Rob Zeaske returns to GroundTruth Project as chief executive

GroundTruth Project is the Boston umbrella organization for journalism service programs Report for America and Report for the World.

Rob Zeaske has been named chief executive officer of the GroundTruth Project.Courtesy of the GroundTruth Project

The GroundTruth Project, the Boston umbrella organization for journalism service programs Report for America and Report for the World, has named Rob Zeaske as chief executive officer.

Zeaske, who takes over on Jan. 23, served as GroundTruth’s chief operating officer from 2019 to 2020. He was most recently director of Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative. He ran Second Harvest, a hunger relief nonprofit serving Minnesota and Wisconsin, from 2008 to 2019.

Over the past five years, Report for America has placed 547 reporters and photographers, nearly half journalists of color, in more than 300 newsrooms across all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Report for the World, now in its second year, has about 30 people working in 17 newsrooms in eight countries across five continents.

Both programs are based out of GBH, the Boston public media giant.

“Rob is, without a doubt, the right leader for this moment in our organization’s history,” said Joanne Heyman, GroundTruth board chair, and the chief executive of Heyman Partners. “He brings a commitment to service, inclusion, journalism, and open societies.”

Last fall, GroundTruth founder Charles Sennott transitioned from chief executive to editor-in-chief. Report for America cofounder Steven Waldman has stepped down as president to focus on the Rebuild Local News Coalition, which he founded two years ago.