Empowering Future Leaders: Insights from Maribel Perez Wadsworth

Carla Mendez | Staff Writer

Women’s History Month honors the significant accomplishments of female leaders in the realm of many underrepresented fields, such as journalism.

On Thursday, March 15, online audiences were invited to an insightful talk with Maribel Perez Wadsworth, the first woman president of the Knight Foundation, about her path to leadership and the importance of having a good influence in one’s field. 

The program, which included recognized speakers such as Dianne Lynch, Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, and Carla Zensen, offered significant insights and guidance to aspiring students and leaders within the field of communications. 

Wadsworth shared personal experiences and professional advice based on her extensive experience as former president of the USA Today Network and publisher of USA Today. She emphasized the importance of caring for others, citing Harriet Simpson, her boss at the news agency, as an important role model who demonstrated the value of genuine concern for peers.

Rejecting the notion of a perfect work-life balance, Wadsworth encourages those listening to refute it and instead focus on the concept of having it all, but not all at once. She emphasized that leadership transcends labels and the need to cultivate a skill set based on curiosity and a customer-centric approach.

“I still use my reporting skills every day,” Wadsworth said reflecting on her journalistic experience, stressing the importance of reporting skills in the field of management. 

She challenged students to approach obstacles with an attitude of seeking knowledge rather than solutions, emphasizing the need to adjust to unforeseen chances and negotiating life’s unpredictable nature. 

“You need curiosity. Don’t start from a place where you have the answers because most of us don’t and that’s okay. Instead, start from a place where you are seeking understanding and learning,” Wadsworth said as keynote speaker Dianne Lynch asked her to discuss the skills that students in journalism should have today.

With this, Wadsworth underlined the need to develop a solutions mindset, emphasizing the need to move beyond simply recognizing issues and actively finding solutions. 

“I have been a broken record of being very customer-focused,” she noted, highlighting the need to know and address the demands of those whom one is serving. 

The move that Wadsworth made from a local newsroom to taking full power in leading digital strategy for all of Gannett’s newsrooms was a huge leap for her. She recounts how her Husband and she handled this change in their lives and how doubtful and hesitant she first was when this opportunity first presented itself. 

His simple yet profound question, “Why not you?” prompted a revolutionary realization for Wadsworth. 

“So we figured it out,” she said, “and she took the opportunity that came out of nowhere, which completely changed the direction of my career.” 

This transforming event taught Wadsworth an important lesson: an opportunity rarely arrives on time, therefore he must be prepared and eager to accept growth when the time arrives.