The Bee launches opinion advisory board to get diverse views. Here’s who is on it
This month The Bee launched a new effort aimed at improving its opinions: the first-ever opinion advisory board.
Creating advisory boards for opinion sections is occurring this year at McClatchy Co. newspapers across the nation. McClatchy is the company that owns The Bee.
The goal in forming the boards is to hear diverse viewpoints from people who are active in the community.
Four residents with deep involvement in Fresno make up The Bee’s inaugural group. Two are local business owners, one heads a leading nonprofit and the fourth is a retired educator who was once Fresno County’s teacher of the year.
“Getting the perspectives of others who have a demonstrated commitment to our area will help educate our opinion-making process,” said Bee Editor Joe Kieta. “We look to the advisory board members to help us focus on the key issues of the day, and share their ideas and views as we develop our own.”
The advisory panel will meet with The Bee’s Editorial Board once a month. The panelists will give their sense of what important developments are occurring locally, and Bee staff can discuss editorials being considered and get the panelists’ reactions and views.
Who is on the board
The opinion advisory board members are the following:
▪ Mike Betts. He is chief executive officer of Betts Company, a Fresno firm that started in San Francisco in 1868 to make springs for streetcars, carriages and wagons.
Today the family-owned company manufactures springs for use in commercial trucking and farm equipment, as well as in mining, oil and gas exploration. It also operates a truck parts division and a repair service.
He is also chairman of the Fresno Business Council, which was formed in 1993 by business leaders to tackle economic and social issues in the community.
▪ Sandra Celedon. She is the president and chief executive officer for Fresno Building Healthy Communities, a nonprofit that promotes community involvement in establishing healthy neighborhoods.
As an example, BHC members were heavily involved in promoting the Measure P initiative to improve Fresno’s parks.
A native of the Calwa community, Celedon is a Fresno State graduate with a background in public health. She has more than 15 years of experience in community organizing, public policy, management, data and evaluation, and communications.
▪ Corey Jackson. A Fresnan who was once a standout football player for Bullard High School and Fresno City College, Jackson created Scrubcan, a business that started in 2014 cleaning the insides of trash cans.
He then expanded the operation to include washing of solar panels, fleet and restaurant cleaning and pressure washing.
Jackson earned an associate’s degree from Fresno City College and a business growth certificate from St. Mary’s College. He is on the board of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Fresno Boys and Girls Club of Fresno County.
▪ Pauline Sahakian. A Fresno native and daughter of an Armenian immigrant farmer, Sahakian become an English teacher in the Clovis Unified School District and area universities.
Three times during her teaching career, Sahakian returned to Fresno State, first as a fellow in the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, then for a master’s degree in English, and ultimately to earn a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership.
Later she became a composition and education instructor at Fresno State and was the founding director of the UC Merced Writing Project.
Sahakian was the 1994 Fresno County teacher of the year and a finalist for California teacher of the year in 1996. In 2016 she was a recipient of the Kremen School Noted Alumni Award at Fresno State.
Looking forward
Members of the board will serve for six months. After that, a new slate will be chosen. Anyone interested in serving should email Bee Opinion Editor Tad Weber at tweber@fresnobee.com.
