“For me, America was all about transformation and community,” Susan Braddock, the outgoing board chair of America Media, said in an interview on Dec. 11.
Ms. Braddock stepped down as chair of America’s board of directors on Dec. 31, along with vice chair Peter Howe. Michael Zink and Grace Cotter Regan now lead the board as chair and vice chair.
“It has just expanded my worldview and deepened my spirituality,” Susan Braddock said of her six years as board chair.
Before joining the America board in 2014, Ms. Braddock served as board chair for Cristo Rey New York, one of 39 schools in the Cristo Rey network that provide Jesuit college preparatory education and professional work experience to low-income students. That experience was transformative for Ms. Braddock: “They say if you serve on a Jesuit board, over time, it becomes tantamount to a Jesuit education. You’re just schooled in all their values and how [the Jesuits] react to things,” she explained.
Ms. Braddock said that her time at America was similarly eye-opening:“It has just expanded my worldview and deepened my spirituality. That’s very lucky. That doesn’t happen that often in life.”
Susan Braddock became board chair of America Media in 2017, the first woman to serve in the role. She oversaw six years of substantial growth at America, including the launch of a mobile-friendly website, a daily newsletter, digital subscriptions and the expansion of America’s audio-video journalism and pilgrimage program.
Ms. Braddock spoke with pride about helping America grow from a largely print publication to a multimedia company operating in both the print and digital worlds. The magazine has maintained its base of print subscribers, while launching a new digital subscription business in 2021. She noted that the magazine now has “600,000 unique visits to our website per month, 110,000 newsletter subscribers, 1.9 million social media followers, 145,000 podcast downloads per month and 70,000 YouTube subscribers.”
Ms. Braddock was especially excited to cheerlead America’s pilgrimage program: “The pilgrimages are extraordinary.”
When speaking to Ms. Braddock, it is clear that her gratification does not stem from the numbers themselves. Instead, she is proud of the impact that these numbers indicate. “America is just reaching so many more people. So many more people have a chance to come into contact with the Ignatian spirituality, and that feels world-changing to me,” she said.
She said that America’s decision to greatly expand its multimedia journalism was a natural extension of the organization’s mission: “Audio and video are the ways people digest their news today, so America is right there, ready to receive people.”
“I think people need America more” during the papacy of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pontiff, Ms. Braddock said. She pointed to America’s November 2022 interview with the pope and Francis’ first interview in 2013, which was conducted on behalf of La Civiltà Cattolica, America and other Jesuit publications around the world. But she noted that even outside of Vatican news, America brings valuable insights to all kinds of coverage: “You want those Jesuit values to permeate what’s going on in the world today, and, in turn, how you view it…. Look how many digital subscribers we have. People are longing for that sort of support.”
Ms. Braddock said that she saw her role as board chair as being a kind of “cheerleader,” someone who listens to the concerns of the team and encourages them to carry on. “I think that I was always ready to talk to people, hear what they were doing and show interest. I’m a big believer in showing up,” she explained.
Ms. Braddock was especially excited to cheerlead America’s pilgrimage program. “The pilgrimages are extraordinary, and I’ve been on four of them,” she said, remarking on how the trips have fostered spiritual growth and lasting community between the pilgrims.
She recalled her trip to the Holy Land as being particularly edifying. “There are a lot of things that stand out on that pilgrimage.” She recalled a particular moment: “I remember, [Father James Martin] showed us these steps that are right by the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus could have just turned to the side and walked away. It just makes you realize how human he was, that he didn’t do that.”
As she walked in the steps of Jesus, there were other moments in which Ms. Braddock was struck by our Lord’s humanity: “I never realized that he was held in a cell all night after he was arrested and before going in front of Pilate. They took us down into that cell, and we sang ‘Jesus, Remember Me.’”
“And, of course, it’s so poignant now,” she said, alluding to the ongoing war ravaging the Holy Land. “It’s so sad that the region is so war-torn because it was probably the most peaceful place I’ve ever seen in my life. I used to get up really early and watch the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. Totally unspoiled, nothing built, no boats, nothing. Just this beautiful, quiet sea.”
As an avid reader of America (Ms. Braddock especially loves the book reviews), she said of the magazine that after she steps down as board chair: “I hope it just continues as it is. You know, I’m very happy with it. I always read it, and I always find articles that I want to read.”
In his December “Of Many Things” column, America’s editor in chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J., said of Ms. Braddock and Mr. Howe’s tenure as chair and vice chair: “It is hard to express how much of an impact their board service and leadership has had on America Media as an organization,” in part because their impact cannot be reduced to mere strategic vision. Grounded in abiding hope in “how radically God is at work to renew creation,” he wrote, their leadership as chair and vice chair enabled America to participate more fully in that renewal.
Ms. Braddock and Mr. Howe will both remain on the America Media board through the end of 2024 as chair and vice chair emeritus.
