AAUW Redlands to host media leader Paulette Brown-Hinds for talk on strengthening local news

REDLANDS, Calif. — Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, a leading voice for community-centered journalism and media equity, will be the featured speaker at the Saturday, Nov. 1 meeting of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Redlands Branch.

Brown-Hinds will discuss the importance of supporting local news as a public good and the need to invest in diversity within media. The program begins at 10 a.m. in the Casa Loma Room at the University of Redlands and is open to the public at no cost.

A California-based media executive, Brown-Hinds is publisher of Black Voice News, founder of Voice Media Ventures, and founder and senior advisor of the Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub + Fund. The regional initiative, she said, “strengthens the local news and information ecosystem through collaborative reporting projects, newsroom support, and revenue-focused innovation.”

“The Hub has become a model for building civic capacity by investing in diverse local media and supporting journalism as a public good,” Brown-Hinds said in an AAUW press release.

Brown-Hinds also chairs Rebuild Local News, a national coalition advocating for policies that revitalize local journalism. She serves on the boards of the California Press Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, and the American Press Institute, and is a former president of the California News Publishers Association.

A 2025 democracy policy fellow at UC Berkeley and two-time JSK journalism fellow at Stanford University, Brown-Hinds has become a national leader in rebuilding trusted local news ecosystems.

Beyond her media work, she leads Footsteps to Freedom, a cultural education program retracing the Underground Railroad, and is currently researching the network’s secret societies.

Those who wish to attend the 9 a.m. brunch preceding the program can reserve a spot by calling (909) 362-4955 or emailing AAUWrsvp@AAUWRedlands.org. The brunch costs $25 and seating is limited.

AAUW Redlands is a nonprofit organization advancing equity for women and girls through education, empowerment, and advocacy. More information is available at AAUWRedlands.org.

Editor’s note: Community Forward Redlands is a media partner of the Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub + Fund and has received financial support from the Hub.