Christina Van Tassell and Molly Hill Patten join NLP board

Christina Van Tassell, the chief financial officer at Dow Jones, and Molly Hill Patten, chief operating officer at Ideas42, a nonprofit that applies behavioral science to complex problems around the world, are the two newest members of the News Literacy Project’s board.

“Molly and Christina bring impressive financial experience and acumen to the NLP board, as well as a strong commitment to the mission of news literacy,” said NLP board chair Greg McCaffery. “Their participation is particularly welcome given the dramatic recent growth of our budget and staff as the organization moves to the next level in creating a news-literate next generation.”

Before being named CFO at Dow Jones — publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s — in 2017, Van Tassell (pictured left) was global CFO at Xaxis, a digital media company, and a partner and CFO at Centurion Holdings, a consulting and investment firm. She began her career in finance at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), working in New York City, the United Kingdom and Sweden. She is also a member of the board of directors of Unruly, a video marketplace owned by News Corp.

“I am honored to join the News Literacy Project Board,” Van Tassell said. “The NLP marries two of my passions — young people’s education and the importance of trusted journalism. I am excited to participate in the advancement of this great cause.”

Patten (pictured right) joined Ideas42 in 2018 from Aledade, a health tech start-up, where she was senior vice president of finance and operations. She has an extensive background in finance and business, including at Revolution LLC, where she was vice president of finance; Exclusive Resorts, where she was vice president for financial and strategic planning; and AOL, where she was director of broadband. She was named Financial Executive of the Year by the Maryland Tech Council in 2017.

“Education and a free press are two of the most important institutions of American life,” Patten said. “As Thomas Jefferson said, ‘They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.’ I’m very pleased to join the board of the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan national education nonprofit that supports both institutions.”