Sandy Sugawara has spent more than three decades as a journalist, helping to lead major print, broadcast and digital operations. She began her career as a reporter at United Press International and The Trenton Times.  She then joined The Washington Post, where she was a local and business reporter, a foreign correspondent in Asia, the Assistant Managing Editor for Business, and the Universal News Editor, helping to oversee the digital integration of the Post newsroom.

Sugawara then moved to Trove News, a digital news startup owned by The Washington Post and Graham Holdings Co., where she managed the editorial team and worked with engineers to develop a system that delivered personalized news to diverse audiences.  She also served for four years as Deputy Director of Voice of America, which broadcasts around the world in more than 45 languages.