Maria Peña | President | María is an award-winning bilingual and 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.

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 Latino communities. Before joining El Tecolote, she worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she led audience strategy and produced social video and podcasts.

Yoli Martinez | Financial Officer | Yoli is a freelance front-end engineer who builds newsroom products for both national and local outlets. Most recently, she worked at The Washington Post, developing AI-powered tools for reporters. She has taught coding at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and served as conference chair for the 2021 NAHJ National Conference.

Madi Bolaños | Secretary | Madi is the co-host of The California Report at KQED’s Rubic Ratio program. She began her journalism career in California’s Central Valley, where she covered housing, immigration, and farmworker communities for KVPR. Now based in San Francisco, Madi continues to tell stories that uplift and center the experiences of underrepresented Californians.

Support more Latinos in news!

In 2026, we hope to offer scholarships to emerging Latino journalists. Help us support the next generation of storytellers by donating to our fund today!

— Yoli Martínez, Financial Officer