This year’s institute is made possible by the generosity of the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, Boston University, the Academy of New England Journalists and the Rhode Island Foundation. We would also like to thank the following Leadership Circle donors and Major Supporters for their contributions: The Boston Globe, The Harbus Foundation, Paul and Ann Sagan, The Robertson Foundation, the Champa Charitable Foundation and Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

Brendan McCarthy is the investigations editor for The New York Times national desk. Before he began at The Times in May, McCarthy served as The Boston Globe’s Spotlight editor, overseeing both the Spotlight Team and the newsroom’s data team. While at the Globe, he led the Spotlight investigation into Steward Health Care, coverage that received several national honors and was named a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. McCarthy also served as the Globe’s deputy projects editor, shepherding the newsroom’s “Blind Spot” series, which exposed the government’s failure to monitor the country’s most dangerous drivers and led to several reforms. The series won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Before joining the Globe in 2018, McCarthy was the founding editor of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit affiliated with the state’s public radio network. During his tenure, the startup produced a Peabody Award-winning podcast, along with audio investigations that earned IRE awards and national Edward R. Murrow honors. As a reporter in New Orleans, McCarthy covered crime and corruption for The Times-Picayune. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2009 and received Columbia University’s Mike Berger Award for an eight-part narrative series about a boy’s unsolved murder. He was also part of a team behind a PBS “Frontline” documentary on New Orleans police abuses, which was honored with a George Polk Award. McCarthy also worked as an investigative reporter at WWL-TV in New Orleans. He began his career at the Chicago Tribune and has written occasionally about hip-hop and crime for XXL magazine.

Erin O’Mara believes local journalism is essential — not just for democracy, but for our sense of belonging. Living in Maine, counting on local news for information and working with newsrooms across New England, she’s seen firsthand how trusted, independent news helps neighbors become a community — and how fragile that ecosystem can be. That’s why she, with the help of her team, launched Journalism New England in 2025. Journalism New England provides tailored support — from sustainability planning to hands-on coaching and training — because every community deserves strong, credible news. O’Mara’s career bridges journalism, nonprofit development, and media turnaround. As President of The Nation, she spun off its educational initiatives into a new nonprofit, The Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, where she also served as founding Executive Director and launched the Fellowship for the Future of Journalism, a two-year paid program that expands access for students from underrepresented backgrounds.Erin writes a monthly column for the Harpswell Anchor and co-edited Alive to This, an award-winning collection of essays from Maine writers. Throughout her work, she’s sought to make journalism more inclusive, resilient, and connected to the people it serves.