At the end of 2023, co-Executive Editor Marisol LeBrόn will be transitioning out of her position on NACLA’s leadership team. We are so grateful for her vision, leadership, and all the ways she has contributed to NACLA’s direction over the past two years.
We are excited to welcome incoming co-Executive Editor Michelle Chase, who will step into the role in January 2024 after serving on NACLA’s Editorial Committee. As we enter the new year and this transition in leadership, here are a few words from Marisol and Michelle as they reflect on the past year and look forward to what’s next for NACLA.
Dear Naclistas,
NACLA was my first home as a writer and provided me with a community that helped sharpen my analysis around issues of empire, transnational social movements, and state violence. Since I first started writing regularly for NACLA in 2008 as a research associate, I have appreciated NACLA as a space open to scholars, journalists, and activists—whether stalwarts or emerging voices—whose work is grounded in progressive politics and solidarity throughout the Americas. I had no idea I would go on to join the NACLA team, first as an Editorial Committee member and then as the co-Executive Editor leading the production of our legacy print publication. Today, I’m very proud of the work we’ve done.
During my time as a co-Executive Editor, I’ve had the pleasure of stewarding the publication of the the NACLA Report on the Americas from start to finish—leading brainstorming sessions with our Editorial Committee, coordinating with guest editors, soliciting pieces, and working with staff to streamline production behind-the-scenes. Our most recent issue, “Afterlives of Empire in the Caribbean,” is an example of the crucial perspectives NACLA contributors bring through their work, pushing readers and Naclistas alike to rethink our ideas of empire and its legacies.
Helping to make the NACLA Report possible was a special experience, and transitioning out of the co-Executive Editor role is bittersweet. I look forward to remaining involved with NACLA on the Editorial Committee, a space where I’ve found respect, openness, and communication. When I first joined the Editorial Committee, I pushed for more focus on solidarity with Latinx communities in the United States and NACLA’s immediate community of New York. I was able to do so because NACLA is simultaneously capacious, open to new ideas and perspectives, and grounded in its progressive political orientation.
I look forward to future brainstorming sessions and reading upcoming issues of the NACLA Report, and I’m thrilled to welcome Michelle Chase, who will join Nicole Fabricant and Bret Gustafson on the leadership team in January 2024. Will you help NACLA continue its great work into the new year? Donate any amount today—believe me, it makes a difference!
In solidarity and gratitude,
Marisol LeBrón
Dear Naclistas,
When I first started reading NACLA years ago, it became a guiding star for me—a trustworthy place for progressive and committed analysis of a region often ignored in the mainstream media. As drastically as the media landscape has changed since then, most outlets still reproduce U.S. foreign policy priorities in their coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean. At best, they overlook, and at worst, they show open hostility toward movements for social justice in the region.
As a reader, I have long valued NACLA’s commitment to offering in-depth analysis, debate, and historical perspective not found elsewhere. As a member of the Editorial Committee since 2017, I have appreciated contributing to the thematic directions of the NACLA Report on the Americas, encouraging Spanish-speaking authors to bring their important work to NACLA, and serving on strategic planning and fundraising subcommittees to support and strengthen NACLA’s infrastructure. And as an educator, I regularly rely on NACLA’s articles to help students make sense of complex issues in my classes on Latin America, the border, and migration.
Knowing NACLA’s important role in making sense of the news through a progressive lens, building solidarity, and lifting up perspectives too often drowned out in the mainstream media, I am thrilled to step into a larger role at NACLA beginning in January 2024. As Marisol LeBrón transitions out of her role as co-Executive Editor, I will join Nicole Fabricant and Bret Gustafson’s outstanding leadership team. As the Executive Editor primarily focused on web publishing, I look forward to contributing to NACLA’s excellent online news, analysis, and debate in both Spanish and English; continuing our insightful reviews of books and films; and supporting NACLA’s ongoing forays into producing audio content. We are so grateful to Marisol for helping to get us where we are today, and we’re excited about what the new year will bring.
Will you help NACLA provide the essential reporting and analysis you won’t find anywhere else? If you can, please consider donating $50, $100, $250, $500 or any amount before the year ends.
In solidarity,
Michelle Chase
