Diversity and inclusion in the news media industry is the focus of the fifth-annual Elevate Scholarship, announced by INMA on Thursday.

The 50 scholarship recipients were selected from 397 applications from 83 countries.

The Elevate Scholarship programme is designed to strengthen the future of the news business by embracing and elevating historically underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in early- to mid-level positions at news media companies in all regions of the world. These groups include ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual orientations, religions, disabilities, and access to higher education.

The scholarship recipients gain news industry business fundamentals that will propel their individual careers with the bigger picture goal of infusing the industry with the talent it needs to face today’s challenging business landscape. 

“INMA is proud to continue to champion the inclusion and growth of underrepresented professionals in the news media industry,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. “The news industry is stronger when we include perspectives that represent the communities we serve, engendering audience trust and growth.”

The scholarship includes free access to three INMA master classes in 2025 and a one-year INMA membership.

The 50 professionals selected for Elevate Scholarships are:

• Ridhwan Abdullahi, media innovation and business manager (growth officer), WikkiTimes Media and Publishing Limited, Nigeria. 
• Ghada Alhaddad, media and communications officer, Oxfam, Palestine.
• Evandro Almeida Jr., multimedia editor, TV Band, Brazil.
• Debora Amato, product manager/retention, DMG Media, United Kingdom. 
• Ana Araújo, journalism and data project manager, AzMina, Brazil.
• Amondi Aroko, editor, TUKO Media Limited, Kenya. 
• Katarine Avila Assumpcao, digital channel analyst/acquisition, Editora Globo/Jornal O Globo, Brazil. 
• Busola Awobode, consumer marketing specialist, Hearst Newspapers, United States. 
• Eunice Ayobami, media product manager, Media Career Development Network | Cryptoclock Africa, Nigeria. 
• Vikas Baghla, digital advertisement manager, Sach Kahoon, India. 
• Monica Baylon-Solideo, data analytics manager, Inquirer Interactive, Philippines. 

• Wahid Bhat, co-founder and environment editor, Ground Report, India.

• Abdi Bile, editor, Puntland Mirror, Somalia.

• Matias Emiliano Boela, editor of audio-visual content, La Nacion, Argentina. 
• April Marie Canillo, product manager, News Corp, Canada. 
• Joydeep Dasgupta, editor, News Sense, India. 
• Damilola Dawson, director of content, Pulse Nigeria, Nigeria. 
• Flavian DeLima, publisher/journalist/marketing/audience, Spinning Forward, Canada. 
• Courage Tanyaradzwa Dutiro, digital officer/reporter, TellZim News, Zimbabwe. 
• Anthony Esguerra, head of audience engagement, BenarNews, United States.
• Friska Fristella, head of product, KG Media, Indonesia. 
• Giovanna Hemerly, assistant graphics reporter, Nexo Jornal, Brazil.
• Mehboob Javed, lead specialist/digital marketing, Prothom Alo, Bangladesh. 
• Summer Johnson, senior product analyst, MediaNews Group, United States. 
• Junaid Khan, project manager/The Times, News UK, United Kingdom. 
• Shweta Kothari, senior editor, TV9 Network, India. 
• Alona Melnyk, editorial data analyst, Bonnier News AB, Sweden. 
• Eugene Muhoozi, business executive, Nation Media Group, Uganda. 
• Malika Murzagaliyeva, project coordinator, European Radio for Belarus, Poland. 
• Barbara Nascimento, SEO analyst, A Gazeta, Brazil. 
• Devina Nembhard, analytics manager, The Guardian News & Media, United Kingdom.
• Jebun Nesa, special correspondent, The Business Standard, Bangladesh.
• Alexandra-Irina Nicolae, senior technical product owner/generative AI, Axel Springer, Germany. 
• Betty Njeru, editor/news and current affairs, The Standard Group, Kenya. 
• Akinola Oyewobi, assistant head/digital strategy and technology, Premium Times Nigeria, Nigeria. 
• Erin Paterson, senior manager/newsletter strategy, Condé Nast, United Kingdom. 
• Ivana Pavlović, head of strategic planning, Balkan Investigative Research Network (BIRN), Serbia. 
• Marita Pérez Díaz, Web applications engineer, American Press Institute, United States. 
• Sunil Phuyal, chief of digital platforms, Avenues Networks Private Limited, Nepal. 
• Maria Rath, product lead, Ippen Digital, Germany.
• Sophie Ross, digital marketing manager, DC Thomson, United Kingdom.
• Natalie Serret, senior lifecycle marketing manager/engagement, Bloomberg, United States.
• Brenda Shi, international growth marketing manager, The Wall Street Journal, United States. 
• Kim Snyders, special projects editor, Media24, South Africa. 
• Anchal Srivastava, social media executive, Jagran New Media, India. 
• Carrington Tatum, senior data analyst, Dallas News Corporation, United States. 
• Nomalanga Tshuma, multimedia journalist, Independent Media, South Africa. 
• Yaroslav Ustich, marketing manager, Gwara Media, Ukraine. 
• Mariëlle Vermeer, head of data and social, De Telegraaf/Mediahuis, Nederland.
• Suryanshu Vyas, product manager, The Times of India, India.

More information about INMA’s Elevate Scholarship programme can be found here.

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