Jeanne Bourgault

Biography

As President and CEO of Internews, Jeanne Bourgault leads the strategic management of the organization and its programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

Bourgault has overseen Internews’ growth in areas underserved by local media, such as Afghanistan and South Sudan, and under her leadership Internews has led the growing sector of humanitarian information, expanded into US programs to meet unique domestic information gaps, developed strategies to address the growing challenges of digital information technology, and centered the information needs of women and girls throughout its programs. During her tenure, Internews has piloted and developed innovative programs including the Earth Journalism Network, United for News, and the Listening Post Collective.

Prior to Internews, Bourgault worked internationally in countries undergoing dramatic shifts in media and political landscapes. She joined Internews in 2001 as Vice President for Programs after six years with the U.S. Agency for International Development, including three years at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and as a strategic advisor for media and community development programs in post-war Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro.

Bourgault has consulted on international program design and evaluation for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Research Triangle Institute, and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, among others.

Bourgault speaks on issues of global news, women’s media leadership, information technology, and participatory community development worldwide, including venues such as the Skoll World Forum, the Global Philanthropy Forum, and the World Economic Forum in Davos. She serves on the Media, Entertainment, and Information Industries Steering Committee for the World Economic Forum, and the Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Media Development.