Julie Pace is Senior Vice President and Executive Editor of The Associated Press, leading global news coverage from more than 100 countries. Since Pace assumed the role in 2021, AP has significantly expanded its digital news offerings for media and technology customers and led the growth of AP’s direct to consumer platforms, which are among the fastest growing in the U.S.

Kevin Merida is an independent journalist, storyteller and media executive. He is the former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times. Under his leadership, the newspaper won four Pulitzer Prizes and its first Oscar for the documentary short film, “The Last Repair Shop.” The Times also implemented a range of new initiatives, including the “Fast Break Desk” for breaking news and trending topics, “the 404” social content creation team, the Latino identity and culture vertical “De Los,” and a reimagined climate, science and health coverage department.

Described by The New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,” Vijay Iyer has carved out a unique path as a prolific, shape-shifting presence in American music. A composer and pianist active across multiple musical communities, Iyer has created a consistently innovative, emotionally resonant body of work over the last thirty years.

Gina Chua is the Executive Director of the Tow-Knight Center at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, where she focuses on the intersection of journalism and AI. She’s concurrently Executive Editor at Large at Semafor, a global news startup she joined in May 2022 as part of the founding team. She was previously Executive Editor at Reuters, where she oversaw newsroom operations, logistics, budgets, safety and security, and worked with technology teams to develop newsroom tools, among other responsibilities.

Nancy Barnes is an Editor At Large of The Boston Globe. A veteran journalist who has held the top job at news organizations across the country, Barnes has produced journalism of the highest caliber. Prior to joining the Globe, she was the SVP/News & Editorial Director of NPR from 2018 through 2022, where she led a team of more than 500 journalists and newsroom executives and oversaw NPR's journalism across platforms and around the world. Barnes has a proven track record of elevating metro news outlets to their highest potential.