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Gena Fitzgerald Named Executive Director of the

Journalism Center on Children & Families

Contact: Shannon Machado, 301.699.5133

(August 4, 2008) Gena Fitzgerald, an award-winning broadcast journalist and media strategist, has been named executive director of the Journalism Center on Children & Families. Dedicated to supporting exemplary reporting on children and families, the Journalism Center is a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Since 1993, more than 10,000 journalists have used this unique resource to find information, balanced sources, training and ideas to thoroughly cover critical social issues.

Fitzgerald was appointed by Dr. Lee Thornton, interim dean of the Merrill College. She replaces Patrice Pascual who joined the center in 1999 and has served as executive director since 2006, Pascual is stepping down to focus on writing and editing. Fitzgerald begins her duties on Aug. 4.

“The measure of leadership is the ability to place an organization on solid footing for the future, and to put in place the leaders to carry it forward,” said Toren Beasley, chairman of the center’s advisory board and managing editor of Newhouse News Service. “Patrice Pascual has done just that in her service to the Journalism Center. I will miss her energy, optimism and vision.

“Yet, our good fortune seems to have multiplied as Gena Fitzgerald joins us in building a bright future for the Center. Her experience and entrepreneurship will keep us on track as we enter a new period of growth and development.”

Fitzgerald has more than 25 years of experience in network, local and multimedia news. She worked most recently at NBC News where she served for 10 years as senior Washington producer for NBC Nightly News with both Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams. She managed coverage of politics, federal agencies and breaking news for the nation’s premier network evening newscast.

Fitzgerald, with her Nightly News colleagues, won many of the most prestigious honors in broadcast journalism, including DuPont, Peabody and Murrow awards, as well as two national Emmy awards. Before joining NBC News, she was an investigative producer for WJLA-TV in Washington D.C., where she earned five local Emmys for investigative reporting.

Since 2007, Fitzgerald has provided Washington-area corporations, news organizations and nonprofits with innovative solutions for news coverage, strategic news planning, media training and collaborative production.

The Journalism Center on Children & Families receives primary funding from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, with additional support from McCormick Foundation, Ms. Foundation for Women, Challenge Fund for Journalism, Freddie Mac Foundation and individual donors.

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