Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein

About Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein

I’m a nonprofit leader and manager with a successful track record of raising funds for public interest causes and collaborating with diverse, multilingual teams. I\'m passionate about building relationships with foundations and individual donors and launching creative initiatives to help mission-driven organizations grow. I’m also fluent in Spanish and a highly skilled writer and editor. I trained as an investigative reporter, worked as a foreign correspondent in Mexico, and was part of a team at the Miami Herald that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. I’m currently based in Philadelphia and I’m the deputy director for Spotlight PA, a nationally recognized nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statehouse and statewide investigative reporting in Pennsylvania.

Experience

1. Deputy Director

   Spotlight PA

   Jan 2023 — Present

   I lead fundraising and operations for Spotlight PA, a nationally recognized nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statehouse and statewide investigative journalism in Pennsylvania. I oversee all local and national foundation grants and individual giving, and I have two direct reports, a membership manager and a director of individual & corporate giving. I led revenue growth from about $1 million in 2020 to over $3 million in 2023. I also helped transition our newsroom to an independent nonprofit organization, and I currently manage our outsourced accounting and finance teams.

Education

• Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism

  Master of Science (M.S.), Toni Stabile Investigative Journalism Fellowship

  2013 — 2014

• Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

  Spanish and Sociology

  2008 — 2008

• Columbia University

  Bachelor of Arts, English, Hispanic Studies

  2005 — 2009