Meet the Civil Foundation
The Civil Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the Civil community and promoting sustainable, ethical journalism throughout the world.
The Foundation is charged with maintaining the “governance tools” of Civil. This includes overseeing the Civil Constitution and the Civil Council. In a decentralized network of newsrooms, this system of checks and balances to ensure that one voice isn’t drowning out the others and that the values of sustainable journalism stay intact.
The Foundation serves newsrooms and the broader Civil community in a number of ways.
- Upholds the Civil Constitution: a central document that outlines the newsroom journalism standards and ethics by which all Civil newsrooms are expected to abide.
- Oversees the Civil Council: a group of seasoned journalists, academics and free speech experts from around the world who review journalism disputes.
- Facilitates Newsroom Onboarding: support for newsrooms using Civil’s products and services like the Civil Registry and the Civil Publisher. This includes help with first-time setup of the newsroom on the platform, assistance with cryptocurrency wallet and walkthrough of the technology.
- Provides Privileged Access to Third-Party Tools and Services such as AP and Alley. This is part of our overall strategy to lower startup costs for journalists.
- Connects Global Newsroom Community: Operating a small newsroom can be isolating. The Foundation connects the global community of Civil newsrooms so that everyone can learn from shared best practices.
- Grantmaking: Civil provides grants to select newsroom. Criteria for 2019 will be announced soon.
In the two months leading up to the official Civil launch, the Foundation team will welcome dozens more newsrooms onto Civil. If you run an independent newsroom with a focus on local, investigative, policy or culture, we want to hear from you. Schedule a call to speak with us.
Meet the Civil Foundation
Vivian Schiller, Civil Foundation CEO
Experience: Vivian is a long-time media executive at the intersection of journalism and tech. She’s help who has held senior roles including President & CEO, NPR; Chief Digital Officer, NBC News; General Manager, NYTimes.com; and Global Chair of News, Twitter. Vivian connects with newsrooms and news partners around the world and is passionate evangelist of sustainable journalism in a digital age. Vivian focuses on strategic partnerships, and fundraising for the Civil Foundation.
Nicole Bode, Newsroom Sustainability Lead
Experience: Nicole brings more than 15 years as a working journalist with the New York Daily News and DNAinfo to the Civil community. Her deep expertise in newsroom strategy and sustainability trends helped launch Civil’s First Fleet of newsrooms. Nicole is passionate about making life easier for journalists looking to harness innovation in order to survive and do the critical work their readers so desperately need.
Ursula O’Kuinghttons, Regional Lead for Latin America and Europe
Experience: Ursula has worked in the media industry for more than 17 years, reporting for Reuters and El País. For the past five years, she has focused specifically on the blockchain industry, convening leaders from institutions like BBVA, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. Ursula is currently focused on building news partnerships and expanding Civil’s international community of journalists.
Sasha Koren, Community Lead
Experience: Sasha is a digital strategy expert with 20+ years of experience working with editorial products and platforms. She has previously worked with The Guardian and NYT. Sasha is helping us design and implement a robust, inclusive, engaged and welcoming community for newsrooms.
Elena Giralt, Operations Lead
Experience: Elena brings four years of experience in nonprofit management, public broadcasting and local media. Prior to joining Civil, Elena graduated with an MBA from NYU Stern where she focused on blockchain and data analytics. Elena will provide onboarding and product education support to newsrooms as they apply to the Civil Registry, access CVL token grants and get started on the platform.
