The Online News Association is excited to announce the 2025 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 2025 schedule will include a kickoff virtual gathering in December, individual virtual coaching and learning sessions from January through March, and conclude with a two-day in-person workshop leading into the 2026 Online News Association conference (#ONA26) in Chicago from March 30-April 1.
The 26 women chosen for the 2025 cohort represent six places outside the United States and 16 states within the U.S. They serve audiences from Seattle, Washington, to Amman, Jordan. Nearly 50 percent of this inspiring group identify as women of color, and all members represent a range of journalism backgrounds. Their applications were reviewed by a group of WLA alumni and ONA staff.
We are thrilled to welcome a variety of changemakers this year. Leaders with expertise in product, audience, AI, 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. Their challenges range from creating new organizational workflows to becoming more inclusive leaders for the next generation of journalists.
Meet the 2025 cohort:
- Ade Kidwell, Chief, Indonesian Service, Voice of America
- Amory Sivertson, Podcast Host and Senior Producer, WBUR
- Averi Sanders, Executive Successor & Operations Lead, The Omaha Star
- Carol Motsinger, Director of Storytelling, Editor of Life +Culture, Houston Chronicle
- Ellery Jones, Assistant Editor, Innovation, Chicago Public Media
- Gabriela Fernandez, Associate Director, Audience, Vox
- Gabriella Nuñez-Garcia, Special Projects Producer, WXIA 11Alive News
- Joanie Tobin, Supervising Producer, Digital Video, GBH
- Kheira Tami, Executive Producer, AJ+ (Al Jazeera)
- Lacy Atalick, Freelance Editor, recently Community Manager for Spaces, Village Media
- Lena Han, Product Manager, The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Lina Batarags, International Executive Editor, Business Insider
- Liz Brazile, Online Managing Editor, KUOW Public Radio
- Liz Worthington, Director of Product Strategy, American Press Institute
- Lyneka Little, Audience Engagement Editor, Prison Journalism Project
- Madeleine Schwartz, Editor in Chief, The Dial
- Madeline Chosich, Director of Marketing and Growth, Deep South Today
- Majdolin Hasan, GIJN Arabic Editor, Global Investigative Journalism Network
- Meghan Snider, Director of Development, Investigative Journalism Foundation of Canada
- Mia Warren, Managing Director, Feet in 2 Worlds
- Monique O. Madan, Co-Lead Advisor, Storytelling Community of Practice, Maynard Institute for Journalism Education; principal at The Madan Creative Group
- Natalie Daher, Director, Planning and Special Projects, Axios
- Nelly Kalu, Editorial Product and Project Manager, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ)
- Pamela de la Fuente, Managing Editor, Nerd Wallet
- Shreen Khan, Senior Producer & Partner Manager, URL Media
- Sophia Rosenbaum, Head of Digital Strategy and Coordination, The Associated Press
Supporting women in digital journalism
The 2025 Women’s Leadership Accelerator is made possible by lead funder Dow Jones Foundation with additional funding from the Tiffany Shackelford Foundation and WordPress VIP.
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 and partners for each of the ONA initiatives supporting women in digital news leadership. Whether you want to explore options for connecting to the incredible 2025 WLA Cohort or providing larger support for our initiatives, we welcome your interest and invite you to connect with Hanaa Rifaey, Head of Strategic Partnerships, at hanaa@journalists.org to learn more.
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Founded in 1999, the Online News Association (ONA) is a nonprofit membership organization and the essential hub for adaptive leadership in journalism. We convene and equip changemakers in journalism with the insights, training and connections they need to shape the future of the industry. To sustain our mission, we welcome you to become an ONA member or make a donation.