Stacy Kess is the founding editor and chief of editorial of Equal Access Public Media.

She is a reporter and editor with more than 25 years’ experience and a former registered nurse who has contended with life-long health issues. She is also a survivor of a head-on car-crash in 2017. The crash left her with a traumatic brain injury, unable to access news in a way to which she was accustomed for nearly two years. She credits this as the beginning of EAPM. Kess said this led her to her mission of decreasing the barriers for many of the 28 percent of Americans who can’t read, hear, see, or understand the news. Kess oversees editorial and media at EAPM.

She currently lives in Boston, Mass., with her husband, two dogs, and cat. She enjoys cooking, reading, and all things Boston.

With almost 20 years of experience in the digital product space, E. Simone Jenerson is a passionate and versatile leader who strives to create inclusive and accessible solutions that meet the needs of diverse users.

As the Head of Product Accessibility & Inclusion for Assessments at Aon, Jenerson oversaw the strategic roadmap, vision, and execution of innovative and user-centered assessment products that help organizations make better talent decisions. She is using this experience to oversee operations at Equal Access Public Media.

Jenerson leverages her multidisciplinary background as a user experience researcher, technical business analyst, program and project manager, and developer to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, identify and act on opportunities, and drive action as the publisher, a role equivalent to chief operating officer, of EAPM. She has a unique perspective and a strong track record of delivering audacious and complex goals, while holding space for vulnerability and exploration.

Ellen J. Meany is the executive director at the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation, where she advises independent media outlets – among them, EAPM – looking for pathways to sustainability by diversifying revenue through fundraising and infrastructure improvements.

A graduate of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Meany worked at community newspapers in New York and Illinois before settling into her longtime role as creative director with Isthmus alt weekly in Madison, Wisconsin. She served on the boards of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN Publishers) and Society for News Design.

More recently, Meany was the publisher at The American Prospect, a nationally renowned nonprofit public policy magazine, where she built a digital membership model from zero to sustainable in just three years, and managed grant relationships with major foundations and individual donors. She lives in Madison.

Brianna Bohling-Hall is a student researcher, award-winning podcast creator, and an intern for EAPM. A current fourth-year student at the University of Iowa, Bohling-Hall has combined her journalism and religious studies majors to examine how religion and technology intersect, both for the detriment and betterment of society.

Being neurodiverse, Bohling-Hall understands how complicated it can be to navigate a system where you’re expected to be like everybody else. As such, she’s passionate about making journalism more accessible to people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and/or educational barriers.

In her free time, she enjoys watching animation and scary movies, building lego plants, and relaxing in a weighted blanket burrito. 

Olivia Holler’s journey into communications and writing started in 2013 when she was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. Writing about her experiences and perspectives helped her cope and understand the world and reality she was facing. Since then, she has been passionate about disability advocacy, writing, and empowering individuals within the disability community.

Holler graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 2023 with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and an emphasis in Strategic Communications. Holler has her own digital marketing business and freelances. She brings experience in social media and marketing to EAPM.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, coloring, and spending time with her friends and family.

Mason Ald is an AuDHD multimedia journalist and member of the EAPM social media team. A recent graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, Ald has experience in newspapers, radio, and visual journalism. His work has appeared in Scripps News, WBFO’s Disabilities Beat, The Arizona State Press, and more.

Being neurodivergent inspired Ald to seek a career where making an honest difference in other’s lives is part of the job. His favorite part of storytelling always involved seeing community empowerment. From covering disability access in Rwanda to how his local hometown can be more accessible, Ald finds joy in raising questions on what can be done better and brought to our attention.

At EAPM, Ald sees a creative opportunity to find new ways to create content and engage audiences with accessibility for all in mind. His hobbies include urban exploration, writing, drawing, and traveling.

Ola Ojewumi is an activist, writer, and political commentator.

After receiving a heart and kidney transplant, she founded Sacred Hearts Children’s Transplant Foundation and Project ASCEND to provide college scholarships to low-income students, fund women’s education programs, support for global mentorship groups and literacy programs, and to distribute teddy bears and books to children awaiting organ transplants across the U.S. In 2017, she became a cancer survivor after being treated for a rare post-transplant lymphoma. She works now as a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant and freelancer.

Ojewumi has served on boards for nonprofit organizations created by Gen. Colin Powell and musician Lady Gaga; advised the Obama administration on disability policy; and held internships in the White House, the office of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic National Committee, and former Rep. Albert R. Wynn’s congressional office. Ojewumi was the first director the board of Equal Access Public Media.

Britne Jenke is a speaker, disability inclusion advocate, and accessibility professional — and a disabled and neurodivergent individual.

Jenke is the author of “Making Online Learning Accessible: A Making Work Accessible Handbook,” also know as the #A11yBook. It is the first in a series of handbooks for applying accessibility best practices to the world of work.

Jenke is certified in accessibility, human resources, talent development, and diversity & inclusion. Her lived experience with disability discrimination made her passionate about creating a more inclusive and accessible world for everyone.

Jenke is on a mission to make work accessible for everyone and to create a culture of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.

After a career in the nonprofit sector, Shounteé Turner now opened her own small business offering writing and grant research services to nonprofits. She is steeped in nonprofit knowledge and know-how.

Turner is now founder and CEO of The Write Narrative, LLC, a professional writing firm specializing in grant writing, fundraising strategy, and business storytelling. Since 2019, she has helped nonprofits and small business owners secure the funding they need to ensure that they have the resources to create lasting change.

As a Black woman entrepreneur, she is passionate about economic empowerment, equitable funding, and sustainability for marginalized communities. Turner leverages her expertise to bridge funding gaps and increase access to resources for underrepresented businesses and organizations.

Mike Bodeman brings a wealth of entrepreneurial, leadership, and non-profit expertise to the board of Equal Access Public Media.

Bodeman successfully built a contracting business from the ground up, scaling it into a major supplier with multiple warehouses. Following the sale of his company, he transitioned to a period of caregiving before dedicating his skills to the non-profit sector. As a non-profit leader, he led a food bank in Long Beach, growing it into one of the largest in the Southern California region during the critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bodeman is skilled at building connections and is deeply passionate about providing access to all. He aims to leverage his extensive network and relationship-building experience to help Equal Access Public Media grow by bringing and building new, strategic connections.

Founded in 2002 by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN Publishers),  the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to the promotion and support of independent journalism

ANF serves as a fiscal sponsor to EAPM, meaning that it supplies 501(c)(3) status and documentation for grant applications executed by the EAPM, provides oversight so grant requirements are fulfilled, and receives donated funds on behalf of EAPM.

ANF collaborates with the Black Press (National Newspaper Publishers Association, NNPA), the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), and AAN Publishers to advance the mission behind the Fund For Equity In Local News, a sponsored project of ANF that supports more than 400 Black and Latino-owned news outlets, local alternative publications, and online news sites.

ANF continues to work side by side with Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN Publishers) to support the core principles of the alternative press: Speaking truth to power, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, and giving voice to those who would otherwise go unheard.