Meet Eric Ortiz, Pivot's New Associate Director of Research, Learning and Evaluation

We're always excited to bring fresh talent and valuable experience into The Pivot Fund. Eric Ortiz, a longtime journalist and founder of the Youth Community Journalism Institute at the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, has joined as Associate Director of Research, Learning and Evaluation.

The Stanford University alum, who is based in Minneapolis, hit the ground running, spearheading the landscape analysis in the Midwest. Working alongside Jean Marie Brown, Director of Research, Learning, and Evaluation, he uses his knowledge of the local community, decades of experience and appreciation for innovation, to identify trusted, local newsrooms, conduct surveys and better understand who philanthropic efforts, like Press Forward, should consider funding.?

Tell me about your professional background and interests.

I am a longtime journalist and community builder who loves to make a difference through innovation. After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in English, I started my journalism career as a digital editor in the early days of ESPN.com. I spent eight years at ESPN, then built NESN.com into the No. 1 regional sports website in the United States as founding editor of New England Sports Network's new media team. In 2013, I was named a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford and shifted my focus to media entrepreneurship, local news sustainability, and empowering marginalized communities through journalism.

I built a platform for mobile media production and journalism, then founded and ran a tech media company to democratize local news and community reporting. Since then, I have built and led newsrooms in all types of for-profit and nonprofit media environments, from national and international news to social justice and community development, overseeing all aspects of editorial, revenue, operations, and growth activities.

My focus now is on community journalism at the intersection of community engagement, youth development, and community empowerment with underserved communities. In spring 2024, I founded the Youth Community Journalism Institute at the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, a youth and community development organization in Minneapolis where I am executive director. The institute's mission is to provide equitable access to journalism opportunities starting in middle school. I am inspired to teach students of all ages how they can use community journalism and restorative practices to create solutions and strengthen their own communities.

Why did you want to join the Pivot Fund?

Tracie has built an amazing organization with The Pivot Fund. I am honored, grateful and excited to work with the talented Pivot Fund team to make journalism and philanthropy more accessible to all communities, especially underserved communities, communities of color, immigrant communities, and rural communities.?

I have always loved to make an impact. As a third-generation Mexican-American, first-generation college graduate, and experienced innovator in journalism and community building, I understand the power of community-centered journalism and restorative practices to serve the needs of communities, hold power to account, and create actionable change. I am committed to making the world a better place for all people and ready to help The Pivot Fund invest $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news and shift power through journalism.

What kind of impact are you hoping to make?

Every community needs journalism. But millions of people in the U.S. lack access to news and information that meets their needs. The good news is many nontraditional community news sources are helping fill those coverage gaps. These nontraditional community news and information sources are out there just waiting to be found.?

I want to help The Pivot Fund find them, fund them, support them, and connect them to traditional media outlets to create a healthy local news ecosystem that serves the needs of every person in every community. Together, we can create new forms of journalism built around community engagement and creative collaborations with local businesses, schools, and human services that ensure long-term sustainability for community news.

My goal is to create community media centers in every county in the country to provide journalism access and education to all communities. These intergenerational community hubs can serve as community journalism incubators for youths to elders, creating a pipeline of community journalists and new storytellers and a demand for local news.

Community journalism for all can create justice for all, and I want to spark a nationwide Community Journalism for All movement with The Pivot Fund. With youth and a reimagination of journalism, journalism can be a vehicle to create solutions and catalyze change so everyone in every community has the opportunity to thrive.