Georgetown University’s journalism program is celebrating its 10-year anniversary under the leadership of a new director dedicated to experiential learning. 

Rebecca Sinderbrand (COL ’99), who became director of the program this fall, will lead the program into its second decade with a relaunch of its website, an annual journalism conference, a new alumni advisory panel and new academic courses. Sinderbrand took leadership of the program after years of work in the journalism field, most recently as senior Washington editor for NBC News.

Prior to her role at NBC, Sinderbrand held editorial positions at The Washington Post, Politico and CNN. Sinderbrand previously served as a fellow for the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service in the Fall 2016 semester. While at Georgetown, Sinderbrand served as deputy news editor for The Hoya, working alongside other Hoya staff including current New York Times reporter Clay Risen and ABC News correspondent Karen Travers.

As Sinderbrand implements new additions to the journalism program this year, she said her overarching goal will be to ensure that any student who wishes to pursue a career in journalism has the resources to do so.

“In every decision that this program makes, that will remain the core priority: making sure that students never feel as though there are barriers that their talent and their interest and their motivation can’t overcome with our assistance,” Sinderbrand told The Hoya.

Sinderbrand said her short-term goals for the program include hosting on-campus events with successful journalists with whom she has connections from her time in the industry, strengthening career-based programming and hiring new adjunct professors who have worked for major news outlets.

Sinderbrand said she missed these opportunities during her time as a Georgetown undergraduate when there was no journalism program.

“We have a really just amazing opportunity to provide our students with a set of experiences and the type of connections that they really wouldn’t necessarily be able to get anywhere else,” Sinderbrand said. “And that for me is a priority, particularly again as someone who came to Georgetown and did not know a single person in journalism and couldn’t even conceive of it as a profession.”

Sinderbrand said developing experiential learning, which she defines as opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, will drive her decision-making process as she leads the program. She hopes to bring students to newsrooms, the White House press room and Capitol Hill to help students form connections with top journalists.

“We want to raise awareness of that, but also create this community where we have alumni who are kind of reaching back to the next generation of Georgetown journalists and helping to launch them and giving them their start and showing them the ropes,” Sinderbrand said. 

Sinderbrand said the program will be relaunching its website this spring as part of its 10-year anniversary celebration, with the updated website featuring new digital content like interviews with alumni and Barbara Todd, the founder of Georgetown’s journalism program. Todd served as director of the journalism program until 2017, after which Georgetown named Los Angeles Times reporter Doyle McManus as director. 

Sinderbrand has brought her many connections from the journalism world to the Hilltop, according to professor Ann Oldenburg, who serves as assistant director of the journalism program.

Oldenburg said Sinderbrand has already helped the program organize events with Mark Leibovich from The Atlantic, news radio host Ira Glass from “This American Life” and Capitol Hill reporter Ali Vitali from NBC News.

“It’s really exciting,” Oldenburg told The Hoya. “Rebecca is bringing so much energy and so many great ideas and so many connections, so many plans. She really sees a great future for the program, and that’s exactly what the program has needed.”

Quentin Fidance (SFS ’24), who is pursuing a minor in journalism, said the journalism program provides students with opportunities to explore their interests in politics and economics through a different lens.

 “When you think of Georgetown, you think of those future politicians and world leaders. Those high rising executives and social leaders,” Fidance wrote to The Hoya. “But there is an untapped potential for covering the news. Students hold politics, social affairs, and the economy with such high regard, and the journalism minor provides a new opportunity to express those views outside of working on Capitol Hill or a consulting firm.”

Oldenburg said the journalism program aims to expand in size, and she expects that the speakers Sinderbrand brings to campus will encourage more students to explore the field of journalism. 

“I think Rebecca’s plans will perhaps excite people to want to go into journalism more, because we will have a lot of people here talking about how important it is and people who’ve done great work and are doing great work,” Oldenburg said.