Gulban, Straus take leadership roles as NNA, NNAF elect officers at annual meetings

Oct 1, 2026

At the close of the annual meeting at the 140th Annual Convention & Trade Show, NNA past chairs pass the gavel to incoming NNA Chair Jeremy Gulban (left), CEO of CherryRoad Media of Parsippany, New Jersey. Right to left: Diane Everson of The Edgerton (Wisconsin) Reporter (2000), passed the gavel to Matt Paxton of The News-Gazette in Lexington, Virginia (2016); Matt Adelman of the Douglas (Wyoming) Budget (2019); John Galer of The Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois (2022-2024); Martha Diaz Aszkenazy of San Fernando Valley (California) Sun (2024-2026).

PENSACOLA, Florida — Jeremy Gulban, founder and CEO of CherryRoad Media, was elected chair of the National Newspaper Association during the association’s 140th annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan.

One of the fastest-growing local newspaper companies in the country, CherryRoad Media launched in 2020, and operates more than 100 community newspapers across nearly 20 states, with a focus on preserving local journalism in rural and underserved markets. Gulban also leads CherryRoad Technologies, a national IT and cloud services firm, and entered the media space driven by a belief that strong local news is essential to healthy communities.

“I am honored to be chosen to lead the National Newspaper Association for the next two years," Gulban said. " Community newspapers face unprecedented challenges both in continuing to distribute our traditional print products as well as with navigating the future state of local news distribution in the age of AI.  I look forward to working with the NNA board and leadership team as we look to help community newspapers find a path forward in this time of change.  While the ways in which we distribute local news may change in the next two years, the need for local news remains essential to maintaining strong communities.”

Gulban succeeds Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, publisher of The San Fernando Valley Sun and El Sol Newspapers in San Fernando Valley, California, who became immediate past chair and will serve on the ex-officio board.

Peggy Scott, publisher of Leader Publications in Festus, Missouri, was elected vice chair; Peggy Year, publisher of the Northeast Nebraska News Company of Osmond, Nebraska, was elected treasurer.

Elected to the board as directors were Brad Thompson of Detroit Legal News Co.; J. Louis Mullen of Blackbird LLC in Buffalo, Wyoming; Jeff Mayo of Cookson Hills Publishers Inc. in Sallisaw, Oklahoma; and Patrick Wood of Multi-Media Channels (MMC) in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Dennis DeRossett, executive director of the Nebraska Press Association in Lincoln, Nebraska, was appointed to a two-year term, succeeding Brian Allfrey, Utah Press Association, West Jordan, Utah as the board's NAM representative.

Upon accepting the chair position, Gulban appointed Carrie Pitzer, publisher of Pitzer Digital Newspapers in Neligh, Nebraska, to a two-year term.

Pitzer is the owner and president of Pitzer Digital, LLC, a media and marketing company based in Neligh that operates eight weekly newspapers across Nebraska: the Antelope County News, Knox County News, Stanton Register, Cedar Valley News, Madison Star-Mail, Tilden Citizen/Meadow Grove News, Battle Creek Enterprise and Grant County News. She founded the company in 2013.

Under her leadership as publisher, Pitzer Digital newspapers has changed the landscape of rural media and set the bar for community journalism. Since 2017, a Pitzer Digital newspaper has been named the best weekly newspaper in Nebraska each year, including six titles for the Antelope County News, three for the Stanton Register and one for the Knox County News.

Jeanne Straus will be representing the National Newspaper Association Foundation on the NNA board. Straus was elected president of the National Newspaper Association Foundation at the NNAF’s annual meeting in August. She succeeds Randy Keck of The Community News in Aledo, Texas, who moves to ex-officio.

Straus is president and publisher of a group of 17 local weekly newspapers and websites serving contiguous towns on the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania border and Manhattan. Early in her career, she worked at WMCA Radio, serving in various roles including program director. She was an editorial assistant for the Associated Press and before that for the White House News Summary.  Besides having served on the NNA Board and now the NNAF Board, she is a past president the New York Press Association Board and currently serves as the New York Press Association Foundation's president.  

Janis Ware, publisher of The Atlanta Voice, was elected Vice Chair, and Austin Lewter, director of the Texas Center for Community Journalism in Stephenville, Texas, was elected Treasurer.

New members elected to the NNAF board are Dawn Suggs, Digital Director, The St. Louis American and Allison Schulte, Founder and Publisher, The Rivertowns Dispatch, Dobbs Ferry, New York.

Jeremy Gulban will join the NNAF board as an ex-officio.

The NNA represents 1,600+ community newspapers across the United States.