Jeanne Bourgault

President and CEO

Internews

Ex-officio Director

As President and CEO of Internews, Jeanne Bourgault leads the organization’s strategic management and its programs in more than 100 countries around the world.

Under her leadership, Internews has helped foster independent media sectors in countries such as Jordan and South Sudan, and provided lifesaving information to people during crises in Ukraine, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeanne led Internews’ Rapid Response Fund to help local media partners access emergency funding and continue operating in dire economic conditions.

During her tenure, Internews has led the growing sector of humanitarian information, expanded into US programs, developed strategies to address digital information technology, and centered the information needs of underserved communities throughout its programs. Bourgault has overseen the development of innovative programs, including the Earth Journalism Network, United for News, FilmAid and the Listening Post Collective.

Prior to Internews, Bourgault worked internationally in countries undergoing dramatic shifts in media and political landscapes. She joined Internews in 2001 as Vice President for Programs after six years with the US Agency for International Development, including three years at the US Embassy in Moscow, and as a strategic advisor for media and community development programs in post-war Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro.

Bourgault has consulted on international program design and evaluation for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Research Triangle Institute, and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, among others.

An expert on issues of media for democracy, mis- and disinformation, women’s media leadership, information technology, and participatory community development, Bourgault has spoken at venues such as the Skoll World Forum, the Global Philanthropy Forum, and the World Economic Forum in Davos. She serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety, specifically on Workstream 4: Media Information Literacy for Tackling Disinformation.

Bourgault is listed onĀ SheSource.

Recent Publications