Gwyneth Doland
Gwyneth Doland, who is currently covering the Roundhouse for NMPolitics.net, will take over as the executive director of the N.M. Foundation for Open Government next month.
Doland’s first day will be Feb. 20 – two days after the current legislative session ends – so she’ll continue working for NMPolitics.net through the end of the session. To avoid a conflict, she won’t cover debate on any legislation FOG is supporting or opposing.
The foundation announced Doland’s hiring in a news release Thursday.
“I look forward to working with engaged citizens, journalists and business and community leaders to ensure the kind of open and transparent government that is critical to a vibrant democracy,” Doland said in that release.
She replaces Sarah Welsh, who announced in November that she’s leaving the job to pursue graduate studies outside New Mexico.
In addition to working for NMPolitics.net, Doland is currently the producer and host of KNME’s Public Square, as well as a correspondent for KNME’s New Mexico in Focus and an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Mexico, where she teaches multimedia journalism. She edited the nonprofit news website The New Mexico Independent from 2009 to 2010 (and was my boss at that organization), and she has also written and edited content for the Santa Fe Reporter and Weekly Alibi.
“We are very pleased to welcome Gwyneth in her new role with us,” FOG Board President Terri L. Cole said. “She is highly skilled and passionate about open government and just the person to take us to the next level.”
The foundation also announced that Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and a longtime board member, has taken over as president of its board. Joining her as officers on the FOG board are Vice President Mary Lynn Roper, president and general manager of KOAT 7 in Albuquerque; Secretary Kent Walz, editor-in-chief of the Albuquerque Journal; and Treasurer Greg Williams, an attorney with the Peifer, Hanson & Mullins law firm.
FOG opened its doors in 1990 with a mission of educating New Mexicans and public officials about rights and responsibilities under state “sunshine laws” and the First Amendment. The organization provides a free telephone hotline, conducts training seminars, lobbies legislative bodies to increase public access, and participates in litigation to enforce existing law.