Norberto Santana Jr., Voice of OC’s founder and publisher, was elected last week as a board member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a leading consortium of nonprofit news outlets.
The consortium works with over 100 nonprofit news organizations nationwide and internationally to support their work with fundraising best practices, story collaboration, and professional training. Its member organizations have been recognized with Pulitzer, Emmy, and Peabody awards for their work.
“I’m humbled to receive the support of my colleagues and will work hard to ensure their trust in my judgement,” said Santana, who was among four board members chosen for a board position by INN’s member news organizations.
“Our existing board, our executive director Sue Cross, and her staff have done a remarkable job navigating our organization through challenging times for our industry. I look forward to joining the effort to find sustainable and ethical ways of providing the public the news they need to make real decisions about their democracy.”
INN’s members range from local news agencies to leading national nonprofit news agencies like ProPublica, which won its third Pulitzer Prize this year for revealing serious missteps by police in the search for a serial rapist.
In addition to Santana, three other board members were elected last week: Steve Beatty, editor of the New Orleans-based The Lens; Anne Galloway, editor of Vermont-based VTDigger; and Lee Keough, editor in chief and co-founder of the New Jersey-based NJ Spotlight.
Nick Gerda covers county government for Voice of OC. He can be reached at ngerda@voiceofoc.org.