NLGJA Los Angeles
We are committed to fostering a vibrant community of journalists and other news media professionals from all over Southern California. We strive to be a hub for queer journalists, providing opportunities for us to meet and network, as well as learn, grow and develop media skills.
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
NLGJA is committed to fostering fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. We are a national organization of journalists, media professionals, educators, and students working toward the professional development of our members. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NLGJA was founded in 1990 and is led by a board of directors and chapter leaders across the country. Read more about the national organization.
Meet Our Board
Katie Karl – Interim Co-President
Katie Karl (she/her), born and raised in the Greater Los Angeles area, is a dedicated news producer with extensive experience in live news coverage and team coordination. Currently a freelance writer and producer at KABC, she brings years of experience from her work at stations like KPNX, KHQ and KEYT. Katie holds a BA in Broadcast Media from Gonzaga University and is recognized for her leadership in media.
Hansen Bursic – Interim Co-President
An Appalachian-born, Los Angeles-transplant, Hansen Bursic (he/him) is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. A 2024 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader and 2023 Ford Foundation Rockwood Documentary Leaders Fellow, Bursic runs Hansen Bursic Film, a nonfiction production company dedicated to historically excluded narratives, specifically of LGBTQ+ and working class people. His latest documentary, “Trans Heaven, Pennsylvania“, which tells the story of when hundreds of trans women and self-identified cross dressers took over a small town each year to throw a legendary party, has screened internationally at film festivals including Frameline and NewFest and won Best Documentary Short at the ReelQ: Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival. In addition to his film work, Bursic is a film critic with bylines in Documentary magazine, cinéSPEAK, and INTO. He is also member of GALECA: The Society For LGBTQ+ Entertainment Critics.
Daniel Huecias
By way of the Inland Empire and the beaches of California’s Central Coast, Daniel Huecias (he/him) is a multimedia journalist and producer in podcasting and broadcast radio, centering storytelling through sound. Now based in Los Angeles, he is the current Production Fellow at Maximum Fun, a worker-owned podcast network, producing on “Feeling Seen” and the network’s flagship show, “Bullseye with Jesse Thorn”. In addition, Daniel acts as senior producer for This Way Out Radio, an international LGBTQ+ radio news program. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara where he directed news and special programming at KCSB-FM, the first and most senior of all UC radio stations. His work as a producer, journalist, and photographer has been featured in various publications in California and radio stations across the globe. In his free time, Daniel enjoys binging the American crime drama television series Murder She Wrote and practicing mixed martial arts.
Kat Contreras
Kat Contreras (they/them) is a Los Angeles-based visual storyteller with over a decade of experience in photography and digital media production for personal brands, small businesses, and nonprofits. They thrive at the intersection of media and technology, creating inclusive designs and visual stories that offer unique perspectives. Kat’s work has been featured in Time, Esquire, CNN, Variety, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, and more. They find personal fulfillment not only in capturing the authenticity of everyday life through portrait and landscape photography, but also through service work, including their role as a board member for the LA chapter of NGLJA, where they are dedicated to fostering inclusivity and representation in journalism.
Richard Martinez
Richard Martinez (he/they) is the former editor-in-chief of Los Angeleno, an arts and culture publication that celebrated the various idiosyncrasies that define Los Angeles. They also work for the Los Angeles Press Club. Aside from advocating for the death of the Oxford comma, Richard spends most of their time staring lovingly at the 60 or so plants currently threatening to take over the house. They also do a bit of photography and print design when the stars align.
Sir Lex Kennedy
Sir Lex Kennedy (he/they/simply sir) is a vegan, queer, black trans masculine media content creator who loves film, music, gardening and the beach and believes “ball is life”. Lex studied Comparative Women’s Studies and Film at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, before being forced to leave and finish his studies at the Los Angeles City College in their film program. As an artist and activist, Sir Lex strives to bring marginalized stories to the center of popular culture through comedy series and documentaries. Sir Lex has directed multiple short films featured in film festivals like Campus MovieFest, Newfest, Fusion and Outfest, through their inaugural OutSet program and across the world, winning numerous awards. Sir Lex completed a Sound Fellowship in the Fall of 2019 for “DISCLOSURE“, a documentary currently streaming on Netflix. Lex has worked as a Producer for Tribune Creative West/KTLA5 in Los Angeles, and currently works as the Audience Engagement Producer for ABC7/Disney in Glendale. Over the summer of 2020 he Produced and Assistant Directed on the short, “edible”. He is currently producing the pilot to his series “RETROS!”