Cheryl Thompson-Morton

Head of Advisory Programs

Cheryl Thompson-Morton is the Head of Advisory Programs at The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, where she leads efforts to support news organizations in developing strategies for financial sustainability and audience growth.

She is also an adjunct faculty member at the Poynter Institute, where she co-leads the Transforming Crime Coverage to Public Safety Journalism program. This change management course helps newsrooms rethink their approach to crime reporting and develop new policies to cover public safety in more effective and responsible ways.

Prior to her current role, Cheryl led the Black Media Initiative at the Center for Community Media at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, designing programs to support Black-owned newsrooms through research, training, and networking opportunities. She also previously worked at The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, where she developed initiatives to strengthen the news ecosystem and support journalists of color.

In her free time, Cheryl and her husband run BellMax Electric, tackling business challenges together and keeping the lights on—literally and figuratively.