Founder, Futuro Media | Co-Host, In The Thick 

Maria Hinojosa is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, professor, and the founder of Futuro Media Group. A trailblazer in journalism, she has spent nearly 40 years carving out space in traditionally exclusive newsrooms, amplifying marginalized voices, and shedding light on overlooked stories to offer a more complex and accurate portrait of American society.

Since becoming the first Latina hired at NPR in 1985, Hinojosa has continuously pushed the boundaries of mainstream media, challenging dominant narratives and ensuring that diverse experiences and social injustices are reported with depth and authenticity. Her fearless storytelling has given voice to communities often ignored, redefining the American narrative through independent, multimedia journalism.

As the anchor and executive producer of Latino USA, the Peabody Award-winning radio program distributed by PRX, and co-host of In The Thick, Futuro Media’s acclaimed political podcast, Hinojosa has brought critical conversations about culture and politics to millions. Her work continues to challenge perspectives and elevate voices that have long been silenced. In 2022, she earned the Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting for Suave, a groundbreaking podcast from Futuro Studios and PRX. She is also a regular contributor on MSNBC, offering insightful commentary on pressing national and global issues.

Hinojosa’s career spans major networks, including PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN, and NPR, where she reported on communities and issues often overlooked by mainstream media. She anchored the Emmy Award-winning talk show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One on WGBH and, in 2011, became the first Latina to anchor a PBS FRONTLINE report, Lost in Detention, an investigation into immigrant detention centers that sparked national conversation and attention on Capitol Hill.

Her groundbreaking work has earned her numerous prestigious honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, four Emmy Awards, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award, the John Chancellor Award, the Nieman Foundation I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence, and the Studs Terkel Community Media Award. In 2024, she was honored with the W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award from the National Press Foundation. She has also been recognized by People En Español as one of the 25 most powerful Latina women and was honored with her own day in October by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

A dedicated mentor and educator, Hinojosa has helped shape the next generation of journalists through her role as the Distinguished Journalist in Residence at Barnard College, her alma mater, where she has taught since 2019. Her impact has also been recognized with seven honorary degrees, celebrating her contributions to journalism and media. She is the author of four books, including Crews: Gang Members Talk to Maria Hinojosa, Raising Raul, and the critically acclaimed Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America, as well as its young readers’ edition, Once I Was You: Finding My Voice and Passing the Mic.

Co-CEO and Co-Executive Director | Head of News and Investigations

Peniley Ramírez is an Emmy and IRE-award-winning investigative journalist and author. She serves as Executive Producer of Latino USA, Futuro Investigates, and Special Projects at Futuro Media and writes a weekly column for the Mexican media group Reforma. Before joining Futuro, she worked as an investigative correspondent for Univision, where she was part of global projects, such as the Pulitzer award-winning “Panama Papers.” She wrote an acclaimed book about dirty money in the war on drugs. Her reporting has led to several official investigations of politicians and business people in the U.S. and Latin America. She was awarded an Emmy and a Sigma Delta Chi Award for investigative reporting. Under her leadership, Futuro Investigates has won the Investigative Reporters and Editors, Imagen, and Nonprofit News awards. She has a Master of Arts in Business and Economics Journalism from Columbia University.

Co-Host

Dr. Christina Greer is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus. Her research and teaching focus on American politics, Black ethnic politics, campaigns and elections, and public opinion. She is the author of Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream and co-editor of Black Politics in Transition: Immigration, Suburbanization, and Gentrification. Greer writes a weekly column for The Amsterdam News, and is a frequent political commentator on several media outlets. She is the co-host of the New York centered podcast FAQ-NYC. Her forthcoming manuscript “How to build a democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” is forthcoming this fall.

Co-Host 

Paola Ramos is an author and Emmy-Award winning journalist. Ramos is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she is the host of “Field Report.” Ramos was a former Corresponded for Vice News for years. Before her career in journalism, she was the former Deputy Director of Hispanic Media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign, a political appointee during the Obama Administration and also served in President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

She is the author of “Finding Latin-X: In Search of the Voices redefining Latino Identity,” published by Penguin Random House. Ramos has a new book coming out on September 24th, 2024, titled “DEFECTORS: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and what It Means for America.”

Ramos is a former Hauser Leader in the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, where she received her master’s in public policy. she received her B.A. from Barnard College.

Co-Host

Judy Reyes is a diversely talented actor known for her vast body of work across television and film.

Judy can be seen in Hannah Marks’ Turtles All the Way Down alongside Isabela Merced and J. Smith Cameron. Adapted from the John Green novel of the same name, the story follows ‘Aza Holmes’ (Merced), a 16-year-old with obsessive–compulsive disorder who pursues the disappearance of a billionaire. Judy plays ‘Gina Holmes,’ Aza’s mother who witnesses and copes firsthand with her disorder. Max will release the film in Spring 2024.

This fall, Judy will be seen in ABC’s High Potential opposite Kaitlin Olsen and Daniel Sunjata. The series follows single mom ‘Morgan’ (Olsen) with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective, ‘Adam’ (Sunjata). Judy plays ‘Selena,’ Adam’s boss and the police captain in charge of the Major Crimes division. The series is based on the popular French detective series HIP (High Intellectual Potential).

Judy can also be seen starring in Laura Moss’ Birth/Rebirth opposite Marin Ireland. The film centers on ‘Celie’ (Reyes), a single mother and a childless morgue technician (Ireland), who are bound together by their relationship to a little girl they have reanimated from the dead. For her role in the film, Judy was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Lead Performance.

 Judy is best known for her role as nurse ‘Carla Espinoza’ on NBC’s comedy Scrubs, opposite Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, and Donald Faison. The series received 17 Emmy nominations over its 9 seasons, and Judy was nominated for four ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) Awards for her performance, winning two. Judy is also known for her role as Zoila Diaz in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Devious Maids.

A true working actor, Judy’s many recurring television credits include Peacock’s Dr. Death; Amazon Prime Video’s The Horror of Dolores Roach; FX’s Better Things; HBO’s Search Party; Netflix’s One Day at a Time; The CW’s Jane the Virgin; and TBS and HBO’s Oz. Judy has also guest starred on many notable series including The CW’s Batwoman; ABC’s Black-ish; HBO’s Succession; CBS’s The Good Wife; ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat; HBO’s The Sopranos; ABC’s NYPD Blue; NBC’s Law & Order; ABC’s Castle; TNT’s Claws; CBS and NBC’s Medium; and ABC’s Off the Map. She has also starred in a number of made-for-television movies, primarily for Lifetime network, including Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story (2008), The Pregnancy Project (2012), and Torn from Her Arms (2011), the latter of which she was for an Imagen Awards for Best Actress – Drama for her performance.

Judy has also appeared in films across a variety of genres, including Parker Finn’s Smile opposite Sosie Bacon; Brett Haley’s All Together Now alongside Auli’I Cravallho, Justina Machado, and Fred Armisen; James Ponsoldt’s The Circle alongside Emma Watson and Tom Hanks; Dorie Barton’s Girl Flu; Chris Gallego Wong’s My Name is David opposite Keith Powell; Gabriela Tagliavini’s Without Men alongside Eva Longoria and Christian Slater; Rashaad Ernesto Green’s Gun Hill Road alongside Esai Morales and Harmony Santana; Chris Fisher’s Dirty alongside Clifton Collins Jr. and Cuba Gooding Jr.; Peter Riegert’s King of the Corner wotj Isabella Rossellini; Alfredo De Villa’s Washington Heights;  Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s The King of the Jungle alongside John Leguizamo, Marisa Tomei, and Rosie Perez; Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out The Dead alongside Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette; and Richard Schenkman’s Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five.

Off-screen, Judy is a proud member of the LAByrinth Theater Company since its inception. Originally founded in 1992 as Latino Actors Base (LAB), the Off-Broadway ensemble-driven company aims to tell more inclusive original stories that expand the boundaries of mainstream theater. Members have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, Michael Shannon, Stephen Adly Guirgis, John Ortiz, David Zayas, Liza Colon Zayas, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Ana Ortiz, Marlene Forte, Bobby Cannavale, and many more.

Judy lives in Los Angeles.

Director of Engineering/Sound Designer

Stephanie Lebow is the Director of Engineering/Sound Designer across Futuro Media’s properties and the voice of Futuro’s funders.

She is a Peabody award-winning audio engineer for her work on Afropop Worldwide. She found her passion for radio at Indie 103.1 FM in LA, as an engineer, producer, and on-air personality.

She has mixed and produced music in a multitude of genres from jazz to pop, and received an independent music award for her work. She has also mixed and done sound sweetening for indie films and documentary series such as America By The Numbers and Miss Sharon Jones!

She graduated from Emerson College with a major in Audio Production and a minor in Broadcast Journalism. When she’s not using ProTools to build radio shows, she uses it as an instrument in her own electronic/indie project Stef Lebaux.

Senior Audio Engineer

Julia Caruso got her start in radio as a broadcast engineer for CBS Radio. Prior to working at Futuro Media, she was the Studio Manager for the Music Technology program at New York University overseeing the recording studios and mentoring students. She is an active member of the Audio Engineering Society and has been on the convention committee for their annual international convention in NYC for several years. She holds a bachelor degree in Music Technology and a masters degree in Food Studies, both from NYU. Learning about culture through food and music is a passion of hers.

Lead Producer

Ariel Goodman is an award winning bilingual journalist, editor, filmmaker and community media practitioner with over a decade of experience crafting compelling stories that uplift and center the voices of people on the frontlines of the struggle for justice.Ariel has worked as a senior editor, an investigative journalist, a podcast and documentary producer. Her journalism has appeared in outlets such as ProPublica, The Marshall Project, Democracy Now!, The Associated Press, El País, Univision, Futuro Media and more.When she’s not doing journalism, you can find her playing clarinet and singing in her 8-piece Cumbia Klezmer Punk band Las Mariposas Galácticas.

Marketing Manager

Luis Luna joins Futuro Media Group after working in the Theatrical Department at film distributor GKIDS. He has also worked on the programming teams at various film festivals, including Hamptons International Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, and others. He received a dual B.A. in Film Studies and English from Hunter College. Born and raised in Jackson Heights, his favorite things include queer cinema, world travel, dancing to Rihanna, and a good cemita.