Cristi Hegranes

Cristi Hegranes is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Press Institute (GPI) and the Publisher of Global Press Journal (GPJ). A 2013 Ashoka Fellow, Cristi is an experienced social entrepreneur, a media innovation pioneer, and a renowned international journalism trainer. She has a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University and a M.S. from New York University. Recognized for developing a high-quality, sustainable model of international journalism that is rooted in the perspective of local communities, Cristi has received a wide range of prestigious social entrepreneurship and journalism accolades. She is the recipient of the Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize, the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Society of Professional Journalists Journalism Innovation Prize, a New Media Web Award, a Clarion Award for Investigative Journalism, and a Lifestyle Journalism Prize. She was recently recognized as the 2015 Distinguished Young Alumni of New York University. Cristi is also a trained florist and an award-winning professional bartender. She lives in San Francisco with her mischevious English Bulldog Louise and across the street from her perfect niece Harper.