We’re excited to announce that three San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists members are making a run for seats on the national board!
Nora Lopez, the immediate past president of SAAHJ, is running for board president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Diana Fuentes, a former SAAHJ president and treasurer, is running for NAHJ financial officer. And SAAHJ member Arelis Hernandez is running unopposed for vice president for print.
Please take a moment to read a bit about these members and their platforms for higher office. NAHJ held a candidate forum on Sept. 10 that be watched here, and members of the national organization can vote the week of Sept. 28 – Oct. 2.
Nora Lopez: A 33-year news veteran, she has been metro editor at the San Antonio Express-News for eight years. She also worked as a criminal justice reporter at the San Antonio Light and The Dallas Morning News.
Lopez spent time as the Region 5 director on the NAHJ board in the early 2000s and as president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Network of Hispanic Communicators. She is also vice president of programming for the San Antonio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
One of her key platforms is transparency of board business, including hosting open members-wide meetings via Zoom. She’s also committed to elevating the voice of NAHJ by strengthening relationships with media companies and being a part of the national conversation on Latino coverage and jobs.
Twitter: @NLopez10
Diana Fuentes: She started her journalism career in 1977 at the Laredo News. As city editor, she handled the budgets for the papers. From there, she became the first woman and minority on the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board in 1990 and then the first minority managing editor of The Beaumont Enterprise in 1998. As publisher and editor of the Del Rio News Herald in 2011, she wrote the annual budget and was responsible for revenue and expenditures. She rejoined the Express-News in 2013 and was named deputy metro editor in 2015.
Fuentes served as secretary, treasurer and president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; treasurer and president of Texas Associated Press Managing Editors; and secretary and financial officer for NAHJ. She is actively serving on the board of the Society of Professional Journalists – San Antonio chapter.
As NAHJ financial officer, Fuentes said she plans to make transparent information about income, expenses and investments to NAHJ members. She’s dedicated to making sure the organization’s expenditures go toward furthering the organization’s mission.
Twitter: @DDfonline
Arelis R. Hernandez: She is a border correspondent based in San Antonio for The Washington Post. Previously, Hernandez wrote for numerous publications including the Orlando Sentinel as a breaking news reporter.
She was nationally recognized by the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 2013 for her coverage on race and Trayvon Martin’s shooting death. She has received awards from the Florida Society of News and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Hernandez is focused on reviewing the bylaws to create a more engaged and resourceful organization for its members. She also wants to expand the diversity of its membership by including start-up outlets, nonprofits and more Spanish language press, among others so NAHJ can provide opportunities for a wider range of Latino journalists.
Twitter: @Arelisrhdz
