Karen Wickre, Walt Mossberg Elected Chair And Vice Chair Of News Literacy Project board

Karen Wickre has been elected board chair of the News Literacy Project and Walt Mossberg has been elected vice chair, bringing decades of experience from their careers in Silicon Valley, business communications, journalism and conference production to the nonprofit. Their terms begin Sept. 15.

Wickre succeeds Greg McCaffery, NLP’s longest serving board chair, who is term-limited after almost a decade of dedicated service.

From its beginning, NLP’s board has prioritized bipartisanship. Members have included officials from Republican and Democratic presidential administrations and featured some of the country’s most prominent journalists, including Vivian Schiller, John Carroll and Soledad O’Brien as well as Gwen Ifill, Kathleen Parker, Michael Gerson, Rob King and Abby Phillip.

Wickre, founder of the business communications consultancy KVOX Media, spent 15 years directing editorial content at Google and Twitter. She has served on NLP’s board since 2016. Since then, NLP’s mission has become more urgent than ever, with misinformation flourishing across society, from political discourse to social issues.

“Having seen firsthand how quickly mis- and disinformation spreads online, it’s imperative that we give everyone the tools to help them discern fact from fiction in the ubiquitous feeds where they see news,” Wickre said. “With the free programs and resources NLP offers to educators and the public, we’re making great strides to keep facts front and center at a time when it’s never been more crucial.”

Mossberg was a reporter, columnist and editor at the Wall Street Journal before he launched and wrote for multiple technology journalism news outlets.

In 2014, Mossberg and his friend and colleague, pioneering tech journalist Kara Swisher, created Recode and the premiere technology conference now known as Code Conference. He will succeed Wickre as vice chair.

“I’m very proud of what the News Literacy Project has accomplished and am honored to serve on the board,” Mossberg said. “The battle against misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories is a crucial part of saving our democracy — and NLP is on the front lines. The development of generative AI holds unlimited potential for making the truth even harder to discern, and NLP is adapting to teach people to use AI in a responsible way.”

McCaffery, the outgoing chair, retired in 2019 as chair of Bloomberg Industry Group after a 33-year career with the legal, tax and regulatory data company. He has helped steer NLP’s exponential growth to reach more than 13,000 teachers and more than 2 million students annually. Since he became chair in 2017, NLP has grown from just 12 employees to more than 40, with a budget of almost $8 million last year.

“NLP’s reputation for effectiveness, impact and stability has been hard-won and will only expand with the proven leadership of Karen and Walt. NLP’s governance is in strong hands,” McCaffery said.