Renaissance Journalism is thrilled to welcome Alexis Terrazas as our Director of Programs & Strategic Partnerships. Effective January 1, 2024, he will lead our groundbreaking initiatives, including LaunchPad and the Bay Area Media Collaborative (BAMC), as well as foster collaborative and strategic partnerships with our diverse stakeholders in the media, community and philanthropy.
Alexis is an award-winning journalist who for nearly a decade served as the editor-in-chief of El Tecolote, the longest-running bilingual English/Spanish publication in California. Based in San Francisco’s Mission District, the biweekly publication has been a trusted source of news and information—and a crucial voice—for the Bay Area’s Latinx community for more than 50 years, covering issues often ignored or misrepresented by the mainstream media.
During his tenure as editor-in-chief, Alexis expanded and strengthened El Tecolote’s news coverage, which led it to win numerous awards from the San Francisco Press Club. He helped to conceive and co-hosted El Tecolote’s first podcast, “Radio Teco.” And he navigated the small-but-mighty nonprofit publication through years of social and political strife, including a global pandemic that disproportionately and adversely impacted Latinx immigrant communities. Under his leadership and mentorship, El Tecolote continued to be a training ground for emerging journalists of color 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. He credits Jon Funabiki, one of his professors at San Francisco State (and the founder of Renaissance Journalism) for inspiring him to instead apply his journalism and language skills, his passion for social justice, and his lived experiences in service to the San Francisco Latinx community, where he was born and raised.
Alexis is the recipient of several journalism awards, including the “Silver Heart Award” from SPJ’s Northern California Chapter for his courageous reporting on white nationalist groups in El Tecolote, and he was named “Outstanding Alumni of 2019” by San Francisco State University.
“We have long admired Alexis’ tireless commitment to strong, principled community journalism, as well as his unwavering belief that journalism can and should serve as a catalyst for equity and social justice, particularly for BIPOC communities,” said Valerie Bush, executive director of Renaissance Journalism. “In the same way he fearlessly pushed the boundaries of what a tiny, grassroots community newspaper could be and accomplish, we are confident that he will lead Renaissance Journalism’s efforts with vision, integrity and an eye towards impact and social change.”