Journalism is not dying. It is evolving.

This is a painful and confusing transition period, but also one filled with reinvention, possibility and hope.

As your national president, I am going to fight for our future. We are going to help laid-off members find new jobs. We’ll offer training in technology, career navigation and newsroom leadership.

Our business models must change, but our core values — diversity, independence, public service — cannot.

We will insist on diversity, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the best thing to do. We will position AAJA as an organization of leaders who know that diversity is the key to a successful future.

We will finish AAJA’s $2 million endowment to ensure that this organization never dies. As a journalist at The Seattle Times, I’ve been a key advocate for diversity. As Seattle chapter president, I launched a successful $100,000 scholarship endowment drive. I’ve served on the advisory board and now on the governing board. AAJA president Jeanne Mariani-Belding and vice president for broadcast Jam Sardar support my campaign. I ask you to join us in this vision for the future, for AAJA and for journalism.