Julio Ricardo Varela

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

• Work with a select group of clients across nonprofit journalism, including Connecticut Public, GBH's WORLD Channel, Pulso
• Launched The Latino Newsletter in June, of 2024. Achieved top search team for "latino newsletter" with an average of 65% open rates and 60% of traffic through social media.
• 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.

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)

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.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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.

• Directed an early reading print/technology hybrid product.

• 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.

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

• 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.

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

• 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.

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

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

• 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.

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