A massive transition in local news ownership is underway. This presents a generational opportunity to transform community news to be more equitable and responsive to community information needs. We want to be a part of it.
Indiegraf is on a mission to make news entrepreneurship a great career and life choice for journalists everywhere.
We are a team of community news founders and other folks inspired by the rise in independent news. We help journalist entrepreneurs focus on their journalism by taking as much off their plates as we can.
Indiegraf is led by sisters Caitlin Havlak, CTO, and Erin Millar, CEO, who worked together on growing The Discourse, a community-funded outlet that has won numerous awards across North America for its ambitious journalism.
When you join the Indiegraf network, you add the following people to your team:
Caitlin Havlak
Co-founder & Chief Product Officer
Caitlin is a developer and data analyst who uses her data and technology skills to drive audience revenue and growth potential for news outlets. She helped develop The Discourse’s audience revenue and growth strategy. She also led data journalism at The Discourse and taught data visualization at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism as an adjunct professor.
Erin Millar
Co-founder & CEO
Erin is a journalist and entrepreneur who founded The Discourse, where she’s led an award-winning journalism team and developed a successful business model for in-depth local news. She also contributed to founding the Independent Media Association of Canada and C4C Canada, a charity dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices.
Rachel Chen
Senior Manager, Audience Strategy
Rachel is a Toronto-based writer and editor. She recently completed her Master of Information in Critical Information Policy Studies at the University of Toronto. Prior to Indiegraf, she was an audience development editor for Postmedia. Her freelance work has appeared in Chatelaine, Spacing and Xtra, among others.
Safeena Dhalla
Head of Growth and Impact
Safeena is a strategic leader with a background in growing start-up organizations and leading award-winning communications campaigns. She was recently part of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Emerging Leaders Council (2022), where she developed the first-ever impact tracking framework for The Narwhal. She is lit up by collaboration, meaningful social change, and salt & vinegar chips.
Joe Lanane
Senior Manager, Publisher Success
Joe is a U.S.-based journalist with a passion for helping news operations establish locally and expand nationally. He helped Community Impact Newspaper grow “bigger than Texas” as executive editor. He and his wife, Kimberly, recently traveled full-time in an RV with their dog, Jordan, for 18 months.
Carsen Cassell
Senior Manager of Finance
Carsen is a Toronto-based passionate accountant set on making an impact. They have worked in a few industries, ranging from nonprofits to music royalties. Carsen brings the same intensity to finance and accounting that they did during their NCAA Track and Field Athletic Career.
Allison McIlmoyl
Senior Manager, Development & Sponsorship
Allison brings nearly a decade of experience with her in communications and administration. She has worked in both the private and non-profit sectors with roles at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation and Maven Water & Environment. Allison loves volunteering, reading, and creating, and is passionate about work that enriches the lives of Canadians.
Carol Cavaleiro
Product Manager
Based in Rio de Janeiro, Carol combines product, design and news. As an infographic designer, she has worked at the biggest media outlets in Brazil for over 10 years. In 2015, she co-founded Aos Fatos, an award-winning fact-checking agency, where she was head of innovation, responsible for digital products.
Anastasiya Razumyeyeva
UX/UI Designer
Anastasiya is a trilingual graphic designer with a background in languages. Her education in both fields made her value the combined potential of words and visuals to communicate any idea. Her experience features work with nonprofits and businesses that seek positive change. She was raised in Montreal and is now based in Vancouver.
Kay Watanabe
Developer
Kay is a developer with a great eye for design based in Vancouver. Her decade-long experience in sales and marketing in Canada and Japan developed her customer-focused creative thinking. She brings innovative business solutions to small to mid-sized businesses in her freelance work. She is passionate about contributing to business growth through her work.
Amy Van Es
Senior Manager, Publisher Guides
Amy is a digital strategist passionate about making the internet an equitable space. She spent the first decade of her career growing audiences in tech and publishing (most recently, as Deputy Editor at Today’s Parent) and has resolved to spend the second sharing what she learned to empower both individuals as digital citizens, and impact-driven projects.
Vanessa Reid
Developer
Vanessa is a web developer and new media specialist passionate about exploring the power of art and technology to engage communities through digital storytelling. She graduated with distinction from Ryerson University’s RTA School of Media and has collaborated at Deloitte, the Canadian Mental Health Association, MuchMusic/MTV, Concordia University and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Ramona Wildeman
Sponsorship Manager
Ramona is a creative sales agent, passionate about community-based-journalism. Previously she worked in advertising sales with Black Press Media and as a lender with Coast Capital Savings. Ramona’s passions include connecting with people, storytelling and practising the art of observation, camera in hand.
Robin Perelle
Senior Audience Strategist
Robin is committed to helping reporters amplify voices too seldom heard. From her early years at Xtra, she spent more than a decade telling Vancouver’s LGBTQ stories before becoming editorial director nationally. At The Discourse, she learned the value of a truly collaborative newsroom devoted to filling coverage gaps, while a spin at a luxury magazine deepened her digital marketing skills.
Sam Hoisington
Advisor
Sam is a digital strategy consultant for news organizations. He is also the co-founder of Madison Minutes, a newsletter-first news startup in Madison, Wisconsin. Before Indiegraf, he was a project manager at the News Revenue Hub, where he helped dozens of publishers meet and exceed their audience and digital revenue goals.
Elizabeth Hambuchen
Publisher Guide
Elizabeth is a digital strategist based in the U.S. who works to build sustainability in local news. She specializes in digital campaigning and audience engagement in efforts to fundraise for independent journalism. Most recently she launched and helped manage membership and audience programs at Mississippi’s first nonprofit all-digital newsroom.
Harvinder Singh
Senior Developer
Harvinder is a senior web developer with over 10 years of experience in the web development field. He has worked on various frontend and backend focused projects involving a diverse set of technologies like PHP, Javascript, React, HTML, CSS etc. He has a passion for coding and is always eager to find solutions to the problems around product development.
Shadi Amighpey
Developer
Shadi is a Senior Developer with experience in programming, database design and implementation, WordPress programming approaches and plugin development. She’s worked in oil, steel, banking, and digital training industries. Shadi loves coding and problem solving with focus on solution design and development, issue resolution, and user training management.
Emily Fearon
Audience Strategist
Emily has an undergraduate degree in journalism and human rights from Carleton University and worked as a reporter in Ontario before diving into national political communications and fundraising. She is excited about good graphic design and great writing and has a passion for climate action and sustainability. Emily lives in Halifax, N.S., and loves to camp & hike in Cape Breton in the summer.
Elena Coll
Publisher Guide
Elena is a communications specialist with a cultural studies and project management background. After a couple of years of writing and editing for the Mexican art world, she decided to switch lanes. Since then, Elena has worked for impact-driven initiatives like Fondo Semillas and Sistema.bio. She is currently based in Santiago, Chile.
Pearl Leung
Audience Strategist
Pearl is a digital marketer and strategist who dreams of a more equitable world. She believes in journalism as a vehicle for change and a strong pillar of democracy. Previously, she worked at the Centre for Social Innovation, supporting early-stage entrepreneurs as they worked toward systems change.
Austin Carter
Finance & Sponsorship Coordinator
Austin is a graduate of Athabasca University with a bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting. Before joining the Indiegraf team, Austin worked in administration and bookkeeping for various businesses, including Global Construction, LineOne and Securmedic. He is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and likes to play basketball with friends in his free time. He enjoys exercise, traveling and learning, and he tries to read a book every month.
Akhila Menon
Audience Strategist
Akhila is a journalist based in Vancouver, BC. She graduated from UBC’s j-school and before joining Indiegraf, was a Journalists for Human Rights fellow at The Tyee. She’s passionate about social media and social equity issues.
Caroline Dinall
Publisher Guide
Caroline is a Toronto-based writer and strategist passionate about creating meaningful relationships between brands and consumers. While she has worked with legacy media companies like CTV News Channel, CBC, and Rogers TV, independent media and publications hold a special place in her heart. Prior to joining Indiegraf, she has found fulfillment in supporting entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses through community-based entrepreneurial programs.
Erica Ngao
Audience Strategist
Erica is a Toronto-based writer, editor and fact-checker. Prior to Indiegraf, she was the associate editor at Reader’s Digest Canada. She has also worked at ELLE Canada and The Walrus. Previously, she participated in the Solutions Journalism Network Mentorship Program and the Nordic-Canadian Fellowship in Environmental Journalism. She studied journalism and curatorial studies at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Claire Tran
Audience Strategist
Claire is an audience editor who’s passionate about making journalism more accessible for underserved communities. She previously worked as a social media editor at The Washington Post and has freelanced for the American Press Institute and Vietcetera. She loves reading books in parks around Washington, D.C.
Kaitlan Wynter
Sponsorship Sales Representative
Kaitlan is a Toronto native living in Atlanta, GA. She is a mother of two awesome kids, Noah and Evie. Before joining the Indiegraf team, Kaitlan spent time in practice management where she fine-tuned her skills in sales and business development. She’s also a small business owner, specializing in children’s clothing.
Rujuta Tamakuwala
Developer
Rujuta has been working as a Web Developer since finishing her Bachelors of Science in Information Technology in 2011. She got her Master’s degree in IT from Swinburne University, Melbourne, in 2017. She enjoys working on challenging and exciting coding problems, and loves decorating her house with indoor plants —they feed her soul.
