Board
Pictured above: Josh Barker (VP of Print), Joe Gray (Parliamentarian), Christina Carrega (Deputy Secretary), Mike Feeney (President), Dwight Oestricher (Treasurer), Gabrielle Lee (Secretary), and Cheryl Wills (VP of Broadcast). Not pictured: Nekesa Moody (Deputy Treasurer).
Photo credit: Shannon Lanier
Michael J. Feeney, President
Michael J. Feeney, a reporter at the New York Daily News, is the President of the New York Association of Black Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). He is also is the deputy director for Region I of NABJ and was named NABJ's 'Emerging Journalist of the Year' in 2010. Feeney has been a member of NABJ since he was a freshman at Delaware State University, where he graduated with a degree in Mass Communication in 2005. Feeney aims to increase membership, provide informative programming and advocate on the behalf of black journalists in New York. Feeney, member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., has previously worked at The Record in Bergen County, N.J. and The Associated Press in Detroit.
Cyril Joshua Barker, Vice President of Print
Cyril Joshua Barker, a staff writer for the New York Amsterdam News, is the Vice President of Print for the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). He also serves as co-host/commentator of the weekly radio program “Express Yourself” on 107.5 FM WBLS/1190 AM WLIB. During Barker's stint in Montgomery, Ala., he was a member of the Montgomery Area Association of Black Journalists and was a reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. While Barker attended Alabama State University, he joined the student chapter of NABJ, where he also served as its president and later graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Cheryl Wills, Vice President of Broadcast
Cheryl Wills, a nationally recognized award-winning anchor for Time Warner Cable's flagship cable news network, New York 1 News, is the Vice President of Broadcast of the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). Wills has been with the news channel since its launch in 1992 and although she is one of the station's most recognizable journalists, she wears many other hats. The Syracuse University graduate is an author, the founder and commander of the New York Chapter of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Colored Troops and played herself in a number of major motion pictures. Wills has received several awards for her reporting and is a member of various media organizations including NABJ.
Gabrielle M. Lee, Secretary
Gabrielle M. Lee, an account supervisor at Fleishman-Hillard, is the Secretary of the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). She also serves as chairperson of NABJ's Associate Member Task Force and a member of the 2012 national convention programming committee. Lee has over six years of healthcare public relations experience leading successful campaigns in the areas of heart disease, obesity in minority communities and influenza treatment and prevention. Prior to a career in PR, Lee started her career as a print journalist and was a member of the inaugural class of the New York Times Student Journalism Institute. She graduated from Southern University and A&M College with a bachelor's degree in journalism and master's degree in PR.
Christina Carrega, Deputy Secretary
Christina Carrega, a staff reporter with the New York Post, is the Deputy Secretary of the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). Carrega's professional journalism career began after graduating from St. John's University in 2007 with a position at the Post as an editorial clerk. She quickly went from handing out paperwork to running the streets as a reporter, covering the biggest stories in the city. In November 2010, Carrega was promoted with a staff position as the court reporter in Queens County. In her spare time, she assists the St. John's University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and volunteers with helping undergraduates find entry-level positions in the field.
Dwight Oestricher, Treasurer
Dwight Oestricher, a copy editor at Dow Jones Newswires, is the Treasurer of the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). A graduate of Brooklyn College, Oestricher turned an internship at the Associated Press into his first journalism job. He was awarded a Columbia University Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in 2006, earning a master's degree in journalism and an education in economics. Oestricher was part of the team that won a Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for coverage of the AOL-Time Warner merger in 2001.
Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Deputy Treasurer
Nekesa Mumbi Moody, an award-winning, veteran journalist who has chronicled entertainment's most talked about moments for The Associated Press, is the Deputy Treasurer for the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). Moody has covered entertainment for the AP for 15 years, and has been its sole music writer and editor for the last decade. She regularly interviews the industry's top newsmakers from Beyonce to Madonna, has documented the public turmoil of troubled stars like Amy Winehouse and highlighted the shifts in the industry. Moody has been featured as a cultural expert on several television networks and also freelanced for print. Moody also is the director of the NYABJ's high school journalism workshop program.
Madison Gray, Parliamentarian
Madison Gray, a homepage producer at TIME.com, TIME Magazine's website, is the Parliamentarian of the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ). He started his career covering his hometown for The Detroit News. Gray jumped into the online side of the business as a producer for NYTimes.com and later as a reporter for the Associated Press. In addition to his involvement with NYABJ, he is the recording secretary of the Brooklyn Alumni chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., where he also serves as a mentor for its Sigma Beta youth program. In 2008, Gray won the NABJ award for Online Feature for his revisiting of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
