2023 NAHJ National Board Election Results

2023 NAHJ National Board Election Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6, 2023

Newly elected members are announced during the 2023 NAHJ International Training Convention and Expo

(Washington, D.C.) – Monday, July 17, 2023 – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is pleased to announce its eight newly elected regional directors to the national board, who were voted into office during the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductee and Awards Ceremony at this year’s NAHJ International Training Convention & Expo in Miami, FL.. The 2023 Elections Committee is chaired by ex officio President Nora López.

Region 5 was the only contested election this year. Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson, Deputy Editorial Page Editor and Columnist of the San Antonio Express-News, emerged as the winner in a very tight race. Preyor-Johnson received 10 votes. Incumbent Ninette Sosa, a faculty member at the University of Arkansas, received 9 votes. Laura Garcia, an editor at the Texas Tribune, received one write-in vote. 

David Cordero Mercado of El Nuevo Día (Region 1), Melissa Macaya of CNN (Region 3), Diana Gutierrez of WISN 12 News (Region 6), Johnny Cordoba of KPNX 12 News (Region 7) and Cristy Fajardo of Fox Los Angeles (Region 8) were re-elected to serve another term. 

Newly elected members include Sarah Betancourt of GBH News who is the Region 2 representative and Samantha Rivera of CBS Miami who is the representative for Region 4.

There were no candidates on the ballot for student representative, however, there were four write-in votes for Edward Franco, making him the elected new student representative. Franco currently attends New York University and is the fall intern for NBC Nightly News. 

“I want to congratulate the newly elected board members. We had a very low turnout this year and I would like to remind our members of the importance of their vote,” said López, elections chair. “The incoming national board of NAHJ is committed to improving communications and member participation. We are thankful to all those who have and continue to volunteer their time and service to the board.” 

Next year, NAHJ will hold elections for its executive board, including president. It’s not too early to consider running for election to the national board. 

2023 NAHJ National Board Election Results:

Winner

Region

Total Votes

David Cordero

Region 1

7

Sarah Betancourt

Region 2

16

Melissa Macaya

Region 3

5

Samantha Rivera

Region 4

11

Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson

Region 5

10

Diana Gutierrez

Region 6

4

Johnny Cordoba

Region 7

7

Cristy Fajardo

Region 8

13

Edward Franco

Student Rep.

4

The entire 2023-24 NAHJ National Board of Directors:

Yvette Cabrera

National President

Blanca Rios

National Secretary

Marilyn Garateix

National Financial Officer

Julio César Chávez

National Vice President, Broadcast

Arelis R. Hernández

National Vice President, Print

Mc Nelly Torres

National Vice President, Digital

Dunia Elvir

National Spanish At Large Officer

Adriana Chavira

National Academic At Large Officer

Luis Joel Méndez González

General At Large Officer

David Cordero Mercado

Region 1 Director – Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Virgin Islands

Sarah Betancourt

Region 2 Director – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, & Vermont

Melissa Macaya

Region 3 Director – Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C. & West Virginia

Samantha Rivera

Region 4 Director – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson

Region 5 Director – Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana

Diana Gutierrez

Region 6 Director – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, & Wisconsin

Johnny Cordoba

Region 7 Director – Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah

Cristy Fajardo

Region 8 Director – Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon & Washington

Edward Franco

NAHJ Student Representative

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About NAHJ: 

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and is dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in news media. NAHJ has more than 3,500 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ. 

Media Contact:

Tapiz Media Group
NAHJ@TapizMedia.com

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