President, Silvia Foster-Frau
Silvia Foster-Frau is a National Investigative Reporter for The Washington Post who writes about how local, state and federal governments are serving this country’s diversifying population. This year, she and her Post colleagues’ reporting on mass shootings and AR-15 style rifles won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize, as well as the White House Correspondents‘ Association Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability. Her reporting on police violence against Latinos as the Post’s multiculturalism reporter was awarded the NAHJ Elaine Rivera Civil Rights and Social Justice Award in 2022. Before joining the Post, she was the immigration reporter for the San Antonio Express-News and served as president of the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists. She is midwestern and Puerto Rican.

Vice-President, Jackie Padilla
Jackie Padilla is a senior video journalist at POLITICO, as well as current secretary of the NAHJ DC board.

Secretary, Claudia Uceda
Claudia Uceda is a Washington-based network correspondent for Univision TV, and has covered the nation’s capital from the poorest neighborhoods to the highest corridors of power for nearly 20 years. Y habla Español.

Treasurer, Sarah Pineda
Sarah Pineda is a first-gen “no sabo” kid from Southern California and currently works as a social media editor at The Washington Post where she’s passionate about amplifying the stories around Latino communities.

At-Large Office, Jason Zaragoza
Jason Zaragoza is Director of Operations at the National Press Foundation (NPF), where he oversees the foundation’s finances, human resources, and its Annual Awards Dinner. Jason is a fourth-generation Chicano from Southern California and has a B.A. in Political Science from the California State University, Los Angeles. He has been a member of NAHJ DC since 2012. 

Chair of the Presidential Candidate Forum, Brandon Benavides
Brandon A. Benavides is a content producer at NBC4 in Washington, D.C. In his spare time, he teaches at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland – College Park. Benavides visited the European Union and NATO headquarters in Belgium and traveled across Germany as part of the RIAS Berlin Commission in the summer of 2022. Benavides is a Lifetime Member of NAHJ. He joined as a student in 2004. Benavides served as Region 6 Director, General At-Large Officer, NAHJ DC Chapter President and National President. The Emmy Award-winning journalist started his career as a producer at KETK-TV (NBC) in Tyler, Texas. He worked at KSTP-TV (ABC) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and KSAT12 (ABC) in San Antonio, Texas. Benavides earned his Master of Arts in Communication: Journalism and Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

Chair of Digital, Lucio Villa
Lucio Villa a first-generation Latino, software engineer and web designer. Currently working as a Senior Software Engineer at The Washington Post. Previously worked at Vox Media, San Francisco Chronicle, UC Berkeley School of Journalism, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reporter and La Opinión. Villa is an alum of Cal State Fullerton University, grew up in Compton, CA and with roots from Guerrero, Mexico.