New York, Sept. 9, 2026 – The Overseas Press Club of America, an 87-year-old organization that awards highly coveted prizes devoted to international news coverage for an American audience, elected its president Wednesday night.
Sandra Stevenson, managing editor for visuals and immersive experiences at Education Week, was elected president of the OPC, as the club is widely known. Stevenson previously was deputy director of photography at The Washington Post, leading international, climate, and health coverage. An active leader in the Overseas Press Club, Stevenson has served as governor, a vice president, treasurer, and programming chair.
Earlier in her career, Stevenson managed picture editors at CNN and oversaw digital visual editors at The New York Times. She spent eight years at The Associated Press, advancing from photo assistant to overseeing news photo coverage for Latin America and the Caribbean, and served as program coordinator for the Black Filmmaker Foundation
Stevenson succeeds Scott Kraft, editor at large for enterprise journalism and special projects for the Los Angeles Times, who served four years as president.
“It’s been such an honor to lead the OPC, and I couldn’t be more pleased to hand off to Sandra, a visionary leader and devoted champion of international reporting,” Kraft said. “The OPC is in very good hands.”
“I am honored to build upon Scott’s foundational work to secure a resilient future for the OPC. In close partnership with the board and our new executive director, Lauren Walsh, we will focus on expanding our membership and providing the next generation of journalists with vital support, community, and resources they need to thrive.”
The OPC was founded in 1939 in New York by a group of foreign correspondents to encourage the highest standards of professional integrity and skill in the reporting of news and to promote the freedom of the press throughout the world.
The club also announced results of the election for other officers and board members.
The three vice presidents are: Amran Abocar, Global General Manager at Reuters; Marc Lacey, managing editor of The New York Times; and Peter Spiegel, managing editor of The Washington Post.
Deborah Amos, a journalism professor at Princeton who covered the Middle East for over three decades, was elected Treasurer. Stephen Kalin, a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal based in the Middle East is Secretary.
The recently elected governors for the Active board are: John Avlon, an award-winning journalist, author and historian; Susan Chira, a co-founder of the Main Street Media Cooperative and a former editor at The New York Times and the Marshall Project; James Fontanella-Khan, US Finance Editor of the Financial Times; Julia Ioffe, a founding partner of Puck, where she’s the Washington correspondent; Azmat Khan, investigative reporter at the New York Times Magazine and head of Columbia University’s Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism; Catherine Kim, executive vice president of editorial for NBC News; Kate Linthicum, a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City; Marjorie Miller, administrator of The Pulitzer Prizes; and Jeannie Ohm, a global investigations editor at The Associated Press.
Elected as associate governors are: Josh Fine, an investigative reporter and producer and Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University; Steven Herman, former White House bureau chief and chief national correspondent of the Voice of America and executive director of the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy at the University of Mississippi; and Minky Worden; Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch.
Sitting governors serving the second year of a two-year term are: Juan Arredondo, Brian Byrd, Tom Goldstone, Nikhil Kumar, Alexis Okeowo, Sebastian Rotella, John Simons, Nilo Tabrizy, Vivienne Walt, Marcus Yam and Laura Zelenko.
Kraft thanked outgoing governors whose terms have expired: Yinka Adegoke, Stephen J. Adler, Singeli Agnew, Mary Rajkumar and Jodi Schneider.
Founded in 1939, the Overseas Press Club of America is the nation’s oldest and largest organization for journalists covering international news. It is also one of the world’s foremost associations dedicated to recognizing excellence in international journalism, advancing press freedom, and fostering a global community of media workers. Through its prestigious awards, educational programming, and professional events, the OPC supports journalists and celebrates the vital role of international reporting in informing the public and strengthening a free press.