AABJ is governed by a Board of Directors that consists of the elected officers of the association, the chairpersons of the standing committees (appointed by the president and approved by the elected officers) and one student member (appointed by the president). The 2024-2026 board of directors are listed below.
Condace Pressley – President
Condace Pressley is an multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist and lifelong storyteller with deep roots in Atlanta media. She’s held leadership roles at powerhouse stations like WSB-TV and News 95.5 WSB Radio, earning top honors along the way—including an Edward R. Murrow Award, multiple Associated Press awards, and, of course, that coveted Emmy.
Condace is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism, where she’s been named a Grady Fellow and honored in the Centennial Class. She’s also been inducted into both the Georgia Radio and Georgia Association of Broadcasters Halls of Fame.
A former president of both the Atlanta and National Association of Black Journalists, Condace has long been a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the newsroom and beyond. Her impact on the industry is so significant, she’s even been profiled by The HistoryMakers—the nation’s largest African American oral history archive.
When she’s not leading or advocating, you’ll likely find her at a live concert or in the garden, coaxing tomatoes and peppers into something delicious. Condace also gives back through service on the boards of United Way of Greater Atlanta, the Wellstar Foundation, Cobb Community Foundation, and Leadership Atlanta (Class of 2016).
Errin Haines – Vice President of Print
Errin Haines is an award-winning journalist with more than two decades of experience covering the intersection of race, gender, culture and politics. She is a founder of The 19th, a national online publication focused on gender and politics, where she works as editor-at-large. Errin is also a political contributor at MSNBC.
Prior to joining The 19th, Errin worked for The Associated Press as national writer on race and ethnicity. She has also worked for the Washington Post, the Orlando Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times.
Errin’s expertise on issues of race, gender and politics make her a sought-after thought leader in her industry. She was a visiting professor at the
Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Princeton University, teaching classes on Black women and democracy.
Errin has been an active and longtime NABJ member and leader, and is a proud “NABJ Baby.” She served as a student chapter leader in college and was a reporter for the NABJ Monitor student newspaper in 2001 and 2002.
Errin was also NABJ’s 2002 intern for The Associated Press. She has been a member of NABJ chapters in Atlanta, Orlando, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
As a founding member and the founding chair of the NABJ Young Journalists Task Force, Errin helped to create the NABJ Emerging Journalist of the Year Award, an award she received in 2006. She was also recognized as the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalist of the Year in 2017.
Errin first served as Vice President-Print of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists in 2007 and is the chapter’s current Vice President-Print.
In 2011, Errin was elected NABJ Vice President-Print and was re-elected in 2013.
She continues to be a champion for diversity in journalism. In 2022, Errin received the Journalists Leadership Award from NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists. In 2022, Errin helped to launch and recruit the funding for The 19th’s Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a groundbreaking, yearlong
fellowship program for past attendees of HBCU’s. She currently serves as a board member for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
Lisa Cox – Vice President of Broadcast
Lisa D. Cox is a veteran, multi-award-winning broadcast news journalist. For more than 30 years, she has contributed to the editorial direction of network and local news programs across the country.The Los Angeles native is currently an Atlanta-based Writer/Producer at CNN, working for “CNN News Central with Boris Sanchez & Brianna Keilar.” She has toiled in newsrooms as a producer and executive producer in NYC, D.C., Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Birmingham and at E! News Networks.Ms. Coxreceived her M.S. in journalism from New York’s Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism after completing her undergraduate studies in Spanish at The University of California, Berkeley. She also received her program certification in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University.She’s been recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys), Associated Press, the Radio Television News Directors Association’s Edward R. Murrow awards and the National Association of Black Journalists —the oldest and largest advocacy group in the U.S. for journalists of color–where she also served as an executive board member. Ms. Cox’s resume also includes academia. She is a former broadcast news adjunct professor at California State University Long Beach, where she taught broadcast news writing/television news production.Ms. Cox is also a proud Silver Star Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., an international service organization that is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-educated women.
Imara Canady – Secretary
Imara Canady currently is serving as NationalDirector for Communications & Community Engagement for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world’s largest, non-profit,HIV/AIDS service and advocacy organization and Chair, Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC), W. Imara Canady, referred to as the “all around go to guy” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a highly respected executive leader, nationally known for building partnerships and collaborations that have a sustainable community impact. Prior to his current role, Imara served as the Area Development Director for the Atlanta Regional Office of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), where his portfolio included over-seeing thecommunity engagement and fundraising operations inSouth Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, annually raising over $2.5 million dollars,in support of the office’s multi-million-dollargoal to achieve the organization’s mission of assisting students to get to and through college. Prior to UNCF, hewas Vice-President of Programming and Strategic Partnershipsfor the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, where,as part of the institution’sexecutive leadership team,he created and developed the Center’snationalprogrammatic infrastructure and foundation.Known as a “connector and bridge-builder” he worked with thenational Board of Directors,CEO and Executive Vice-President, cultivating global relationships and building collaborations that connected the center’s vision and mission with a broad array of local, national and international cultural, academic and community organizations and institutions, that led to the successful execution of the institutions historic groundbreaking in June 2012and the framework for the Center’s current impactful programs and initiatives. Imara returned to Atlantain 2009, joining the staff of the Center, having spent time in Chicago, at the Chicago Community Trust, the nation’s second oldest community philanthropic organization, as 1 of 6 fellows, from a national candidate pool of 300 candidates, in a newly launched, arts and culture management fellowship program. As a part of this nationally acclaimed program, Imara worked with the Presidents/CEO’s and executive staff of Chicago’s leading cultural institutions developingstrategic and impactfulindividualized community and government relations strategies, while also managing grant funding from a $15 million art and culture budget. Before his time in Chicago, Imara had an impressive 15-year career in government that has taken him from Atlanta City Hall to The White House. His career in government began in the late 90’s when he served as Special Projects Coordinator for former Atlanta Mayor William Campbell,where he developed and managed youth programs and initiatives for the city, including the establishment of the Youth Ambassador Force for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Mayor’s Collegiate and Youth Councils, and working with the United Way executive leadership on the development of Atlanta’s Promise, a local response to General Colin’s Powell successful national youth program, America’s Promise. Immediately following his time with Mayor Campbell, he worked for the Office of Vice-President Al Gore and then as Budget Manager for Gore’s 2000 Presidential campaign, managing a multi-million-dollarbudgetand over-seeing the campaign’s national event strategy. Prior to moving to Chicago, he was a key aide to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin serving as Special Assistant to the Mayor/Special Events Director, after leading her communications and brand strategyas Communications Director/Press Secretary for her successful historical election in 2001. During his tenure in city government, Imara had many accomplishments including revamping the City’s special event permitting process, which resulted in a yearly increase in revenue generation of over a quarter of a million dollars, while decreasing the negative impact on community residents. He assisted former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin in the successful multi-million-dollarfund-raising effort to secure the city’s purchaseof the historic papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He worked with the State of Georgia and developed the preliminary process of the city’s current structure for supporting film projects, thus increasing the number of films, movie and television projects secured to shoot in Atlantaand the increase in production studios being opened in the metro area
Ernie Suggs – Treasurer
Ernie Suggs has been a reporter at the AJC since 1997, currently covering race and culture, primarily through the paper’s Unapologetically ATL franchise. He previously reported for newspapers in New York City and Durham, N.C. A veteran of more than 20 years as a newspaper reporter, Suggs has covered stories ranging from politics to civil rights to higher education. A 1990 graduate of North Carolina Central University, with a degree in English Literature, Suggs was also a Harvard University Nieman Fellow. He is currently on the Nieman Board of Trustees and the former national vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His appreciation for Prince and the New York Yankees is unmatched.In 2022, he published his first book, “The Many Lives of Andrew Young,” which chronicles the life of the former Atlanta mayor, civil rights icon and United Nations Ambassador. And in 2023, he wrote and produced the Emmy-nominated, “The South Got Something to Say,” the AJC’s look at Southern hip-hop.
Elise Durham – Parliamentarian
Elise Durham is a dynamic communications leader with over 30 years of experience spanning media, government, higher education, and corporate sectors. She currently serves as Assistant General Manager for Marketing and Communications at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport(ATL), leading a 30-member team at the world’s busiest airport. Under her leadership, the airport has strengthened its brand through innovative storytelling, launching its first-ever podcast, Under the Canopy, and the This is My ATLblog, which spotlights global concessions operations. Her strategic approach to communications has deepened engagement with over 100 million annual passengers.Elise served in two other leadership roles at ATL as Assistant General Manager for Business Diversity and as Director of Communications. She also served as Director of Communications for two Atlanta mayoral administrations. Her ability to deliver clear, empathetic messaging in times of crisis cemented her as a trusted voice in public service, a skill she learned during her time in higher education. She served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Florida A&M University, her alma mater. Prior to that, Elise made a significant impact at Morehouse College, where she served as Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations. In this role, her leadership helped amplify the brand of one of America’s most iconic institutionsby securing repeated coverage on platforms such as ABCNews, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, CBS, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.Elise began her career in television, managing award-winning journalists across five major markets. She is a two-time Emmy® and five-time Telly®award-winning journalist whoseexperience in newsrooms laid the foundation for her expertise in content creation, storytelling, and strategic messaging.In 2007, she founded The Producer Pod®, a communications consultancy dedicated to helping organizations connect with audiences through compelling, people-centered narratives. A passionate mentor, she believes that great communications start with great people. Her leadership has resulted in award-winning teams and groundbreaking campaigns.Elise holds a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Florida A&M University and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) certificate from the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business. She serves on the board of Meals on Wheels Atlanta and FAMU’s School of Journalism’s Board of Visitors. She holds Life Membership inAlpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.and the Florida A&M University National Alumni Association. She is an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Magnolia (GA) Chapter of The Links, Inc.
Stan Washington – Emeritus Member
Award-winning journalist with broad experience in reporting and supervisory positions in newspaper, radio and public relations. Experience in directing new initiatives for media outlets and media/public relations departments. Additional experience in launching and managing public relations and marketing initiatives which have resulted in successful campaigns and projects. A supervisor with a demonstrated record of success in media management and audience and new business development. Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills. Polished negotiator, facilitator, trainer, interviewer and public speaker. Founding member of 91.9FM WCLK, Clark Atlanta University; founding member of The Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, Inc., a chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.