Award-winning digital journalism entrepreneur Lisa Williams has joined the Investigative News Network as Director of Digital Engagement.
“Having someone of Lisa’s caliber and experience join us is a big win for INN,” says Kevin Davis, CEO & Executive Director of the nonprofit network. “Given her expertise in helping newsrooms, journalists and communities leverage digital to meet their mission, we can increase the breadth of the services that we offer to the 86 newsrooms in our network to a new level.”
Williams is a winner of the prestigious Knight News Challenge, an annual challenge that has poured more than $25 million into the digital news ecosystem. She’s also been a fellow at the MIT Media Lab, where she specialized in the future of news and civic engagement. Prior to that, she worked at Boston.com, the digital arm of the Boston Globe, and founded H2otown, a site that became a national model for what came to be known as “hyperlocal” journalism.
“I’m delighted to have this opportunity, because I believe we can’t have a better world without a better journalism,” says Williams. “I’m committed to growing the health – and wealth --of INN member organizations so they can do just that.”
In her new role, Williams will work with INN members to create effective strategies for engaging their audience, help them find a path to new funding and revenue, and use leading-edge technologies to create high-impact journalism.
“Technology gives us compelling new ways to hold powerful people and institutions to account. I want to work with my colleagues at INN and member organizations to build the capacity to do that kind of journalism in every single newsroom that is a part of INN, no matter how large or how small.”
Lisa will be based in Cambridge, MA, reporting to INN CEO Kevin Davis who is based in INN’s home office in Los Angeles, CA.
Lisa can be reached at lisa@inn.org or via Twitter, where she is @lisawilliams.