Las Vegas, Nev., August 11, 2007 -- Barbara Ciara was elected president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) at the 32nd Annual Convention and Career Fair in Las Vegas. The more than 3,000 member organization of African American journalists is the largest in the nation. Ciara will serve as the national chair for a two-year term.

Ciara is currently the managing editor and primary anchor at WTKR NewsChannel 3 in Norfolk, Virginia. Throughout her career, which has spanned over 25 years, Ciara has worked as a reporter, photographer, producer and assignment editor.

I am humbled and honored to be the next president to lead this great association. And now its time to get to work, said Ciara. With the help of our membership, were going to leap forward and be opinion leaders representing all media. It is my quest to be a good steward for this organization.

Born in Pittsburgh, Penn., Ciara attended the University of Arizona, and volunteers for many organizations including: the Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and Candi House. Ciara is the 17th president of the organization.

Others elected at the convention were:

Vice President/Broadcast: Kathy Times, investigative reporter, WVTM-TV

Vice President/ Print: Ernie Suggs, urban affairs reporter, The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Treasurer: Gregory Lee Jr., senior assistant sports editor, The Boston Globe

Secretary: Deirdre Childress, weekend editor, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Parliamentarian: Tonju Francois, editorial producer, CNN en Espanol

Region 1 Director: Caleb Wilkerson, former producer, NFL Films (Conn., Maine, Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Pa., R.I. and Vt.)

Region 2 Director: Charles Robinson, III, correspondent/associate producer, Maryland Public Television (Del., D.C., Md., Va. and W.Va.)

Region 4 Director: Leisa Richardson, assistant metro editor, The Indianapolis Star (N.D., S.D., Neb., Iowa, Ill., Ind., Ohio, Ky., Minn., Mich., Wis.)

Region 5 Director: Bernadette Brown, planning editor, KRIV Fox 26 (Ark., Colo, La., Kan., Mo., N.M., Okla. and Texas)

Region 6 Director: Bob Butler, reporter, KCBS Radio (Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Hawaii, Idaho, Mont., Nev., Ore., Utah, Wash. and Wyo.)

Associate Representative: Aprill O. Turner, senior account executive, CooperKatz & Company Public Relations, NY

Student Representative: Christopher Nelson, communications major, Loyola College of Maryland