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The Conversationalist Announces Elyssa Dole as New Executive Director

The Conversationalist Announces Elyssa Dole as New Executive Director

August 24, 2023

Elyssa Dole is the new executive director of The Conversationalist, a feminist publication that is independent and focuses on global perspectives. Dole will collaborate with The Conversationalist's board, president, and staff to develop and carry out strategic plans for the organization's growth, regular engagement with stakeholders, and audience expansion.

After nearly five years of operating as a small but influential nonprofit media organization, The Conversationalist is moving into a robust phase of strategic growth. Founded in 2018, the publication was born with a strong mission to amplify the voices of women and people of color with deep insights and creative solutions for the world. The Conversationalist's work and impact has grown exponentially since, reaching new community members through various channels beyond the publication, including two newsletters and the Unbreaking Media podcast.

"We are so thrilled to welcome Elyssa to The Conversationalist family to spearhead our work moving forward as a feminist publication and growing nonprofit," says Anna Lind-Guzik, founder and board president of The Conversationalist. "Her expertise in nonprofit management, inclusive leadership and gender equity issues will be invaluable to our organization as we undergo a new season of change."

Dole joins The Conversationalist after almost six years as the program director at NationSwell, a social impact company where she supported a network of 1,000 organizations and change-makers tackling society's most urgent challenges. She worked on a variety of issue areas, including education, jobs, racial justice, gender equity, criminal justice, sustainability, responsible business and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Throughout her career, Dole built programs for clients like NASA and New York City Economic Development Corporation, all with a focus on equity-centered innovation and community-centric design. In 2015, she built and led a global, multi-year program for NASA called Datanauts to encourage more women to pursue data science professions.

"I am so delighted to be joining the creative and talented team at The Conversationalist," says Dole. "The nonprofit's mission to create an authentic media space for women and people of color is needed now more than ever, and I am honored to have a role in shaping the future of the organization."

Dole's goal for supporting journalists, writers and creatives is twofold: to provide them with a platform for honest exploration of ideas and process and to lessen the burden of administrative, logistical and operational work so they can fully pursue their creative endeavors.

Dole received her M.B.A. from NYU Stern School of Business and a B.A. in Dance from Barnard College. She loves meeting new people and making connections, learning about new cultures, solving problems and grappling with big issues.

About The ConversationalistThe Conversationalist is an independent nonprofit and feminist publication focused on global perspectives, from the personal to the political. Our mission is two-fold: publishing feminist solutions journalism on global affairs and culture and incubating a community that wants to engage constructively with the media. We seek to change the way people feel after reading the news by prioritizing empathy in our reporting, interrogating the impact of policy on vulnerable people and publishing under-amplified voices. The Conversationalist is pushing the boundaries of what's possible for journalism, civic engagement and democracy one brave conversation at a time. Feminist stories. Global Perspectives. Zero BS.

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