WASHINGTON – The Religion News Foundation (RNF) and its subsidiary, Religion News Service (RNS), are pleased to announce that journalist, lawyer and business executive Tom Gallagher has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the foundation and Chief Executive Officer and Publisher of the news service effective immediately.
RNF and RNS are affiliated with the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and support the work of the Religion News Association (RNA), the premier journalism association for professional journalists who write about religion.
“Tom’s breadth of experience and passion for our mission were central to the foundation board’s unanimous decision,” said Manya Brachear Pashman, RNF’s president. “He recognizes the need for smart religion journalism around the world and is up to the challenge of helping us sustain it.”
“The religion beat is hands down the best beat in journalism, and RNS is an iconic brand with outstanding journalists,” said Gallagher. “As more news outlets trim staff and coverage of religion, the role of RNS and the foundation becomes even more vital and urgent. I’m excited to join the team.”
Gallagher worked on Wall Street as a lawyer and in finance in both legal and non-legal capacities, in technology start-ups, and has served on a number of boards of directors. He spent two years as a full-time volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Saint Teresa of Calcutta, better known as Mother Teresa, where he helped create, and then administer, the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center, a New York State nonprofit organization that serves as a centralized and authoritative source of information on Mother Teresa. He also assisted with her cause of canonization.
Gallagher has written about domestic and foreign affairs for the National Catholic Reporter since 2009. In April 2016, he traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan to cover New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s pastoral visit to displaced Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities living in overcrowded displacement camps after being driven out of their homes by ISIS militants.
Gallagher was a finalist for the RNA’s 2016 Excellence in Religion Reporting award. His work also has appeared in the Huffington Post and the Greenwich Time.
“The National Catholic Reporter is a longtime subscriber to Religion News Service and many of our staff – including myself – are members of the Religion News Association,” said Dennis Coday, editor of National Catholic Reporter. “These entities are valuable resources to any journalist whose beat is religion, so I was delighted to learn that Tom was named CEO of RNF and CEO and Publisher of RNS.”
“I am confident that he has the vision and drive to shepherd these organizations into the future,” added Coday. “I know he understands the unique needs of nonprofit news organization dedicated to religion coverage.”
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About Religion News Foundation
Religion News Foundation (RNF), the parent of Religion News Service, is an independent, nonprofit educational and charitable foundation based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, which advances religious literacy through its websites, resources, networks, training seminars and events and other programs tailor-made for media professionals, corporate clients and the general public. RNF facilitates and encourages discourse about religion in a neutral and informative way without endorsing or promoting any particular belief system or point of view.
About Religion News Service
Religion News Service (RNS) is an independent, nonprofit and award-winning source of global news on religion, spirituality, culture and ethics, reported by a staff of professional journalists. Founded in 1934, RNS seeks to inform readers with objective reporting and insightful commentary, and is relied upon by secular and faith-based news organizations in a number of countries. RNS is affiliated with the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.
About Religion News Association
Religion News Association (RNA) is the premier journalism association for people who write about religion in the news media. RNA offers training and tools to help journalists cover religion with balance, accuracy and insight.
