Founders & Directors
SembraMedia’s co-founders work closely with the board of directors to manage the organization’s diverse team. In addition to leading research, training, and initiatives, they have worked hard to build international alliances and a broad base of support that serves digital media throughout Latin America, the U.S., and Spain.

Mijal Iastrebner
Cofounder and Executive Director, SembraMediaMijal Iastrebner is the cofounder and executive director of SembraMedia. She also is a journalist, entrepreneur and teacher.

Janine Warner
Cofounder and Executive Director, SembraMediaJanine Warner is the cofounder and executive director of SembraMedia. She also is journalist, author, and entrepreneur.
Content & Operations Team
The operational team is responsible for SembraMedia’s general operations, which includes developing and implementing our many initiatives.

María Eugenia Álvarez
General ManagerMaru is in charge of SembraMedia's general strategy. She works with SembraMedia’s management and their teams, optimizing processes and communication among SembraMedia’s various areas and initiatives.

Naimid María Cirelli Asef
Director of CommunicationsNaimid is the lead for SembraMedia’s internal and external communications. He coordinates SembraMedia’s communities by working with the organization’s ambassadors and communications team.

Daniela Fernández
Director of InnovationDaniela is in charge of product and system design to further the growth of both SembraMedia and the wider digital media ecosystem.

Paulo Javier Baldessari
Organizational DevelopmentPaulo consults with SembraMedia in human resources and organizational development. He also provides training for media organizations that participate in SembraMedia’s accelerator programs.

Florencia Aza
Director of Accelerator Programs and MentorshipFlor leads programming initiatives for SembraMedia at a regional level. Her focus areas include the coordination and organization of the GNI Startups Lab Hispanoamérica and SembraMex media accelerator

Sofía Álvarez Barbeito
Education DirectorSofia is the coordinator for SembraMedia's Virtual Entrepreneurial Journalism School. She also manages SembraMedia initiatives focused on education.

Soledad Zavala
Coordinator of Institutional DevelopmentSoledad coordinates SembraMedia's institutional development, overseeing the monitoring and evaluation of the organization's initiatives.

Miguel Loor
Ambassadors coordinatorMiguel coordinates the work of the team of ambassadors in their communities.

Micaela Fernández
Finance DirectorMica is in charge of budgeting, creating projections, and analyzing the financial reports of our organization and its various initiatives. She is also responsible for tax preparation.

Martina Deutsch
Institutional AdministratorMartina provides administrative support for SembraMedia. She manages benefits and payments for the operating team, and provides support to the finance area.

Ana Minini Venega
Communications CoordinatorAna coordinates both external and internal communications for SembraMedia. She carries out operational tasks related to publishing and sharing information about SembraMedia’s initiatives.

Magalí Domínguez Lalli
Data ManagerMagalí is in charge of reviewing, maintaining and optimizing SembraMedia’s databases. She analyzes and supports the organization's research and digital media directories.

Daniela Ruiz Blanco
Education CoordinatorDaniela is part of SembraMedia’s education department. She manages education and training initiatives, working to coordinate these projects with different areas of SembraMedia.

Carolina Sotelo
Community ManagerCarol manages SembraMedia's social media, adapting the organization’s content for social networks and fostering conversation with SembraMedia virtual communities. She supports the communications team.

Chiara Finocchiaro
Project ManagerChiara provides support for our various acceleration and mentoring programs for media and journalists.

Violeta Micheloni
Secretary to Executive ManagementVioleta assists the Executive Board by coordinating its articulation with the operational team, the board of directors, allies and other key actors of the independent digital native media ecosystem.

Andrés Guevara Borges
Editorial ConsultantAndrés is in charge of reviewing, editing and optimizing SembraMedia's internal and external content in Spanish.

Katherine Stanley Obando
English EditorKatherine is in charge of editing English-language texts for SembraMedia's communications.

Elena Ledda
Project Oasis Research Manager, Southern EuropeElena is the regional research manager for Project Oasis in Southern Europe. She coordinates a group of 12 researchers contributing to the European SembraMedia directory and related study.

Sanne Breimer
Project Oasis Research Manager, Northern EuropeSanne is the regional research manager for Project Oasis in Northern Europe. She coordinates a group of 15 researchers contributing to the European SembraMedia directory and related study.

Lela Vujanic
Project Oasis Research Manager, Central and Eastern EuropeLela is the regional research manager for Project Oasis in Central and Eastern Europe. She coordinates a group of 15 researchers contributing to the European SembraMedia directory and related study.
SembraMedia's Ambassadors
SembraMedia’s diverse team of ambassadors represents a network of networks that includes more than a thousand digital media projects in 24 countries in Latin America, Spain, Canada and the United States. They are involved in an ongoing research project that involves mapping and studying the ever-changing independent digital media ecosystem. They are also responsible for creating and managing our comprehensive digital media directory. Their research, and the communities they have created together, form the foundation of all of our training programs and initiatives. In addition to working as consultants for SembraMedia, our ambassadors are journalists, professors, and entrepreneurs.

Ana Paula Valacco
Ambassador for ArgentinaAna Paula is a journalist and political scientist. She is the Development Manager at 8000, a hyperlocal media organization in Bahía Blanca.

Fabiola Gutiérrez
Ambassador for BoliviaFabiola has a Master’s degree in journalism and communication from the University Evangélica Boliviana. She is also a contributor to two experimental digital journalism projects.

Tomás Martínez
Ambassador for ChileTomás is a journalist who has spent 14 years covering politics for various Chilean media as La Tercera and La Segunda, both as a reporter and as an editor.

Sara Trejos
Ambassador for ColombiaSara is the director and founder of Sillón Estudios, the podcast production company behind “Presunto Podcast”, “Expertos de Sillón” and the Latin American podcasting festival Podcastinación.

Luz Escobar
Ambassador for CubaLuz is a Cuban independent journalist and photographer. She lives in Havana and has been a reporter for the digital newspaper 14ymedio since its founding in 2014.

Laura Aguirre
Ambassador for El Salvador, Honduras and GuatemalaLaura is a sociologist, journalist, and feminist who is also the director of Alharaca, a digital, independent media organization. She earned a PhD in sociology from the Free University of Berlin.

Ana María López
Ambassador for EcuadorAna María is a journalist with experience in political analysis, research, data verification, and fact-checking. She is also interested in digital communication.

José Antonio González Alba
Ambassador for SpainJosé Antonio has a Master’s degree in Management and Innovation from the University of Cádiz.

Natalie Van Hoozer
Ambassador for the USNatalie Van Hoozer is a bilingual journalist and translator in Reno, Nevada. She works for KUNR Public Radio, Northern Nevada’s NPR member station, and Noticiero Móvil.

Abraham Torres
Ambassador for MexicoAbraham is a professor of Digital Journalism at the International School of Communication and Entertainment of the University Anáhuac in Cancún, Mexico.

María Lilly Delgado
Ambassador for NicaraguaMaría Lilly Delgado is a correspondent for Univisión News based in Nicaragua, where she reports about politics and human rights.

Desirée Esquivel
Ambassador for ParaguayDesirée is a journalist, photographer, and the co-founder of Ciencia del Sur.

Alejandra Garboza
Ambassador for PeruAlejandra is a journalist with a master's degree in agency journalism from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and Agencia EFE.

José Hernández Falcón
Ambassador for Puerto RicoJosé is a journalist, blogger and director of Puerto Rico BloggerCon, a convention that brings together digital content creators from throughout the Island.

Indhira Suero
Ambassador for the Dominican RepublicIndhira is a professor at the Instituto Tecnológico in Santo Domingo, D.R. She is an experienced cultural journalist and broadcaster, and a Fulbright Scholar.

Sebastián Auyanet
Ambassador for UruguayIn addition to serving as SembraMedia’s ambassador in Uruguay, Sebastian Auyanet is a strategic media consultant for SembraMedia’s Velocidad Accelerator and SembraMex sustainability program.