Natalya Dreszer joins LION as our new Data and Evaluation Program Associate

Before 2025, 354 LIONs have passed through the Sustainability Audit program, with 93 percent saying the Audit has had or will have a positive impact in making their news business more sustainable. With the expectation of many more hundreds of independent news publishers participating in the Sustainability Audit on a more frequent basis, we launched a new version of the Sustainability Audit earlier this year. 

To support that growth and maintain the high quality user experience for LIONs, we’re thrilled to announce Natalya Dreszer as our new Data and Evaluation Program Associate! Natalya’s work will include:

• Supporting news businesses in completing the Sustainability Audit as LION’s main point of contact
• Coordinating coaching and other educational and development support opportunities for publishers
• Strengthening program delivery and evaluation for the Sustainability Audit to ensure it remains a useful and timely initiative for publishers
• Facilitating the creation and promotion of educational resources gleaned from Sustainability Audit data

Previously, Natalya developed and led LION Award-winning engagement and operational projects at Santa Cruz Local, a news start-up in California.  

Natalya was drawn to the news industry’s puzzle of how to access and distribute information while working to help the Santa Cruz City Attorney’s Office comply with the California Public Records Act (California’s version of the Freedom of Information Act).

Natalya loves cooking, culinary stories, thru-hiking, family, friends and cats. Natalya is bilingual in English and Russian and is based in Brooklyn, New York.