Welcoming our new Director of Insights & Innovation, Rebecca Vincent

Rebecca Vincent has been appointed as our new Director of Insights & Innovation, at an exciting moment of evolution for the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

She will lead a newly established unit to define and shape the Foundation’s research output, innovate and scale its global events, and strengthen engagement with the communities the organisation serves.

Rebecca is a globally recognised media freedom expert, human rights campaigner and former diplomat, bringing over two decades of experience driving high profile initiatives at the intersection of media freedom, human rights, and international advocacy.

As a previous speaker at Trust Conference and long-time collaborator with the Foundation, Rebecca is ideally positioned to spearhead this work as the Foundation evolves its offering for its global networks of journalists, civil society organisations, lawyers, businesses, policymakers and activists.

Rebecca brings a wealth of experience, having been at the forefront of influential international campaigns and coalitions throughout her career. As the former Director of Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), she was a founding steering committee member of the Hold the Line Coalition and the Free Narges Coalition, and played a leading role in the campaign to free Julian Assange, as well as campaigns for justice in cases of murdered journalists, from Daphne Caruana Galizia to Jamal Khashoggi. In her prior work focused on Azerbaijan, she led the Sport for Rights coalition, which was instrumental in securing the releases of jailed journalists and human rights defenders.

Rebecca holds a BA in Political Science from the University of North Texas and an MA in Human Rights from University College London. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Foreign Policy Centre, the Advisory Board of the Online Violence Early Warning System, and the Magnitsky Human Rights Awards Committee.

As she steps into her new role, Rebecca said:

I’ve long admired the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s unique ability to bring together journalism, law and business to drive positive change, so I’m proud to join its dynamic global team. I’m excited to employ my skills and deep sector knowledge towards achieving impact in a different way through launching the Insights and Innovation Unit.

This new unit will strengthen the Foundation’s research and learning, innovate how we convene global conversations, and deepen engagement with the communities we serve. I look forward to working alongside the Foundation’s partners and communities to further its mission of strengthening free, fair and informed societies.

Rebecca VincentDirector of Innovation & Insights, Thomson Reuters Foundation