About us

Ellen Clegg, co-chair of the steering committee and clerk of the board of directors. In her long career at The Boston Globe, Ellen served as deputy managing editor and editor of the editorial page. She is co-author of an upcoming book on the future of local news and co-host of a podcast on local news. Brookline resident.

Julie Rafferty, co-chair of the steering committee and president of the board of directors. Julie began her career as a journalist in upstate New York. She is a former communications dean at the Harvard School of Public Health working now as a consultant to nonprofit organizations on communications and fundraising. Brookline resident.

Iris Adler, member of the steering committee. Iris is the former executive director for programming, podcasts and special projects at public radio station WBUR in Boston. She was also the executive editor at television network NECN, where she oversaw New England news coverage and the documentary unit. She currently teaches journalism and consults on podcasts.  Brookline resident.

Fred Perry, member of the steering committee and treasurer of the board of directors. Fred is a businessman and former member of Brookline Conservation Commission and of the town’s Fiscal Advisory Committee. He is a cofounder of the Brookline Greenspace Alliance. Brookline resident.

Colette Phillips, member of the steering committee. Colette is founder and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications, which provides diverse marketing and public relations solutions for local and global clients. Brookline resident.

Irene Sege, member of the steering committee and member of the board of directors. Irene is a former long-time Boston Globe reporter, feature writer and editor. She is a former editor of the weekly Cambridge Chronicle. Brookline resident.

Founding Editor

Sam Mintz is a Massachusetts native and experienced journalist who has spent his career reporting on both local and national news. Sam worked at the Cape Cod Times, covering local government, crime, business and culture. He also spent five years in Washington, D.C. covering Congress and federal agencies for E&E News and Politico. Since returning to Boston in 2021, he has written about climate, energy, transportation, and housing issues in Massachusetts for several outlets including RTO Insider, StreetsBlog and Commonwealth Magazine.

Sam grew up in Arlington, Mass. and attended Brandeis University. He now lives in the Cleveland Circle area. When he’s not hunched over a computer writing, Sam loves to be outside playing soccer, running or biking.

Editorial policies

Adapted from the policies of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), the Society of Professional Journalists and other local news outlets.

Editorial independence and donor transparency

Brookline.News retains full authority over editorial content. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

Brookline.News may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains full editorial control of the coverage.

Brookline.News will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place to protect the independence of Brookline.News journalism and comply with INN’s Membership Standards.

Conflicts of interest

This Conflict of Interest Policy is designed to ensure that the deliberations and decisions of Brookline.News are made solely in the interest of promoting the quality of its journalism. A Brookline.News representative includes any editor, reporter, freelancer, director, advisory board member, financial advisor, legal counsel or employee.

No Brookline.News representative may personally accept gifts or favors that could create a conflict of interest or an appearance of conflict. Any gifts or benefits personally accepted from a party having a material interest in coverage in Brookline.News should be merely incidental to the person’s role at Brookline.News and should not exceed $25.

Editorial integrity

Corrections and clarifications: Brookline.News strives for accuracy, but in the event of factual error or incomplete context, Brookline.News will correct or clarify a story and note that such a correction or clarification has been added to the original article. The board of directors will consider extreme cases in which the entire story is alleged to be inaccurate or harmful and, if warranted, will authorize an editor’s note explaining why the story should not have been published.

Sources and attribution: Brookline.News does not pay sources for information. We provide context and attribution for quotes and do not alter quotes except for light grammatical or spelling errors. We strive to avoid anonymous sources, but if one is used, the editor of the story must know the identity of the source and readers should be given a reason for the granting of anonymity. Claims by an anonymous source must be fact-checked, and leaked documents must be fact-checked and corroborated. We reach out for comment from persons named in a story, particularly in the case of negative information.

Other policies: In accordance with Massachusetts law, Brookline.News seeks permission before recording interviews. Brookline.News journalists – editors, reporters, freelancers – will not engage in political activity. They will not campaign for or endorse political candidates or ballot initiatives or make financial donations in support of candidates or ballot questions.

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Brookline.News offers internships to students of journalism or photo journalism.

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