This year’s LMA Summit was an invigorating event for colleagues and cohorts who could join us in New York City.

That energy powers the Local Media Association’s purpose to make journalism sustainable — and there were many opportunities to inspire and to be inspired. For many attendees, that inspiration came from connection.

“It was inspiring to be surrounded by people from so many different parts of the country, all focused on the same goal,” said Nina Joss, project manager for the Lab for Journalism Funding.

Joss is in charge of coordinating communications with the Lab for Journalism Funding program participants, answering questions and helping develop, plan and implement its curriculum. The lab is a six-month program that trains local news leaders on how to develop philanthropic strategies for their newsrooms.

During the summit, the Lab for Journalism Funding kicked off its Illinois and New Mexico cohorts. Leaders from about two dozen newsrooms from these states attended the event, where Lab for Journalism Funding leaders and coaches launched the program with sessions about community listening, funder priorities and case studies. These two state cohorts, along with one in California this year, are made possible by support from the Google News Initiative.

Joss is also new to LMA and was invigorated by the energy at the event.

“It was a room full of knowledge and curiosity, and I loved that energy. Being new to LMA, it was wonderful to meet so many of the folks involved in its initiatives. I saw that the energetic, passionate and kind attitude I have experienced so far at LMA runs deep,” she said.

A gathering like the LMA summit becomes especially powerful when positive energy meets with with transformational knowledge.

“The opportunity to hear from product leaders at Google was amazing. The tech industry is so important and powerful in our modern-day news landscape, and I know it’s rare to get to hear directly from the people working in that space. I appreciated their attentiveness and thoughtfulness in answering everyone’s questions, and I learned a lot,” Joss said.

Captions:

Upper-left: K. Ellen Stackhouse, Director of Audience Development and Engagement at Capitol News Illinois, practices giving a one-minute pitch for funding during an activity at the Lab for Journalism Funding kickoff in New York City on April 2.

Upper-center: Jennifer Preston, a coach for the Lab for Journalism Funding and former VP of Journalism at the Knight Foundation, speaks to Lab for Journalism Funding cohorts about funder priorities at the LMA Winter Summit.

Upper-right: Hannah Dean, senior editor and partner at the Cloudcroft Reader in New Mexico, practices giving a one-minute pitch for funding during an activity at the Lab for Journalism Funding kickoff in New York City on April 2.

Bottom: Lab for Journalism Funding leader Frank Mungeam outlines the day’s agenda for the program kickoff during the LMA Winter Summit on April 2.

Want to feel more energy from the event? Check out more of the photos we shared.