Valerie Bush, Executive Director
Valerie is a longtime advocate of journalism and community storytelling as catalysts for dialogue, civic participation and positive social change. Since Renaissance Journalism’s inception in 2009, she has led many of the organization’s transformative initiatives in journalism and community-centered reporting, including the Equity Reporting Project, Bay Area Media Collaborative, and, most recently, LaunchPad, which aims to empower early-career journalists who are passionate about telling the stories of their communities.
Her journalism career grew out of her 10-plus years as a community organizer working in the field to end domestic violence. This experience inspired her to pursue a career in journalism and community storytelling. Her first job was as a reporter for East West News, a bilingual Chinese/English-language newspaper based in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
She later worked as an assistant editor at The Village Voice and as a reporter for the Marin Independent Journal. She continued to use her organizing and journalism skills as the executive director of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA). In addition to organizing two national conventions, she conceived, raised funds for, and managed AAJA’s first bilingual Korean/English journalism conference in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Valerie conceived and was the executive editor of one of the first online guides for journalists covering Islam and Muslim Americans, published by the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University. As editorial director at the Maynard Institute for five years, she developed and edited an annual magazine on media issues.
Valerie holds a BA from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She is a former board member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter.
Alexis Terrazas, Director of Programs & Strategic Partnerships
Alexis is an award-winning journalist who for nearly 10 years served as the editor-in-chief of El Tecolote, the longest-running bilingual English/Spanish publication in California. During his tenure, Alexis expanded and strengthened El Tecolote’s news coverage, resulting in a bevy of awards. He helped conceive and co-hosted El Tecolote’s first podcast, “Radio Teco.” Under his leadership and mentorship, El Tecolote continued to be a training ground for talented emerging journalists as he forged partnerships with the journalism departments at San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco.
Prior to joining El Tecolote, Alexis was an aspiring sports reporter. After he earned a BA in journalism from San Francisco State University, he was a reporting intern and freelancer at the San Francisco Examiner, mostly covering sports, and a reporter and photographer at Patch.com.
Alexis is the recipient of several journalism awards, including the “Silver Heart Award” from SPJ’s Northern California Chapter and he was named “Outstanding Alumni of 2019” by San Francisco State University. He has served on the boards of directors of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Northern California Chapter and the San Francisco Press Club.