Meet the 11 journalists who make up Trusting News’ inaugural newsroom advisory committee
Trusting News launches inaugural advisory committee
At Trusting News, we rely on our relationships with journalists to keep us grounded, useful and responsive to real industry needs.
As we enter our first full year as an independent nonprofit, we’re excited to formalize the ways we regularly hear from journalists by officially establishing a newsroom advisory committee.
Our big goal with the committee is to have a dedicated group of folks from across the industry to help keep us plugged into what support is needed, and give us candid, constructive feedback and ideas about how Trusting News can be most helpful. We also hope staying in closer touch with our team will be useful to our members and help them reach their own goals around trust and credibility.
We’ve convened this group of journalists from our wide network that spans geography, platform, business model and coverage type.
Meet the newsroom advisory committee
Dana Amihere is a data journalist, designer and developer. She’s the founder/executive director of AfroLA, a nonprofit newsroom covering greater LA through the lens of the Black community. She’s committed to solutions reporting that centers racial and social justice, especially through data-driven storytelling. Previously, Amihere worked in data, interactive design and news apps for KPCC/LAist, The Dallas Morning News, Pew Research Center and The Baltimore Sun. She owns Code Black Media and has taught at the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Dylan Goforth helped launch The Frontier, a nonprofit investigative journalism outlet based in Oklahoma, in 2015. He became the outlet’s executive editor in 2017.
Nicole Ki is a reporter with Reverb, a MPR News team focused on serving younger Minnesotans. Previously, Nicole was a human rights reporter for the Argus Leader in South Dakota, where she covered mental health and criminal justice, as well as worked at several outlets in Madison, Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in Asian American studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Originally from Long Island, New York, Nicole is a first-generation Chinese American raised by two immigrants from Hong Kong. She is passionate about telling stories that shed light on underrepresented communities.
Danny McArthur is the environment and communities reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom. This beat centers those most vulnerable to climate change’s effects and communities impacted by environmental hazards and poor public policy. Prior, Danny was the community voices reporter for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo. She is a University of Georgia graduate, where they wrote for the Red & Black.
Becky Pallack wears many hats as a co-founder, journalist and operations executive at Arizona Luminaria, a nonprofit news organization based in Tucson, Ariz. She was previously a beat reporter and a product manager in local newspapers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in journalism and innovation from West Virginia University.
Jacqué Palmer is the senior editorial director for newsletters at The Boston Globe, overseeing editorial vision, strategy, and execution for the Globe’s two dozen newsletters. Palmer is an award-winning email designer, audience journalist, and email expert specializing in audience lifecycle development. Since 2015, she’s developed strategies for deepening loyalty, increasing growth, and maximizing revenue — via email — for leading media publications like Vox, USA TODAY, and The Palm Beach Post.
Sabrina T. Sanchez is an award-winning investigative journalist and Engagement Producer at ABC10. She specializes in investigative reporting, audience engagement, and data-driven storytelling, exposing systemic failures and driving meaningful change. Her work has garnered recognition from the Peabody, duPont-Columbia, and IRE Awards. She is dedicated to journalism that informs, amplifies underrepresented voices, and fosters real-world impact.
As the Director of Digital Content and Engagement at WEHCO Media, Allison Shirk works closely with the company’s 10 daily newsrooms in Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri. Her role involves training editorial staff in best practices to develop reader-funded, sustainable newsrooms, and she communicates key audience metrics and tactics to help news teams improve their storytelling and digital presence to boost subscriber acquisition and retention. Before her current role, Allison was an editor and reporter on various beats in Tennessee and Florida.
Elizabeth Smith is the director and adviser of Pepperdine Graphic Media and is an associate professor of journalism at Pepperdine University. She is the teaching chair for the Scholastic Division of AEJMC and recently concluded her term as president of the National Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press, where she continues to serve on the board. Her professional journalism experience includes print newspapers, web and broadcast news.
Erica Smith is the managing editor for digital at the Times Union and has worked in local news media for 25 years. Erica has a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in entrepreneurial technology. She was the Local Media Association’s Local Media Digital News Innovator of the Year in 2018, is a past chair of the Local Media Foundation, and collects typewriters.
Carlos Virgen is the senior editor at The Modesto Bee. Before that, he was assistant manager for audience at The Day in southeastern Connecticut. He has worked at local news organizations — as an editor and multimedia producer — for almost 20 years in Los Angeles, Washington state, Connecticut and the California Central Valley.
At Trusting News, we learn how people decide what news to trust and turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We train and empower journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating credibility and actively earning trust through transparency and engagement. Learn more about our work, vision and team. Subscribe to our Trust Tips newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
