A New Chapter for the NPA’s Board of Directors
The News Product Alliance is excited to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors: Chi-Chi Zhang, Jeremy Gilbert and Patrick Boehler. These outstanding professionals bring diverse perspectives and expertise, strengthening our commitment to advancing product thinking in news organizations worldwide.
Chi-Chi Zhang is a product leader at the intersection of media and technology. As Senior Director of Product for Machine Learning at Yahoo News, she oversees personalization algorithms. Previously, she led a team at Google at the forefront of expanding AI capabilities for global newsrooms and grew edX.org's Asia business. Chi-Chi's journalism background includes seven years across China, working for CNN, Associated Press, and the Institute of Current World Affairs. A frequent speaker on technology and news, she has presented at events hosted by prestigious institutions and organizations, including the Pulitzer Center and Online News Association.
Jeremy Gilbert is a professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School and the Knight Chair in Digital Media Strategy. His work and teaching focus on the content and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. He oversees the Knight Lab and explores the intersection of technology and media, examining how new tools and techniques will affect the creation, consumption and distribution of media. He also founded the Data-Driven Reporting Project, the Next Gen News project and is co-directing the Generative Artificial Intelligence for Newsrooms project.
Patrick Boehler is the founder of Gazzetta, a Tallinn and New York-based media research lab that focuses on autocratic settings. He previously led Radio Free Europe's digital transformation, establishing its audience research, marketing, and product departments, along with its journalism Academy and Innovation Lab. His experience spans executive newsroom roles, award-winning reporting for The New York Times and South China Morning Post, co-founding the Environmental Reporting Collective, and teaching at the University of Hong Kong.
Changes in our Executive Committee
We are also thrilled to share updates within our Executive Committee:
Anita Zielina, who served as NPA’s founding Chair of the Board, is stepping back into the committee as Vice Chair to support our current Chair, CNN product leader Upasna Gautam. Zielina’s work is focused on training the next generation of news executives to address the demand for innovation, business sustainability, and new leadership in the industry. She is currently the CEO of Better Leaders Lab.
Additionally, Sharon Moshavi will take on the role of Treasurer, continuing the impactful legacy of AX Mina. Moshavi is the President of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit organization that enables a global network of journalists to provide the trustworthy news essential to free and strong societies.
We are also pleased to renew the terms of Nick Petrie, Digital Director at The i Paper, and Aaron Williams, Data Visualization Expert at Netflix, who will continue their dedicated service on the Board.
Lastly, we bid a heartfelt farewell to Luciana Cardoso, one of NPA’s co-founders and a member of our founding Board. Cardoso began her career at IBM in Project Management for Latin America and later became a CPO at Estadão Newspaper in Brazil, leading the company's digital transformation to later join Quartz as a Senior Product Manager. Her global perspective and expertise have been invaluable to shaping our programs and community. Her contributions will leave a lasting impact, and we extend our deepest gratitude for her years of service.
As NPA approaches its fifth anniversary, we are proud to reflect on the remarkable journey from a grassroots community to a systemic change-agent in the media ecosystem. With these new appointments, the organization is prime to scale its help to news organizations as they bridge the gap between product strategy and execution, equipping them with the tools, frameworks, and networks needed to drive cultural change and foster resilience amidst technical advancements and shifting audience behaviors.
