Juana Ponce de León

NYCMA Executive Director, editor of Voices That Must Be Heard.

A former IPA Ethnic Journalist Fellow, Juana has also been the editor-in-chief of Siete Cuentos Editorial, the Spanish-language imprint at Seven Stories Press. She is the Executive Director of Esta en tus manos, a nonprofit Spanish-language editorial organization, and has served on New York State Council on the Arts (2000-2003). In addition, she is the former editor of LS, the literary supplement for New Mass Media newspapers. She has edited several literary collections, including Our Word is Our Weapon — Selected Writings of Subcomandante Marcos, Dream With No Name — Contemporary Cuban Fiction. She also co-edited an anthology of community testimonies entitled In Search of Common Unity.

Maria Bonilla

Advertising Service Program Director

Maria Bonilla, director of the NYCMA Advertising Service, has worked this program since its inception in 2001, under the IPA-New York. She joined NYCMA to direct this initiative, which was established to give clients access to immigrant and communities of color and to help the publications' bottom line.  Before joining NYCMA, she was sales manager for Nueva Era, a Latino newspaper in New York. Her telecommunications experience spans 20 years, both here and in her native Dominican Republic.

German Cardenas

Ad Service Program / Sales and Marketing Manager

German A. Cardenas joins NYCMA as the new Sales-Marketing Manager. With over 20 year of experience in sales and marketing in the media in the United States, German is a welcome addition to the organization.
Prior to joining NYCMA, German was Multicultural Account Executive for American Multicultural Marketing / Alloy Access, leading business development in the general and Hispanic markets. In his first year German doubled the number of advertising agencies working with AMM and by the third year he had increased the number by a ten fold.  
From 1997 through 2000, German was National Accounts Manager for New York's EL Diario-La Prensa, managing accounts and growing sales revenues from over half a million dollars to about $1 million. As an integral member of the paper's Lead Team, German introduced and secured sponsors to the first ever Entertainment Section.
Previous to this, German held various sales roles for Telemundo's WNJU/47 and Univision's WXTV in the New York metropolitan area.
German holds a degree in Advertising and Marketing as well as a Bachelor in Media Arts. He is fluent in Spanish and lives in Manhattan with his wife of 10 years.

Mohammad Jehangir Khan

Communications Manager

Mohammad Jehangir Khan AKA Jehangir Khattak began his journalism career in 1986 in Pakistan working for a variety of English daily newspapers before becoming news editor of The Frontier Post. During the 1990s, he covered the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the subsequent civil war, the rise of the Taliban and upheavals in Pakistan. He remained President of the largest press club in northwestern Pakistan, and worked for international organizations like Reporters Sans Frontiers. He immigrated to the US in 1999 and worked for different Pakistani community Urdu and English language publications. He writes a weekly Urdu column and regularly appears in radio and television programs as analyst.

Garry Pierre-Pierre

Editorial Manager for Ethnic and Community Press Fellowship – Developing an Education Beat

Garry Pierre-Pierre is the editor and publisher of Haitian Times, which he founded in 1999. The English language weekly serves New York's 500,000-strong Haitian community. Pierre-Pierre has 20 years of experience as a journalist, including six years as a staff writer at The New York Times. While there, he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He also worked as a reporter at The Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Pierre-Pierre is also a co-anchor for CUNY TV's "Independent Sources," which focuses on issues confronted by NYC's immigrant communities.

Sharan Louise Harper

Media Consultant for Voices That Must Be Heard

Sharan Louise Harper is a native of New York City and a product of its public school system. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Black Studies from the City College of the City University of New York. Sharan joined the family of Pacifica Radio WBAI in 1993 as a membership assistant.  In 1996, she became a member of the collective that produced Emanations a weekly show on issues affecting the African Diaspora and later that year she became a producer of a bi-weekly issue-oriented entertainment show, Night Drum.  Since adolescence, Sharan has had an interest in journalism and social justice.  In 1998 she joined the staff of Wakeup Call, the morning drive show of Pacifica Radio WBAI in New York City as a Senior Producer, becoming the show's Executive Producer in 2002. Sharan has also served as the Executive Director of the New York City Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.