Local News Initiative Advisory Board

Nancy Sharkey served as Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona School of Journalism, retiring in May of 2021. Nancy was also the Associate Director of the UA journalism program from 2015 to 2020 and held a variety of other roles during her tenure, including as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Chair of the Career-Track Promotion and Tenure Committee for the College. Earlier in her career, Nancy spent more than 25 years in various editorial positions at The New York Times, including Senior Editor of Recruiting & Training and Education Editor. She has taught courses on reporting, editing, and reporting public affairs as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In 2011 while a faculty member at the UA School of Journalism, Nancy coordinated the Tucson coverage of the mass shooting and attempted assassination on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for The New York Times. Nancy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Primavera Foundation.

Stephen is a retired lawyer and a former reporter and media executive. He grew up in newspapering — he was a copy boy running errands in newsrooms at 13, a junior reporter at 17, and a full-time working journalist at 20. He’s also been a TV and radio reporter and producer. Stephen joined The New York Times as a reporter in 1966, leaving the next year for a series of posts in radio and television. He rejoined The Times in 1976, serving as a manager in several departments. Stephen spent nearly 30 years as a business executive at The New York Times before moving to Tucson in 1999 to pursue a law degree and a master’s degree in American Indian studies at the University of Arizona, intending to move elsewhere after graduation. But he and his wife came to know and love Tucson and stayed. He practiced law for several years and is now retired, spending time with charitable, philanthropic and political activities.

Beth has vast experience working on behalf of some of the country’s most prominent national foundations, bringing the national arts philanthropic sector to Arizona in support of the work of numerous Arizona arts groups. After bringing the Rockefeller Foundation to Tucson in the 1990s to help resolve a community conflict over the firing of a high school drama teacher, she introduced a number of Arizona arts and culture organizations to Rockefeller which ultimately resulted in grants to these organizations. Beth has authored numerous arts policy publications stemming from her work with the Independent Committee on Arts Policy and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She was commissioned by the Herberger Foundation to write “Play by Play, Phoenix and Building the Herberger Theatre,” which tells the 10-year history of Phoenix in the context of the civic project. Beth has served on the boards of the Centro Cultural Mexicano de Phoenix, the Scottsdale Chapter of the National Writer’s Voice, and the Heard Museum.

Dino’s commitment to public service began in 1959 when he served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Office. Following his military service, he returned to Tucson and served in several public sector leadership roles including Tucson City Attorney and Chief of Staff to Governor Raul H Castro. At the national level, Dino served as the Director of the U.S. Savings Bonds Program in the Treasury Department and as the Director of Financial Education at Consumer Federation of America. A longtime advocate for the arts, Dino was appointed chairman of the Arizona Arts Commission by then Governor Bruce Babbitt in 1980. From 1980 to 1993, he was Vice President and partner of Paul R. Gibson & Associates, an international business consulting firm, and from 1993 to 1995 and 2002 to 2005, was a Vice President and Senior Associate of the successor firm, Projects International. A long-time advocate on behalf of immigration reform at nation and local levels, Dino is a member of the End Streamline Coalition, a group of individuals and organizations committed to opposing the criminalization of immigrants.

Donald was educated in the Tucson public school system and graduated from the UA College of Law in 1955. Following his tour as an officer in the U.S. Army, he returned to Tucson in 1957 and formed the law firm of Merchant, Parkman, Miller and Pitt, known today as Miller, Pitt & Feldman. During and after Donald’s law career, he actively engaged in the commercial real estate field as a developer/owner of over 3,000,000 sq. ft. of office building, hotel, apartments, condominiums, shopping center and subdivision properties throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Another facet of Donald’s career was the athletic and entertainment fields, including founding the Phoenix Suns and serving as the president until 1986, involvement in the founding ownership of the Arizona Diamondbacks, owning KVOA TV, Tucson’s NBC affiliate and serving on the Board of Directors of Filmways, subsequently known as Orion Pictures.

Donald’s longtime commitment to education has allowed him to serve in a variety of roles. He served eleven years as a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, Vice Chairman of Tucson Unified School District’s Committee to Desegregate Tucson Schools, Chairman of the Fenster School Board and presently Co-Chair of the Education Task Force for Southern Arizona Leadership Council. As a former board member of the University of Arizona Hospital, he was instrumental in converting the hospital from a state operated facility to a non-profit corporation and in creating the UA Campus research park, where he served as President of the Board of Directors for over fifteen years.

Nina is a corporate communications consultant who has made Tucson her home since 1976. Starting as a reporter and news anchor at KGUN-TV, where she also wrote and produced dozens of documentaries, special series, and investigative reports on topics ranging from the special needs of children to the death penalty. In 1985 she left KGUN to develop and direct the News/Communications department at the Arizona Health Sciences Center. In 2005, Nina was elected to the Tucson City Council, where for four years she focused on sustainable growth, revitalization of Downtown, integration of the fine arts in economic development planning, restructuring of the Land Use Code to enable adaptive reuse of old buildings, and fiscal responsibility. She has served on dozens of nonprofit boards during her years in Tucson including the UA Psychology Advisory Board, the UA Dance Advisory Board and the UA Arthritis Center Advisory Board.

Jenny Flynn
(she/her/hers)

Jenny is a long-time Tucsonan, settling here as her adopted home in 1999 after spending time in six states and four countries. She joined the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) as President and CEO in 2021. At CFSA, she is especially proud of the innovative ways we partner with donors and nonprofits to serve the ever-changing needs of our community. Recent examples include the Nonprofit Solar Project, the Solutions-Focused Community Book Club, and the Local News Initiative of Southern Arizona.

Before joining CFSA, Jenny Flynn served Southern Arizona through various leadership positions at the University of Arizona Foundation for twenty years.  Working with a broad array of national and local partner foundations, she raised more than $100 million for the University. She also collaborated on significant initiatives, including building a talent management program and creating and executing a strategic plan to double fundraising.

Prior to her career as a philanthropy professional, Jenny spent time as a National Park Ranger in Denali National Park and Glacier National Park, taught English as a second language in Spain and Italy, and served as teaching faculty and lecturer at the University of Montana, Sinte Gleska University, and Arizona State University. She currently serves on the board of the MAP Dashboard, Sun Corridor, and the University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy.