
The organization
Youth Journalism International is registered and recognized formally by the U.S. International Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) public educational charity within the United States. We operate globally.
Our board
The Board of Youth Journalism International oversees the strategy and operations of the organization, in line with its vision, mission and values, and principles of good governance. The board is made up of seven individuals from around the world. Alongside the founders of the organization, the board includes longtime advisors to the organization, alumni and a current student. The board currently has two committees: the Finance and Oversight Committee and the Events Committee, and one board member serves as a liaison to the YJI Action Team of students and alumni.
Current board members
Steve Collins, Board Member and President. Finance and Oversight Committee, Events Committee.
Sreehitha (Sarah) Gandluri, Board Member.
Arooj Khalid, Board Member and Secretary. Finance and Oversight Committee.
Cassie Lloyd Perrin, Board Member. Finance and Oversight Committee.
Regina López, Board Member. Events Committee.
Jackie Majerus, Board Member and Executive Director. Finance and Oversight Committee, Events Committee.
Mike Soltys, Board Member and Treasurer. Finance and Oversight Committee.
Mike Soltys served 43 years in ESPN’s corporate communications department, the last 20 as Vice President. He currently is a part-time Historian for ESPN. In addition to YJI, his community support includes being Chairman Emeritus for Bread for Life and being active with his alma mater, the University of Connecticut.
Linus Unah, Board Member.
Shaina Zurlin, Board Member and Auditor. Finance and Oversight Committee.
Holly Hostettler-Davies, Associate Board Member.
Board member biographies
Shaina Zurlin

Shaina Zurlin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Doctor of Clinical Psychology who has dedicated her career to community behavioral health and wellness for the Medicaid population through collaborative leadership, dynamic problem-solving and trauma-informed approaches. She is also an alumna of YJI, having participated as a student from 1997 to 1999 and won first and second place awards from the Society of Professional Journalism for work completed during that time.
A Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and graduate of the California Health Care Foundation Health Care Leadership Program, Dr. Zurlin has held leadership positions with the California Department of Health Care Services, the County of Santa Cruz, the Central California Alliance for Health and Health RIGHT 360.
A trusted educator and academic, Dr. Zurlin has served as a research partner with the University of California San Francisco and brought vibrant, engaging presentations to a variety of venues including the Calciano Symposium and San Diego State University.
In addition to her seat on the YJI Board of Directors, Dr. Zurlin currently serves on the California Health Care Foundation Alumni Board, is a member of the State of California Health and Human Services Agency Behavioral Health Task Force, and is pursuing a Masters in Business Administration.
Linus Unah

Linus Unah is a journalist, producer, and documentary filmmaker with a passion for crafting powerful stories that foster a deep appreciation for wildlife and the environment.
His work has been featured on several media platforms, including Mongabay, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, National Public Radio, the Los Angeles Times and Devex, among others.
Linus currently works with Wild Africa where he leads public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing demand for illegal wildlife products and promoting local support for conservation efforts.
A native of Nigeria, he is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism where he co-directed the short documentary, “Split Jury,” for his master’s thesis.
Mike Soltys

Mike Soltys was hired in the summer of 1980 as a college intern by ESPN’s founder, Bill Rasmussen, and served 43 years in ESPN’s corporate communications department, the last 20 as a vice president. He currently is a part-time Historian for ESPN and is working on a documentary on Rasmussen and the launch of ESPN.
Soltys was responsible for strategic planning for publicity and issue management for ESPN and was instrumental in building ESPNPR’s content creation including its social media fees, corporate blog ESPNFrontRow and media website ESPNPressRoom.
Soltys also managed Connecticut issues, including serving as a registered lobbyist in the state. He served on ESPN’s Editorial Board for 20 years, longer than anyone.
After graduating from the University of Connecticut magna cum laude in 1981, Soltys joined ESPN’s communications department full time.
He was named Media Relations Professional of the Year by PR News in 2004 and, in 2008, The US Basketball Writers Association honored Soltys with the Katha Quinn Award for service to college basketball media.
Soltys resides in Southington, Connecticut, where his community involvement includes, since 2016, serving as Chairman and now Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of Bread for Life. After advising Youth Journalism International for years, he joined its board in 2023.
In 2011, the Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Gail DePaolo Community Spirit Award. In 2013, he and wife Teresa received the Compass Award from the Southington YMCA for their “focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.” In 2015, the Knights of Columbus honored him with a “Catholic Citizens Award.” In 2021, in recognition of his community contributions, Soltys received the Gold Medal Award from the Southington chapter of UNICO International. And in 2024 he received the Dean of Sports Award from the Franciscan Life Center.
He received a Master of Arts from the University of Hartford in 1994. Soltys gave the Distinguished Alumnus Address to UConn’s 2017 Communications class and in 2024 received the colleges Lifetime Achievement Award. He, his wife and their four children, all UConn grads, were honored as a family at the 2016 UConn Alumni Legacy Breakfast. Soltys and his sisters sponsor an annual scholarship at UConn, in honor of their parents, for an undergraduate who is working toward a career in athletic communications. He also frequently speaks at the University and has served as a mentor
Previously, Soltys has served on the Board of Directors of the Bristol Family Center, the Southington Chamber of Commerce and on a sports information/marketing Advisory Board for the University of Hartford. He helped open the Imagine Nation Children’s Museum in Bristol and served them for 10 years as an advisor. He also coached several youth sports, including 11 seasons of basketball, and for many years was a lector and confirmation mentor at his church.
Jackie Majerus
Working with student reporters, artists and photographers, Jackie Majerus guides young journalists as they tackle serious societal issues such as teen suicide, school violence, politics, war and terrorism through gripping newswriting, gut-wrenching personal commentary and artwork. She also works with students writing about popular culture, entertainment and everyday teenage life.

Under Jackie’s guidance, YJI provides a platform for the voices of students from many nations and all seven continents.
Before dedicating her professional work completely to YJI in 2011, Jackie enjoyed a successful career as a newspaper reporter at daily papers in Connecticut, New York and Illinois.
She also worked as a freelance reporter for The National Law Journal and United Press International.
A co-founder of Youth Journalism International, Jackie has regularly been selected for prestigious teaching posts and as keynote speaker, and has also served as a judge in high school journalism contests put on by the National Scholastic Press Association, Baruch College in New York City and the Florida Scholastic Press Association. Jackie has also won her own awards. In 2023, she received the gold laureate Global Youth & News Media Prize for news/media literacy, from Global Youth and News Media. In 2024, the Journalism Education Association named Jackie one of four recipients of its “Friend of Scholastic Journalism” honor.
Jackie is a member of the Journalism Educators Association and a graduate of The University of Iowa. She grew up in Iowa and Wisconsin, and also lived in Illinois, New York and Connecticut before moving to Auburn, Maine. She and her husband Steve Collins, a YJI co-founder and journalist, are the parents of a grown son and daughter.
Regina López

Regina López is a communications major in Iberoamericana University in Mexico City.
She is specializing in film and journalism. She has been part of Youth Journalism International for three years as a reporter and photographer and is a Senior Correspondent.
She has also collaborated with other publications in Mexico such as Ibero 90.9 and el Heraldo. She has also been part of film and documentary projects.
In the future she hopes to be a journalist, a film and documentary creative director and producer.
Cassie Lloyd Perrin

Cassie Lloyd Perrin is a Youth Journalism International alum (c.2002-2007) and Cambridge University graduate who lives in London, UK. She leads industry change strategy, research, advocacy and outreach for Level 20, a primarily European non-profit focused on diversity and inclusion in financial services – specifically gender equity in private equity and venture capital firms.
Before Level 20, she started her career in government and startups HR (via archaeology, theatre, and lifeguarding), before spending a decade in finance working on the people-related issues arising in mergers and acquisitions.
Additionally, Cassie chairs a school board, with oversight roles around safeguarding and inclusive education for pupils with disabilities and other learning barriers. Through this role, she sits as a representative on the local government financing body for schools in her London borough.
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and active with the Industrial Law Society, of which she was previously a Trustee, and the National Governance Association, with whom she has qualified in board governance. Outside her professional interests, she enjoys hiking, reading and theater, and is learning Hungarian.
Arooj Khalid

Arooj Khalid is a climate and girls’ education activist from Lahore, Pakistan.
She is a 2024 graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a Fulbright Scholar in Education Policy. She is an Acumen and Malala Fund Girl Activist Fellow.
Previously she has worked to design programs and learning experiences related to climate change, digital skills, and teacher training. She has also advocated for research backed policies with Malala Fund and advised them as an activist.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Sociology from Forman Christian College (FCCU). She completed the American Semester Program at Michigan State University through the UGRAD program where she served as a cultural ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. Department of State.
Holly Hostettler-Davies

Holly Hostettler-Davies, from Wales, UK, is a committed gender equality advocate with a keen interest in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
In April 2024, the UK government selected Holly as the nation’s first Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Advisor. In that role she attended and spoke at the United Nations’ Commission on Population and Development conference at the UN headquarters in New York. While there, she took part in sessions with government officials and collaborated with other youth delegates.
Holly has been active with YJI since 2020, attending all three of YJI’s Global Conferences. In the 2023 and 2024 conferences, she took on a leadership role and is a key organizer for the 2025 Global Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
She is also a qualified Teaching English as a Foreign Language teacher, having taught students aged 6-70 across Europe and with the Chilean Ministry of Education.
Holly is a 2024 graduate of Cardiff University with a first-class degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. She is currently studying a Masters of Law in International Human Rights with the University of Law.
Sreehitha (Sarah) Gandluri

Sreehitha (Sarah) Gandluri is a first-year Honors Carolina Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in Political Science and Global Studies.
She has been a student reporter of Youth Journalism International since 2020, working on several collaborative projects, including the No one is safe global investigation into the trauma of sexual assault. Through her work, she’s risen to the rank of Senior Correspondent.
Sarah, who is from Maryland, U.S., has taken part in YJI global conferences in Istanbul and Mexico City. She has published work in local and national newspapers in the United States, including USA Today and the Washington Blade.
Steve Collins

A journalist since 1987, Steve Collins has worked for daily newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Maine.
He has served as the State House reporter for the Sun Journal in Lewiston, Maine since 2016. He was the Maine Press Association’s Journalist of the Year in 2022. Among his awards are the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award and its history-writing prize in 2022 and 2023, the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2016 Ethics in Journalism Award, the I.F. Stone Whistle-Blower Award in 2015 and scores of state awards in Maine, Connecticut and New York.
Collins is a founder and board president of Youth Journalism International, a charity that teaches students around the globe about news writing, media literacy and issues of the day.
Born in Massachusetts, he grew up in a military family that took him to Norway, Ohio and Virginia, where he earned a degree in history from the University of Virginia.


Above at left, Cassie Lloyd Perrin, Steve Collins, Shaina Zurlin, Jackie Majerus and Arooj Khalid at YJI’s 2023 Global Conference in Prague. At right, Mike Soltys and Regina López at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut in 2022.


Above left: Student board members Sreehitha Gandluri and Regina López in Mexico City. At right, some of the YJI board at the 2024 Global Conference in Mexico City.