Join us for a conversation about how news organizations can better protect and support journalists facing online harassment and other safety challenges. We’ll kick off with a brief introduction to our new best practices guide, then hear lightning talks from newsroom leaders who are championing safety within their organizations. Finally, we’ll open the floor for a roundtable discussion so participants can share their own experiences and exchange ideas and tips for creating stronger, kinder newsrooms where journalists feel safe and supported. Whatever the size or your newsroom, you’ll leave this session equipped with practical, actionable steps for how to protect your people.
Speakers
April Alonso is a visual journalist from Cicero, IL, and co-founder of Cicero Independiente, where she currently serves as Digital Editor and Producer. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Reporter, Chicago Reader, and Borderless Magazine. A former CatchLight Local Fellow, she reported on Latinx changemakers across Chicagoland, combining visuals and narrative to deepen community impact.
At Cicero Independiente, April leads digital publishing and visual content strategy—working closely with editors, reporters, and community members to shape stories that reflect local lived experiences. She collaborates with visual freelancers, oversees multimedia production, and develops creative distribution strategies to ensure stories resonate both online and off.
April also spearheads organizational initiatives centered on care and safety. She oversees staff and freelancer wellness and developed a Freelancer Online Abuse Handbook in collaboration with the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), establishing protocols around digital security, accessibility, and data protection.
Maritza L. Félix is an award-winning freelance journalist, producer, and writer based in Arizona. She is the founder and director of Conecta Arizona, a Spanish-language news service connecting communities in Arizona and Sonora through digital platforms. Maritza created and hosts the podcast Cruzando Líneas and co-produces and co-hosts Comadres al Aire.
In 2025, she received the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) Courage in Journalism Award for her fearless and impactful coverage of border and Spanish-speaking communities. She was also named Innovator of the Year in 2022 by the Local Media Association and earned the Cecilia Vaisman Award for Best Hispanic Multimedia Journalist. Maritza is a five-time Emmy winner, twice named Arizona’s Best Spanish-Language Journalist, and recognized among the 40 Hispanic Personalities Under 40 in Arizona.
Brandon Quester is the founder, executive director and editor of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. Under his leadership, AZCIR has become a nationally-recognized, award-winning newsroom best known for its deep investigative journalism on important public policy issues in Arizona and the Southwest. Prior to AZCIR, Quester’s reporting ranged from coverage along the U.S.-Mexico border to U.S. soldiers serving in Kuwait and Iraq, with domestic and international bylines. He has worked at newspapers and online publications from Phoenix to California to Wyoming, including work in education as an adjunct journalism instructor and as an editor for the nationwide Carnegie-Knight News21 investigative reporting program at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Quester was also a 2015 Kiplinger Fellow, and is a past member of the Institute for Nonprofit News Emerging Leaders Council, a group of leaders expected to advance the industry over the coming decade. Most recently he worked as the director of data and visuals for inewsource in San Diego.
Dana Coester is a professor at West Virginia University School of Journalism and Communications and creative director for the Media Innovation Center. Coester also founded the digital media outlet 100 Days in Appalachia, which received a national Edward R. Murrow Award for reporting on political violence and extremism. She is passionate about community media, the preservation of local press freedoms, and founded the Rural Digital Resilience Project to address the unique issues that America’s rural communities and local journalists face on and offline. Coester received a 2023-24 JustFilms award for her documentary film Raised by Wolves, was named a Benedum Distinguished Scholar and received a Media Democracy Fund “Unicorn” award. Coester serves in a leadership role for the IWMF Coalition Against Online Violence and has been an invited speaker at the Aspen Festival of Ideas, Newsgeist North America, the Council on Foreign Relations, among others.
Macollvie J. Neel is an award-winning writer, editor, and communications consultant focused on elevating voices in workplaces and media spaces. Her immigrant-powered journalism is featured in Business Insider, the Sun Sentinel, Feet in Two Worlds, and NPR.
At The Haitian Times, Macollvie leads narrative storytelling, investigations, and community collaborations that drive impact. In 2025, the publication received the 2025 Maria Ressa Prizes for Courage in Journalism for its reporting that countered anti-Haitian conspiracy theories spread during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The coverage had led to digital attacks on the outlet and swatting of Macollvie at her home, but both entities persisted.
Viktorya Vilk (she/her/hers) is the director for digital safety and free expression at PEN America. She created and runs the organization’s Online Abuse Defense Program, which equips writers and journalists with self-defense training and resources, partners with media organizations and publishers to strengthen protections for writers and journalists, and conducts research and advocacy on platform accountability. Her work has been featured on PBS Newshour, The New York Times, Slate, and Harvard Business Review, and she regularly speaks at conferences on digital safety and press freedom, including for the Online News Association, RightsCon, International Journalism Festival, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and MozFest, among others.
Prior to joining PEN America, she worked on organizational strategy and development at the Art & Global Health Center Africa, a Malawian NGO that advocates for health and human rights through the arts. She has organized exhibitions, developed public programs, managed a collection re-installation project, and created innovative digital platforms showcasing art and architecture at the Jewish Museum, the Clark Art Institute, The Frick Collection, and the Courtauld Gallery. She completed graduate degrees, as a Marshall Scholar, at the University of London, and has over a decade of experience working in nonprofits to expand access to the arts and defend creative and press freedom.
Jeje Mohamed is a consultant and trainer for the digital safety and free expression team at PEN America. She oversees the training program and resource development for journalists, academics, and writers, equipping them with tools, safety tips, and resources to defend themselves against online harassment. She has over a decade of experience in journalism, human rights, and safety and security. She provides training, practical tools, and strategies for journalists and activists on trauma-informed and identity-aware digital safety, physical safety, de-escalation, and psychological first aid. She has worked as a journalist in Egypt and the United States, producing documentaries and podcasts on human rights abuses.
Prior to joining PEN America, she was a Next-Gen Safety Trainers fellow with the International Women’s Media Foundation, developing holistic safety training programs and incident response support for journalists. She has created campaigns and programs to address racial disparities and human rights violations in the US, the MENA region, and for Egyptians both at home and living in exile. She has also developed programs to help survivors of sex trafficking, connecting them with resources and advocating with different stakeholders to address the issue.