Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program fellows work across media platforms and business models, including large legacy news organizations, small start ups, and not-for-profit newsrooms.
Meet our recent graduates and learn about their progress on top level projects that required consumer-driven design and MBA-level training.
2020 Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program Alumni

Daisuke Arakawa, Managing Director, Nikkei Europe Ltd. And Chief Manager, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Nikkei
Daisuke Arakawa has served as Managing Director of Nikkei Europe since April 2019. He joined Nikkei as a reporter straight out of Tokyo University. He has held various, including Financial Correspondent for Nikkei America and Editor of Capital Market & Corporate News. In 2014 he became head of Business Development for Nikkei and led the acquisition of the Financial Times in July 2015.

Sarah Ashworth, Vice President, News, Vermont Public Radio
Sarah Ashworth has been a news director, editor, producer and reporter at public radio stations around the country. She most recently worked as an editor at Minnesota Public Radio. Before that she was News Director at New Hampshire Public Radio. During that time NHPR won two national Edward R. Murrow awards for Overall Excellence. Sarah also previously worked at VPR as a producer and reporter.

Gaudenz Looser, Chief Editor, 20 Minuten
Gaudenz Looser is the Chief Editor at 20 Minuten, Switzerland's most popular daily newspaper. He is responsible for the editorial content as well as the content for its online channels 20Minuten.ch and Venty.ch. He was previously the Deputy Chief Editor at 20 Minuten and has held various other roles there.

Isabel Mercado, Editor in Chief, Página Siete
Isabel Mercado is a journalist specializing in human rights reporting. She has been an editor of the magazines Things and La Razón. She has published several books including The Newsroom: A Practical Guide to Journalism and Human Rights; Communicators with Art and Trade; and They Call Us Citizens? She is currently the Editor in Chief of Página Siete and a teacher of journalism.

Paula Miraglia, CEO and Publisher, Nexo Jornal
Paula Miraglia is a co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Publisher of Nexo Jornal, a digital-only news outlet in Brazil. She was the Director General of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime and the Executive Director of the Brazilian office of the United Nations Latin American Institute. She has worked as a consultant to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Carla Miranda, Innovation Editor, O Estado de São Paulo
Carla Miranda is the Innovation Editor of O Estado de São Paulo, a traditional media group in Brazil, since 2019. She is also responsible for managing the company’s trainee program, leading young journalists on innovation projects. Carla holds a Phd in Communication and Semiotics from Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC-SP) and has experience teaching journalism skills.

Marcia Parker, Publisher and COO, CALMatters
Marcia Parker is the Publisher and COO of CALMatters, an award-winning, nonpartisan, nonprofit news media venture that is committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. In her role, Marcia oversees and drives the audience growth strategy, business development and industry partnerships, fundraising, and operations for the organization.

Sandra Romandía, Editorial Director, La Silla Rota
Sandra Romandía is a research journalist and editorial director of La Silla Rota, a digital native project. She coordinates a team of reporters, editors, editors, designers, videographers and metrics specialists, and promotes innovation processes that generate better content, research, greater efficiency and impact through social networks and alliances with traditional information media.

Amanda Rottier, Vice President of NYT Cooking, The New York Times
Amanda is the Vice President of NYT Cooking at The New York Times, where she is responsible for the group’s long term strategy, revenue and roadmap of its products. Prior to NYT Cooking, Amanda worked on the corporate strategy and development team of The New York Times. Amanda has an MBA from MIT Sloan and lives in New York.

Jan Schwalbe, Editor in Chief, Finanz und Wirtschaft
Jan Schwalbe is the Editor-In-Chief of Finanz und Wirtschaft. He has covered business and the economy for more than 20 years and has been published in Businessweek, Bloomberg News, Finanz und Wirtschaft, and The Daily Telegraph. Before taking his role as Editor-in Chief he was the Head of the Zurich Bureau of Bloomberg News and was working for CNN Money.

Sam Sifton, Food Editor, The New York Times
Sam Sifton is the food editor of The New York Times, the founding editor of NYT Cooking and a columnist for The New York Times Magazine. He has also served as the national editor, the restaurant critic and the culture editor.

Alexandra Smith, Director of Growth, Whereby.us
Alexandra Smith is the Director of Growth for the digital media startup WhereBy.Us, where she leads audience development strategy for the company’s five local newsletter brands. In the past year, she was invited to join the Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media and completed a Knight Visiting Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

Ethan Toven-Lindsey, Executive Editor, News, KQED
Ethan Toven-Lindsey is the executive editor of news for KQED. Before he came to KQED, he worked at WBUR and NPR on the midday newsmagazine Here & Now, in Boston, where he was the show’s senior managing editor. In 2009, Ethan won a Peabody Award for his work as a correspondent for Oregon Public Broadcasting.