Women’s Leadership Accelerator 2020

The Women’s Leadership Accelerator is an intensive program that supercharges the leadership and management skills of women who are pushing digital innovation. The tuition-free program kicked off with a week of tailored, immersive programming for 26 promising women leaders March 1-6, 2020 at the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles.

ONA provided support and coaching to participants throughout the year and hosted four online workshops tailored to the needs of the cohort. The program culminated with a workshop at ONA’s annual conference.

These 26 women leaders were selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants to participate in the 2020 Women’s Leadership Accelerator. They represent seven countries and a range of backgrounds, newsrooms and expertise, including local news entrepreneurship, operations, product innovation, visual journalism and broadcast. Throughout the year, they worked with top minds in digital media to tackle challenges specific to their careers.

Editor & Program Manager, Video Strategy
Poynter
Director
Dromómanos
Publisher
Baby Media Mogul Inc.
Senior Planning Producer
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Chief Editor, Digital & Engagement
Nature
Vice President of Digital
Louisville Public Media
Chief Editor of Digital Content
La Prensa (Nicaragua)
Senior Producer
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Photo Editor and Art Director
NPR
Product Director
Quartz
Editorial and Publishing Manager
Netflix
Senior Producer
Univision
Freelance
Audience Development and Engagement
CityLab at Bloomberg
Founder/Editor
The Beacon
US Head of Audience Engagement and host of FT Weekend podcast
Financial Times
Design Director
Politico
Executive Producer of Digital
NY1 News, Spectrum Networks
Senior Partner Manager
Twitter
Executive Director
Digital Action
Operations Editor
The Washington Post
Executive Director
Mississippi Today
Director of Audience Engagement
Hartford Courant
Digital Development Editor, BBC Arabic
BBC World Service
Partner Manager, Electionland
ProPublica
Assistant Editor, Photography Department
The New York Times

The Women’s Leadership Accelerator provides:

  • A week of hands-on personal and professional work; candid discussions about leadership, work-life balance and problem-solving in the newsroom; deep dives on developing leadership and management skills; inspiring visits to digital media organizations; and one-on-one mentoring from industry leaders.
  • A year of check-ins and practical, targeted guidance and personal coaching on individual challenges.
  • Registration to 2020 Online News Association Conference, ONA20 Everywhere.
  • A half-day workshop for women in the program during ONA20.
  • The opportunity to be a part of a cohort of peers to serve as a strong career-long support system.

2020 Speakers and Mentors

The 2020 Accelerator will connect the cohort to a range of prominent speakers and mentors:

Supporters

The Women’s Leadership Accelerator is tuition-free thanks to the support of lead funder Dow Jones Foundation, and additional support from Microsoft News, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation; Disney Parks, Experiences and Products; the John S. Knight (JSK) Journalism Fellowships; and Flower Child.

Dow Jones Foundation

We are seeking more partners committed to investing in women’s leadership and digital journalism. If you are interested in supporting the Accelerator program, contact Jessica Strelitz, Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer, at jessica@journalists.org, to discuss opportunities.