Jennifer Mizgata

  • Director of Programs
  • Online News Association

Jennifer is Director of Programs at the Online News Association, where she designs programming that supports and builds community among digital journalism leaders. She directs many of ONA’s flagship programs, including the MJ Bear Fellowship, the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education, Journalism 360 and the Women’s Leadership Accelerator.

A digital strategist dedicated to public service who has spent her career building communities online and offline, Jennifer focuses on supporting innovative journalism projects, developing leadership in newsrooms and bringing digital tools to underserved communities. Jennifer joined ONA in 2011 and has significantly grown ONA communities both in person and virtually. While managing the ONA Local program, she launched 26 new groups, including the first in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and designed trainings and events for digital journalists across North America through the ONACamps program. She has led the revamped Women’s Leadership Accelerator, a program focused on increasing the number of women in digital leadership positions.

Before joining ONA, Jennifer served as the first social media lead in the U.S. for the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations agency fighting hunger worldwide. At WFP, she created advocacy campaigns for the world's largest humanitarian agency and designed events and international fundraising strategies for celebrity partners including Drew Barrymore and Thievery Corporation.

An established photographer, Jennifer’s documentary work has been featured on a number of news sites and shown in galleries. She lives in Baltimore and works out of D.C., which is a totally reasonable thing to do and gives her access to all of the best things in both places.

https://journalists.org/profiles/jennifer-mizgata/