NAHJ New England wins chapter of the year

Vanessa de la Torre, executive editor of the New England News Collaborative, and Sabrina Herrera, CT Public’s community engagement and social media editor, serve on the board of the award-winning New England chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Recently, the chapter was honored as NAHJ’s 2022 National Professional Chapter of the Year at the association’s convention in Las Vegas.

The national award is given to a local NAHJ chapter that prioritizes education and networking efforts, provides scholarship opportunities, and shows member growth. The “Chapter Cup,” presented to the New England board, currently resides at Connecticut Public. De la Torre serves as the chapter’s financial officer and Herrera is director of engagement.

Some of NAHJ New England’s initiatives this past year include creating a newsletter to inform members of job opportunities and events, capturing feedback through an online survey, and helping kick off a career coaching network.

Additionally, NAHJ New England launched En hora buena, a virtual event series celebrating journalists of color in lunch-hour chats on topics such as podcasting, media entrepreneurship and stepping into leadership. In Spanish, en hora buena has a double meaning: translating to “the good hour” while also serving as a congratulatory expression. Guest speakers for this year’s series include Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, Shereen Marisol Meraji of NPR, Maria Garcia of the “Anything For Selena” podcast, and Charo Henríquez of The New York Times.

The New England News Collaborative is a series sponsor of En hora buena and Connecticut Public co-sponsored the Hinojosa event.

NAHJ is dedicated to the advancement of Latino and Hispanic journalists. To learn more about NAHJ New England, visit nahjnewengland.wordpress.com.