Following an election process with the most candidates in its history, the members of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) selected Carla Minet, executive director of the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish) in Puerto Rico, as a new board member.
The INN is a network of more than 425 independent nonprofit media organizations that share the mission of ensuring that communities have access to relevant and reliable information. It offers educational tools and programs, while supporting the operations and growth of these organizations and highlighting the value of investigative journalism.
There were 17 candidates vying for the two open positions on the INN board. Minet will serve a three-year term beginning in January, and she will share this new role with 14 other public service journalism professionals who make up the highest governing body of the INN, the CPI stated.
John Adams, founder of Montana Free Press, was also elected. His nonprofit news organization in Montana emphasizes transparency in institutions and bureaucratic processes.
For this year’s election, each candidate required endorsements from at least two members of the INN. At the end of the process, the organization pre-selected six candidates, eventually electing the two with the most votes.
Mazin Sidahmed, co-executive director of Documented, endorsed Minet, saying that as a leader, “she has developed the Center for Investigative Journalism as one of the most powerful and consistent media outlets in the hemisphere, while intentionally strengthening its operating model in a sustainable manner.” Paul Cheung, chief executive officer of the Center for Public Integrity, also endorsed her.
After her election, the veteran journalist said she will promote “greater diversity in this governing body, as a Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American woman, and as the leader of a media outlet in Spanish as a first language, and bilingual, focused on investigative journalism, to contribute to broadening the perspective and views of the INN.”
Minet is a journalist with 25 years of experience as a reporter, editor and producer for radio, television, written and digital press. She is also a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) and the News Leaders Association’s (NLA) board.
