This plan took shape over six months, beginning at a staff retreat in September 2025. We are grateful to the many people who contributed to its ideas, its structure, and its final form: 

  • City Bureau staff: Christian Aldana, Alaa Almezanin, Harry Backlund, Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger, Tyra Bosnic, Kristina Campa-Gruca, Marilyn Carteno, Susmita Chakraborty, Ariel Cheung, Jody Chong, Madeleine Davison, Grace Del Vecchio, Maria Dikcis, Kristen Fallica, Jerrel Floyd, Navjot Heer, Sophia Kalakailo, Eve Lacivita, Tristion McDowell, Ruth Meberg, Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel, Eli Ramirez, Max Resnik, Dawn Rhodes, Cristina Salgado, Maja Stina Sunleaf, Amira Turner, Anastazia Vanisko, Sonam Vashi, Shabaka Verna, and David Woehr

  • City Bureau Board of Directors

  • Darryl Holliday, co-founder of City Bureau and Commoner Company

  • Bettina Chang, co-founder of City Bureau 

  • Bene Cipolla of Allium Partners, who served as our strategic planning consultant

  • Sarah Sommers Design and David Alvarado, who served as creative partners

  • Ariel Cheung, Grace Del Vecchio, Jordan Esparza-Kelley, Michael Izquierdo, Caroline Olsen, Ariana Padilla, Akilah Townsend, and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel for their photographs

  • Good Women, Three Six Five, and Idwar for the location pin, network, and gear icons used in the theory of change table, all from Noun Project.

We’re also grateful to our program participants and external supporters who took time to review and provide feedback: 

  • Orlando Bailey, Executive Director of Outlier Media 

  • Tracy Baim, Executive Director of Press Forward Chicago 

  • Andrew Fan, Executive Director of Invisible Institute, and Civic Reporting Fellowship alum

  • Teresa Gorman, Associate Director of the Public Square program at Democracy Fund

  • Darrin Kerr, Head of Growth Investments of the American Journalism Project

  • Keri Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director of Dallas Free Press

  • Kyla Williams Tate, Director of Digital Equity for Cook County Government

  • NaBeela Washington, Civic Reporting Fellowship alum, Founder of 15 West, and Digital Equity project grantee

We acknowledge our original co-founders, whose bold and imaginative work continues to inspire us: 

  • Harry Backlund 

  • Bettina Chang

  • Andrea Faye Hart

  • Darryl Holliday


CITY BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

  • Joe Germuska, Chief Nerd, Northwestern University Knight Lab

  • Cassie Haynes, Managing Director, Independence Hill Association

  • Wendy Lee Haines, Partner, New Profit

  • Kali Plomin, Deputy Commissioner, City of Chicago


FUNDERS AND SUPPORTERS – FOUNDATIONS

  • American Council of Learned Societies

  • American Journalism Project

  • Chicago Community Trust 

  • Democracy Fund

  • Driehaus Foundation

  • Google News Initiative

  • New Profit

  • Patchwork Collective

  • Press Forward National

  • Report for America

  • Skyline Foundation

  • Square One Foundation

  • The Field Foundation

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