President

Brandon Benavides – NBC4
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.

Vice-President

Silvia Foster-Frau – The Washington Post
Silvia is the multiculturalism reporter for the The Washington Post’s national desk, where she writes about how the country is changing racially, ethnically and culturally. She was previously the immigration reporter for the San Antonio Express-News and president of the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists. Before that she was a Hearst Fellow. She received her bachelor’s in English from Grinnell College in 2015. She’s Puerto Rican and from Galesburg, Illinois.

At-Large-Officer

Jason Zaragoza – National Press Foundation
Zaragoza is Director of Operations at the National Press Foundation (NPF), where he oversees the foundation’s finances, human resources, and fundraising for its Annual Awards Dinner. Prior to that, he served eleven years with the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN), serving as Executive Director from 2017 to 2020. He has been a member of NAHJ DC since 2012. Jason is a Chicano born and raised in Southern California and has a B.A. in Political Science from the California State University, Los Angeles.

Committees 

Student Outreach Chair

Priscilla Alvarez – CNN
Alvarez is a reporter for CNN, covering immigration politics and policy. Prior to CNN, she was a politics editor and writer at The Atlantic, where she covered the 2016 presidential election, the first years of the Trump administration, and U.S. immigration policy. Alvarez’s work has appeared in several other publications, including National Journal and Washingtonian magazine. She’s also appeared on The Lead with Jake Tapper, CBS This Morning, MSNBC, and NPR. She’s a graduate of Virginia Tech.

Washington Journalism Job Fair Chair

Brandon Benavides – NBC4

Region 3 Director, NAHJ Board

Melissa Macaya – CNN Digital

Melissa Macaya is a three-time Emmy nominated news producer who is passionate about reporting on Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic community. Born and raised in Venezuela, Melissa has gained journalism experience on the local, national and international level. She currently serves as a producer and editor for The Washington Post, where she leads the evening live and breaking news video team. She previously was a producer at CNN en Español where she produced content for two shows and across digital platforms. She was part of the network’s political team “Voto Latino” and covered the 2016 presidential election both in Washington and in the field. Prior to CNN, Melissa was a fellow at NBC News in their Washington bureau and worked with Univision locally in Texas. She completed a Master’s degree from Georgetown University in International and Political journalism. Melissa loves to travel and has worked and lived in 5 countries: Venezuela, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and the United States.