Liz Courquet-Lesaulnier
Managing Director
Los Angeles-based journalist Liz Courquet-Lesaulnier is the managing director of Word In Black. She has written about racial justice, gender equality, education, health, and culture for several national websites and print publications, including Ebony, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, and Good Housekeeping.
Previously, she held the position of communications director at 826 National. She also served as the founding managing editor of Shondaland.com, a platform dedicated to women’s empowerment and lifestyle, spearheaded by television icon Shonda Rhimes. Prior to that, Courquet-Lesaulnier took on the role of education and culture editor at TakePart, the digital news arm of Participant Media, where she specialized in coverage of equity in public schools, access to and preparation for college, and the intersection of public health and systemic racism. Before that, she worked as the education editor at GOOD magazine.
Prior to journalism, Courquet-Lesaulnier taught in classrooms in Guangzhou, China, and Compton, California. She also worked on the staff of Teach For America’s Los Angeles office, providing professional development and support to first and second-year K-12 teachers in the Compton, Lynwood, and Los Angeles Unified school districts.
Joseph Williams
Deputy Managing Director
A veteran journalist, political analyst, and essayist, Joseph Williams has been published in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, and US News & World Report. A California native, Williams is a graduate of the University Of Richmond and a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He lives and works in metro Washington, D.C.
Derrick V. Phillip II
Director of Strategic Partnerships
As director of strategic partnerships, Derrick V. Phillip II leads Word In Black’s partnership strategy and revenue generation.
An accomplished sales leader with more than 20 years of experience, Derrick brings expertise in branded content and original storytelling. He drives the innovation of WIB’s partnership model and communicates its unique value proposition to brands and marketers. Before joining Word In Black, Derrick was head of commercial strategy for the human capital analytics firm Fair360. He also held several progressive positions at The Economist, where he established the North American B2B branded content business within the health care sector. Previously, Derrick drove integrated advertising revenue at NPR’s flagship station, WNYC, as well as at Harvard Business Review and Black Enterprise.
Derrick earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from Rutgers University, where he was initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Originally from Brooklyn, Derrick now lives in Chicago. He serves on the board of directors for Intonation Music and is a former Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) fellow.
Nadira Jamerson
Digital Editor
Writer and content creator Nadira Jamerson is the Digital Editor for Word In Black. Nadira graduated from Howard University with a B.A. in English. She has worked as a journalist for various print and digital publications for the past five years, and as a creative director with SiKK Magazine and Converse. Her focus is to create space for Black individuals to express the complexities of their communities and identities through an honest and inspiring lens.
Anissa Durham
Health Data Reporter
Anissa Durham is the health data reporter for Word in Black. She earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from National University. As a former general assignment reporter for inewsource, Anissa reported on historically neglected communities and systemic racism. Her work has also appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Voice of San Diego, and more.
Aziah Siid
Education Reporter
Aziah Siid is the education reporter for Word In Black. She graduated from Morgan State University with a B.S in multimedia journalism. Aziah is a journalist with a background in K-12 teaching, aiding young individuals with disabilities, and involvement in the betterment of underserved schools around New York City. Her focus is to highlight the topics impacting the Black community, specifically covering Black children and their families through an asset point of view. Her work has appeared in the Baltimore Business Journal, USA TODAY, The AFRO, and more.
Dorothy Boulware
Religion and Social Justice Reporter
Rev. Dorothy Boulware is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience with the Black press, specifically with the AFRO American News. She is the Religion and Social Justice reporter for Word In Black and is happy to highlight how religious communities create and drive social justice movements.
Willy Blackmore
Senior Climate Justice Reporter
Willy Blackmore is a freelance writer and editor covering food, culture, and the environment. He lives in Brooklyn.
Keith Boykin
Black Vote, Black Power Correspondent
Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition, cohosted the BET talk show “My Two Cents,” and taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York. He’s a Lambda Literary Award-winning author and editor of seven books. He lives in Los Angeles.
Jennifer Porter Gore
Health Correspondent
Jennifer Porter Gore’s writing has been published in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. She is a Connecticut native who lives and works in the Washington, D.C., area.
Local Media Association
Nancy Lane
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Nancy Lane is the dynamic leader of Local Media Association, a thriving and innovative organization that works with over 2,800 local media brands (newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, digital news sites & more), as well as several hundred R&D partners in the industry. LMA’s mission is to help local media companies discover, vet, and test business models that will support news.
She is the 2019 recipient of the Borrell Award of Merit, presented each year to an executive who has done the most to foster innovation in the local media industry.
LMA assists media companies with digital and cultural transformation via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research, experiential opportunities & training. Lane is the author of numerous industry reports over the past few years on a wide variety of subjects. She blogs about disruptive innovation on a regular basis and is a sought-after speaker at media events in North America and Europe.
Lane’s top focus areas for 2020 are: the launch of three news collaboratives, that also focus on business transformation; three funds that have collectively raised $1.9MM to date — the fund for local journalism, the fund for Black journalism, and the COVID-19 local news relief fund; the launch of the Center for Journalism Funding including a lab with 15 publishers and The Branded Content Project with 24 beta partners.
She has developed LMA into one of the most progressive and forward-thinking media associations in the world.
Lane spent 13 years in the newspaper industry as publisher, ad director, and senior-level executive in Pa., Conn. and Mo. before taking over LMA in 2000.
She is also the Immediate Past President of the Villanova University Alumni Association.
Jay Small
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Jay Small is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Local Media Association. He helps guide and oversee key LMA programs serving the local media industry, including the Knight x LMA BloomLab, the Family and Independent Media Sustainability Lab, conferences, content, R&D initiatives, and technology platforms.
He previously served as President of Cordillera Digital, a division of Cordillera Communications that drove digital strategy, sales, marketing, and operations for TV stations nationwide. A transformative executive with a background in business leadership and creative arts, Small held senior posts at The E.W. Scripps Co., Belo Corp., and Thomson Consumer Electronics. He has also driven digital growth as a strategic consultant, with clients including major media groups, trade associations, a global pharmaceuticals company, financial institutions and small businesses.
Small earned an MBA from Kennesaw State University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Southern Illinois University. A guitar enthusiast, he enjoys performing in rock/blues bands.
Julia Campbell
Branded Content Manager
Julia is a branded content strategist and innovative project manager who is leading a combined initiative focused on branded content for the Local Media Association, Local Media Consortium, and the Facebook Journalism Project. A former Gray Television executive with extensive branded content experience, Campbell is leading a group of 29 broadcasters, print, and digital publishers who are testing out promising business models. The ultimate goal is to report back to the industry and provide playbooks that publishers can use to succeed and grow revenue in their local markets.
Campbell spent nearly a decade at Gray Television, previously as vice president of media systems, where she created MomsEveryday, an award-winning television, digital, social, and OTT branded content initiative focused on helping local businesses connect with families across the country while creating profitability for the TV stations. In addition to extensive branding experience, Campbell is familiar with the challenges and opportunities of local news, having served in director and editor positions at a number of local and national TV stations, including CNN. Her media career has crossed through some of the smallest of markets, like Casper, Wyoming, to some of the largest such as Atlanta. Campbell earned her bachelor of science in journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Peter Lamb
The Branded Content Project
With over three decades of marketing experience, Peter Lamb has worked with some of the world’s largest media companies and helped orchestrate some of their most impressive successes. As a strategy consultant, Peter transforms media companies to make them more efficient, more competitive, and more profitable. For Peter’s clients, this entails an unprecedented focus on NEW-NEW revenue, an approach that targets customers that have never used the client’s products or services.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Peter Lamb went on to become an internationally-known tennis star, competing at both Wimbledon and the US Open between 1975 and 1982. He earned an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from the Harvard Business School. Peter then set about doing marketing work for big names like IBM and Harte Hanks Communications until 1991, when he founded Lamb Consulting and began harnessing his unique and proven approach to marketing and business to guide publications all over the world.
Since the inception of Lamb Consulting, Peter has worked with an extensive list of clients that span the globe. He has consulted with El Clasificado, the largest weekly Spanish-language publication in the US, the Wall Street Journal, Google, and Facebook. He has also advised the Black Press Media Group in Canada, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Star-Metroland Media. From Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Hungary, Great Britain, and Singapore to Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York— Peter has helped transform publications and empower them to become more effective and profitable. His speaking engagements, seminars and webinars have been endorsed by many national/international media events, including the WAN-IFRA World Newspaper Congress, International Classified Marketing Association, Local Media Association, and more.
When Peter isn’t busy transforming businesses, he spends his time with his family and enjoying the outdoors. He’s an avid reader and finds his inspiration from the stories of athletes, entertainers, and world figures that have overcome difficult circumstances to achieve something great.