Bryan Pollard

Bryan Pollard, Executive Editor of the Cherokee Phoenix

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Bryan Pollard is an editor and photographer living in Tahlequah, Okla. He's lucky enough to be the Executive Editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, the oldest Native American newspaper and the first bilingual newspaper (Cherokee and English) in North America.  Bryan was born in Oklahoma but my family moved to New Orleans when I was young so I grew up there. He graduated from LSU with a degree in anthropology and moved to Portland, Ore., to take a stab at being a professional photographer. Along the way he served short stints as a social worker, activist, bike messenger, photo lab technician and community organizer. Bryan turned to journalism after several unrewarding years as a commercial photographer, and as fate would have it, his activist nature and journalism skills conspired to make him a founder of Street Roots, a newspaper dedicated to covering issues concerning homeless and low-income people. While at Street Roots, he helped start the Out of the Doorways campaign and eventually became a founding member of Dignity Village, an outdoor, green, self-governed community for homeless people.  He have served on the board of directors for the North American Street Newspaper Association and the Native American Journalists Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Journalism Education Association.

Photography instructor at Camp Cherokee

2009 - Present

Instructed beginning photography classes at the one-week residential arts and sciences camp sponsored by the Cherokee Nation.

Photo editor at Oklahoma Institute For Diversity in Journalism

2009 - Present

Instructed photojournalism and edited photo content for the high school journalism workshop sponsored by the University of Oklahoma.

Photo editor at The Working Press

September 2008 - September 2008

The Working Press is the college journalism project during the Society for Professional Journalists annual convention.

Board member at Native American Journalists Association

August 2005 - August 2008

Board member for the Native American Journalists Association, A non-profit dedicated to advocating for Native journalists, advocating for free press in Indian Country, and creating the next generation of Native storytellers.

Deputy editor at UNITY News 2008

2008 - 2008

Assisted the Lead Editor with management and production of the UNITY News, a four-issue tabloid published by college journalism students during the 2008 UNITY convention held in Chicago, Ill.

Newspaper teacher at Sequoyah Schools

August 2006 - May 2007

State certified instructor and faculty editor for The Sequoyan, the Sequoyah Schools student newspaper. Responsible for class instruction, journalism curriculum development and production management of the school newspaper.

Project Director at Project Phoenix

January 2006 - July 2006

Directed and instructed Project Phoenix, a one-week high school journalism workshop sponsored by the Native American Journalists Association.

Deputy design editor at UNITY News 2004

2004 - 2004

Assisted lead design editor with management and design production of the UNITY News, a tabloid newspaper published during the 2004 UNITY convention in Washington, D.C.

Citzen Review Committee member at Independent Police Review Division

July 2001 - January 2003

Member of City Council-appointed committee chosen to hear appeals to complaints against Portland Police Bureau officers. The committee's purpose was to affirm or challenge PBB findings in cases of alleged police misconduct and to hold public forums, assess public input and recommend changes to PBB policies and training to improve police service.

Managing Editor at Street Roots

November 1998 - January 2003

Editor and chief executive a monthly tabloid newspaper focused on issues concerning homeless and low-income people, as well as oversight of the homeless empowerment projects created within the organization.

Housing Specialist at Transition Projects

2000 - 2003

Responsible for budgeting and allocating disbursements of federal McKinney and county Clearinghouse funds to low-income people in need of rental assistance. Duties included meeting with clients for assessment, financial counseling and resource referral, as well as provide tenant advocacy and financial support needed to stabilize client household.

Chairman at Street Roots, Inc.

April 1999 - December 2002

Chairman of the board for the federal 501(c)3 nonprofit Street Roots, Inc., an organization responsible for development and implementation of empowerment projects benefiting homeless and low-income people in Portland, Ore.

Executive Editor at Cherokee Phoenix

November 2006

Editor and chief executive of the Cherokee Phoenix, the tribal news media for the Cherokee Nation based in Tahlequah, Okla. The Phoenix produces a monthly broadsheet (36,000 circulation) and the Web site cherokeephoenix.org (32,000 monthly visits).

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Concentration: Forensic Anthropology

Photography, Journalism, LSU football, New Orleans Saints