EDSOURCE HIRES DYMPNA UGWU-OJU AS K-12 EDITOR

OAKLAND, Calif., May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EdSource, a nonprofit newsroom devoted to education issues, announced today that it has hired a new editor to oversee its K-12 education team. 

Veteran journalist Dympna Ugwu-Oju joins EdSource from Fresnoland, a nonprofit news organization focused on stories at the intersection of the environment, development, neighborhoods, and inequality in the central San Joaquin Valley. Ugwu-Oju most recently served as Fresnoland's senior editor.

Before Fresnoland, Ugwu-Oju was the full-time instructor of journalism at Fresno City College, where she ran and maintained the program, wrote the curriculum, recruited students, advised the college newspaper, coached and mentored hundreds of aspiring journalists. 

Ugwu-Oju's widely anthologized writing has been published extensively in national newspapers and magazines, including Newsweek and the New York Times. Her first book, "What Will My Mother Say" (A Tribal African Girl Comes of Age in America) describes Ugwu-Oju's childhood in the traditional Ibo culture of Nigeria and chronicles her war-torn childhood. 

She has presented at numerous writing workshops and lectures on writing, race and multicultural sensitivity and awareness. 

"Hiring an experienced editor like Dympna will add impact and depth to one of EdSource's core areas of coverage," said CEO Anne Vasquez. "With her energy and guidance, our reporters will dive deeply into the important conversations around education – especially issues like race and equity."

In addition to hiring a new K-12 editor based in Fresno, EdSource also has hired a new Central Valley-based journalism resident, Lasherica Thornton. Thornton was previously the engagement reporter for the Education Lab at The Fresno Bee, where she was the link between education reporters on the Ed Lab team, stakeholders and the community. Prior to that position, Lasherica worked as the education and features reporter for The Jackson Sun, part of the USA Today Network and Gannett Co, Inc. 

These two hires are part of EdSource's increased on-the-ground presence in the Central Valley, as previously announced.

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