Need a speaker, panelist, facilitator or moderator?
The Carolina Public Press Speakers Bureau
The Carolina Public Press team possesses experience and knowledge in a variety of areas including topical issues such as public lands, sexual assault and prisons; industry-specific topics related to nonprofit journalism, news-based community engagement, and investigative reporting; journalism-specific skill development; North Carolina issues and news ecosystem; and more. Members are available for virtual and in-person events, group meetings, conferences, panels and classes of all sizes and types. We also have experience in moderating panel discussions and debates, offering presentations and facilitating group meetings and listening sessions.
See below for available members, suggested topics and examples of appearances, panel presentations and more. Carolina Public Press is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization and relies upon the support of individual donors, foundations and sponsors/underwriters to operate.
Suggested topics for Kara Andrade:
- Journalism Practices: Traditional and digital journalism techniques.
- Social Entrepreneurship: Starting and scaling social ventures.
- Public Health Communication: Effective strategies for public health messaging.
- Global Project Management: Executing projects in diverse cultural settings.
- Adoption of Innovations: Recognizing and integrating new democratic solutions.
- Inclusive Storytelling: Highlighting underrepresented communities.
- Citizen Journalism: Building and nurturing citizen-led reporting networks.
- Information Network Development: Creating reliable platforms for timely updates.
- Research Methods: Effective methodologies for research and development.
- Higher Education Pedagogy: Crafting and teaching higher-ed programs.
Academic Research and Publications
- “Over-The-Top Messaging Services and Privacy in Latin America” Accepted paper for Indiana University Center Graduate Student Conference “Access and Control:Resources and Technology in the Global South,” on March 3 – 5, 2016.
- Andrade, K. (2015, August 20). The Life and Death of an Organizer in Guerrero, Mexico. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- Andrade, K. (2015, August 20). La vida y muerte de un activista en Guerrero, México. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- Andrade, K. (2011). DIGITAL ALTERNATIVES with a cause? (Vol. 3, p. 41045). Centre for Internet and Society.
- Andrade, K. (2011). Mobile Phone Democracy. ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America
Kara Andrade
Editor-in-Chief
Kara Andrade has more than twenty years of experience in various sectors, including journalism and media, social entrepreneurship, public health, research, and development, launching and supporting projects in more than twenty countries. She has focused on the adoption of innovations and the telling of more inclusive narratives to solve common democratic problems. As an Ashoka fellow and Fulbright scholar, she traveled to her native Guatemala and co-founded HablaCentro Informatics NFP and LLC, a network of citizen journalism and information sharing hubs in Latin America that shared reliable and timely updates from the ground during crises. Kara is also an adjunct professor with an M.J. from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. from American University’s School of Communication.
Speaking and Training
- “Lessons from a Gambler” TEDX Black Rock City, Burning Man, http://www.tedxblackrockcity.com/
- “From the Banana Plantations to the PhD: Your Own Personal Cartography for “Making the Ordinary into the Extraordinary” TEDX American University
- SXSW Interactive 2016, Austin, Texas
- Turning the Tide of Corruption: Mexico and Guatemala
- The Digital Diplomacy Revolution: Creating a new generation of diplomats
- Week-long trainging for U.S. Embassy staff in Baku, Azerbaijan
- SXSW Interactive 2015, Austin, Texas “Civic Engagement from the Dorm to Dakar”
- More here speaking engagements here.
Jack Igelman
Lead Environment Reporter
Contributor Jack Igelman has covered top environmental issues for Carolina Public Press for nearly a decade, including the pending forest management plan from the U.S. Forest Service for many years, development, coastal health, and the connections between the environment and the economy.
Jack holds a graduate certificate from the UNC School of Media and Journalism, and he received the Best Feature Reporting and News Feature Writing Award from the North Carolina Press Association in 2018. Co-author of Trekking the Southern Appalachians and currently teaching college-level economics, Jack’s reporting has appeared in dozens of local, regional and national publications. He lives in Buncombe County.
Suggested topics for Jack Igelman:
- Environmental issues in North Carolina, including climate change
- Public lands: culture, economy and environment
- Environment and the economy
- Environmental journalism in North Carolina
- Trends in the outdoors, including hiking and cycling
Selected publications and appearances:
- Panelist, PEN America and NC Humanities: Environmental Journalism in North Carolina (2021)
- Moderator, Carolina Public Press forum: The future of Pisgah and Nantahala national forests (2020)
- Co-author: Trekking the Southern Appalachians: The Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia (2005)
Suggested topics for Angie Newsome:
- Developing a news organization
- Building a nonprofit
- Government transparency and public records access
- North Carolina news ecosystem
- Civic and audience engagement
- Collaborative journalism
- Nonpartisan mission-driven journalism with impact
- News entrepreneurship
- Public service and investigative news and its role in democracy
Selected publications and appearances:
- Futurity, Duke University: Why the loss of local news is bad for democracy (2020)
- Panelist, Collaborative Journalism Summit: North Carolina: The state of collaboration (2020)
- BetterNews.org, American Press Institute: How Carolina Public Press led a statewide collaboration to investigate sexual assault convictions. Co-author with Stephanie Carson (2019)
- PBS and Emerging Issues Forum: Media perspective on civic engagement (2018)
- Poynter.org: It took years for this local newsroom to start growing. Now, it’s going statewide. (2018)
- Local News Lab: Collaboration is key for investigative reporting, Carolina Public Press founder says (2018)
Angie Newsome
Founder and Executive Director
With nearly 20 years of experience in daily, online and magazine journalism in her native North Carolina, Angie Newsome has expertise in the evolution of media in the state, as well as the development of nonprofit media organizations like Carolina Public Press. Under her leadership, Carolina Public Press has grown from a one-person organization to a statewide force in nonpartisan in-depth and investigative journalism in the public interest.
In addition to leading Carolina Public Press, Angie is chair of the board of directors of the NC Open Government Coalition, a coalition of media groups, public information officers, attorneys, data professionals and others interested in open government and public transparency. She has won multiple recognitions, including a New Media Women Entrepreneurs award from J-Lab and the McCormick Foundation. She lives in Buncombe County.
Mehr Sher
Democracy Reporter
Mehr Sher reports on democracy in North Carolina for the Carolina Public Press. She graduated from Columbia Journalism School with a master’s degree in investigative journalism. During her master’s program, she reported on the Afghan refugee resettlement program and investigated hate crime legislation in Indiana. Sher graduated from N.C. State University in 2015 and began her journalism career abroad in Pakistan, where she was based for over six years. During her career abroad, she investigated systemic failure, an inadequate health care system and a cover up, which led to the exacerbation of an HIV/AIDs outbreak in over 1,000 children in Sindh, Pakistan. Sher is from Raleigh and is an ethnic Pashtun with roots in northwestern Pakistan.
Suggested topics for Mehr Sher:
- Democracy and Governance: Explore democratic systems in diverse regions.
- Refugee and Migration Studies: Delve into global migration and refugee rights.
- Criminal Justice Reporting: Investigate issues like prison reform and judicial bias.
- International Journalism: Study the ethics and challenges of reporting in politically unstable regions.
- Healthcare Reporting: Examine healthcare disparities and epidemic responses.
- Investigative Techniques: Stay updated with the latest tools in investigative reporting.
- Human Rights and Advocacy: Focus on human rights issues and journalism advocacy.
- Cross-Cultural Communication: Train in communicating across diverse cultures.
Selected publications and appearances:
- See all of Mehr’s reporting for Carolina Public Press
- Contact: msher [at] carolinapublicpress.org
Suggested topics for Lindsey Wilson:
- Facilitating group listening sessions
- Designing an outreach program
- Rural engagement methods
- Connecting with rural audiences
- The lack of reliable internet in rural N.C. and its effect on news consumption and community engagement
Projects and programs:
- “NC Connection: Closing the News Gap”
- News Needs Listening Session (In-person event in partnership with the Border Belt Independent, Local News Lab, Elon University; Carolina Demography)
Contact: lwilson[at]carolinapublicpress.org
Lindsey Wilson
Rural Engagement Manager
Lindsey comes to Carolina Public Press with experience in a variety of experience as a community organizer, research facilitator and environmental educator. Her work on small-scale produce farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and North Carolina has given her a deep interest in issues facing rural people. Lindsey has a dual major in anthropology/sociology and creative writing from Kalamazoo College. She lives in Buncombe County.