Riverside Record Founder Alicia Ramirez Named A 2023 Maynard 200 Fellow

The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education has named Alicia Ramirez, founder and publisher of The Riverside Record, one of its 2023 Maynard 200 Fellows in the media entrepreneurs and product developers track.

“We welcome another impressive class of 49 media leaders, representing diverse gender, geographic, racial and ethnic backgrounds; and are affiliated with legacy, ethnic, community-powered media and emergent ventures,” Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, Maynard 200 Director, said in a news release. “They join the community of peers that we build every year, propelling a mini-movement to dismantle systemic inequity in American media.”

This year’s program will kick off at the end of the month with a week of in-person training at the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I am filled with gratitude for this opportunity to learn from some of the best in the industry as we work to find a sustainable path forward for local news that is diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible,” Ramirez said. “The Record was founded with the belief that there is a better way to do local community news, and I’m so excited to be part of a group of journalists who believe the same.”

Since 2018, more than 140 media leaders from diverse backgrounds have participated in the Maynard 200 Fellowship program.

“Our graduates are reshaping American journalism,” Maynard Institute co-executive director Evelyn Hsu said in a news release. “This program is part of the Maynard Institute’s long record of service to a craft that is critical to the health of a functioning democracy.”

The Maynard 200 fellowship provides customized training courses, resources and mentorship by industry professionals to fellows who represent a wide spectrum of racial, gender and geographic backgrounds. You can read more about this year’s cohort here.