Bio


For more than a decade, Michael Bolden has mentored journalism leaders who are finding solutions to bridge the news and information gaps in our world. He has pursued this work at the intersection of media, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement in senior roles at Stanford University; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; and The Washington Post. That combination of experience provides him with a unique view of how journalism can serve the information needs of our communities and equip change agents to meet them. He is an incoming managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Previously, he was managing director for the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University.

For four years, Bolden served as the first editorial director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the leading funder of the arts and journalism innovation in the United States, and occasionally consults for the foundation. Prior to joining the Knight Foundation, he worked at The Washington Post for 13 years, where he led the award-winning development and transportation reporting team and worked as an editor for The Washington Post Magazine, Style and Sunday Arts sections, where he helped edit two Pulitzer Prize-winning features.

Bolden has also worked as an editor, reporter, copy editor and production manager for the Miami Herald, the Northwest Florida Daily News and The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). He was a fellow in the Maynard Media Academy’s entrepreneurial leadership and media management program at Harvard University and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alabama.

Bolden serves on the board of directors for the Society of Professional Journalists Foundation, the philanthropy that supports the educational mission of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a member of ACES: the Society for Editing, the American Society of News Editors, the Native American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Press Club, NLGJA-the Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the Online News Association, and Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honorary. He serves as a head judge for the Online Journalism Awards with the Online News Association and as a juror with the global Fact-Checking Innovation Initiative. He lives in Northern California.