Julio Ricardo Varela
Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela is an award-winning journalist and media entrepreneur.
He is currently the Senior Producer and Strategist for Free Press, a D.C.-based nonprofit media and journalism advocacy group founded in 2003. He is also an MS NOW Columnist on a freelance basis and the founder of The Latino Newsletter on a part-time basis.
Julio is the 2025 ¡BRAVO! Awards Journalist of the Year from the Hispanic Public Relations Association, joining past honorees among the most influential figures in American media. He is recognized as a pioneer of independent, Latino-led media, a leading voice on Latino issues, and a builder of a durable digital space for journalism and community over the past two decades.
Also in 2025, We Are ALX — a nonpartisan, collaborative Massachusetts nonprofit dedicated to advancing Latino American prosperity and leadership — named Julio to its ALX100 list, featured in The Boston Globe Magazine, recognizing 100 leading Latino American changemakers across the Commonwealth.
For Julio’s full bio, visit JulioRVarela.com.
Michelle Morgante del Rio
Michelle Morgante Del Rio is an award-winning journalist and editor, currently with ALM as regional managing editor for The Recorder and covering intellectual property issues for Law.com.
Morgante began her journalism career as a reporting intern at Time Magazine, then joined The Associated Press, covering news from across the U.S. and serving as a foreign correspondent in Latin America, based in Mexico City. During her years as deputy bureau chief for the AP based in Miami, Morgante led the creation of the AP’s Hispanic Affairs beat and represented the news cooperative before newsrooms across Florida and the Caribbean. She went on to serve as AP bureau chief for the upper Midwest, based in Minnesota.
After returning to her native California in 2016, Morgante became managing editor for the McClatchy Company’s Merced Sun-Star and then deputy managing editor for National Public Radio. She served as the Institute for Nonprofit News’s member network director and launched a nonprofit community newsroom in central California.
Of Mexican and Italian heritage, Morgante earned her B.A. in political science/international relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is currently pursuing her MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas, El Paso.
