Lanaea C. Featherstone is Civic News Company’s inaugural Vice President of Philanthropy for Healthbeat. As an entrepreneur, she brings a prowess for nonprofit management, journalism expertise, and global experience, having led fundraising and partnership initiatives in the U.S. and around the world.

Featherstone is a nonprofit executive who spent more than 21 years at the International Center for Journalists, most recently serving as Vice President for Partnerships and Culture. In this senior leadership role, she partnered with the CEO to turn vision into results and—led a team to secure millions from leading foundations and institutions. As a chief architect for philanthropy, her leadership advanced initiatives such as health reporting, freedom of expression and disinformation. As head of culture, she worked with the leadership team to build an inclusive, collaborative environment that empowered staff to innovate and lead.

An entrepreneur and two-time Maryland Daily Record honoree, she founded the Featherstone Foundation, an award-winning nonprofit that has expanded educational and economic opportunity for low-income communities over the past two decades. She has been a featured panelist for U.S. News & World Report on topics related to digital access and education. As founder, she successfully appointed an executive director to lead her organization.

Lanaea holds a B.A. in broadcast journalism from Louisiana State University, an M.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies from American University in D.C., and certifications as a PMP Project Management Professional and SHRM-SCP Senior Human Resource Professional. She has traveled and worked extensively in 19 countries across Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Lanaea resides in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.