Kyra Brissette will assume the role of CEO on April 1, 2025.

Kyra Brissette, who has been with Media Literacy Now since June 2022 as COO and Director of Development, will lead the organization as CEO into its next chapter! MLN has always been an organization that is nimble and responds to the constantly changing landscape of media and education. And it is time for this change. Get to know our new CEO and read our Q&A below —

Kyra, you’ve been with Media Literacy Now for the last almost three years — largely working behind-the-scenes to advance our mission. Can you give folks a little background about yourself.

Throughout my life and career I have practiced activism in a wide range of areas. As a child, I engaged in activism to make my school and town safer, from lobbying lawmakers to provide seatbelts on buses, to advocating for funding for schools, to representing the student voice in town-wide conflict resolution training and implementation programs. 

I grew up with three brothers, guided by a matriarch who led by example, encouraging her children to speak their minds and make the world a better place. As a young adult, I came to realize our family’s philosophy was living a life of Praxist — the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas.

I took my passion for creating change and applied it to the places I’ve worked and volunteered, directly impacting environmental issues, maternal and child health, education, and advocating for youths with disabilities. I earned my MBA and applied my business skills like strategic planning, fundraising, organizational development, volunteer management, and board management, to help these organizations effectively navigate the unique challenges of the non-profit sector while achieving their mission goals.

Why Media Literacy Now? What drew you in?

As a mother and aunt, I realize children today live in a world where media is everywhere and technology is a part of life. I want to make sure that we — parents and K-12 schools — equip them with the skills and tools they need to know in order to evaluate information, ask critical questions, avoid manipulation, and engage in digital spaces safely and confidently. 

I found Media Literacy Now while searching for resources for myself and my family.  As someone who worked in nonprofit for years I was impressed with the work of MLN and Erin — her ability to create movement around—and mobilize — passionate volunteers through her own concerns as a parent about the lack of media literacy education.

Since you joined the organization almost three years ago, “media literacy” has been in the news more frequently. It’s exciting to see momentum build and more folks becoming aware of the importance of media literacy. What’s your take? Is there anything that’s overlooked or missed in the conversation?

It’s encouraging that in the three years I have been at MLN there is greater awareness of media literacy and its importance. I do think people see the potential negative impact that media messages, information, and platforms can have on our children but they don’t always see media literacy education as part of the solution. That’s what we’re trying to do at MLN — encourage people to see that media literacy education should always be part of the solution. The ability to navigate within our complex and ever-changing media landscape depends on acquiring skills and tools to know how to consume and evaluate information, ask critical questions, avoid manipulation, and engage in digital spaces safely and confidently. 

How do you view Media Literacy Now’s role in advocating for media literacy education? What do you identify as the organization’s value-add?

Our role in advocating for media literacy education is to ensure media literacy is recognized as an essential element of K-12 education in the U.S.. MLN fills the essential gap to get from research and curriculum development, to the students.

Over the course of the last 12 years we have come to recognize that influencing public policy is complex, and requires different strategies. MLN’s greatest value add is our network of volunteers — our State Advocacy Leaders doing this work across the country. These volunteers are working to get bipartisan supported policies passed, working with state departments of education to ensure media literacy education is included, and grassroots efforts to ensure parents and educators have access to media literacy education resources they need.

We recently debuted two databases of teacher resources, curated by teams of teachers and media literacy experts. What most folks don’t know is that you secured the funding for — and led — these projects. Can you tell us a bit more about them?

We can get media literacy education into schools a few different ways — through education policy and through grassroots efforts. Grassroots efforts can often be individual teachers taking the initiative to incorporate media literacy concepts and lessons into their curriculum. We want to support teachers looking to do this. As part of our Science and Digital Wellness projects we enlisted a panel of experts to create go-to databases of media literacy-informed K-12 science and health education resources, categorized by grade level and other relevant criteria. 

I’ve been fortunate to be leading our Science and Digital Wellness projects alongside our National Health and Science advisors. It was fun to invite more educators into our work and work collaboratively through these projects. I’ve been impressed by the panel of experts — they have such enthusiasm for teaching and are so dedicated to their students. We’re so grateful to them for contributing their curriculum and academic expertise to ensure we equip students with the critical thinking skills of media literacy that they need not only in school but beyond.

“Kyra cares as much about the future of MLN as I do, and has a powerful vision to get us there. Her passion for the mission, her extensive nonprofit management experience, and her thoughtful and caring approach will serve our movement very well. I can’t wait to see where she takes us in the next chapter.” Erin McNeill, Founder and CEO, Media Literacy Now 

In your new role as CEO, what do you identify as your priorities or goals for the next year or so? 

My priority for MLN for the next year is to build on the momentum Erin and the team have had over the last few years. I hope to grow and support our volunteers that are working hard to ensure all K-12 students are taught media literacy. They are vital to the mission of Media Literacy Now. 

I’m excited for the release of the report of policy recommendations in Massachusetts as a result of our project with the state’s department of elementary and secondary education. We plan to  leverage this work in Massachusetts for other states. The new data and recommendations will be shared with our State Advocate and partner networks to better advocate for media literacy in K-12 education across the US. 

If someone is concerned about the lack of media literacy education in their community and schools, what advice would you give them? How does someone get started? 

So many people write to us and ask us what they can do to advocate for media literacy education in their communities or schools. I’m happy to share that we’ll be releasing an Advocacy Toolkit for Parents and Individuals in late March. It includes a menu of actions individuals can take — from starting conversations with your kids’ teachers, to reaching out to local and state policymakers. We hope it’s a good resource for those looking to start their own advocacy journey, much like our founder did 12 years ago. 

Additionally, if you’re able, please consider supporting our advocacy efforts with a donation. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference as we look to deepen our impact in 2025.