Meet the NAHJ Adelante Leadership Academy 2026 Cohort
Dec. 8, 2025 – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is proud to introduce the 2026 cohort of the Adelante Leadership Academy — nine exceptional journalists and media leaders selected for an executive development and mentorship experience designed to strengthen Latino leadership across news and media.
NAHJ launched the Adelante Academy in 2024 to elevate more Latinos to senior leadership in newsrooms, positions that remain overwhelmingly white and male despite some progress toward diversity among rank-and-file journalists.
Now in its third year, the Adelante program continues to prepare Hispanic journalists for newsroom decision-making roles. This cohort stands out for its deep community roots, bilingual reporting experience, and commitment to collaborative, service-driven leadership across local, digital, audio and product-focused storytelling.
- Geraldine Cols Azócar, Senior Producer at NBC News (New York)
- Johanna Bejarano, Founder of Nouse Media Lab (Florida)
- Erika Carlos, Editor-in-Chief at El Tecolote (California)
- Fernando Diaz, Founder & Publisher of La Estreya (Illinois)
- Adrian D. Garcia, Data Visualization Managing Editor at the Financial Times Specialist (New York)
- Yoli Martinez, Frontend Engineer (California)
- Jessica Perez, Senior Editor at Boyle Heights Beat, a newsroom of The LA Local (California)
- Jorge Quiquivix, Assistant News Director at Action News 5 (Memphis)/Gray Media (Tenessee)
- Mónica Rivera, Senior Manager for NEXT Program at ESPN (Connecticut)
The Adelante Academy launches with an intensive week at Columbia Journalism School in March, followed by virtual leadership modules and personalized mentorship. The program culminates in July at the NAHJ Annual Conference, where participants present capstone projects reflecting their leadership growth and newsroom impact. The academy is tuition-free thanks to support from the Ford Foundation and a continued collaboration with Columbia Journalism School.
Read more about the program members below or visit the Adelante Academy website. For questions about the program, contact us here.
Geraldine Cols Azócar is a senior producer for NBC News Daily with two decades of experience in digital and broadcast multimedia storytelling. Her work on the documentary “Ukraine: A Mother’s War” earned both an Emmy and Gracie in 2023. A native of Venezuela, she has covered local, national and international news, in English and Spanish, and topics ranging from politics and immigration to health and the environment. The first NAHJ New York City chapter president, she has also served on the national board and is an NAHJ lifetime member.
Johanna Bejarano is a bilingual media and communications professional with a passion for telling stories that matter. Her work focuses on topics such as immigration, labor, voting rights, education, the environment, and missing and murdered Indigenous women cases in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A former reporter in Colombia, she brought her skills to public media in the U.S., where she produced bilingual stories for radio, web, and hosted a weekly Spanish-language news series on YouTube and PBS. She has also worked as a journalism professor, guiding the next generation of journalists.
Erika Carlos is the Editor-in-Chief of El Tecolote, San Francisco’s bilingual community newspaper dedicated to serving immigrant and working-class Latinos. Before joining El Tecolote, she was an editor and producer at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she led audience strategy and produced social video and podcasts.
Fernando Diaz is an educator, publisher and consultant for independent ethnic and alternative media. At Columbia College Chicago, he supports the students working in Spanish for La Crónica. He co-owns and operates The Shopper, a community weekly founded in 1957. In 2024, he founded La Estreya, a digital media and marketing agency, to promote civic engagement and support independent Hispanic businesses. He is an NAHJ lifetime member, an alumni of the Student Project and a former national board member.
Adrian D. Garcia is the managing editor of data visualizations for Financial Times Specialist in New York. He previously covered personal finance as a data reporter and analyst for Bankrate and reported on business, trends and other news stories for Denverite, the Fort Collins Coloradoan and other news organizations. Adrian serves as the communications chair of the NAHJ Business Journalism Task Force and is an adjunct instructor in the data journalism department of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Yoli Martinez is a freelance frontend engineer, building newsroom products for national and local outlets. She was most recently at The Washington Post, building AI-based tools for reporters. Previously, she was at Hearst Newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and The Marshall Project. She started her career as a web producer, skilled up to data and graphics reporter and finally jumped into newsroom engineering. She has taught coding at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and was the conference chair for the 2021 NAHJ Conference and curriculum co-chair for the 2020 Conference.
Jessica Perez is the senior editor leading Boyle Heights Beat, a newsroom of The LA Local. Prior to this role, she spent nearly six years at the Los AngelesTimes, first as an assistant editor of the News Desk, then as community editor of De Los, a Latinx vertical. She also worked as a digital producer at NBC Los Angeles, and spent a year as a journalist in residence at USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism, where she established a South LA community desk and led students in reporting projects. Jessica was born in Mexico and grew up in Boyle Heights.
Jorge Quiquivix is the Assistant News Director for Action News 5 in Memphis, Tenn., where he brings a deep commitment to community-focused journalism, inclusive storytelling, and newsroom leadership. After building his broadcast career in Arkansas, he saw the need to serve the state’s Spanish-speaking audiences and launched a grassroots digital project that eventually became Telemundo Jonesboro. He believes that strong newsrooms are built on connection, empathy, and respect, and that communities are better served when diverse voices are included in editorial decision-making.
Mónica Rivera is a seasoned media professional with 18 years of production experience, including 12 years at ESPN Deportes, where she advanced from production assistant to producer, guiding production assistants and content associates in developing content for nightly Sports Center shows for global bilingual audiences. Today, as senior manager with ESPN NEXT, Mónica focuses on creating opportunities for early-career professionals to enter and thrive in the sports media industry, shaping the next generation of producers through innovative programs and mentorship.
About the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is an educational and charitable association dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanic students, professionals, and educators in the field of journalism. NAHJ focuses heavily on advocacy, addressing injustices and political issues that affect Latino journalists throughout the country, while also supporting a growing network of members and chapters. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow us on X @NAHJ.