NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry reflects on organization’s growth in his tenure

By Izzy Sy, NABJ Monitor Digital

After nine years, National Association of Black Journalists Executive Director Drew Berry is retiring from his position, becoming the longest-tenured executive director in NABJ history. 

Berry said his biggest accomplishment is putting the organization in its strongest financial position ever. During his tenure, NABJ has been able to raise $5 million to fund activities like student projects, leadership academies, NABJ Cares and more.

“We got $2 million in our checking account, and we don’t even need to touch our savings,” Berry said. “We are in an incredible financial situation.”

His financial contributions led to him becoming a two-time NABJ President’s award recipient under former presidents Barbara Ciara and Kathy Times.

Over the last decade, NABJ had hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt to the point where the organization was struggling to pay their bills, according to Berry. This caused them to go through five executive directors in a seven-year span before landing on him. 

“This organization is a meat grinder for executive directors. You gotta be tough, be able to raise funds, and connect with the culture,” Berry said.

NABJ founder and former president DeWayne Wickham told The Monitor that it is tough to be in any board position within the organization.

“It’s quite a challenge to serve as a volunteer to our organization,” Wickham said. “It takes away from your home and your job.”

Before Berry was hired as executive director of NABJ, he already held a number of other positions in other cities, including general manager, proving he had pervious experience in running a company.

According to Berry, there is no concrete date for when his retirement begins. He wants the transition of power to be smooth, so the organization can hit the ground running. 

Late Tuesday afternoon, NABJ announced Elise Durham as the next executive director, where she is set to start this fall.

NABJ President Ken Lemon acknowledged that Berry leaves big shoes to fill, but knows the organization is in a great spot because of him.

“The organization needs to be in a position where we can take what he’s given us and pay that forward,” Lemon said.

Berry plans to use his retirement time to focus on his wife, and his five grandchildren.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Drew Berry’s previous experience before he became executive director of NABJ. This version adds his general manager experience. We regret the error.