Hans Peter Brondmo and Keith Blodgett join CatchLight’s Board of Directors as the nonprofit scales its proven model for strengthening visual journalism in communities nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO, August 18, 2026 — CatchLight, the organization investing in the power of images to inform and connect, today announced the appointment of technology entrepreneur Hans Peter Brondmo and photographer and filmmaker Keith Blodgett to its Board of Directors.
CatchLight is building the infrastructure needed to sustain visual journalism as local newsrooms lose resources and advances in generative AI make it increasingly difficult for audiences to distinguish authentic images from fabricated ones. The organization invests in visual journalists while bringing together newsrooms, funders, and industry partners to provide the staffing, equipment, training, and editorial expertise the field needs.
Brondmo will help guide the organization’s work to understand the evolving role of AI and equip visual journalists and newsrooms with the resources needed to navigate this rapidly changing landscape. Blodgett will bring his experience in photography, filmmaking and community engagement to help CatchLight strengthen the connection between visual journalism, including video reporting, and the communities it serves.
Local visual journalism is foundational to a strong, informed society, helping people understand the forces shaping their lives and connect more deeply with their communities. Both Hans Peter and Keith bring deep expertise in technology, photography and community-centered storytelling that will help us expand our proven model and ensure more communities have access to trusted, authentic visual reporting.”
— Elodie Mailliet, CEO, CatchLight
Brondmo is a technology entrepreneur and executive with decades of experience building and leading innovative companies. He previously served as CEO of Everyday Robots, Alphabet’s AI and robotics initiative focused on developing helper robots for everyday life. Throughout his career, he has founded several technology companies and also worked at Nokia, Apple and CERN.
Blodgett brings decades of experience in photography and filmmaking, with work centered on landscape, human connection, and community engagement. His photography is currently exhibited at St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery in Napa Valley, with proceeds benefiting Every Mother Counts, a global nonprofit working to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for everyone, everywhere. For more than a decade, Blodgett has volunteered his photography to support the organization, documenting its work alongside founder Christy Turlington Burns and partners around the world. He also serves on the board of the Indigenous Film Academy, which helps Indigenous students from tribes across the country take meaningful steps towards their careers in film and television.
CatchLight is building the infrastructure needed to support and sustain local visual journalism. At the center of this work is CatchLightLocal, a proven, scalable model that builds newsroom capacity by supporting full-time visual journalists and providing shared tools, services and expertise. CatchLight Local currently serves 24 newsrooms across the United States and supports 16 full-time visual journalists placed in partnership with Report for America.
CatchLight recently announced a collaboration with Sony Electronics that will provide CatchLight Local member newsrooms with 24 professional Alpha camera and video kits, technical training and Sony Pro Support memberships. The initiative addresses one of the most persistent barriers facing local visual journalists: access to the professional equipment needed to report effectively in fast-moving and unpredictable environments.
Earlier this year, CatchLight also announced its 2026 Global Fellowship cohort at the CatchLight Visual Storytelling Summit. The Fellows’ projects examine climate change, cultural identity, displacement and Indigenous resilience through collaborative reporting rooted in the communities they document. Since 2017, the CatchLight Global Fellowship has invested in 29 visual storytellers worldwide and awarded more than $600,000 in grants.
Together, these efforts reflect CatchLight’s broader approach: investing in individual visual journalists while building shared infrastructure that helps newsrooms and the visual journalism field thrive over the long term.
About CatchLight
CatchLight is a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities. We bring resources and organizations together to discover, develop and amplify visual storytellers at all levels. The organization invests in the future of visual storytelling through several innovative programs. CatchLight Local seeks to establish the long-term sustainability of visual journalism by working with partner newsrooms and community-based visual journalists to provide inclusive, in-depth, accurate, and locally contextualized information to the public. Annually, CatchLight Global provides three visionaries a fellowship which includes field grants to develop long-form storytelling projects, engage audiences, and continue their work as innovators and leaders defining the future of the field. CatchLight Live is the organization’s live programming, including its landmark Summit and the CatchLight Live tour: an immersive, multimedia event series that blends powerful photojournalism, live storytelling, and live music.
CatchLight is supported by philanthropic funders and partners who believe in the power of visual journalism to inform, connect, and strengthen communities including: Arnold Ventures, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Enlight Foundation, The John S and James L Knight Foundation, Kresge Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Press Forward, Report for America, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and their education partner PhotoWings.
