GFMD Members Elect New Steering Committee for 2025–2029

The new Steering Committee will officially begin its four-year term on 20 November 2025 at an in-person meeting during the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This year’s election saw unprecedented engagement across the GFMD membership, with 54 candidates — including 29 women — standing for election, double the number from 2021. A total of 124 ballots were cast out of 162 general members –  76.5% turnout.

We extend our deepest thanks to all outgoing Steering Committee members for their dedication over the past four years. We’re also grateful to the 54 GFMD members who nominated candidates, a reflection of the GFMD community’s vibrancy and collective commitment to navigating today’s media challenges.

Election Oversight and Voting

The election was administered by Owais Aslam Ali, Secretary General of the Pakistan Press Foundation, who was appointed as Election Officer after completing two consecutive terms on the Steering Committee. Voting was conducted anonymously via ElectionBuddy, with results made visible to administrators only after polls closed.

Voting ran from 17 June to 14 July 2025, extended from the original deadline of 11 July.

2025-2029 Steering Committee Members

The new Steering Committee will consist of 17 members, including 13 women and 4 men.  In the previous committee, there were 8 women and 9 men.

Explore detailed biographies, motivations, and strategic vision statements from all 2025 candidates here.

Africa (Central, Eastern, Southern, Western)

Candidates: 9

• Catherine Gicheru – Founder, Africa Women Journalism Project (Kenya)
  Number of votes: 63 (30.29%)
• Zoe Titus – Executive Director, NMT Media Foundation (Namibia)
  Number of votes: 59 (28.37%)

Asia, Pacific and Oceania

Candidates: 4

• Laxman Datt Pan – Executive Director, Media Action Nepal (Nepal)
  Number of votes: 57 (32.39%)
• Nasr ul Hadi – Founder and Executive Director, PROTO (India)
  Number of votes: 55 (31.25%)

Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia

Candidates: 8

• Milka Domanovic – Regional Director, BIRN – Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  Number of votes: 43 (20.09%)
• Lina Kushch – First Secretary, National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (Ukraine)
  Number of votes: 37 (17.29%)

Europe (Northern, Southern, Western)

Candidates: 4

• Lars Boering – Director, European Journalism Centre – EJC (Netherlands)
  Number of votes: 43 (38.74%)

Latin America and the Caribbean

Candidates: 4

• Adriana Garcia – Executive Secretary, Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism – Abraji (Brazil)
  Number of votes: 67 (31.31%)
• Kiran Maharaj – President and Co-Founder, Media Institute of the Caribbean (Jamaica / Trinidad & Tobago)
  Number of votes: 65 (30.37%)

Middle East and North Africa

Candidates: 7

• Rawan Damen – Director General, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism – ARIJ (Jordan)
  Number of votes: 56 (26.17%)
• Shireen Al Khatib – Acting Director, Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms – MADA (Palestine)
  Number of votes: 45 (21.03%)

North America

Candidates: 2

• Courtney Radsch – Director, Center for Journalism and Liberty (USA)
  Number of votes: 83 (80.58%)

Topical/ Policy-focused

Candidates: 10

• Angie Holan – Director, International Fact-Checking Network (USA)
  Number of votes: 33 (15.28%)
• Toby Mendel – Executive Director, Centre for Law and Democracy (Canada)
  Number of votes: 33 (15.28%)

Global

Candidates: 6

• Caroline Vuillemin – General Director, Fondation Hirondelle (Switzerland)
  Number of votes: 85 (25.30%)
• Quinn McKew – Executive Director, ARTICLE 19 (UK)
  Number of votes: 77 (22.92%)
• Simon Bishop – CEO, BBC Media Action (UK)
  Number of votes: 49 (14.45%)

We look forward to the contributions of our new Steering Committee members and to working collectively in support of sustainable journalism, media freedom, and democratic values worldwide.