.

Prior to joining NLP in 2022, Dan worked as a reporter for Snopes.com, the internet’s oldest fact-checking site, where he monitored disinformation networks and addressed viral rumors. He published thousands of articles, generated millions of views, and (hopefully) made the vast information streams of the internet a little easier to navigate during his eight years there.

Dan received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Orleans, where he studied journalism, philosophy and, film history.

Media appearances

NPR, April Fools Day: How to avoid getting tricked online.

CBS News, Teens struggle to identify misinformation about Israel-Hamas conflict — the world’s second “social media war”

NBCU Academy, War reporting is susceptible to disinformation. Here’s how to guard against it.

AARP, 5 Tips to tell if what you see on Twitter is real

The Washington Post, Top trending misinformation tactics everyone can learn to spot

Shaelynn Farnsworth is the News Literacy Project’s director, district fellowship program.

Shaelynn has over 20 years of experience in education. She spent the first part of her career as a high school English teacher in Conrad, Iowa, where she reimagined teaching and learning in her classroom and became a leader in the convergence between literacy and technology. Shaelynn focused on developing student skills in information consumption, creating innovative ways for students to demonstrate understanding, and inspiring healthy skepticism in the digital age. She was recruited by a regional state education agency in Iowa, where she was a school improvement consultant for seven years. Shaelynn supported districts throughout Iowa in the areas of literacy, technology, AIW, and systemic change. She was a member of the state’s literacy, social studies, and technology leadership teams.

Shaelynn holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from the University of Northern Iowa.

Media appearances

The 74, As Misinformation Rages, Educators Focused on Improving News Literacy Turn to Outside Groups to Help Kids Parse Fact From Fantasy

Governing, News literacy is essential. Here’s how to make it work for students. 

The North Salem Post, North Salem Central School District is pioneering student standards for news literacy 

The 74, As misinformation rages, educators focused on improving news literacy turn to outside groups to help kids parse fact from fantasy

Abby Friedman is NLP’s director of talent.

Abby joined NLP in April of 2022, after nearly a decade of experience in education and six years in human resources.  At Democracy Prep Public Schools in New York City, Abby helped launch a program to guide all teachers to certification.  At Uncommon Schools, also in New York, she coached staff and managers through performance issues and helped drive a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative by researching and educating colleagues on microaggressions.

Abby received her bachelor’s degree. from Swarthmore College, where she majored in Latin and received Pennsylvania certification in elementary education.  She also attended New York Law School.

Jostin Grimes is the Senior Manager, Senior Manager District Partnerships, West at the News Literacy Project.

Jostin previously worked at Soundtrap for Education, where he was responsible for engaging and activating student collaboration and creativity for K-12 districts across the United States with the audio tool, Soundtrap. He also was responsible for facilitating learning for over 200+ educators and working with regional partners to support student voice and creativity through podcasting, storytelling and music making.

Before that, Jostin worked as a program manager at STEM To The Future, a Los Angeles-based non-profit, and as a K-1 educator within the Kipp Atlanta Schools network. Jostin is a graduate of Morehouse College and works to connect with other leaders and stakeholders on how to support Black and brown students and communities.

Mary Kane is the senior editor at NLP, ensuring our content, including newsletters, updates, case studies and Checkology lessons, is clear, correct and readable. She joined NLP in April 2020, after serving as an associate editor at Kiplinger’s Retirement Report, a respected national publication, where she wrote award-winning articles on retirement finances and aging. She also is an adjunct professor in the graduate program at Johns Hopkins University, where she teaches Journalism and Publishing in the Digital Age, a media literacy course.

Previously, Mary served as editor of The Washington Independent, a pathbreaking online site, and spent a year as an Alicia Patterson Fellow, one of journalism’s highest honors. As a freelancer, she edited or wrote for The Washington Post, Reuters, Politico, BillMoyers.com, Crain’s Chicago Business, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, National Geographic News, The E.W. Scripps Company, and other publications. She is a former national correspondent for Newhouse News Service, and she shared in a George Polk award for a Southern Exposure magazine issue on subprime lending.

Mary is a University of Pittsburgh graduate with a B.A. in English and Rhetoric.

Alex Koval is a Senior Software Engineer at the News Literacy Project.

Alex joined NLP after nearly a decade of expertise in software development, cloud infrastructure, and technical leadership. His background includes education, healthcare, SaaS, and the nonprofit arts. He has worked across the entire technical stack, developing software for both web and mobile platforms, including healthcare plan procurement services, AI-powered hiring tools, digital classroom environments, and data analytics platforms.

Prior to NLP, Alex served as Director of Technology at National Novel Writing Month, a global arts nonprofit, where he led engineering and cloud infrastructure strategy. He previously worked as a frontend engineer at Datapeople, a mobile engineer at Highmark Health, and a full-stack engineer at Duquesne University.

Alex has a bachelor’s degree in literature and philosophy from Duquesne.

Andrea Lazar joined NLP in July 2020 as director of grants, responsible for managing and growing a portfolio of foundation and corporate partners in support of NLP’s mission and work. She became senior director in July 2022.

Andrea came to NLP from the Pahara Institute, where she was the senior manager of development responsible for a $5 to $6 million annual fundraising budget. Prior to Pahara, Andrea built a successful foundation giving program across two states at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. She also has significant experience in nonprofit arts management. Andrea has founded and operated several businesses, as well as a small business consulting practice, and she continues to teach a graduate-level course on entrepreneurship for creatives at the University of Houston.

Andrea has an MBA and an M.A. in nonprofit arts management from Southern Methodist University, and a B.A. from the Plan II program at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds down the Third Coast for NLP from her home base in Houston.

Sara Lewis is NLP’s senior manager of operations.

Before she joined NLP in July 2019, Sara spent 12 years working to improve educational outcomes for students in under-resourced communities, both as a teacher and as a nonprofit professional. As a Teach For America corps member, she taught social studies and English at Dunbar Senior High School in Washington for four years, then taught social studies at SEED Public Charter School in Washington and history at Elm City College Prep, a charter school in New Haven, Connecticut. More recently, she held several administrative positions at Teach For America’s regional office in New Haven and was senior office coordinator for the UP Education Network in Boston.

Sara majored in sociology at the University of Michigan and received a Master of Arts in Teaching, with certification as a secondary social studies teacher, from American University.

Andrea Lin joined NLP in April 2018 as its first in-house visual designer.

She has done graphic design work for the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University and for KRPR, a Washington public relations firm. She also was a social media intern at National Geographic Partners and a public relations intern at a school district in Naperville, Illinois.

Andrea is a graduate of American University, where she majored in public relations and strategic communications and minored in graphic design. She was the editor in chief of American Way of Life, a student magazine, and previously served as its creative director and public relations manager. She also was the co-chair of AU’s Student Media Board, an organization comprising 10 student publications.

Jake Lloyd is NLP’s director of social media, responsible for engaging stakeholders, donors and other supporters, both current and new, and raising awareness of our mission.

He joined NLP in September 2018 from DC SCORES, a nonprofit that serves low-income youth in the District of Columbia by building neighborhood teams that give young people confidence to succeed in sports, in school and in life. In his nine years there, starting as a communications associate and ending as director of digital communications and campaigns, he built its social media platforms from the ground up, established its presence in day-of-giving campaigns and led the development of a new website.

A graduate of Albion College, where he majored in American studies and minored in journalism, Jake began his career as a sports writer for news outlets in Michigan and North Carolina. He initially worked for DC SCORES while serving as a volunteer for AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and subsequently joined the organization as communications manager. In his spare time, he has covered college and professional sports events in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., for The Associated Press.

Media appearances

Bridge Michigan, Journalism protects democracy

Patronia Marshall is the Technical Lead at the News Literacy Project.

Before joining NLP, Patronia spent a decade designing and implementing innovative digital solutions. He previously founded and led Savvy Inc., a non-profit design studio dedicated to crafting people-centric digital solutions. Before that, he made significant contributions to higher education institutions across North Carolina, building a variety of web, mobile, and enterprise applications. He also worked in the education technology sector with Amplify Education and got his start at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the nation’s largest university-affiliated research center.

Patronia is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering.

Carol McCarthy combines journalism and education experience in her role as the News Literacy Project’s senior director of editorial content.

She came to NLP in December 2018 from the University of Rhode Island, where she spent five years as a communications and public information officer, using a variety of channels to promote research, student and faculty achievements and programs at both URI’s main campus in Kingston and its Coastal Resources Center in Narragansett. She began her journalism career in Rhode Island, starting at a weekly newspaper and then working at The Providence Journal and The Newport Daily News. Following graduate school, she worked at The Prince George’s Journal in Lanham, Maryland. In 1994 she joined The Day, in New London, Connecticut, as a copy editor and page designer; over the next two decades, she advanced to the position of deputy managing editor and launched a successful women’s magazine.

Carol graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and received a master’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of Maryland.

Susan Minichiello is a senior manager of education design at NLP. She joined the team in August 2022.

Susan spent a decade working as a reporter and editor at community newspapers in California, Nebraska, Montana and North Dakota. Previously she was the education reporter at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, where she won California Journalism Awards for her writing on equity in schools. Susan’s freelance magazine work was recognized with an honorable mention at the Eddie & Ozzie Awards. She also has a background in copywriting for nonprofit organizations and in editing textbooks for diversity, equity and inclusion.

She studied English at the University of Montana, with a focus on creative writing. She is based in Northern California.

Media appearances

The Fulcrum, Misinformation isn’t just coming from your cranky uncle on Facebook

Karina Muranaga is NLP’s Product Designer.

Karina has worked as an independent product designer and researcher on social impact projects, including a language revitalization app and a mutual aid platform. She is passionate about using human-centered design to build equity and inclusion. Prior to NLP, she worked at A Blade of Grass, an organization that supports and amplifies the work of community-engaged artists, where she designed digital, print, and in-person experiences.

Karina is a graduate of New York University, where she majored in studio art. Her visual design work has been featured by the United Nations in a 2020 COVID-19 digital campaign and by the Center for Cultural Power.

Meghan OConnell is a Junior Software Engineer at the News Literacy Project.

Before joining NLP, Meghan worked at Clever, Inc. assisting K-12 school district administrators and application developers. Meghan started her career working in elementary schools in California, supporting students who received special education services.

Meghan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in political economy, and earned a computer science degree from Santa Monica College.

Erin is NLP’s senior manager, state partnerships. She began her career as a middle school language arts teacher in Storm Lake, Iowa and then transitioned to teaching high school English in Sioux Rapids, Iowa. Her interest in meaningful technology integration led her to a position as a technology integrationist for a regional state education agency. Erin supported districts with technology integration, literacy, project-based learning, and STEM. She then returned to her home district to serve as an instructional leader and instructional coach.

Erin holds two degrees from Buena Vista University: a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Instructional and Curriculum/Effective Teaching.

Natalie Quan is NLP’s senior manager of development operations. Part of a team that manages data collection and organization related to NLP’s many stakeholders and programs, her focus is on fundraising operations and analytics.

Before joining NLP in October 2018, she worked for BUILD, a national youth entrepreneurship program based in Redwood City, California, where she was most recently national grants manager. In that role she managed a portfolio of more than 100 grants, ranging from $5,000 to $4 million, and was the lead author on eight proposals that resulted in grant awards totaling more than $4 million (including one of $1.5 million).

A graduate of UCLA, where she majored in communication studies, Natalie has a law degree from the University of Southern California and practiced civil litigation in Los Angeles and San Francisco before turning her abilities to the nonprofit sector. She also has a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Northeastern University.

Alee Quick is NLP’s director of community engagement.

She previously oversaw marketing and public relations for the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank named for and founded by the late senator from Illinois. Before that, she was the editor of The Southern Illinoisan newspaper in Carbondale, Illinois, where she worked in the newsroom for more than six years. She was also a fundraiser for USA Rugby and led marketing and communications at Emriver, Inc., which builds river models for schools, museums and labs.

She has two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Missouri: one in journalism and one in Spanish.

Bob Robertson-Boyd joined NLP in February 2024 as vice president of product.

Bob has spent more than 20 years building and supporting websites, digital platforms and applications. His previous experience includes supporting local news in some of the first online newspaper ventures at CompuServe and AOL, building social networking and mobile applications for libraries and universities, supporting a nationwide K-12 web application platform and building enterprise-level products for several Fortune 100 companies.

Bob also has led and coached numerous product management teams and corporate clients, including American Electric Power and Cardinal Health.

Bob graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Brittney Smith is a senior manager of district partnerships (east) at NLP.

Brittney joined NLP in July 2022 after eight years of teaching life science in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was a high school teacher to diverse populations of students, including English Language Learners In her tenure as science department chair, she focused on building partnerships with community stakeholders to enrich and improve students’ educational experiences.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in biological science from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in teaching science to adolescents and young adults from Mount St. Joseph University. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational practice and innovation with a STEM focus at the University of South Carolina.

Media appearances

Word in Black, Teaching generation TikTok how to tell what’s true online

Delaware Public Media, Parsing fact from fiction: How Delaware is taking the lead in teaching media literacy

Tracee Stanford is NLP’s Senior Manager of Professional Learning.

Before joining NLP in 2024, she served as a program manager at Free Spirit Media, a nonprofit youth media organization, where she led teams of media educators focused on teaching essential journalism and solutions-based storytelling skills to youth in underserved communities throughout Chicagoland.

Tracee also worked in broadcast news as a statehouse reporter covering government and politics in Springfield, Illinois. She was a reporter and producer for Alabama Public Television and produced morning news for WSFA 12, a local news affiliate in Montgomery, Alabama.

As a high school journalism teacher within the Chicago Public Schools system, she made significant contributions to curriculum design, instructional methods and strategic partnerships.

Tracee earned her undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Amelia Thompson is NLP’s front-end developer.

Amelia joined NLP in February 2021 after working as a graphic designer and front-end developer at several companies, including Quadmetrics, a cybersecurity startup; Teal Media, a creative design agency; and Nuspire, a global managed security services provider.  She also freelanced for NLP for about a year, coding and testing The Sift and Get Smart About News. Amelia graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in informatics. As an undergraduate, she interned in the marketing department at Merit Network, a nonprofit organization. Amelia is based in Chicago.

As the senior director of media relations for NLP, Christina Veiga drives press coverage and builds awareness of the organization’s work, mission and impact. She coordinates media requests for information and interviews and plays a key role in promoting National News Literacy Week and other NLP events.

Before joining NLP, Christina was a journalist for more than a decade. She started her career at the Miami Herald newspaper in Florida, where she covered several local government beats and the Miami-Dade County public school system. She went on to Chalkbeat, a nonprofit digital news organization, where she wrote about school segregation and early childhood education in New York City.

Christina earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Florida International University.

Media appearances

BronxNet, Concerns about AI and deepfakes in the 2024 election

Poynter, To build trust in the age of AI, journalists need new standards and disclosures

Lourdes Venard joined NLP in August 2022 as education editor after serving as a digital editor for Pearson.

With a background in journalism and education, Lourdes has worked as a copy editor for several major newspapers, including The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Newsday. She taught news literacy to college students at Stony Brook University in New York and currently teaches editing to online students at the University of California San Diego’s Division of Extended Studies. She also serves as lead instructor at U.C. San Diego, creating new classes and revising current ones.

Lourdes earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Miami and holds a master’s degree from the University of Missouri.

Alexa Volland is NLP’s video producer. Prior to joining NLP in August 2022, she was the youth programming manager for The Poynter Institute’s digital media literacy initiative, MediaWise. There, she specialized in fact-checking, social media mis- and disinformation and connecting with young audiences. While at MediaWise, Alexa served as the editor of the Teen Fact-Checking Network, a student-led newsroom that produces fact-checking videos for social media.

She came to NLP with both newsroom and classroom experience, having worked in local journalism at the Tampa Bay Times and as a journalism teacher in St. Petersburg, Florida. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida.

Media appearances

AARP, How to tell if an online photo is fake

Lauren Wolbaum is the Digital Marketing Manager at the News Literacy Project.

Lauren has worked for more than 10 years in nonprofit marketing and communications, most recently at the Pike Place Market Foundation in Seattle, where she highlighted the social service impact of the city’s most visited attraction and developed stories exploring the region’s social and economic history.

Previously, she worked in nonprofit musical theatre throughout the Seattle area, with marketing roles at Village Theatre and The 5th Avenue Theatre.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business sdministration with a concentration in marketing from Seattle Pacific University.