AJPalooza 2023 Agenda

All locations noted below are in the Westin Downtown Cleveland (777 St Clair Ave NE, Cleveland) unless otherwise noted.

Monday, May 1: Welcome and celebrating our progress

  • 4 p.m.: AJPalooza registration + happy hour, Orchid Foyer
  • 6 p.m.: Cocktails and dinner: American Journalism Project grantees share examples of their impact this year, Nuevo Mexican, 1000 E 9th St
    • Sarabeth Berman, American Journalism Project
    • The American Journalism Project grantee portfolio

Tuesday, May 2: Learning about what’s working & diving into Cleveland

  • 8:30 a.m.: Breakfast: What we’re working towards, Orchid West
  • 9:30 a.m.: State of AJP’s Portfolio, Orchid East
    • Michael Ouimette, American Journalism Project
    • Mukhtar M. Ibrahim, Sahan Journal 
    • Lance Knobel, Cityside 
    • Lizzie Schiffman Tufano, Block Club Chicago
  • 10:30 a.m.: How newsrooms put building community trust into practice, Orchid East
    • Loretta Chao, American Journalism Project
    • Fiona Morgan, American Journalism Project community listening consultant 
    • Deborah Heffner, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service & Wisconsin Watch
    • Lila Mills, Signal Cleveland
    • Mazin Sidahmed, Documented
  • 11:45 a.m.: Insights & lessons from two philanthropies supporting the rebuilding of local news in their communities, Orchid East
    • Evan Smith, Texas Tribune & Emerson Collective
    • Dale Anglin, The Cleveland Foundation
    • Kevin Corcoran, Lumina Foundation
  • 12:35 p.m.: Championing local news: Small group conversations, Vanda 
    • Irving Washington, Kaiser Family Foundation & American Journalism Project board
  • 1:15 p.m.: Lunch and a look at our community visits, Orchid West
    • Carrie Carpenter, Huntington National Bank & The Cleveland Foundation
  • 2 p.m.: Community visits: We’ll have the opportunity to choose from three different community visits that show us more about Cleveland, its people and neighborhoods. We’ll aim to return to the hotel in time for everyone to have a break before dinner.
  • 6 p.m.: Dinner: Local news on the rise in Cleveland, Orchid West
    • Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour
    • Sarabeth Berman, American Journalism Project
    • J. Rita McNeil Danish, Signal Ohio
    • Ronn Richard, The Cleveland Foundation
    • Lila Mills, Signal Cleveland
    • Susan Chira, The Marshall Project 

Wednesday, May 3 : Taking our learnings forward

(American Journalism Project Grantees and Staff only)
  • 8:30 a.m.: Breakfast: Small group conversations, Orchid West
  • 9:30 a.m.: Fireside chat: What does it take to have a successful major donor program? Orchid East
    • Dick Tofel, Gallatin Advisory LLC
    • Carroll Bogert, The Marshall Project
    • Chavon Carroll, The Marshall Project
    • Bruce Putterman, CT Mirror
    • Bobbie Jo Kelso, inewsource
  • 10:30 a.m.: Workshop: Insights on high-functioning fundraising, Vanda
    • Jason Alcorn, American Journalism Project
    • Sara Elghobashy, Bash Advisory
  • 12 p.m.: Lunch: Celebrating our first cohort, Orchid West
    • Michelle Srbinovich, American Journalism Project
    • American Journalism Project’s first cohort of grantees
  • 12:45 p.m.: Closing remarks, Orchid West
    • Sarabeth Berman, American Journalism Project