Eric Ortiz

Eric Ortiz has 25+ years in journalism and community building and loves to make a difference through innovation. After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in English, he started his journalism career as a digital editor in the early days of ESPN.com. Eric spent eight years at ESPN, then built NESN.com into the No. 1 regional sports website in the United States as founding editor of New England Sports Network’s new media team.

In 2013, he was named a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford and shifted his focus to media entrepreneurship, local news sustainability, and empowering marginalized communities through journalism. He built a platform for mobile media production and journalism, then founded and ran a tech media company to democratize local news and community reporting. Since then, he has built and led newsrooms in all types of for-profit and nonprofit media environments, from national and international news to social justice and community development, overseeing all aspects of editorial, revenue, operations, and growth activities.

His focus now is on community journalism at the intersection of community engagement, youth development, and community empowerment with underserved communities. In spring 2024, Eric founded the Youth Community Journalism Institute at the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, a youth and community development organization in Minneapolis where he is executive director. The institute’s mission is to provide equitable access to journalism opportunities starting in middle school. He is inspired to teach students of all ages how they can use community journalism and restorative practices to create solutions and strengthen their own communities so everyone in every community has the opportunity to thrive.