IMFA executive director named to SPJ Board of Directors for 2022-2023

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear was appointed to the Society of Professional Journalists, SPJ, Board of Directors. The appointment to the Board will be for a one-year at-large position. Spotted Bear, founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance will also serve on the SPJ Foundation board of directors. She also agreed to serve as chair of the SPJ Freedom of Information committee.

“As we enter a new year for the Society of Professional Journalists, I look forward to serving the members of the organization through thoughtful and inclusive leadership,” said Spotted Bear, editor of the digital news site buffalosfire.com. “I’m thankful to take the helm of the Freedom of Information committee where I’d like to expand the committee’s reach to Indigenous communities.”

The SPJ board voted unanimously to approve her nomination on Dec. 7.

In addition to Spotted Bear’s appointment, the Board also selected Peter Szekely to a one-year at-large appointment – the two appointees will replace Israel Balderas, who is now serving as the SPJ secretary-treasurer, and Cheryl Smith.

“These two outstanding journalists strengthen the board with their experience, passion, and professionalism,” said Claire Regan, SPJ national president. “As accomplished leaders, they are committed to helping SPJ thrive, and we are grateful for their volunteer service.”

Spotted Bear, a member of the MHA Nation, serves as the executive director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a non-profit media organization focusing on freedom of information and the need for more independent press operations across Indigenous America. The IMFA is based in Bismarck, North Dakota, and publishes online news at buffalosfire.com. In June, she completed a John S. Knight Community Impact Fellowship at Stanford and is also a Nieman Fellow of Harvard University and a Bush Fellow for leadership.

Previously, she had a national news beat covering American Indian issues for Lee Enterprises, a position she led for more than a decade. Her writing has won awards and achievements, including recognition from SPJ, the Montana Newspaper Association, the University of Nebraska, The Telly Awards, the Native American Journalists Association, and the US Army for Military Print Journalist of the Year. Spotted Bear earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her writing is featured in “The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity,” published by Columbia University Press.

Szekely is a retired journalist who has spent more than 40 years as a correspondent for Reuters, reporting mainly from the Washington, D.C., bureau. He also served in a full-time elected position for The NewsGuild of New York as president and secretary-treasurer. Szekely spent 12 years as the chair of the New York Guild Executive Committee and member of the Executive Council of its parent union, The NewsGuild-CWA, in Washington. In 2017, he returned to Reuters to join the national affairs staff in New York, where he covered major US news stories, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Szekely’s time with the SPJ began when he was a student at Northeastern University, serving as the chapter’s treasurer and president, helping plan the 1977 regional conference in Boston. Previously, Szekely served as a two-term president of the Deadline Club, SPJ’s New York City chapter, and will be president again in 2023. He is currently a member of the SPJ Bylaws Committee.

The Board also selected two regional coordinators to fill vacancies in Regions 7 and 8. Loretta McGraw, a recent graduate of Iowa State University and a 2021 participant of SPJ’s Student Leadership Institute, will serve as the 2022-2023 Region 7 Coordinator for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Laura Garcia, an afternoon/evening news editor at the Texas Tribune and president of the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists, will serve as the 2022-2023 Region 8 Coordinator for Texas and Oklahoma.

Spotted Bear, Szekely, McGraw, and Garcia were sworn in during the meeting.

References:

Society of Professional Journalists, Claire Regan, "Spotted Bear, Szekely appointed to SPJ Board of Directors for 2022-2023," December 12, 2022, https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=1918