New Director of Gay Journalists Association

WASHINGTON (U.S. Newswire) -- The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) today announced the appointment of Thomas Cashman Avila as deputy executive director overseeing NLGJA's pioneering work in the training and education of journalists on the fair and accurate coverage of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. Avila will be the first candidate to serve in this new NLGJA role.

Avila will oversee all programmatic and communications elements of NLGJA's mission work with a focus on the organization's outreach to the next generation of journalists through NLGJA's ongoing journalism education initiatives.

"We are excited to welcome Tom to our team," said Pamela Strother, NLGJA Executive Director. "Tom has spent the past six years with two of the leading professional organizations involved in journalism training and research -- the Committee of Concerned Journalists (CCJ) and the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). NLGJA is looking forward to his leadership
in helping the industry recognize that fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues is at the core of good journalism."

Prior to NLGJA, Avila served as the staff director of the CCJ and as a writer/researcher for its sister organization, the PEJ. His primary focus was the coordination of outreach activities for the CCJ and PEJ, as well as administrative oversight of CCJ's innovative newsroom education program -- The Traveling Curriculum.

"I've had the great fortune to learn from some of the most respected people in journalism. It's exciting to bring that knowledge to a growing organization whose work I've so long admired," said Avila.

From 2004 until 2006, Avila was the lead researcher/writer on the subject of radio and a network television researcher for the PEJ's comprehensive State of the News Media annual report. This work included the identification and analysis of trends in radio audience, economics, ownership, news investment and public attitudes. The inaugural edition of State of the News Media earned PEJ a Sigma Delta Chi award and Penn State University's Bart Richards ' award.

"LGBT issues are dominating today's headlines, and teaming Avila and Strother ensures NLGJA is best prepared for our growing role as the go-to resource on LGBT coverage training and programs in the journalism industry," said Eric Hegedus, NLGJA National President. "We are dedicated to making good journalists the very best they can be."

As NLGJA has grown to include 1,300 members in 24 chapters, so has the demand for professional staff to strategically meet the organization's mission. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NLGJA's national office has expanded from one full-time position in 1996 to a professional staff of seven with Avila's recent appointment, increasing the size and focus of the national office to an organizational high.