The people behind Mosaic Journalism
Mosaic Executives
Sharon Noguchi
Story editor at Chalkbeat, Mosaic co-director
Sharon is a story editor at Chalkbeat and worked at The Mercury News for many years as a reporter, oped editor, and editorial writer. She previously worked on newspapers in Japan and on the Peninsula. Sharon joined Mosaic as an instructor in 2012 and is now a co-director.
Sal Pizarro
Columnist at The Mercury News, Mosaic co-director
Sal is an experienced columnist with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. He has been with The Mercury News since 1993. Sal is the co-director of Mosaic and has been an instructor with the program since 2016.
Vikki Bowes-Mok
Writer, editor & community leader
Vikki is a writer, editor and community leader. She was the editor-in-chief of Silicon Valley Biz Ink and managing editor of San Jose Business Journal before she started freelancing. She serves on Happy Hollow Foundation’s board of directors, created the Field Guide to Community Service and runs a workshop for women to help get them involved in the community.
Mosaic Advisory Board
Skylar De Paul
Account and business development coordinator at Noise Pop Industries, Mosaic alumna
Skylar graduated from the Mosaic Journalism Workshop in 2016 (back when it was still an overnight camp — She now feels old). She went on to study media and journalism at UC Berkeley, eventually returning to the Mosaic program as an editorial assistant for two summers. Today, she serves as an account coordinator for an event promotion agency based out of San Francisco, but works remotely from sunny San Diego.
Lynn Forbes
Editorial expert
Lynn is a solutions-driven editorial expert with deep experience in content development, building editorial teams, systems, and strategies, writing, and editing. Highly qualified to project manage complex editorial projects and create fun and informative user experiences. She has supported Mosaic’s digital media efforts since 2019.
Berenice Manzano Castro
Student UC-Santa Cruz, Mosaic alumna
Berenice is a first-generation college student attending UC Santa Cruz, fulfilling a Bachelor's Degree in Film & Digital Media. She works to amplify Latinx voices through film and digital media. She participated in Mosaic in 2018, and continues to support the program.
Marcia Parker
Director of philanthropic partnerships at the New York Times
Marcia is former publisher and chief operating officer at CalMatters. Before she joined CalMatters in 2017, Marcia was editorial director for Patch’s West Coast local news sites, CIR’s California Watch site launch manager, and assistant dean at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and helped launch CIR’s California Watch desk. She is chair of the board of the Institute for Nonprofit News and serves on the advisory boards of the Emma Bowen Foundation, the Latino Media Collaborative and Oakland’s El Tímpano. Marcia is also on the Stanford Knight Journalism Fellowships selection committee and has taught at Northwestern University’s SF campus. She has a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and did the Sulzberger Executive Leadership program at Columbia University in 2020.
Joe Rodriguez
Mosaic founder
After a 40-year career in journalism, Joe has retired to a mountain house just outside his native Los Angeles. Joe worked for The Mercury News for 25 years where wrote a human-interest column about ordinary people who had never been in the news but whose lives and work illuminated trends and issues stirring under the surface of Silicon Valley. He previously wrote opinion columns, editorials and news articles on Latino affairs, immigration, health and welfare reform and urban redevelopment. He was one of the co-founders of Mosaic in 1993 and is still actively involved.
Maya Suryaraman
English and journalism teacher at Santa Clara High School
Maya is a retired English and journalism teacher at Santa Clara High School. She was an education reporter for The Mercury News for 15 years before moving into education. Maya provides support for journalism teachers and is one of the Mosaic summer workshop instructors. She has been an instructor with the program since 2017.