Ring of Honor nominee Diana R. Fuentes

Diana Fuentes was hired as executive director in April 2021, and her five years at the helm of our organization were some of the most challenging years for journalists since our founding. Through her leadership, integrity, and dedication, they were also transformational years for IRE.

A proud second-generation Texan, Diana spent 35 years in local journalism and brought a wealth of experience as an editor and mentor with her to IRE. She was most recently deputy metro editor of the San Antonio Express-News, overseeing a team of reporters who covered government, courts, diversity issues, the environment and history, among other duties. She worked in many other newsroom roles, from police reporter and statehouse bureau chief to editor and publisher.

She stood out for her steadfast devotion to our training mission, her unwavering commitment to ensuring everyone has a chance at doing this work, and her genuine warmth and care for the people she worked alongside. She was also the first person of color to lead IRE.

She arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic, but even remotely, she quickly demonstrated her knack for connecting with staff, Board members and our community. She spearheaded the development of all-virtual conferences and reaffirmed our organization’s importance to members in training all year round. She was also a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion, always striving to ensure that everyone felt heard and valued.

When in-person conferences returned, she acknowledged that for many, access to this valuable training was lost. So she pushed to retain an affordable and accessible online offering that rivals our other conferences, what’s now known as AccessFest and served nearly 500 journalists in 2025. And during her tenure we drastically increased the number of members who could access our trainings regardless of ability to pay, especially members of color, students, or those experiencing unemployment.

Diana was also dedicated to teaching, sharing her skills and knowledge as a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Texas State University, where she recently earned her master’s degree. Her involvement and leadership with other journalism organizations like the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and the San Antonio chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists further highlighted her passion for our field. She was a lifetime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2022.

Whether she was representing IRE at events across the country or engaging with our international and student members, her dedication to our mission was clear. She worked tirelessly to make investigative training accessible and was also a passionate defender of press freedom and journalist safety. In light of the challenges we face today, she reminded us that “we have a constitutionally protected right — and deep responsibility — to keep the people informed, and we will not stop.” Those words from Diana — shared in a recent statement of support for journalists arrested for their protest coverage — resonate now more than ever.

Diana was a great journalist in her own right, but through her work and mentorship, she inspired and supported countless acts of impactful journalism. She found joy in helping journalists fight for open records and holding people accountable. She was hilarious and kind. Her imprint on IRE, and on all our lives, is unmistakable and incredibly precious. We mourn her loss and dedicate ourselves to continuing her important work.

* IRE board and staff:

• Josh Hinkle, IRE Board President
• Kate Howard, IRE Board Vice President
• Mark Greenblatt, IRE Board Treasurer
• Ana Ley, IRE Board Secretary
• Alejandra Cancino, IRE Board At-Large Member
• Brian Rosenthal, IRE Board Chair
• Jodie Fleischer, IRE Board
• Cindy Galli, IRE Board
• Mary Hudetz, IRE Board
• Caresse Jackman, IRE Board
• Andy Lehren, IRE Board
• Paroma Soni, IRE Board
• Marina Villeneuve, IRE Board
• Lauren Grandestaff, IRE Deputy Executive Director
• Amy Eaton, IRE Director of Member Services
• Heather Feldmann Henry, IRE Financial Officer
• David Herzog, IRE Director of Data & Research Services
• Laura Kurtzberg, Training Director
• Laura Moscoso, Training Director
• Adam Rhodes, Managing Editor & Training Director
• Krista Sporleder, Program Coordinator
• Chris Vachon, Conference Manager
• Francisco Vara-Orta, Director of Diversity & Inclusion
• Aaricka Washington, Marketing & Communications Specialist
• Benét Wilson, Training Director
• Cody Winchester, Director of Technology & Online Resources