Founder: Candy Chan (She/her)

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

Description: We offer an independent, comprehensive news platform and supportive network for Chinese-Canadians seeking nuanced and contextualized news. Our mission is to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the rich diversity within the Chinese-Canadian diaspora while promoting media literacy and addressing issues of representation and misinformation.

Bio: A native of Hong Kong, Candy moved to Canada as a teenager and started writing about her personal experience on various platforms. With over 15 years of experience working at major outlets like CBC, CTV and OMNI Television, Candy specializes in politics and issues concerning Chinese diasporas in Canada.

Founder: Ashlyn Lipori-Russie (She/her)

Location: San Diego, California

Descriptions: Ask Ashlyn is a multi-platform solution to news avoidance that invites users to ask questions about the news, as if speaking with a friend.

Bio: Ashlyn is an Emmy-nominated journalist with a diverse background in broadcast news and digital media. She started her career with the Investigative Unit at NBC Bay Area before becoming a producer at KGTV in San Diego. She then left the traditional news industry to understand the full scope of the digital media landscape before returning as content manager at a news source, where she led audience engagement and innovation. With Ask Ashlyn, she aims to combat news avoidance in young people and modernize how journalists connect with audiences.

Founder: Alexis Buchanan Thomas (She/her)

Location: Atlanta, GA

Description: Black Girls Do Politics is a C3 and C4 non-profit organization on a mission to provide political news coverage of Black women in a media landscape that has not often represented them.

Bio: Alexis is a non profit development professional/ activist with over 15 years of experience raising millions of dollars for a variety of causes, including International Rescue Committee and Black Voters Matter. She is also an independent journalist who has produced news shows for WRFG community radio station and has been a volunteer news wire writer for Nonprofit Quarterly Review.

Location: Washington, D.C.

Team Member: Annika Young

Bio: Annika Young is an award-winning television producer, journalist, and media strategist with over 15 years of experience in broadcast and digital media. She has produced content for major networks including CNN, Investigation Discovery, HBOMax, and PBS, covering topics from politics to entertainment. Her expertise in political campaigns, election coverage, and digital content strategy has made her a sought-after consultant. Her work has been recognized with two Peabody Awards and an Emmy nomination, positioning her as a versatile asset in today's rapidly evolving media landscape.

Founder: Anneke Ball

Location: New York, NY

Description: We offer young, professional Latinos insightful and concise news on business, tech, and politics.

Bio: Anneke is an award-winning storyteller with experience in breaking news and long-form content reaching both English and Spanish-language audiences. She has produced for ABC News, Hulu, Business Insider, Telemundo, and Univision. Anneke earned her MS in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She developed her passion for news growing up in Caracas, Venezuela.

Founder: Moe Poplar (He/him)

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Description: Go beyond pop culture with the Black Nerd community.

Bio: Producer of the The Black Nerd Movement podcast, Moe also produced The Micheaux Mission’s Class of ‘89 podcast documentary, and is EP of the BunnAmigos Podcast. Moe’s a world traveler, originally from Oakland, CA. He believes in storytelling that builds communities and encourages dialogue.

Founder: Wendy Todd (She/Her)

Location: St. Louis, MO

Description: Carbon is a multimedia platform featuring a monthly newsletter centering on mental, emotional, and physical wellness in the Black community with a focus on resilience and joy.

Bio: Wendy Todd is a writer and media professional whose work has appeared in publications including The Washington Post, Huffington Post and NPR. She is also a Maynard 200 journalism fellow.

Founder: Matt Grisafi (He/Him

Location: Seattle, WA

Description: Clever Fork covers the changing landscape of what and how we eat and drink, providing objective news, information, analysis, and reviews so that readers can make informed decisions—regardless of their politics, beliefs, or interests.

Bio: Matt Grisafi is an award-winning media executive and journalist with two decades of expertise driving impact and growth for news companies including Microsoft, YES! Magazine, Grist, and Digital First Media, where he led national food and health coverage for 100+ U.S. local news sites and hosted a syndicated live chat series with celebrity chefs.

Founder: Jillian Melero (She/Her)

Location: Chicago, IL

Description: Connect Puerto Rico is a monthly newsletter focused on policy, business, science, and technology concerning Puerto Rico's transition to renewable energy. Our goal is to build a community network to collaborate on solutions for challenges to that transition focused on resilience and energy justice.

Bio: Jillian Melero has worked as an editor across print, digital, and broadcast media since 2014. She earned her master’s degree in health, environment, and science reporting from Northwestern University in 2019. Her work has been published by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and Climate Central.

Founder: Michele Riley (She/her)

Location: Hollywood, FL

Description: Providing an overview of the Constitution and current events that is both entertaining and educational.

Bio: Michele Riley is a skilled videographer and editor with a rich background in digital content creation and a passion for storytelling. Michele is also a seasoned attorney with over two decades of experience. Michele’s dual career path highlights her unique ability to entertain an audience while providing trusted information in a fact-based atmosphere.

Founder: Badir McCleary (He/him)

Location: Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX

Description: "Fallen Through The Cracks: A Look at History's Underrated Black Art Pioneers," by ArtAboveReality, is an educational archival project that delves into the often-overlooked legacies and remarkable contributions of black art pioneers. It's a comprehensive exploration of these artists who have been marginalized in the annals of art history. From the 19th-century trailblazers to the unsung heroes of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond, this project shines a long-overdue spotlight on their stories.

Bio: Badir McCleary is an independent art curator, consultant, arts writer, and street photographer based in Los Angeles. Holding a Master's degree in Arts Business and Contemporary Art from Sotheby's Institute of Art and an undergraduate degree in Internet Computing from Cabrini University, Badir uniquely blends his extensive background in software engineering and e-commerce with his passion for the arts. With over 15 years of tech experience, including roles as a Developer and Project Manager for the Department of Defense and NASA, he offers a distinctive perspective on the art market.

Founder: Sasha Ingber (She/Her)

Location: Washington, D.C.

Description: HUMINT tells human stories at the intersection of the intelligence community.

Bio: Sasha Ingber was the national security correspondent for a national TV network, as well as a reporter for such outlets as NPR, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. Before that, she debunked Russian disinformation at the U.S. State Department and earned a Master’s degree in nonfiction writing from Johns Hopkins University.

Founder: Amy Bushatz (She/her)

Location: Palmer, AK

Description: The Mat-Su Sentinel is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news website serving the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska.

Bio: Amy Bushatz is the founder of the Mat-Su Sentinel, based in Palmer, Alaska. After 13 years at Military.com, she left her Executive Editor role there to focus on filling local news gaps in her community. Amy earned a Master’s degree in public leadership from the University of San Francisco.

Founder: Faisal Karimi (He/Him)

Location: California

Description: Nowruz is a newly established digital media platform dedicated to serving Afghanistani immigrants and communities in California with reliable, culturally relevant news and information.

Bio: Faisal Karimi is an exiled media entrepreneur from Afghanistan. He is the founding director of the Afghanistan Institute for Research and Media Studies and Afghanistan Women’s News Agency. Currently, Faisal is a John S. Knight Journalism fellow at Stanford University.

Founders: Jessy Edwards (She/Her), Anna Bradley-Smith (She/Her)

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Description: A website and podcast that helps Brooklyn residents understand the biggest issues in the borough, and gives them the tools to learn more about their neighborhoods and neighbors.

Bio: Jessy Edwards is a reporter and a poet with more than ten years of experience working both in mainstream newsrooms and for independent and community publications. Having lived in Brooklyn since 2016, Jessy has covered news in NYC for eight years for publications such as NBC New York, WNYC, BK Reader, Rolling Stone, Complex Media, Fast Company and many more.

Bio: Anna Bradley-Smith is an award winning journalist who has a ten year career working in news journalism in more than three countries for both print newspapers and 24-hour a day news websites. Her work has been featured in a range of publications including NBC, Vice, and Slate, and she has covered topics ranging from deed theft in Brooklyn, to Venezuelan migration in Colombia, and many topics in between.

Founder: Erica Edwards (She/her)

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Description: Solutions Talk is a YouTube channel that spotlights remarkable individuals who are effectively addressing societal problems.

Bio: Erica J. Edwards is a digital media journalist based in New York City. She previously worked as an Associate Producer at WTAE and WMUR, and as a program coordinator for NYC-TV Life under the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). Her skills include graphic design, copywriting, data visualization, and multimedia content production. Erica is committed to using her expertise to amplify meaningful narratives and promote dialogue on critical social issues through compelling visual storytelling. When she’s not working, Erica enjoys playing tennis or Catan with friends.

Founder: Summer Nettles (She/Her)

Location: Denver, CO

Description: Can you catch up on the most important news in Denver, the front range and the country in 26 minutes? Sum It Up, with your host Summer Nettles, works to get you the news in the time it takes to commute to work, walk your dog or take the kids to school. In a news landscape where “objectivity” often doesn’t explore how policies are implemented or their outcomes, we're investigating stories through the lens of a woman of color and summing them up for you.

Bio: Summer Nettles is an Emmy-Award winning videographer who hosted radio shows around the country before launching her own company, Greater Purpose Media. A native of Chicago who relocated to Denver after a battle with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, Nettles is a proud alumni of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, whose work has been featured in USA Today, NBC News and the Military Times.

Founder: Bryné Hadnott (They/Them)

Location: Oakland, CA

Description: A TikTok or Instagram channel featuring 3D animated shorts that highlight astronomy research conducted by BIPOC scientists, particularly those working at HBCUs or MSIs.

Bio: Bryné Hadnott is a freelance science communicator based in the Bay Area. Their work has been featured in Physics Today, The Planetary Society, and on the YouTube channel, Professor Dave Explains.

Description: The Third Place provides fact-based, nonpartisan-grounded news to the significant “middle” that appears to have disengaged from the political/civic process.

Founder: Nathan Sing (He/Him)

Location: Vancouver, BC & Toronto, ON, Canada

Description: 'through food' is an independent food journalism organization based in "so-called Canada," exploring how food shapes economies, cultures, environments, identities, and global resistance movements. We dish out our content in the most consumed formats today: social media and immersive video storytelling.

Bio: Nathan is a journalist, writer and filmmaker who has worked with VICE, Maclean’s, The Walrus, Global News, CBC, and CNN International. He is currently a creative producer and community manager for STROMBO.

Team Members: Anna Yurkovich (She/her), Urbi Khan (She/her)

Bio: Anna is a freelance graphic designer specializing in the Vancouver health and education sectors. She has previous experience working in the food and beverage industry – in the office, in restaurants, and behind the bar.

Bio: Urbi Khan is a journalist, writer, and community worker. She has previously worked with the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. She has most recently worked for The Narwhal and The Local, focusing on environmental issues.

Founder: Kimberly N. Alleyne

Location: Montclair, VA

Description: Undertones Media is a to-be launched audio and video news podcast covering inequities that primarily affect Black Americans nationally and, in the Washington National Capital Region.

Bio: Kimberly is a journalist, communication scientist, and narrative strategist who uses the power of language to help organizations, teams, and individuals implement equity solutions in a practical and durable way. A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, she’s had a pen, or recorder, in hand since she was seven. Kimberly is also an ABD doctoral candidate in communication at George Mason University.

Founder: Delores Edwards (She/Her)

Location: Boston, MA; New York, NY

Bio: An Emmy award-winning producer and writer, Delores Edwards has produced content for CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, ABC News & News Specials, Nightline, VH1, BET, and OWN, among others. She was most recently the Executive Producer and showrunner of “Basic Black,” and "Open Studio" at the PBS station.