A total of fifteen candidates — nine new nominees and six incumbents, representing a wide and diverse range of digital media — ran for six open seats in the 2024–25 Online News Association Board of Directors election.
There are a total of 16 seats on the ONA Board, including one appointed, non-voting student representative. Six directors were up for re-election. The other eight members are serving their current two-year terms through 2024. The Board will appoint two additional seats for the 2024-25 term before the end of the year.
Terms are for two years and begin Jan. 1, 2024.
The 2023 ONA Board election opened on Aug. 14, 2023. At that time, ONA members as of Aug. 10 were eligible to cast ballots. Voting closed on Sept. 7, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Winners
The new directors joining the Board Jan. 1, 2024 are:
- Ethar El-Katatney, News Product Strategy Lead for the Americas, Bloomberg
- Ryan Kellett, VP, Audience, Axios Media
The re-elected members are:
- Charo Henriquez, Editor, Newsroom Development & Support, The New York Times
- Versha Sharma, Editor-in-Chief, Teen Vogue
- Graham Watson-Ringo, Senior Director of Member Strategy, News Revenue Hub
- Elana Zak, Newsletter Strategy Director, The Washington Post
Voter turnout was 18.01% of ONA’s eligible membership; out of 2,482 eligible voters, 447 voted.
New Candidates
- Angela Chao, Managing Editor of Global News, Healthline Media
- Molly Stark Dean, Head of Audience Development, Rolli
- Ethar El-Katatney, News Product Strategy Lead for the Americas, Bloomberg
- Ethan Holland, Vice President, Draper Media
- Ryan Kellett, VP, Audience, Axios Media
- Alexandra Ptachick, Director of New Content Initiatives, Hearst Newspapers
- Michelle Raghavan, Founder and Executive Director, Claridad Media
- Louise Tierney, Global Product Manager, HITL, Bloomberg
- Nasr ul Hadi, Executive Director, PROTO Studio
Incumbent Candidates
- Charo Henríquez, Editor, Newsroom Development & Support, The New York Times
- Anita Li, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Green Line
- Angela Pacienza, Executive Editor, The Globe and Mail
- Versha Sharma, Editor-in-Chief, Teen Vogue
- Graham Watson-Ringo, Senior Director of Member Strategy, News Revenue Hub
- Elana Zak, Newsletter Strategy Director, The Washington Post
Board member Fergus Bell is at the end of his Board term. We are grateful for his service to the ONA community.
Board President David Smydra will be beginning his ex-officio term next year.
*Elana Zak has recused herself from the Board’s Governance Committee and any appointment-related discussions during this election.