We Look Forward to Welcoming You to Sturbridge!
The 2026 NENPA Leadership Summit begins tomorrow, and we’re looking forward to welcoming journalism leaders, speakers, award recipients and colleagues from across New England to the Publick House Historic Inn in Sturbridge for two days of conversation, connection and celebration.
We are grateful to the Google News Initiative, Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 NENPA Leadership Summit, for its support of this year’s event and its investment in helping news organizations across New England explore new tools, ideas and opportunities. We also thank The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, sponsor of the NENPA Awards Luncheon, for helping us bring the New England news community together to recognize outstanding journalism, leadership and service.
For those joining us Thursday evening, our Welcome Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Pineapple Room at the Publick House. It will be an informal opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, speakers and NENPA staff before Friday’s program gets underway.
On Friday, all Leadership Summit activities will take place in Paige Hall, beginning with coffee, continental breakfast and registration at 8:00 a.m. The day will include our Summit sessions and the NENPA Awards Luncheon, with opportunities throughout the day to exchange ideas, reconnect with colleagues and make new connections.
The Publick House Historic Inn is located at 277 Main Street, Sturbridge, MA 01566. Because the Publick House has several buildings and event spaces, please look for NENPA signage to help direct you to the Pineapple Room on Thursday evening and Paige Hall on Friday.
Safe travels to Sturbridge. We’re looking forward to seeing you tomorrow and to a great 2026 NENPA Leadership Summit!
Suzanne serves as a Senior News Partnerships Manager at Google, bringing over 15 years of deep news media industry expertise to her role spearheading strategic alliances with news associations and emerging news voices across North America. She is dedicated to supporting local community journalism and helping independent media voices build sustainable business models through digital transformation, product strategy, and audience growth. Suzanne also holds advanced credentials in Public Policy, AI Policy, and Cybersecurity from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education.
Nate Thompson has spent 25 years in daily journalism, mostly at the Portland Press Herald and Maine Trust for Local News in roles spanning copy editing, page design, headline writing, digital publishing, and newsroom leadership. In his current position, he shapes daily coverage, coordinates story budgets, and provides final editing on enterprise and investigative stories. Previously, he was a sports writer and sports editor in Massachusetts covering youth and professional sports. He has a degree in journalism and mass communication from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont and professional certificates in UX/UI design and research from the University of New England.
Ritika is the Consumer Marketing Manager at The Keene Sentinel. She has 5+ years of experience in the digital marketing and branding space, working with both business and personal brands. She holds a master’s degree in Business Statistics and Digital Marketing.
Cecily Weisburgh is Executive Editor-Digital at The Keene Sentinel, where she has spent the past 25 years. Her first job was as a reporter and she later moved into roles including local news editor, digital content editor and co-managing editor. Her work includes audience development and engagement and digital strategy. She is also co-leader of the Community Journalism track at the Radically Rural summit in Keene.
Aimee is focused on shaping the future of journalism through strategic, collaborative innovation. She was most recently a Senior Product Manager for AI Strategy at the Associated Press where she led cross-functional initiatives that integrated generative AI into news and operational workflows with journalistic integrity. She co-founded Humans in the Loop, a networking group for news innovators that meets regularly. She spearheaded collaborative initiatives on verification of online content in Brazil, France, the U.K., and the U.S. Aimee serves on the board for the Page Center at Penn State. Her work foregrounds agency, accountability and human-centered design in news and technology.
Lauren is CEO and Executive Editor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Salt Lake Tribune, the first major metro news organization to become a nonprofit. The Tribune has both started newsrooms and acquired newsrooms under her leadership. In May 2026, it removed its paywall, making stories available at sltrib.com without a subscription. Lauren believes journalism should give people information they can use to strengthen their communities, including accountability reporting. From Fort Worth to Sacramento, her newsrooms have driven policy change and made a positive impact. She is also a coach in the Media Transformation Challenge program at the Medill School of Journalism. Originally from Massachusetts, Lauren’s journalism career started in LA following graduation from Pepperdine University.
Karen Bordeleau is executive editor of The New Bedford Light and an award-winning journalist with more than 45 years of experience in journalism and journalism education. She previously served as senior vice president and executive editor of The Providence Journal, becoming the first woman to hold the top editor position in the paper’s history, and was co-editor of its Pulitzer Prize finalist coverage of The Station nightclub fire. Bordeleau has also taught journalism at Arizona State University, Emerson College, Northeastern University, the University of Rhode Island and Bryant University. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame in 2023 and has received the Yankee Quill and other honors recognizing her lifetime contributions to journalism.
A fifth-generation newspaper owner and former publisher of the Record-Journal in Meriden, CT. She now works with Local Media Association, helping local news organizations explore new approaches to sustainability, philanthropy and business-model transformation.
Tom Rosenstiel is a journalist, media critic, researcher, novelist, and professor. He is the author of eight influential nonfiction books, including The Elements of Journalism, and four novels. Rosenstiel has been a press critic for the Los Angeles Times, chief congressional correspondent for Newsweek, press critic for MSNBC, and director of media studies at the Pew Research Center. He also led the American Press Institute and now serves as Eleanor Merrill Professor on the Future of Journalism at the University of Maryland. He lives in Washington, D.C.