Gloria G. Fletcher - President, Sound Publishing (WA)

Gloria Fletcher is President of Sound Publishing, the Black Press group of community newspapers in Washington State.

Prior to joining Sound Publishing in April, 2012, Gloria was Vice President of Publishing – Community Division with GateHouse Media, Inc.. While there, she oversaw print and digital publications in 10 Midwestern states from 2007 to 2012.

From 1999 to 2007, Gloria was Vice President/Division Manager with Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI), overseeing 38 print and digital community publications in Oklahoma.

Gloria began her multimedia career straight out of college in 1985 by holding various positions in Oklahoma newspapers, and was the publisher of her hometown daily newspaper. She serves on the Local Media Association (formerly Suburban Newspaper Association) board and will be chairwoman in 2014.

Dennis Francis - President, Oahu Publications (HI)

Dennis Francis is the President of Oahu Communications and is in charge of Black Press Group Ltd's operations in Hawaii.

In 2010, Dennis engineered and led the consolidation of Honolulu's rival daily newspapers – the Star-Bulletin, for which he was publisher at the time, and the Advertiser, for which he previously served as general manager. Dennis is now publisher of the resulting Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Oahu’s leading provider of in-depth, consistent and credible local news and information with an average weekly readership of 493,303 or 70 per cent of Oahu adults.

Dennis has more than 30 years of senior newspaper management experience in markets that include Ohio, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Vermont and Hawaii. For the past 20 years, he has been one of the top news publication leaders in Hawaii.

Dennis was honored as a Gannett Top 10 Executive of the Year for Performance (President’s Ring) in 1996, 1998, and 2001. He is active on the board of directors for numerous community organizations, including Diamond Head Theatre (past chair), Friends of Cancer Research, Adult Friends for Youth, Hawaii Business Roundtable (executive committee member), Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (incoming chair), Enterprise Honolulu, Hawaii Chapter of the American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America Aloha Council, Japan-America Society of Hawaii and Aloha United Way.

Dennis was born in Martin, Kentucky and attended Edison State Community College, in Piqua, Ohio.

Andrea Mathewson - Publisher, Akron Beacon Journal (OH)

Andrea Mathewson is publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal, a daily newspaper in Ohio owned by Black Press Group Ltd. She became the first female publisher in the history of the Beacon Journal, in June 2007.

Andrea has worked at the Beacon Journal for more than 30 years, and was the newspaper’s vice president of production from 2005 until her promotion in 2010. During that time, she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the printing and packaging of the newspaper as well as facilities, transportation and building management.

During her tenure at the newspaper, Andrea has held numerous positions in advertising, legal, printing, purchasing and overall operations. 

In 2006, Editor and Publisher Magazine named Andrea one of six Production All-Stars, recognizing her as one of the top production executives in the nation. In 2005, Knight-Ridder Inc. chose her as one of four employees from its 32 newspapers to receive the Knight-Ridder Excellence Award for General Excellence.

Andrea is a board member of the Greater Akron Chamber, University Park Alliance, Akron Tomorrow and the Ohio Newspaper Association. She is also active in other charities in the community.