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 LĂłpez.
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 DĂa (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 LĂłpez, 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.
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