Friends:

Here are the candidates for the 2025 board:

Samantha Masunaga, President (one year term)

STATEMENT

 I’m running for AAJA-LA president because I want to give back to the journalism community that helped me get where I am today. I’ve been involved with the AAJA-LA board in a variety of roles for six years, which has given me a strong understanding of our chapter’s history and how we can help our members going forward. I’d love to increase networking and social events for our members while also continuing our strong work in early-career development programs.

BIO

Samantha Masunaga is a reporter at the Los Angeles Times who covers the business of the Hollywood movie studios. She has been at the L.A. Times for 10 years and has covered beats such as the aerospace industry, the pandemic economic recovery and the changing nature of white-collar work. She was first introduced to AAJA-LA after winning a student scholarship while in college at UCLA. She continued her AAJA involvement with the SF chapter when she was in grad school at UC Berkeley before rejoining the LA chapter after she was hired at the L.A. Times.

Julie Patel, Senior VP of Programming (one year)

STATEMENT

AAJA gave me opportunities throughout my career to learn, do meaningful work, make friends and build community with colleagues. The Los Angeles chapter continues to do that for me, and I’m thankful to see it do that for our members. I’m proud to have served on the board for five years, including the past three as president, and on the San Francisco and South Florida boards before that. I hope to continue supporting the board and chapter’s transformative work.

BIO

Julie Patel Liss is a professor and investigative journalist. As head of Cal State LA’s journalism program, she works with her students on local watchdog projects similar to those she worked on as an investigative reporter at the Center for Public Integrity and D.C.’s NPR affiliate. Julie also worked at the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the San Jose Mercury News and has earned over 15 journalism awards and honors, including a 2008 national Emmy Award.

Ameera Butt, Treasurer (two years)

STATEMENT

I have always wanted to get more involved in AAJA-LA since I’ve attended previous events, parties and the Trivia Bowl two years in a row. I am in awe of how my friends and others on the Board pulled off big events like the Trivia Bowl and realized if I loved attending so much, I would like to be part of the reality and logistics from inception.

I am highly organized, methodical, love a good deadline, am easy to talk to and communicate well, and enjoy being around other journalists. I  want to make sure we continue to promote and encourage each other as Asian American journalists and maintain a strong connection to our communities with activities and scholarships.

BIO

Ameera is an audience engagement editor at NPR based in Los Angeles. Previously, she was a multiplatform editor at the LA Times and worked alongside numerous AAJA-LA board members.

Maneeza Iqbal, VP, Career Development (one year)

STATEMENT

I’m Maneeza Iqbal, and I’m running for VP of Career Development. My first two years in the role I learned a lot. I continued AAJA-LA’s dedication to bringing young journalists to L.A. newsrooms and championed raising the base pay for our internships. I’m running again because I want to grow our internship newsrooms, enact programs for young and early career journalists and create a spaces from young journalists to feel empowered. It’s a tough job market, and I want to make sure journalists have the tools to find the right newsroom for them.

BIO

Maneeza Iqbal is the senior analyst of digital content at ABC7 in Los Angeles. She is dedicated to seeing more journalists of color in newsrooms across the greater L.A. region. As VP of career development, finding opportunities for young journalists to grow and discover new skills is an honor. Working with internships is key to bringing new and diverse voices into newsrooms.

Teresa Watanabe, VP of Community Engagement (one year)

STATEMENT

For as long as I’ve been in the news business, AAJA has been an absolutely essential source of friends, mentors and incredible opportunities. I’ve been privileged to serve as your president, senior VP of programming, VP of special projects and secretary over the last several years. If elected as your VP of community engagement, I would love to expand and deepen our chapter ties with our many AAPI communities. I would also work to increase membership and more actively engage with all of you to make sure we’re serving your needs and presenting programs and services that excite, inform and inspire you. Thank you for supporting AAJA-LA!

BIO

Teresa Watanabe covers higher education for the L.A. Times and also has written about K-12 education, immigration, ethnic communities, religion, Japan/Korea and Pacific Rim business and economics. She previously reported on Asia, national affairs and state government for the San Jose Mercury News and wrote editorials for the L.A. Herald Examiner.

Sandhya Kambhampati, Board member (one year)

STATEMENT

I’m running for the board because I want to help the next generation of journalists understand data journalism. I also care deeply about diversifying journalism and thinking about ways we can do better journalism.

BIO

Sandhya Kambhampati is a data and graphics reporter on the Los Angeles Times Data Desk, where she covers the demographics and diversity of California and the nation. She previously worked at the Chronicle of Higher Education, Correctiv and ProPublica Illinois. Her co-reported work on the widespread inaccuracies in Cook County’s property tax assessment system was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for local reporting in 2018.

She trains journalists regularly in understanding the Census, statistics, freedom of information laws and data analysis. She is a 2008 AAJA J-Camp Alum.

Hanna Kang, Board member (one year)

STATEMENT

My journey in journalism so far has taught me the important role we play in bringing vital information to our readers and serving them with integrity, especially in local news. Unfortunately, the media industry is shrinking nationwide, and Los Angeles is no exception. Lack of investment, reduced staffing and resources, changing consumer habits, and the list goes on. As a member of the AAJA-LA board, I aim to advocate for journalists so that they can continue their vital work, as well as support aspiring journalists who will contribute to a stronger media landscape in LA.

BIO

Hanna Kang covers politics for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. She previously reported on national politics for Business Insider and crime for Crosstown, a data-driven nonprofit newsroom based in Los Angeles.

Sona Patel, Board member (one year)

STATEMENT

I am running for a seat on the Los Angeles Chapter board because I’m ready to give back to the industry and help mentor and guide the next generation of AAPI journalists in our community. AAJA played an outsized role in my career growth and development, and my goal as a chapter board member would be to strengthen the ways in which we can help journalists succeed.

BIO

Sona Patel is the Program and Editorial Director for the Local Investigations Fellowship at The New York Times, where she oversees recruiting and newsroom partnerships for the program. She is also an editor for local investigations. She started her career as a beat reporter for The (San Luis Obispo) Tribune where she covered one of the largest municipal bankruptcies in state history. From there she pivoted to audience and was the first Social Media Editor for The Seattle Times. There she was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2010. She joined the Audience team at The New York Times in 2012 and now oversees a fellowship that aims to develop the next generation of investigative reporters across the country. She teaches part-time at Cal State Long Beach and graduated from UC Irvine (Go Beach! Go Anteaters!)