National Association of Hispanic Journalists Bay Area

Northern California Bay Area Chapter

NAHJ Bay Area Board Members (2025-2026)

Headshot of Maria Peña, president of NAHJ Bay Area chapter.

Maria Peña, president

Maria is an award-winning bilingual, bicultural journalist and media professional. Since 2021, she has served as a producer and media programming specialist for the San Francisco Department of Technology where she creates programming for SFGovTV and leads social media strategy for the city’s official platforms. She is also a freelance digital producer for KQED en Español, contributing to Northern California’s public media affiliate KQED.

Headshot of Erika Carlos, vice president

Erika Carlos, vice president

Erika is the Editor-in-Chief of El Tecolote, San Francisco’s bilingual community newspaper dedicated to serving immigrant and working-class Latinos. Before joining El Tecolote, she was an editor and producer at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she led audience strategy and produced social video and podcasts.

Headshot of Madi Bolaños, secretary of the NAHJ Bay Area chapter.

Madi Bolaños, secretary

Madi is the co-host of The California Report at KQED, a statewide public radio program. She began her journalism career in the Central Valley, where she covered housing, immigration, and farmworker communities for KVPR. Now based in San Francisco, Madi continues to tell stories that highlight the experiences of underrepresented communities

Headshot of Yoli Martinez

Yoli Martinez, financial officer

Yoli is a freelance engineer, building newsroom products for national and local outlets. She was most recently at The Washington Post, building AI-based tools for reporters. She has taught coding classes at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and was the conference chair for the 2021 NAHJ Conference.

Previous board members