COFOUNDER

Kimberly Abbott is a broadcast journalist and global communications leader with more than two decades of experience in news and nonprofit storytelling. She has covered breaking news around the world as an on-air reporter, producer, and booker for CNN in Atlanta and Washington, DC; France 3, BFM Radio, Radio France in Paris, and WRGA/Q-102 Radio outside of Atlanta.

Building on her on-air experience, she has trained C-Suite leaders, founders and policy experts on message development and camera-ready techniques for targeted audiences. She has worked at nonprofit organizations including the International Crisis Group, InterAction, and World Learning, and consulted for many others, specializing in foreign policy and underreported humanitarian issues in post-conflict situations.

In academia, she coaches professors and graduate students to better articulate their research, and especially enjoys training women to ‘own’ and advocate for their work in a field still dominated by men. She has worked on issues as varied as children in war, ethics, genocide, Chinese art and ephemera, geopolitics and LGBTQ+ rights. She also has experience training political leaders and refugees from conflict regions including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan to effectively communicate their experiences and positions to global audiences. Kimberly is a lead media trainer for Media Smart Global.

COFOUNDER

Linda Roth is an award-winning journalist currently serving as World Central Kitchen's Chief Communications Officer where she oversees brand positioning, creative content development, thought leadership, digital strategy, media relations, and events.

She joined the mission-driven organization after working at a global women's leadership organization and a non-partisan foreign policy think tank.

Previously, Linda was Wolf Blitzer’s trusted producer at CNN. As one of the top producers on The Situation Room, Linda covered every major domestic and international news story of the last two decades. Her honors include Emmy, Peabody, and Headliner awards.

A passionate advocate for press freedom and media development, she also teaches best practices to nonprofit communicators and journalists worldwide. She is listed with the U.S. State Department’s Speaker’s Bureau and a Fulbright Specialist in media literacy. She is a cofounder and lead media trainer for Media Smart Global.

Allison Tom has more than 15 years of experience in journalism and entertainment as an executive producer, broadcast journalist, and entrepreneur. Her expertise is in effective communication, storytelling, media training, public speaking, and developing diverse voices. Allison was an on-camera technology correspondent for CNN, and has produced network television shows for HGTV, The Travel Channel, CBS, and ABC. Most recently, she launched The Sims Spark’d, a reality show based on The Sims 4 game where contestants told their authentic and personal stories, which premiered on TBS, BuzzFeed Multiplayer and YouTube. For Media Smart Global, Allison focuses on media training and public speaking.

Melissa Long is an award-winning communications leader with two decades of experience in corporate communications and local, national and international newsrooms as a broadcast journalist. Her deep expertise in impactful storytelling and media training comes from her time as an Emmy Award-winning news anchor/reporter. She has been as an on-air journalist for Atlanta’s NBC station, Bloomberg TV and CNN, HLN and CNN.com. In addition, Melissa has trained C-Suite executives and startup founders in effective communication, the art of interviewing and on-camera presentation. Melissa graduated from Syracuse University and was awarded an MBA from the University of Rochester.

Ben Dalton is a journalist, researcher, and producer who specializes in covering U.S. politics, Russia, and Eastern Europe. With more than a decade of experience in communications and journalism, Ben has worked with national figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders, Andrew Yang, and Cornel West and produced written and multimedia content all over the world. He is currently a program manager for New America’s Future Frontlines program, a public intelligence service that provides analysis and policy recommendations on emerging security threats. His recent work has focused on Russian irregular military forces and the “alt-tech” ecosystem. He has also worked as a journalist, communications officer, and producer for BuzzFeed News, World Learning, and the International Crisis Group. His work has appeared in Slate, the Daily Beast, BuzzFeed News, the New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Al Jazeera, the Diplomat, Hmm Daily, CNN.com, the Christian Science Monitor, Bedford + Bowery, and the New York Transatlantic, among other outlets. Ben holds a dual master’s degree in Russian & Slavic studies and journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University.

Donna Leinwand Leger is an award-winning journalist and communicator who specializes in thought leadership, crisis communications, and media relations. She is immediate past chair of the National Press Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides professional development for journalists and recognizes excellence in journalism, and past president of the National Press Club. She previously served as managing editor of USA TODAY, where she oversaw news coverage. She has taught digital journalism workshops globally, including newspaper groups in China, Singapore, the Balkans, Finland and Estonia. As a reporter for USA Today, she covered national and international crime, terrorism, war and disasters. She has also reported for The Miami Herald, Knight-Ridder and Gannett News Service. For Media Smart Global, Donna leads the Thought Leadership and Writing Masterclasses. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she serves on the Board of Visitors for the Hussman School of Journalism and Communications.

John Poirier is a veteran journalist, strategic communicator, and spokesperson with extensive experience in financial regulatory policy and government media relations. His work as spokesperson for the U.S. Office of Financial Research (OFR) within the Treasury Department focused on engaging journalists regarding potential risks to the U.S. financial system. Before that, he worked for 20 years as a journalist, including with Reuters, The Associated Press, trade publications and radio. At Reuters, his coverage of the 2008-9 financial crisis tracked fast-moving developments in the Executive branch and Congress. His beats also included the agencies and congressional committees regulating Wall Street and other financial services firms, as well as technology, media and telecommunications companies with stakes in domestic and international Internet regulation, mobile payments. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and Colby College.

David Andersson is a New York-based independent analyst and adviser covering issues linked to conflict, security, and sustainable development. He brings extensive policy and program experience with multilateral organizations, governments, and civil society, including in crisis-affected environments. He is co-founder and Chief Policy Officer of PACE Global Strategies, a mission-driven small business offering research, strategy and analytical services. David holds an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and a BA in Politics and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Joyce Bukuru is a longtime human rights advocate and policy analyst in the multilateral and civil society space. She currently serves as Senior Advocate and Representative to the United Nations for Amnesty International, and previously covered gender and women’s rights issues at the United Kingdom Mission to the UN. Joyce is also an alumna of Human Rights Watch where she coordinated and conducted the organization's UN advocacy work with members of the Security Council, General Assembly and other UN bodies. She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal.

Jennifer Leonard is the CEO and co-founder of PACE Global Strategies, a woman-owned small business that produces incisive research, informed analysis, and actionable strategies to promote peace and mitigate risk and violence in fragile and conflict-affected environments. She has over 25 years of experience as a policy expert, thought leader, strategist and advocate on international affairs and conflict prevention. She has worked for the International Crisis Group, the World Bank, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations, and the U.S. government.

Mariyah Espinoza is a communications and marketing specialist skilled in interviewing, multimedia, video and research, with a particular focus on inequality and social justice issues. She has been a communications officer for The Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom focused on catalyzing positive change for women; an intern at WNDB, a local news station in Daytona Beach; and a 2018 Bloomberg journalism fellow in San Francisco. In 2019, Mariyah became a top undergraduate researcher in the state of Florida after investigating how college students use social media to consume the news. In 2020, she worked as a communications assistant for the School of Communication’s Diversity and Inclusion Team at American University, where she received her master’s degree in journalism and public affairs. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mass communications at Bethune-Cookman University. For Media Smart Global, Mariyah serves as a production assistant for projects in the DMV.

Karoline Gonzalez is a communications specialist and artist. As a BOLD Women's Leadership Network Fellow, supported by the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation, she spent a year as a Communications and Marketing Fellow for The Fuller Project, where she focused on research, social media, and multimedia production. She has been a student intern for Project for Empty Space, where she planned events advocating for the unification for the Newark community through public arts initiatives and cataloged more than 300 books for the organization's library. She was also a student researcher for Rutgers University, working closely with professors to research reparations strategies for the disenfranchised communities of color in Newark, NJ; and Hinduphopic hate groups in Jersey City during the 1970s and 1980s. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Rutgers University-Newark and an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Essex County College. For Media Smart Global, Karole is a production assistant for projects in the NYC area.