Berkeley Journalism Announces New Advisory Board Members Ron Nixon and Andrea Wishom Young

Andrea Wishom Young and Ron Nixon

The Graduate School of Journalism of the University of California, Berkeley, is proud to announce two new members to our distinguished advisory board: Ron Nixon and Andrea Wishom Young.

Nixon leads global investigations at The Associated Press, and Wishom Young is a veteran television producer.

They join an advisory board comprised of some of the country’s top media professionals, innovators, educators and thought leaders, including the editorial chief of The New York Times and the head of Google News as well as the founder of an imaginative website for Muslim millennials. They are united in a belief in the foundational values that make strong journalism a civic necessity. Twelve are graduates of the School, deeply familiar with its strengths and with the challenges it faces.

“Recruiting more extraordinary journalists of color to join our Advisory Board is a critical part of the School’s anti-racism plan,” Geeta Anand, dean of Berkeley Journalism, said. “Both Ron and Andrea are deeply invested in our goal to change who gets to be a journalist in this country. I couldn’t be more proud to call them both valued advisers to the governing of the School going forward.”

“It’s an honor to join the Advisory Board of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism,” Nixon said. “I have long admired the work that the school does in terms of journalism innovation, its commitment to diversifying the industry and the overall quality of the journalists it produces.”

“I’m thrilled that I will get to work with Dean Geeta Anand, the staff and the other members of the Advisory Board in preparing the next generation of journalists,” Nixon said.

“This is a full-circle moment of sorts for me,” Wishom Young said. “I graduated with a degree in English, but my first opportunity after graduation was a yearlong TV production internship with the Chronicle company — a job I found posted on a board at Cal.”

“I am thrilled to join the Advisory Board of Berkeley Journalism,” Wishom Young said. “I believe in its intent to ensure all stories are told and that the storytellers of today and tomorrow continue to be diverse to represent a growing and changing society.”

Nixon, in his role at the AP, has overseen investigations that have won major journalism awards: News and Documentary Emmy, IRE, Worth Bingham, Selden Ring and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. He also led an investigation that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. This year, Nixon received the News Leader of the Year award from the News Leaders Association.

Nixon is also co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, a news trade organization increasing the ranks, retention and profile of reporters and editors of color. Nixon is a Marine Corps infantry veteran who saw combat in the 1990 Persian Gulf War and was part of the Marine Corps security forces battalion, the security and counterterrorism unit. He attended Alabama State University, majoring in music.

Wishom Young serves as president at Skywalker Holdings. Prior to Skywalker, she spent more than 20 years at Harpo Productions, where she held various production, programming, development and executive roles for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. As executive producer of “Super Soul Sunday,” she won a GLAAD award for an interview with Janet Mock. Andrea serves on the boards of Pinterest, Nextdoor and Tory Burch, LLC along with several nonprofits. She grew up in San Francisco and lives in Chicago. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UC Berkeley.