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June 20, 2026 — IRE members elected seven journalists to the Board of Directors at the annual IRE 2026 Conference in Washington, D.C., and two journalists for the contested seats on the Contest Committee.

Four incumbents — Kate Howard of Reveal, Andrew Lehren of The City University of New York, Alejandra Cancino of Injustice Watch and Paroma Soni of Politico — along with three newcomers — Ashley Graham of KSLA News 12; Katie Wilcox of Howard Center for Investigative Reporting at ASU; Aaron Kessler of Associated Press — were elected to two-year terms for the IRE Board of Directors in election results announced Saturday, June 20, 2026. Kessler previously served on the board from 2022-2024. IRE members also elected two members of the Contest Committee, which judges the IRE Awards.

Eleven candidates ran for the seven open seats on the Board. The new board will now meet to elect officers soon.

Five candidates ran for the two open seats on Contest Committee. Walter Smith Randolph of CBS News New York will continue serving on the Contest Committee, while Jennifer Palmer of Oklahoma Watch joins the committee as its newest member.

Here are the results:

RankCandidateVotesPercent
1Ashley Graham56457.85
2Kate Howard52653.95
3Andrew Lehren46547.69
4Katie Wilcox45846.97
5Aaron Kessler43844.92
6Alejandra Cancino41042.05
7Paroma Soni39840.82
8Marina Villenueve37538.46
9Michael Biesecker36737.64
10Charles Minshew35336.21
11Jenifer McKim31832.62
RankCandidateVotesPercent
1Walter Smith Randolph48153.92
2Jennifer Palmer43648.88
3Mark Lagerkvist31935.76
4Daniel Connolly17419.51
5Hank Nuwer849.42

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