Margaret Ebrahim, Co-Chair

Margaret Ebrahim, who goes by her nickname “Mishi,” is PBS Senior Director of News & Public Affairs programming. Ebrahim is an award-winning journalist and producer who has worked at some of the most successful media organizations, including CBS News 60 Minutes and ABC News as well as the Center for Public Integrity and the Investigative Reporting Workshop.

Prior to joining PBS, Ebrahim helped re-launch National Geographic’s Explorer documentary series, and developed new digital video series for the media organization. Ebrahim was a producer for the groundbreaking SHOWTIME climate change series Years of Living Dangerously (Season 1) winner of the 2014 Emmy Award for outstanding nonfiction series. As senior producer at the Investigative Reporting Workshop, a nonprofit journalism organization in Washington D.C., Ebrahim oversaw television, web and feature film projects, including co-productions with PBS FRONTLINE.

JoAnne Scribner, Co-Chair

JoAnne Scribner is a seasoned professional with a 20-year track record in development and nonprofit leadership, both professionally and as a community volunteer. Her passion lies in leveraging the power of philanthropy to catalyze transformative change in our world on big and small scales.

As Vice President of Development and Strategic Partnerships at Foster America, JoAnne is committed to building and scaling innovative partnerships. With a proven career fundraising record of over $90 million, she specializes in annual fund appeals, capital campaigns, grant writing, major gifts, event fundraising, and communications. JoAnne’s leadership extends to scaling high-performing teams, strategic planning, and enhancing program operations and systems.

In her consulting roles, she has supported national and international research and advocacy nonprofits, collaborating with organizations like the Center for Policing Equity, the Guttmacher Institute, and the Brookings Initiative on Climate Research and Action. Her rich history includes working with educational and networking organizations, advocating for schools, youth social justice entrepreneurs, and professional associations such as the National Network for Justice and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. JoAnne’s focus has also encompassed organizations dedicated to investigative journalism, arts, entertainment, and thought leadership.

Before consulting, JoAnne held significant positions, including COO and Associate Head of School for Advancement at The Field School, Vice President of Springboard Enterprises, and Deputy Executive Director for the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment. Her earlier career included a decade as a Senior Underwriter for Freddie Mac and Regional Underwriting Trainer for Wells Fargo.

In her volunteer capacity, JoAnne has served on several nonprofit boards, steering committees, and corporate/nonprofit committees. Her expertise spans fundraising, communications, events, operations, governance, community-building, diversity, equity, inclusion, and policy.

JoAnne continues her mission-driven work as Vice President of Development and Strategic Partnerships at Foster America, embodying the organization’s values around justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Serving on the executive team, she is a thought partner to the Executive Director, guides the staff, and liaises with the governing board. With a multifaceted skill set and extensive experience, JoAnne is a dynamic leader committed to seeing all children and families thrive.

JoAnne lives with her husband Bob and two cats in Bethesda, MD. Their two oldest children have graduated from college and are living locally and their youngest son is a junior at Vassar College.

Peter Haggert, Treasurer

Peter Haggert began his career as as a reporter in Northern Ontario, Canada, going on to serve as Toronto/provincial legislature reporter for Thomson newspapers, at the time a chain of 65 Canadian newspapers.

Offered the role of Ottawa (capital) bureau chief in his mid-20s, Peter chose instead to go the management route and took a number of editor postings where he was considered a fixer, taking on a broad scope complicated postings, ranging from product, content, process and financial overhauls. He served as editor of daily newspapers in three Canadian provinces during his media career. Before mergers became commonplace, Peter was the only editor in Canada asked to merge daily newspapers twice to take advantage primarily of morning delivery cycles. He become editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star’s community newspaper division in Toronto, overseeing ten newspapers and websites with newspapers placed on 500,000 Toronto doorsteps every week.

He has contributed extensively to industry organizations, serving terms as president of the Canadian Association of Newspaper Editors (now defunct), executive member of the Ontario Press Council, executive member Local Media Association Foundation board of directors, and long-time chair of the Atlantic Journalism Awards.

Currently, Peter’s company, Haggert Media Group, builds websites for newspapers and magazines and consults and trains on many topics. Currently contracted to Google, he teaches publishers how to optimize their website performance through audience development, and reader and advertising revenue. He is a sometime judge of National Newspaper Awards and other competitions in Canada.

He is a community leader in eastern Toronto borough of Scarborough, (pop 630,000) where he often acts as emcee for large events and conferences, and panelist or moderator for various meetings. He is a past president of the Scarborough Business Association and an executive board member of the Scarborough Walk of Fame Peter is a warden of St. John’s Anglican Church in Whitby, ON.

Peter is a leukemia patient – but very healthy – and speaks around the world on the patient experience. He is a member of the steering committee of the global advocacy organization CLLAN, and vice president of CLL Canada.

Statement from Peter:

“I am devastated by the condition of the media industry. It’s the lack of resources, the inability to serve their readership and it’s the constant suspicion or expectation of left- or right-leaning stories. The lack of trust that has developed is stunning.

I often spoke to the importance of relationship with your audience. The most trusted news (differing greatly from accurate) is the story told across the garden fence. Journalism needs to be the garden fence that intercepts and provides the facts in that conversation.

Yet, I am encouraged by new journalism models and new attempts to build sources of information trusted to guide decisions made by people on local, national and international levels.”

Ted Frank, Secretary

Ted Frank is a Retired Partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, LLP. Before retiring from active practice, Ted represented a number of organizations in the communications field. Much of his practice focused on representing public broadcasters, including PBS and several producing stations, as well as commercial broadcasters and telecommunications companies. His work included advising clients on First Amendment, defamation, invasion of privacy, and related issues outside the jurisdiction of the FCC.

He has represented 100Reporters LLC since its creation, reviewing articles for potential defamation issues, among other matters and moderating this panel. He has been an active participant in the Federal Communications Bar Association serving on the Executive Committee and as Co-Chair of several committees. In recent years, he has devoted time to professional ethics, serving as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Admissions and Grievances of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the Board on Professional Responsibility of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

He is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review. Upon graduation, he clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and then took a teaching fellowship at Harvard Law School, where he earned an LL.M.

Bonnie R. Cohen

Bonnie R. Cohen, in her retirement, has devoted herself to the renaissance of the DC Public Libraries. She has served as Finance Chair and Chair of the Foundation. Over the last 18 years, the DCPL has built 21 new prize-winning neighborhood libraries and rehabilitated 3 historic libraries. In September 2020—after a $200 million modernization effort—the flagship central library, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, had a grand re-opening, winning many distinguished architectural awards. The citizens of Washington have consistently awarded the DCPL “A” ratings.

Before retirement, as a consultant specializing in management and financial issues, Ms. Cohen served on the Board of Cohen and Steers Mutual Funds (no relation), a $25 billion family of mutual funds, as well as on the board of a diverse spectrum of nonprofit organizations.

From 1996-2000, Ms. Cohen served with Secretary Madeleine Albright as Undersecretary of State for Management, the Chief Operating Officer for the Department of State. From 1992-1996, Ms. Cohen was Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget under Secretary Bruce Babbit. Prior to government service, Ms. Cohen was Senior Vice President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for 12 years and earlier in her career, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds.

Ms. Cohen holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Smith College. She and her husband Louis Cohen are long-time residents of Washington, DC, where they explore local adventures with their five grandchildren.

Ron Nixon

Ron Nixon is the vice president of investigations, enterprise, partnerships and grants at the Associated Press, and former international investigations editor overseeing a team of reporters in London, Cairo, New Delhi, Shanghai and Washington, DC. He is a former Washington correspondent for The New York Times, covering homeland security and, before that, federal regulatory agencies. He has written widely about the U.S. role in the Arab Spring, domestic surveillance programs at the US Postal Service and the Transportation Security Administration. Nixon has also reported from Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Prior to The Times, Nixon was database editor at Minneapolis Star Tribune and a member of the paper’s investigative team. Before working at the Star-Tribune, Nixon was on the national training staff of Investigative Reporters and Editors and worked as reporter at the Roanoke Times in Virginia.

He is author of the book Selling Apartheid: Apartheid South Africa’s Global Propaganda War (Jacana Media, June 2015).

Ron is also co-founded three news-related startups: The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, The Ujima Project and TruthBeTold.com.

The Ida B. Wells Society works to increase the ranks, retention and profile of reporters and editors of color in the field of investigative reporting. He served as chair of 100Reporters from its founding in 2011 to December 2019.

The Ujima Project, which started in 2009, was an online portal of databases, documents and other information that attempted to bring transparency to the workings and spending of Africa governments, multinational non-governmental organizations and business enterprise operating in African countries. He was a featured speaker at the 2009 TedX talks in Kampala, Uganda discussing the Ujima Project and transparency in development.

TruthBeTold.com, which begin 2015, was a non-profit, non-partisan fact-checking website and digital network, run and edited from Howard University’s Department of Media, Journalism and Film in the School of Communication. It used journalistic skills and crowd-sourced information to play a leading role by examining claims about the black community in public debate.

Ron is currently the visiting associate for Journalism and Media Studies at The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and was the 2013-14 Hearst Visiting Professional at Howard University in Washington, DC.

Diana Jean Schemo, ex officio

Diana Jean Schemo is president, co-founder and executive editor of 100Reporters, and founding director of Double Exposure: The Investigative Film Festival and Symposium. She is an author and award-winning veteran national and foreign correspondent, with more than 25 years at The New York Times and The Baltimore Sun. She has covered poverty and child abuse, religion and culture. The Times nominated her coverage of education for a Pulitzer Prize in 2003. Her stories have appeared in Ms., Marie Claire, New York and The New York Times magazines. Diana is the author of the 2010 book Skies to Conquer: A Year Inside the Air Force Academy (Wiley). She has reported from more than 25 countries and regions of the world, including Somalia.