Building and Doing Equity in Journalism is the next webinar in the JAWS' Beverly Wettenstein Women's History Month Speaker Series. This Friday, March 24, at 1 p.m. ET.

In this webinar, several women journalists will highlight their work to build a more equitable journalism. These journalists represent many different forms of journalism - hyperlocal, photography, dual-language, and even journalistic research - and they'll share their work, lessons learned, and where they think the work is going next.

Moderated by JAWS board member Cirien Saadeh, PhD

Panelists:

Erika Owens, Executive Director, Open News

Erika Owens is Executive Director of OpenNews, where she convenes people and projects across journalism and technology to move the industry forward. Erika and the OpenNews team seek ways to build enduring connections by supporting a thriving network and creating inclusive, caring spaces for the journalism-tech community. Her adroit community work has been instrumental in establishing OpenNews as a leader in how to foster and sustain networks. Erika also serves on the board of the Movement Alliance Project (formerly Media Mobilizing Project) and has trained as a donor organizer through the Giving Project at Bread and Roses Community Fund. Previously, Erika was web editor at the Philadelphia Public School Notebook. From tutoring in the D.C. Public Schools to voter outreach to mission-driven journalism, each area of her work has reinforced the importance of building and strengthening relationships. She is based in Philadelphia and loves nonprofit journalism, people watching, and laughing heartily.

Madeleine Bair, Founding Director, El Tímpano

Madeleine Bair is the founder of El Tímpano, an award-winning civic media organization that has been described by peers as an “outstanding innovation model” for its work to produce journalism with and for the Bay Area’s Latino immigrant communities. Madeleine has been carrying a microphone in her backpack since she belonged to the Oakland bureau of Children’s Express. She has taught radio production to young adults, worked on a morning show at Chicago Public Radio, produced multimedia for Human Rights Watch, and collaborated with media activists from around the world. Her stories have appeared in The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Colorlines, and Orion, and broadcast on PRI’s “The World” and “Independent Lens”.

Linda Miller, Freelance Journalist & Journalism Researcher

Linda Miller became a journalist in the small towns of Wyoming, where newspapers were pieced together with hot wax and border tape, and held together by trust, transparency, and a partnership with readers. As director of network journalism and inclusion at American Public Media, she helped journalists deepen relationships with the communities they serve, albeit with better technology. While at APM, Linda led the redesign and rollout of the nation’s first-ever community engagement platform for journalists – the Public Insight Network – and oversaw the training of 600+ journalists at more than 100 organizations in strategies and techniques for diversifying sources and incorporating deep listening, engagement, empathy and impact evaluation into the journalistic process. Currently, she leads the Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association’s Equitable Media and Economies Initiative, a national effort to create a more just economy and caring democracy by investing in Equitable Media – Black, Indigenous, other people of color, and traditionally marginalized-led news organizations that serve communities of color – as civic infrastructure.

Maria D. De Jesús, Photographer

Marie D. De Jesús is the photo editor for the Houston Landing. She was previously a staff photojournalist for The Houston Chronicle, where she concentrated on developing relationships with Houston’s diverse marginalized communities. Prior to the Chronicle, Marie worked for The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, and The Victoria Advocate in Texas. In 2022, Marie became the first Latina president of the National Press Photographers Association. Marie was born in Puerto Rico and raised five miles from the Arecibo Observatory.

Margaret Sullivan, Community Journalist and Radio Personality

Radio personality, activist, and educator Margaret “Ms. Margaret” Sullivan hails from St Paul, Minnesota. Margaret studied Business Administration with a concentration in Music Business at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. After an internship with 101.3 KDWB, Margaret decided she wanted to pursue a career in radio. In 2015, a few months after the birth of her son, Margaret launched her talk-radio show “Ms Margaret Live!” on 94.1 FM WFNU radio. Describing her show as “A Seat At The Table For Those On The Menu,” the show has featured a variety of guests such as Attorney General Keith Ellison, Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Amanda Seales and V Bozeman. She most recently filled in as the morning show host for Jazz 88 FM. In 2021, Margaret premiered her first documentary through SPNN (St Paul Neighborhood Network), “When They Took My Baby Away,” which captures a “day in the life” of families impacted by police brutality. She was featured on several media outlets such as Voyage MN, LA Times, Kare 11 News , WCCO, Fan Force Media, and featured in Babel-Doc’s “Minneapolis 4.” In addition to her work in media, Margaret is an activist and educator. She is the Programs and Outreach Manager for Ed Allies and serves on the Board for the nonprofit organization Love First Community Engagement. She enjoys finding ways to combine her love for radio and advocacy.

About Beverly Wettenstein

Beverly Wettenstein was a New York City-based journalist and communications professional and a longtime JAWS member.

According to her cousin, Louise Stone, in her early career, Beverly worked for several major companies doing public relations. Though never stated as such, she encountered sexism and faced resistance to her goals of promotion and success. She freelanced after leaving the corporate world and truly devoted her life and work to education, advocating for women, writing about inequities, mentoring girls through different programs in NYC.