RNA Board Elects Dawn Araujo-Hawkins as President
Dawn Araujo-Hawkins was elected to a two-year term as Religion News Association’s (RNA) next president in advance of the organization’s annual conference in Arlington, Virginia, in April 2025.
Araujo-Hawkins previously served on the RNA board as vice president. She replaces Ken Chitwood, who served as president from 2023-2025.
Araujo-Hawkins currently serves as news editor at the Christian Century. Her reporting has won awards from the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Press Association, the Religion News Association, and the Great Plains Journalism Awards. In 2024, she received the Award of Excellence for long format international reporting from the Associated Church Press. In addition to serving on the RNA board, Araujo-Hawkins serves as vice president of the independent magazine Anabaptist World.
“I have the distinct memory of learning about RNA for the first time when I was a junior in college. I had recently had the epiphany that I wanted to pursue religion rather than fashion journalism—and when I discovered RNA, I felt like I had found my people,” Araujo-Hawkins said. “In many ways, it feels surreal to now be more than a decade into my career and to be helping to lead this organization that has meant so much to me.”
Chitwood will continue closely working with the RNA team on the Religion Stylebook, an authoritative guide created for journalists who report on religion in the mainstream media, and ReligionLink, a comprehensive series of timely source guides and story ideas for those reporting on religion.
“RNA gave me my career; the least I could do was give back with these last nine years on the board,” Chitwood said. “There are exciting opportunities and shape-shifting challenges ahead for reporters on the religion beat and I am truly excited to see where Dawn, the board, and RNA’s staff take the organization in the future.
“I can’t think of better people to lead us at such a time as this,” he said.
In addition to Araujo-Hawkins’s new position, the following board members were elected to new positions:
Holly Meyer has been elected as co-vice president of RNA. Meyer currently serves as religion news editor of the Associated Press’s global religion team. She is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Kalpana Jain has been elected as co-vice president of RNA. Jain currently serves as senior ethics and religion editor at The Conversation US. She is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Deepa Bharath has been elected as secretary of RNA. Bharath currently serves as a religion reporter on the Associated Press’s global religion team. She is based in Los Angeles, California.
Liam Adams remains on the RNA board as treasurer. Adams currently serves as a religion reporter at The Tennessean. He is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
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