The Better Government Association, and its nonprofit newsroom the Illinois Answers Project, has added three new staff members amid ongoing expansion.
New additions include Mumina Mohamud, community engagement and partnerships specialist; Saloni Nahar, events coordinator; and Cam Rodriguez, data reporter.
A Chicago native, Mumina Mohamud joins the BGA from the office of Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02) where she served as the senior community liaison, primarily handling small business, education, and labor issues as a part of Rep. Craig’s outreach team. In addition to her experience in Rep. Craig’s office, Mumina’s previous work included a fellowship with the Progressive Turnout Project. Mumina has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
As community engagement and partnerships specialist, Mumina will lead the BGA in connecting with local media and civic organizations, drive community input, and build relationships with community stakeholders.
“Mumina’s background in community engagement and civic outreach brings an important skill set to our team,” said Kathryn Dugal, manager of audience engagement at the BGA. “Mumina will play an integral role in our work to expand, diversify and deepen the BGA’s audience, develop strong partnerships, and enhance the impact of our work.”
Saloni Nahar joins the BGA’s audience engagement team as the BGA’s first-ever events coordinator. With a background in events, film, and social media, Saloni joined the BGA from Brown Girl Magazine’s Slashie Connects community, where she was the director of brand partnerships. An Illinois native who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Saloni has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
With the addition of these latest three hires, the BGA’s staff has grown to 25, catalyzed by the support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and their collaboration in the creation of the Illinois Solutions Partnership.
The BGA’s award-winning newsroom, the Illinois Answers Project, will continue to expand this summer with the recent announcement of a statewide initiative to provide reporting resources to newsrooms in cities across Illinois, generously funded by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
The latest addition to the Illinois Answers Project newsroom, Cam Rodriguez, comes to the BGA from Chalkbeat where she served as a data and graphics reporter. Prior to her role at Chalkbeat, Cam worked with South Side Weekly, WTTW, Voice of San Diego, the Detroit Free Press, USA TODAY and managed 14 East, DePaul’s award-winning student magazine. Cam received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from DePaul University, where she studied geography and journalism.
“Cam brings a wealth of experience in data reporting and will work to expand our data bases as we continue to grow and improve our website, IllinoisAnswers.org,” said Ronnie Ramos, editor in chief of the Illinois Answers Project.
