Meet The 2024 Cohort

26 leaders in digital journalism selected by the Women’s Leadership Accelerator review committee for a transformative program of leadership training, coaching and support.


The Women’s Leadership Accelerator is a six-month intensive program that supercharges the leadership and management skills of leaders who are pushing digital innovation. Each year we welcome a cohort of women and non-binary individuals representing a range of backgrounds, expertise and newsrooms around the globe.


About the Program

The Women’s Leadership Accelerator offers an intensive program of mentoring, discussion and learning from some of the top minds in digital media. Participants work closely with mentors on challenges unique to their careers and also receive support and coaching from ONA throughout the year.

Tuition for the 2024 Women’s Leadership Accelerator is $1,000 and all selected participants will receive a full pass to ONA’s annual conference, ONA24. For more information, please refer to the Accelerator’s FAQs.

2024 Program Timeline (Revised)

  • April-July: Application review period
  • By July 16, 2024: Notifications of application status
  • Week of July 15: Participants announced
  • End of July 2024: Virtual Welcome Workshop (Half-Day)
  • August 2024: Virtual Learning + Connection Sessions, along with personal coaching and paired cohort discussions
  • Sept. 18-21: ONA24 in Atlanta (Optional – full conference pass provided)
  • Sept. 20-22: In-Person Accelerator Workshop directly connected to/following ONA24 in Atlanta
  • Mid-October 2024: Post-Workshop Reflections & Check-In (Virtual, 2-3 hours)
  • November & December 2024: Virtual Monthly Learning + Connection Sessions, along with personal coaching and paired cohort discussions
  • January 2025: Closing Going-Forward Workshop (Virtual, Two-Day) (Date will be determined for best-possible match among all 2024 cohort members)

Supporters

The 2024 Women’s Leadership Accelerator is supported by lead funder Dow Jones Foundation with additional funding from the Tiffany Shackelford Foundation and Ballard Spahr LLP.
Dow Jones Foundation

We seek funders for each new program and have several opportunities to support this program as well as our other year-round programs for women in digital news leadership. To learn more about supporting the programs, contact Hanaa Rifaey, Head of Strategic Partnerships, at hanaa@journalists.org.

Past Programs

The Women's Leadership program began in 2015 and has evolved to be a year-long cohort experience. Learn about the past programs, including previous cohorts, speakers, sponsors and programming.

News and Updates

Introducing the 2024 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator

The Online News Association is excited to announce the 2024 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator (#ONAWLA). The Accelerator is an intensive program of mentoring, discussion and learning from some … Read more.

Introducing the 2023 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator

The Online News Association is excited to announce the 2023 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator (#ONAWLA). The accelerator is an intensive program of mentoring, discussion and learning from some … Read more.

Introducing the 2022 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator

The Online News Association (ONA) is honored to introduce the 2022 cohort of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator (#ONAWLA). The accelerator is a yearlong program designed to advance leadership and management skills through … Read more.

Leadership conversations with women in journalism — a special virtual series with the Women’s Leadership Accelerator

We are excited to bring you a new series of leadership conversations inspired by the Women’s Leadership Accelerator. The accelerator is a yearlong, cohort-based program that supercharges the leadership and management … Read more.

Past Speakers

The accelerator has featured an array of industry leaders and inspirational voices to shepherd our cohorts through their time in the program.

Editor-in-Chief
Teen Vogue
Chief Program Officer
Solutions Journalism Network
Executive Director
Outlier Media
Editor-In-Chief
The 19th

Learn More

Contact us at accelerator@journalists.org to learn more about opportunities to connect with the Accelerator.

Read the FAQ