SEJ Board Elections

Scott Dodd
Active Board Candidate

I was honored to be asked to fill Kate Sheppard’s shoes on the board when she stepped down earlier this year, and in my short time as a board member, I hope that I’ve already made some significant contributions. I’m certain there’s a lot more that I can do for this important organization and its membership if given the chance to serve a full term.

I’ve been the editor of Grist for about a year and a half. Before that, I had a long career as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer and magazine editor. Those experiences help me see things from a wide range of perspectives — which means I can understand and represent the needs of a broad spectrum of SEJ members.

I’m also able to bring valuable insight due to my role as the leader of a nonprofit newsroom. Currently, I’m the only chief editor of a publication serving on the board, which gives me a unique perspective that other members have already told me they find valuable.

I interact regularly with other industry leaders at workshops, conferences and funder gatherings, which provides me the chance to represent SEJ in those venues, expanding our visibility and influence. I can help ensure that SEJ provides outreach to more newsroom leaders and brings them into our organization, which allows more opportunities for networking and advocating for the concerns of our wider membership, especially staff writers and freelancers.

My position at Grist also requires me to interact frequently with foundation leaders, individual donors and other funding sources. That experience and those connections can prove very useful to the organization at a time when it is trying to increase revenue and expand offerings without placing further financial burden on the membership.

As a board member, my most important goals will be to help modernize the organization — there’s no doubt that SEJ needs a makeover, both in terms of its voice and online presence, as well as the tools it uses to reach, network and connect with members and supporters. We also need to continue to push for greater diversity and appeal to a new generation. I’ve already represented SEJ (along with my own publication) at the Asian American Journalists Association annual conference in Philadelphia this July, working to recruit new members. My role at Grist allows me a number of opportunities to do the same in the future.

I’ve also helped urge some younger journalists to run for the board this year — even though that means they’ll be running against me! I think we all understand that an organization like SEJ needs continued reinvigoration to survive and thrive — while never forgetting its tradition and the members who made it great. Reinvention has been at the heart of my career as a journalist, both in terms of my own path, and in terms of helping the publications I’ve worked for undergo their own transformations. SEJ would be no different.

I hope you’ll choose to let me continue the term I’ve already started and the work I’ve already engaged in during my short time as a board member. I’m excited about SEJ and all the great work accomplished by its members, and I want to do all that I can to support them!

Bio Info

Job: Executive Editor, Grist
Previously: onEarth editor, freelancer writer, reporter at Charlotte Observer and York Daily Record
Education: B.A. from Penn State, M.A. from Columbia
Other boards: Alumni association at Columbia j-school
More background: www.scott-dodd.com
Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

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