By Carrie Cousins Spiller
This is the first in a series of 10 stories celebrating the 10th anniversary of the APSE Diversity Fellowship.
Ten years already!
That’s how long it’s been since the first cohort of the APSE Diversity Fellowship Program got together. And things have certainly changed for what was a trio of fresh-faced journalists cutting their teeth with some of the best in the business.
I think we were all a little intimidated to be there and didn’t know what would happen with a new program, but I can honestly say that I still use a lot of the tools I learned with Ed and Adena today. Newsroom leadership skills are amazingly transferrable to almost any other job and life in general.
It’s one of those things you don’t really know about the unknowns of other industries until you break into them.
Our class has definitely shown some career path diversity, working in sports and then diverging into a variety of paths over the last decade – nonprofits, marketing, government, and even entrepreneurial efforts.
I couldn’t be more proud to see how we’ve grown in the past 10 years.
What hasn’t changed for me is location. I was working as the assistant sports editor at The Roanoke (Va.) Times when I applied to the program. While jobs have changed, I’m still in Roanoke as a senior digital strategist at LeadPoint Digital, a digital marketing agency. (I also operate a freelance business on the side, catering to small businesses and helping them look amazing online.)
After the leadership program, I spent a few more years in newsrooms before hopping onto the marketing side of communications, growing the online presence of an economic development organization before moving to an agency. Email: carriecousins1@gmail.com
Ed Guzman: The thing about being the first anything is that while it’s notable, it also means that hopefully there were more who came after you. Mix in the fact that I left the sports journalism industry nearly four years ago, and being part of the very first class of the APSE Diversity Fellowship feels like three lifetimes ago.
After I left the Seattle Times in November 2017, I worked in the nonprofit sector for a few years. That job allowed me to relocate to Portland, where I live currently, and build an entire new chapter of my professional life that included a welcoming network of friends in the greater Portland area. I eventually landed a job as a communications specialist with the City of Hillsboro, where I’ve been working since March 2020.
That’s not to say I’ve completely turned my back on my old life. When I reached out to a close friend to let her know I was leaving the Seattle Times, she wrote back a thoughtful note, pointing out that one thing I would soon discover was that I’d suddenly have more “emotional bandwidth” for the things that I care about.
She was spot on.
Whether it is phone calls with longtime friends seeking advice or talking through a challenge, or serving on the selection committee for the Sports Journalism Institute the last two years, or even reviewing drafts of an old protege’s work, I am happy to offer a perspective and insight that I know is valued and appreciated.
As for the Diversity Fellowship, my hope for it is that it fully grasps just how much work there remains to make the industry truly diverse and inclusive. I also hope it understands what it means to show up and meaningfully put in the work to make this industry better.
Because that’s how you not only become first, but you also endure. Email: ed.guzman26@gmail.com
Adena Jones: I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I became an inaugural APSE Diversity Fellow. I can vividly remember when I first heard about the program. Michael Anastasi was putting pamphlets on each chair at the NABJ Sports Task Force meeting and I picked one up. I looked at the pamphlet and I said to myself, “wow, something else for me to win but also get me on a leadership track.” At that time, NABJ was very instrumental in my success and I was excited to meet someone from a different organization that also had my success in mind.
With that enthusiasm he always has, Anastasi encouraged me to apply and months later I was on my way to Indiana for a leadership bootcamp (and the best steak I ever had at St. Elmo’s). I also attended the winter meetings, where I read more newspaper articles in one week than I could count, while also making some great friends.
Fast forward 10 years later and I can say the program really worked. I rose from being a contracted writer at ESPN to being a senior manager at Bleacher Report, leading a bi-coastal team of eight people. Then onto Soul Cycle and Endeavor, where I took on the roles of director of content operations and director of social media, respectively. Currently, I’m in the ultimate position of leadership, which is running my own company. I am the CEO / Co-founder of Another Lane, the premier community for sneaker enthusiasts. Our goal is to make Another Lane the epicenter for the sneaker culture. My skill of digital storytelling matched with my co-founder’s knowledge of sneakers make us an unstoppable pair. The journey to get here wasn’t always a smooth ride, but my time at APSE along with my other jobs prepared me for this moment. Those instances let me know that I was capable of being a leader who handles immense pressure and responsibility. Another Lane and I have so much ahead of us that at times it can be overwhelming, but having confidence in my skills keeps me forever motivated. Email: adena.jones@another-lane.com
