Mission Local, a pioneering, award-winning nonprofit news organization in San Francisco, has recently added three new members to its Board of Directors. Christopher Haugh, Doug Ng and Genisha Saverimuthu were unanimously elected to three-year terms, which will begin on January 1, 2025.
The new members bring to Mission Local a wealth of professional experience across several industries, including journalism, government, law, business, philanthropy and design, which will help the news nonprofit as it grows.
Mission Local also bade goodbye, and thank you, to Mimi Chakarova, a Bulgarian-American photographer and filmmaker who was on Mission Local’s inaugural board. Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, was re-elected for another year. Lydia Chávez, the founder and editor of Mission Local, and Amanda Martinez, a digital communication specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, were each re-elected to another three-year term.
“We are honored that Doug, Chris and Genisha want to offer their expertise and time to Mission Local,” said Frances Dinkelspiel, the chair of the board. “They all have deep roots in the world of journalism and experience in innovating the delivery of news. With their help, Mission Local will deliver more of its award-winning journalism to broader audiences. ”
Joe Eskenazi, Mission Local’s managing editor, will move to an ex-officio position on the board.
The new members are listed below, along with their brief biographies:
Christopher Haugh
Christopher Haugh has more than a decade of experience in the private sector, media, and the U.S. government. Currently, he is a senior advisor at Roadrunner Venture Studios, where he works to transform deep tech into new companies. Chris previously advised companies ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500s in the technology, media, and education sectors on business operations, fundraising, marketing, and branding. He is the co-author of the 2021 book “Union: A Democrat, a Republican, and a Search for Common Ground.” He is a former speechwriter for Secretary of State John F. Kerry and has worked for The Atlantic and The San Francisco Chronicle. Chris holds a juris doctor degree from Yale Law School and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives with his wife in the East Bay.
Doug Ng
Doug Ng is a design consultant with extensive expertise in communications design, spanning user experience, digital strategy, and brand development. Doug most recently served as News Platforms Director at Cityside, a nonprofit organization supporting local journalism. At Cityside, he focused on improving the functionality and accessibility of digital tools and supported the organization’s efforts to connect with local communities. A proud San Francisco native and Lowell High School graduate, Doug now resides in Berkeley with his family, where they remain passionate about community and education.
Genisha Saverimuthu
Genisha Saverimuthu is a product strategy leader at Google, driving growth in emerging markets for user products such as Google Search, News, Maps, and Payments. Earlier in her career, she launched The Washington Post‘s first loyalty program, led global strategy on the executive team at BuzzFeed, and advised media and technology CEOs as a McKinsey consultant. She currently serves on the nonprofit boards of Phillips Exeter Academy, a leading secondary boarding school, and SAMBAL, which provides technology education to children in Sri Lanka. Genisha lives in San Francisco with her husband and holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University and an master’s degree in business administration from Columbia University.
Mission Local became a stand-alone nonprofit organization in 2022 and appointed its first board at that time. Mission Local began as an initiative by Professor Lydia Chávez and her graduate students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 2008. Chávez made the site independent in 2014. It continues to train a newsroom that reflects the diversity of San Francisco. It became a fiscally sponsored nonprofit in 2018, and its own nonprofit in 2022.
Mission Local’s reporting on San Francisco politics, elections as well as neighborhoods including the Mission, has won three national journalism awards in the last two years.
Super congrats and all the best going forward. We’re in for interesting times.
2 East Bay directors for Mission “Local”?
NY Times stuck a nice feather in ML’s cap and few months back:
“As for-profit news outlets owned by hedge funds and newspaper chains shrink, nonprofit newsrooms have grown in their place. The nonprofit model gives newsrooms access to a national network of grants from journalism foundations, and the ability for readers to make tax-deductible donations. The trade-off is they can’t make endorsements or be sold to a for-profit company.
Among them in San Francisco is Mission Local, which has been an independent newsroom since 2014 and is run by Lydia Chávez and Joe Eskenazi, two veterans of Bay Area media.
Operating out of a 700-square-foot office in the city’s Mission District, Mission Local gets 75 percent of its revenue from reader donations, Ms. Chávez said. Its current staff of three editors and six reporters, along with five summer interns, is the largest it has ever been. Mr. Eskenazi compared the ethos of Mission Local to alt-weekly newspapers that used to thrive in San Francisco but have mostly disappeared.”
Yowsa !
Y’all are getting more complex.
I bought a copy of Chronicle today to make change for a hundred (OK, it was a twenty) and read it cover to cover and Mission Local has far more talent.
Offer Mayor-elect Lurie a monthly sit with your editorial board.
How about a calendar with staff featured for ten bucks.
I’d buy a few for cheap Xmas & Emergency gifts.
Huh, huh, huh ??
Go Niners !!
h.
Who f”;ing cares. !!
Dude —
Unplug and go outside.
JE