{"id":709,"date":"2018-08-03T14:56:37","date_gmt":"2018-08-03T19:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/?p=709"},"modified":"2021-08-18T11:34:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T16:34:52","slug":"familiar-face-takes-on-a-tough-job%e4%b8%80for-third-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/familiar-face-takes-on-a-tough-job%e4%b8%80for-third-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Familiar face to NABJ at helms as executive director"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MAYA KING<\/span><\/p>\n

NABJ Monitor<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Drew Berry isn\u2019t worried about the learning curve for his new job. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Named NABJ\u2019s executive director <\/span>on July 27, the <\/span>media executive held the role in an interim capacity in 2010 and 2013\u2014and as executive consultant from 2015-17. <\/span><\/p>\n

This time, however, he will face a unique challenge: bringing stability to a position with a legacy of near-constant fluctuation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Berry will have to maintain unity among a board of directors with a history of ousting unpopular staffers. He thinks his institutional knowledge will outlast any internal conflict. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any problem navigating any NABJ waters,\u201d Berry said. \u201cI know the players. I know the characters. So I really don\u2019t have any major concerns.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Berry, founder and CEO of Berry & Associates LLC, will work with the president and board of directors to run the organization\u2019s day-to-day operations in the role of executive director. His other responsibilities will include fundraising, planning programming and maintaining relationships among fundraisers and stakeholders. He said he will leave Berry & Associates to work with NABJ full-time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharon Toomer, whom the board hired in September 2017, <\/span>resigned June 18<\/span><\/a>. In a five-page <\/span>email<\/span><\/a> sent to select board members, founders and donors, Toomer described the sordid relationship between NABJ\u2019s staff and leadership. It was driven, she said, by board members who \u201cpoison the well\u201d by meddling with staff concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Berry said his love for NABJ is what drove his decision to accept the board of directors\u2019 recent offer for him to serve as executive director. Doing so, he said, is a \u201cmatter of finishing the job we set out to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s common for family to have disagreements, but when a family member calls another back to the table, it lets me know they are ready to make further improvements,\u201d Berry continued. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have taken the job if I did not believe we were headed in the same direction, which is the right direction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanessa Williams, a former NABJ president, questioned that direction. Citing a lack of technological training at conferences and a need for more attention on NABJ\u2019s \u00a0youngest members, she said decisions made by the board can get in the way of progress. This, she warned, could create problems for anyone who steps in as executive director, regardless of their relationship with the board.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
NABJ Executive Director, Drew Berry waves hello while on the phone, during the 2018 NABJ conference in Detroit, August 2, 2018.
MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE\/NABJ Monitor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any executive director hired in the current [leadership] structure will have an easy go of it,\u201d she said, adding that NABJ has largely operated \u201cthe same way\u201d it did when it was founded nearly 45 years ago. \u201cI believe NABJ needs a total and complete overhaul and reimagining of its management structure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Roland Martin, vice president\/digital, says board members \u201chave to understand what their role and responsibility is,\u201d and allow the executive director to execute their vision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not our job to run the organization; that\u2019s why you hire a staff to actually do that,\u201d Martin said. <\/span><\/p>\n

NABJ President Sarah Glover is confident in Berry\u2019s ability to lead, which should put him in position to lead the organization for longer than a few years. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDrew Berry comes into this position now literally hitting the ground running,\u201d Glover said. \u201cHe has the momentum, and I think, without a doubt, he will be an executive director who will be successful and carry us through for many years to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Berry is taking the reins at a time when NABJ is in good financial standing. The convention has been profitable, and the organization has found other funding sources. Berry has played a key role in that, including helping to secure large grants from donors like the Democracy Fund and Ford Foundation. NABJ entered the 2018 conference with a $436,617 surplus, and the convention has typically been its largest source of income, according to NABJ\u2019s financial report, which was released Monday. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a way of getting things accomplished,\u201d he said of his relationship with the board of directors. \u201cWe have a really cooperative and collaborative spirit, and we move forward to just get it done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By MAYA KING NABJ Monitor   Drew Berry isn\u2019t worried about the learning curve for his new job. Named NABJ\u2019s executive director on July 27, the media executive held the role in an interim capacity […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,4,80],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-archives","8":"category-nabj-business","9":"category-nabj-18"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":778,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions\/778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}