Board of Directors
President Al Macias
Vice President Nicole Greason
Treasurer Anita Luera
Anita is director of high school programs for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Her television broadcast news career spanned 27 years working in management at three Phoenix TV stations. She is an award-winning news producer, having served at 12 News, Univision KTVW and Channel 10. Prior to joining the Cronkite School, Luera has volunteered and continues to help organize the annual news writing workshop for high school journalism
students in partnership with Arizona Latino Media Association and ASU. She is a member of NAHJ and current president of ASU’s Chicano/Latino Faculty Staff Association – CLFSA. She graduated from ASU with a BA in Broadcasting. Anita was inducted into the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Alumni Hall of Fame in 2018.
Nicole is the marketing, public relations and publicity manager at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. She previously was the marketing and public relations administrator for Fennemore Craig, P.C., and a business law firm with offices in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. She also worked in public relations and communications for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Maricopa Community College District, Tempe Union High School District and Kyrene Elementary School District. Prior to her work in public relaltions, she was a reporter and editor at The Tucson Citizen, a daily afternoon
newspaper in Tucson, Ariz. In addition to serving as president of ALMA, she is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Society of Professional Journalists. She is on the steering committee for the Diversity Leadership Alliance, a Phoenix-based non-profit that promotes diversity and inclusion in business and education. Nicole graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in Journalism and minors in English and Sociology.
Richard is a reporter for the Arizona Republic. He has worked as a breaking news reporter, features reporter and columnist. He started working at the Republic and Gazette in 1994. He writes profiles of the people that make Arizona interesting. His work has also been featured in USA Today, and 12 News Phoenix. Richard is a graduate of Arizona State University.
Gabriel Gamiño
Gabriel Gamino serves the Alhambra Elementary School District as its Director of Community Relations. He also oversees communications and marketing for the district. Before joining Alhambra, he was a full-time reporter/anchor at KTAR News 92.3 FM, where he now is a fill-in anchor. He is a proud "Double Devil," having earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Arizona State University. Born in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, he was raised in west Phoenix. In his spare time, he enjoys
reading about politics, trying new foods, traveling, and spending time with loved ones and friends.
Jhoana Molina recently started her new role as Immunizations Equity Project Manager at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. She works with the Spanish-speaking community to inform them of the services public health offers. Her previous work included producer/reporter at Phoenix 11 and anchor/reporter at Univision in Phoenix. Jhoana received her BA in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Spanish from Arizona State University.
Jhoana Molina-Villar
Jonathan Higuera
Jonathan Higuera is a communications professional and former journalist who specializes in helping organizations tell their story in an authentic voice. He currently works for Creighton University at its Phoenix Regional Campus as the communications strategist. He previously worked at Scottsdale Community College, helping the college boost its community profile through positive media coverage and
external/internal communications. His previous positions include serving as Deputy Director of the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and working as a business writer for the Arizona Republic. He also served as Editor of the Hispanic Link Weekly Report in Washington, D.C. and as a metro reporter for the Washington Times. He has a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in Mexican-American Studies from the University of Arizona. He and his former wife have a 15-year-old son, Alejandro. He enjoys fishing, traveling, hiking and reading.
Sandra Munoz
Juan is the news director of KTVW Univision in Phoenix. Juan was executive news producer at the Telemundo station in Phoenix (KTAZ-39) for seven years. His other roles at Telemundo included managing editor and community relations manager. Before joining KTAZ, Villa worked for La Voz, Phoenix’s spanish language newspaper, as a general assignment reporter. Villa is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Fernanda Santos is the Southwest Borderlands professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Prior to that she served as chief of the Phoenix Bureau of The New York Times and the author of “The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting” (May 3, Flatiron Books). Fernanda has reported in three languages, in Latin America and the United States. She got her start in journalism in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, her home country. Prior to joining The
Times, Fernanda worked for The Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence, Mass., The Daily News of New York, and People Magazine. She is an International Reporting Project fellow and a lifetime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Octavio Pulido
Over the past eight years I have built my professional career in two of Arizona’s main Latino media organizations; first as a producer and multimedia journalist at Univision Arizona and for the past three years as an anchor and multimedia journalist at Telemundo Arizona.
Working as a journalist in Arizona has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, but it would not have been possible without ALMA.
Upon moving to Arizona, ALMA introduced me to the state’s journalism community, connected me with Juan Villa, my mentor, former boss, and a leader in Latino media in Arizona.
Sandra Munoz is the creator of Latinaology.com, an inspired lifestyle and auto blog with Latina flair, and the first Hispanic automotive journalist in Arizona. Her weekly column is published in Digital Trends en Español. As the founder of Latinaology, she collaborates with brands representing companies in the fields of automotive, travel, food, health, beauty, and entertainment including: Toyota, Lexus, Porsche, Volkswagen, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Chevrolet, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Infiniti, Jaguar, Ford, Subaru, Fiat, Mazda, Harrah’s, Neutrogena, Narciso Rodriguez, and Four Seasons Resorts.
Sandra also directs an award-winning marketing and social media consulting group specializing in connecting clients with the Hispanic market, the largest growing ethnic consumer group. She was recognized in 2009, by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Univision-Radio, as one of the 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40. She also received the prestigious Arizona Governor's Volunteer Award in 2005. She is a graduate of the Valley Leadership and Hispanic Leadership Institute. Her proudest role is that of mother to grad nurse Brandon Munoz. She resides in Phoenix, with her dog Vanilla. She prefers a smoky eye rather than a bold lip.
Siera Santos
Siera Santos joined the MLB Network as a studio host. Previously, she worked for Fox 10 as a sports anchor covering the teams she grew up rooting for. Siera worked for nearly five years as a sports broadcaster in Chicago where she served as the White Sox sideline reporter for the regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago and went on to host the station's nightly flagship show. She began her career as a multimedia journalist in Colorado Springs, CO., before making her way to Oklahoma City, where she transitioned back
to her true love: sports. She also spent time as a sports anchor and reporter at the CBS duopoly in Los Angeles.Siera’s path to top television markets wasn’t easy. When she was 17, she dropped out of high school and got her GED. She wasn’t motivated to go to college until she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life: become a sports broadcaster. That passion translated to the classroom and she graduated with honors from Arizona State University with a degree in broadcast journalism and minor in Spanish.In her free time, Siera enjoys dancing bachata, making margaritas from scratch and hiking Arizona’s scenic trails. She is an advocate for animal adoption and you can usually find her hanging out with her rescue dogs Neil Diamond and Inkie.
Strong mentors and a robust network are keys to professional success, and I found that through ALMA. As a member of ALMA I experienced firsthand the great impact the organization can have on an aspiring journalist. A few years ago, I received a scholarship to attend my first NAHJ journalism conference, an experience that has had a lasting impact on my career.
Al is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in broadcast news reporting, production and management. He was part of the management team that launched the KNXV newsroom in 1994 and oversaw its growth from a staff of 20 to more than 60 in less than a year. He also served in multiple management roles at KPNX-TV from 1981-1994 and as an assignment editor and manager for KTVK, both in Phoenix. Macias is news director for the KJZZ newsroom. A Phoenix native, Macias earned a journalism degree from Arizona State University.