Board of Directors

Craig Aaron, President & CEO

Craig has led Free Press since 2011. For more than 20 years, he has been a leader in major campaigns to safeguard Net Neutrality, stop media consolidation, oppose unchecked surveillance, defend public media and sustain quality journalism.

Victor Packard, Chair

Victor is the C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, where he co-directs the Media, Inequality & Change (MIC) Center. He has written or edited six books, including America’s Battle for Media Democracy and Democracy Without Journalism? Confronting the Misinformation Society.

Vanessa Cárdenas

Vanessa is an experienced leader, organizer, political strategist and policy expert on immigration, political disinformation, climate change, women’s political empowerment and Latino voters. Prior to becoming executive director of America’s Voice, Vanessa led a social-impact firm that specialized in government relations, advocacy and communications. She has also worked with some of the most innovative progressive organizations, including the Biden for President campaign, EMILY’s List, the Center for American Progress, LULAC, the World Wildlife Fund and others.

Henry Fernandez

Henry is CEO of the African American Research Collaborative, a firm that completes quantitative and qualitative research on issues including health policy, civil rights, elections, criminal justice and civic engagement. He also serves as the executive director of LEAP, a nationally recognized child and leadership development program in New Haven, Connecticut. He formerly served as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., where he focused on state and municipal policy.

Martha Fuentes-Bautista

Martha is on the faculty of the School of Public Policy and the Department of Communication at UMass Amherst, where she also directs the Engaged Research and Learning programs. Her research focuses on digital inequalities, media justice, internet governance, advocacy networks and media-policy literacy.