Tony Elkins, a citizen of the Comanche Nation, is a faculty member at Poynter and will initially be responsible for co-directing Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Diversity in Media. Elkins is a founding member of the News Product Alliance and most recently served as Gannett’s product director, leading the design of solutions-driven products to increase revenue and engagement. He also oversaw Gannett’s innovation ambitions by building tools and storytelling experiences that added value to customers’ lives. Prior to that, he drove change at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as assistant managing editor. Journalists are accustomed to learning from his insights at such events as NPA Summit, the Online News Association convention, SRCCON and Texas Tribune Festival.