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When the opportunity to run for the ONA board came up, I was giddy at the chance. I joined ONA near the end of my time as an undergraduate at the Missouri School of Journalism, attended my first conference (and was part of the student newsroom) in 2009 and have been active in the organization since.

Though my first post-graduate home didn’t have a local ONA chapter, it didn’t take long for ONADC to sweep me in when I moved to Washington D.C. a little under a year ago.  Being a part of a vibrant, energy-filled local chapter with strong leadership and a very active membership made me realize quite quickly that I wanted to play a role in leading the organization forward. I would be humbled to have both your support and your vote.

Moving in somewhat rapid succession from the safety net of college to a small startup in Kansas City to POLITICO, I began to understand just how important it is for ONA’s board to contain members with a diversity of backgrounds. That diversity includes geography, age, gender and work affiliation.

I’m not a CEO or an executive, though I one day hope to play both of those roles.  I’m two years out of college and on my second full time job.  I’m intimately familiar with the rigors of starting a career in journalism and distinguishing yourself among hundreds of equally ambitious and talented journalists.  So my platform and vision for ONA focuses on just that: I want to continue to expand our college and university chapters, which are incubators for future leaders of the organization, as well as to create more formal and informal mentoring opportunities for journalists in the first years of their careers.

However, I also want to push the organization to diversify its membership in all areas, including but not limited to race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and religion.

Though I now live in DC, I went to college and grew up in Missouri, so I understand critics who say they sometimes feel like the organization is filled with journalists from the East and West coasts who treat middle America like “flyover country.” I have long advocated for conferences to reflect the geographic diversity and to be based in cities that are more wallet-friendly.  That said, I love the organization and feel lucky to have met many lifelong friends, co-workers, thinkers and innovators through attending the annual conferences, as well as local meetups in a number of cities.

Voting is open Friday Sept. 23 to Thursday Oct. 13. I encourage all ONA members to vote — and not just for me.

ONA is incredibly fortunate to have so many dedicated people running to lead us forward, so take a few minutes  and read all of the profiles and vision statements. It’s a bit trite, but a group is only as strong as its membership, and this sample of the thousands affiliated with ONA shows that we have a strong future ahead.

No matter if I’m elected to the board or not, I intend to keep showing up and being vocal in our community. Thanks so much to those that nominated me and urged me to put my ideas for the organization out there.  My favorite thing about ONA is that it has become one of the leading resources for Web journalists and a launchpad for so many tremendous innovators.

If you’ll be in Boston for this year’s conference, I’d love to get to know you and put a name to a Twitter handle, or a Facebook profile or a byline…  Check out my plans for the weekend (subject to change) or tweet at me if you’re around.

During the conference, I’ll be managing session volunteers Friday and Saturday afternoon, and will be speaking on a panel during the Career Summit on early-career professionals in high demand jobs.  Drop by, especially if you’re on the job hunt!

Thanks so much for being a dedicated and involved member, and I’d be honored to have your support in the election.

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