Shazna Nessa has a storied history of working across technology, design and journalism in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She has most recently been a masthead editor at The Wall Street Journal, where she was responsible for unique digital experiences and the visual journalism produced by the publication — think data visualization, photography, cartography, 3D, design and illustration, across multiple platforms. Shazna’s prior roles include senior positions at The Knight Foundation, The Associated Press, and Condé Nast. She was previously President of the Board of Directors for the Online News Association, and a Board Advisor for the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, as well as the Journalism and Design program at the New School. She is currently on the board of CatchLight, a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities.
Shazna was born in London and was awarded a degree in linguistics, literature, and history from the Sorbonne, Paris. She was a 2008 Sulzberger fellow at Columbia University and a 2014 John S. Knight journalism fellow at Stanford University.