Senior Director, Program Operations and Partnerships
Kevin Loker, an experienced nonprofit programming, research and partnerships professional, is Senior Director of Program Operations and Partnerships at the American Press Institute. He brings 15 years of experience in the journalism support space to the role, over a decade of which has been at API itself.
As Senior Director of Program Operations and Partnerships, Kevin organizes and facilitates programming for the Journalism Strategy team. He also supports the Executive Director and SVP in maintaining and developing relationships with collaborators, sponsors and funders that help advance API’s mission.
Since joining API in 2013, Kevin has played a role in the evolution of API’s in-person events (today API Local News Summits) and research, anchored by the Media Insight Project, API’s collaboration with the Associated Press – NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Kevin’s research experience in journalism includes contributing to more than a dozen studies of U.S. news consumers through MIP, contributing to a major study of philanthropic funding ethics in news; surveys of journalists; and serving as the research assistant for the fourth edition of “The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect,” a widely used journalism textbook.
For 2023-2024, Kevin was a Visiting Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. His project built upon work to reimagine local opinion journalism and philanthropy’s role in the process. His report “Philanthropy and Local Opinion Journalism: A Civic Opportunity” was published in September 2024.
Before API, Kevin worked in digital and membership services for the Online News Association. He is a former contributor to 10,000 Words, a media industry blog. Together with his wife Laura, he received a 2017 Catholic Press Association Award for an email newsletter for Catholics. Email Kevin at kevin.loker@pressinstitute.org, follow him @kevinloker or connect with him on LinkedIn.
More from the author
Local news must invite youth into civic life — and lifelong connection
We believe local news plays a critical role in cultivating local identity and civic engagement. But today’s youth need to be brought into a relationship with a local news institution just as they should be brought into and affirmed that they are active members of civic life today. That’s why we’ll convene our API Local News Summit on Youth Trust and Civic Resilience in March.
Where civic culture meets sustainability: Announcing API’s 2026 Local News Summits
As the American Press Institute marks 80 years, we’ll honor our legacy by continuing to respond to the evolving needs of news leaders. Our upcoming API Local News Summits will explore three critical places where democracy and sustainability intersect.
Join our API Local News Summit on Inclusion, Belonging and Local Leadership
The American Press Institute is hosting a local summit on October 9-10 in Washington, D.C., to empower news leaders in enhancing residents’ leadership and influence over their community’s information ecosystem.
