Julio Ricardo Varela

Media, Journalism, Leadership

Milton, MA
juliorvarela@gmail.com

Professional Summary

Award-winning journalist and digital media expert with over 30 years of experience in leadership, editorial production, and U.S. Latino issues. Proven track record in securing significant revenue, driving digital transformation, and leading high-performing teams with operational success.

Accomplishments

Founded the breakthrough U.S. Latino news site: Latino Rebels. Edited, produced and published 12,000+ stories/episodes from 500+ contributors.
Named President of Pulitzer winner Futuro Media in May 2022, successfully executing a 65/35 philanthropic/earned revenue ratio.
Secured over $16 million in funding as Interim Co-Executive Director/President of Futuro Media and VP of new business for Futuro Studios.
20+ years of deep expertise in digital media and community-generated local news.
Named one of Boston's most influential Latinos in 2018 by Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción.
Lifetime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and winner of NAHJ's inaugural DALE Presidential Award.
Named one of the Top 40 Latinos in American Media twice (2013, 2014).
National and columnist on U.S. Latino issues. Bylines include MSNBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Atlantic. Full portfolio here.
Co-hosted the award-winning In The Thick political podcast, named the 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Podcast of the Year by Ad Week.
Led business affairs team for Futuro's 2023 Frontline documentary about Uvalde, a Peabody Award and Emmy Award nominee.
Directed a 1,348% increase in podcast users for Latino USA, the longest-running Latino-focused program on U.S. public media.
Co-hosted appearances on Al Jazeera America's "The Stream" and Al Jazeera English's "The Stream."
1990 Harvard graduate, cum laude, Latin American History and Literature.
Exceptional social media leader on Twitter (@julito77) and other networks. Managed online communities of 500K-1 million combined followers.
Retained in 2009 by Univision to consolidate and expand its digital media presence.
Fluent Bilingual/Bicultural communicator (English/Spanish). Native of Puerto Rico.
Produced major campaigns for FernandoVarela.com, part of FORTE, finalist for "America's Got Talent."
20+ years experience in educational development and advocacy for Latino students in U.S. public school systems.

Skills

DIGITAL MEDIA LEADER

Unique ability to take the big picture view and consistently deliver on a practical and measurable level

REVENUE GENERATOR

Rare combination of a strong and credible editorial voice who can also close funding deals, both in the nonprofit and commercial spaces.

OPERATIONAL LEADER

Leads multiple organizations with outstanding results. Expert knowledge across administration, finance and human resources.

EdiTOR

Edited more than 15,000 online articles since 2008 for several outlets

JOURNALIST

Written and filed 1,000+ news stories and opinion pieces.

TV & AUDIO

Brings a fresh voice to U.S. Latino issues, Latin American politics and general news items.

Native Proficiency in English and Spanish

Conducted business, written content and edited stories in both native languages for 30 years.

PODCAST PRODUCER/EDITOR

Produced hundreds of Latino Rebels Radio episodes. Edited stories for Peabody winner Latino USA. Co-hosted In The Thick. Co-produced stories for La Brega and Latino USA.

Education

Bachelor of Arts (cum laude)

Harvard COLLEGE

9/19866/1990

Graduated in the History and Literature of Latin America, with a focus on Puerto Rico. Harvard Crimson Sports Editor, 1988-1990.

Work experience

FOUNDER

The LATINO NEWSLETTER

5/2024PRESENT

Launched The Latino Newsletter in May of 2024. Achieved top search team for "latino newsletter" with an average of 65% open rates and 60% of traffic through social media.
Produced The Latino Election Project for New England Public Media.

SENIOR CONSULTANT

SELF-EMPLOYED

12/2023PRESENT

Work with a select group of clients across nonprofit journalism, including Connecticut Public, GBH's WORLD Channel, Pulso
Areas of focus:
- Digital transformation
- Podcast production
- Change management
- CEO mentoring
- Project management of market research for U.S. Latino communities
- Created rigorous editorial guidelines for a bilingual (English-Spanish) newsroom.

VARIOUS LEADERSHIP ROLES

FUTURO MEDIA GROUP

10/201412/2023

Advisor to Board (9/2023-12/2023)

Worked directly with Futuro Media's Board of Directors to create new funding sources and continue the organization's award-winning legacy of premium journalism for underrepresented communities. Secured new deal with iHeart Radio.
Fully trained new leadership across all operational areas.

President (5/2022-8/2023)

Led all areas of the Pulitzer-winning media organization, including editorial, new revenue generation, finance, and operations. Negotiated extended renewals for several core funders, including the Ford Foundation. Increased the company's revenue share to achieve a 65/35 foundational money/earned revenue ratio.
Remote organization had a yearly budget of around $6 million, a 100% increase across five years. The latest annual report is here.
Secured all new revenue deals, including Apple TV+ (My Divo), Frontline, and NPR (The Last Cup).

Interim Co-Executive Director (5/2021-5/2022)

Led a staff of 35. Had 10 direct reports.
Oversaw the operations of additional editorial properties for Futuro, including Futuro Studios and Maria Hinojosa's new investigative unit.
Partnered with part-time co-executive director to lead all aspects of the company.

Editorial Director (2/2021-8/2022)

Directed the editorial output for three of Futuro Media's award-winning media properties: Latino USA, In The Thick and Latino Rebels.
Managed a 100% remote staff of 13 audio and digital producers.

VP, New Business (12/2018-5/2022)

Secured $3 million in new commercial revenue for Futuro Media's original programming division. Clients and partners include Netflix, Spotify, Higher Ground, KPCC/LAist, WNYC, WBUR and PolicyLink.

Co-Host, In The Thick (4/2016-8/2023)

Award-winning political podcast that earned several awards, including Ad Week's 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Podcast of the Year.

Senior Digital Director (1/2015-2/2021)

Directed all digital and social content for Latino USA, Latino Rebels, In The Thick and Futuro Media.
Since January 2015, directed a 1,348% increase in podcast users for Latino USA. Web traffic also tripled from 2015-2018.

NATIONAL COLUMNIST

MSNBC

10/2021PRESENT

As an independent contractor, files regular columns for MSNBC.com.
Several pieces have been featured as the site's top story. Pieces have generated hundreds of thousands of pageviews.

Founder

LATINO REBELS

4/2011Present

Created one of the fastest-growing Latino digital news sites, achieving 14+ million pageviews, 1+ billion impressions and an online community of 400K+ followers.
Featured in several sites, including The New York Times, On the Media, Forbes, WGBH Boston, Univision, ABC News, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, The Huffington Post, Le Monde, Drudge, the front page of Yahoo.
Sold Latino Rebels to Futuro Media in 2018.

NATIONAL COLUMNIST

VARIOUS NEWS OUTLETS

1/201510/2021

Wrote several pieces for various news outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian and The Boston Globe. Full portfolio is here.

Digital Producer, The Stream

AL JAZEERA AMERICA

7/20134/2014

Made co-host appearances for primetime show (WATCH). Also, substitute co-host for Al Jazeera English's "The Stream." (WATCH) Wrote and edited hundreds of news stories, including interviews with Dolores Huerta and Edward Snowden's SXSW appearance.

Contributor

NBC NEWS

10/201212/2013

Wrote weekly columns for NBC News (front page of MSNBC on April 23, 2013) and a viral column that led to several user-generated videos featured on national TV.

Editorial Director, Reading/Language Arts

SIX RED MARBLES

11/20119/2012

Directed an early reading print/technology hybrid product.

Editorial Director, K-5 Reading and Pre-K

Houghton mifflin harcourt

6/20105/2011

Led a group of 30 forward-thinking editors to develop market-leading and innovative products for the PreK-5 market. Managed two locations: Boston and Orlando.

Independent Education Consultant

UNIVISION

9/201110/2011

Ran the network's "Edúcate, Es el momento" digital campaign to increase awareness of Latino academic achievement and attainability in the United States.

Founder

Publish/V5 LLC

6/20086/2010

Generated $400K of revenue for Spanish-language products in the educational and commercial markets.
Launched the career of Fernando Varela, a 2013 "America's Got Talent" finalist.
Named Best Agency Using Social Media by Latinos in Social Media, 2009.

Editorial Director, English Development

DOUBLE O PUBLISHING SERVICES

9/20074/2009

Directed the development of all PreK-12 English language projects for a dynamic full-service house, producing content for major educational publishers.

Vice President, Editorial Director, Associate Editorial Director, Executive Editor

Houghton Mifflin

6/20037/2007

Directed the Division's entire K-6 Bilingual product line and several customizations of Houghton Mifflin Reading, including a $35 million Miami-Dade adoption.
Led full production of Houghton Mifflin Pre-K.

Associate Publisher

Vista Higher Learning

1/20022/2003

Directed Spanish language sales efforts into the private school and AP markets.

Editorial Director

Hispanex

5/19982/2003

Directed the development of over 40 projects (over 300,000 pages) for clients in the educational publishing world.

Editor, Editorial Project Manager

Houghton Mifflin

5/19915/1998

Conducted 50+ sales presentations, specifically in urban districts (Detroit, Phoenix, New York, and Houston). Executed several products for the award-winning, innovative Invitations to Literacy/Invitaciones Reading program.

Contributing Reporter

Boston Globe

6/19899/1989

Wrote 60+ articles for one of the country's premier sports departments.

SAMPLE Portfolio

TESTIMONIAL

"[Julio] He's founder of a great media organization called Latino Rebels... they do a ton of reporting on Latinx issues. Not just things like Puerto Rico or migration, but the whole full panoply, and they do incredible work."

—Chris Hayes, Host of All In with Chris Hayes, MSNBC

Awards and HONORS

50th Anniversary Gala Honoree, 2018, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción: One of 50 Boston area Latino honorees who "exemplify the best in our community, whether it’s through corporate philanthropy, excellence in the arts, or civic engagement."

Prudential 2018 Positive Impact Award: "As the founder of arguably the most influential Latino blog in the country –Latino Rebels– and a highly respected journalist online and on the air, Julio has dedicated his career to ensuring that Latinos are accurately represented by continuously raising awareness of the different issues that are impacting the community. As a Puerto Rican native, he has used the power of the pen, the reach of his online network, and his love for the island to shed light and truth on local issues such as the Puerto Rico debt crisis and the mishandling of the devastation on the island after Hurricane Maria."

2015 NAHJ Dale Presidential Award: "The inaugural 'Dale' award is given to an individual or company that steps up and goes above and beyond to ensure Latinos are fairly and accurately represented."