About the Program

The Women’s Leadership Accelerator kicks off at the University of California Los Angeles with an intensive week of mentoring, discussion and learning from some of the top minds in digital media. Participants work closely with mentors on challenges unique to their careers and also receive support and coaching from ONA throughout the year.

The Women’s Leadership Accelerator provides:

A week of hands-on personal and professional work; candid discussions about leadership, work-life balance and problem-solving in the newsroom; deep dives on developing leadership and management skills; inspiring visits to digital media organizations; and one-on-one mentoring from industry leaders.

A year of check-ins and practical, targeted guidance and personal coaching on individual challenges.

Registration, travel and accommodations for the 2020 Online News Association Conference (ONA20) in Atlanta.

A half-day workshop for women in the program during ONA20.

The opportunity to be a part of a cohort of peers to serve as a strong career-long support system.

The program culminates in a workshop at ONA’s annual conference.

Oct. 2, 2019: Applications open

Oct. 31, 2019: Applications close at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time

January 2020: Cohort announced

March 1-6, 2020: Accelerator at the University of California Los Angeles

Oct. 3, 2020: Final workshop at ONA20 annual conference in Atlanta

Opportunities for the community

Outside the cohort, ONA shares the lessons from the Women’s Leadership Accelerator through other programming and events, including collaboration with ONA Local, ONA’s annual conference and training in partnership with other organizations.

In addition, you can connect with alumnae of the Women’s Leadership Accelerator through free one-on-one coaching on digitalwomenleaders.com. Over 60 women, including ONA Director of Programs Jennifer Mizgata, offer free coaching sessions to support other women in digital journalism with leadership and management tips, career advice and feedback on their work.

Subscribe to the ONA Weekly newsletter to receive announcements about other opportunities.