Keiona Williamson

Keiona Williamson is a strategist and idea architect working at the intersection of journalism, philanthropy, and civic life. She serves as Journalism Sustainability Director at the James B. McClatchy Foundation, where she leads strategies to build the civic and financial infrastructure of local journalism in California’s Central Valley. She leads implementation of the $20 million California Civic Media Program, a public-private partnership between the State of California and Google that invests in local news statewide; stewards the Foundation’s Democracy Fund investments supporting community-rooted journalism across the Central Valley; and guides Press Forward Central Valley to build a stronger, more equitable journalism ecosystem.

A Sacramento native and John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University, Keiona has built her career across journalism, entrepreneurship, and community building. She co-founded DRIP, a civic-minded espresso café that became a hub for local democracy, and launched The Equity Lab at The Sacramento Bee, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to deepen relationships with communities historically underserved by the newspaper.

Earlier in her career, Keiona worked with The New York Times Magazine and T: The New York Times Style Magazine, supporting advertising strategy and audience development, including for The 1619 Project. Across roles, she is known for bringing clarity to ambiguity, building unlikely partnerships, and creating frameworks that move ambitious ideas from aspiration to reality.