Meet the New Executive Member: Mana Faye

By: Jewel Benton

Whether it’s collaborating with Black-owned brands like Danessa Myricks Beauty, representing in the tech world as Program Manager at Meta, honing her craft at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, or helping amplify underrepresented voices, Ma-Nogoy “Mana” Faye centers her work on connecting with people and storytelling. Initially a member, and now the newly appointed Vice President of Digital for the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ), she is ready to expand upon her mission.

Her passion for this work began early. During her childhood, authors such as Beverly Cleary (Ramona and Beezus), Barbara Park (Junie B. Jones), and Rachel Renée Russell (Dork Diaries) showed her it was possible to have fun telling stories while also building her voice.

“I always loved writing, always loved English,” Faye shares. “I was just naturally drawn to it because I was really bad at math and science growing up.”

Storytelling was also modeled at home. Her father, Malick Faye, a seasoned journalist-turned-consultant and former Public Information Officer for the United Nations, worked in the field for several years. Faye witnessed firsthand the demands of a journalist when her family lived in Abidjan, West Africa.

Seeing the profession up close made her hesitant to pursue the same path. “I had seen his insane schedule, and I’d always be like, ‘I’m never going to go into journalism because it seems like they have no life.’ But for whatever reason, life just kept throwing it in my way.”

Even as she tried to explore other career paths, journalism continued to resurface. She majored in Economics at Baruch College and worked on the school paper. During her internship at Atlantic Records, she ended up managing the company’s newsletter. At Yahoo, she wrote copy.

It was during her time as a CBS Page—an entry-level rotational media program typically based in New York City or Los Angeles—that she felt she was in her element. By then, she had developed a strong interest in broadcast journalism after discovering online clips of the then women-led talk show, The Real.

While she was already a fan of co-host Tamera Mowry-Housley (Twitches is one of her favorite movies), it was Jeannie Mai who resonated most. Both are first-generation Americans, with Mai’s family from Vietnam and Faye’s from Senegal. She also related to some of the candor in Mai’s mother-daughter relationship with Mama Mai.

“I was like, ‘I want to be like Jeannie Mai,’” Faye says. “She’s a Capricorn like me, she’s cool, she comes from an immigrant family, and she’s been able to get on air and talk about really important topics.”

Faye is also inspired by other industry professionals, including Robin Roberts, Ta-Nehisi Coates (who visited her school recently), and Bonita Sostre, whom she considers an “unofficial” mentor, along with Catherine Hughes.

Her earliest inspiration for journalism was Oprah Winfrey. When she was about nine years old, Faye watched an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show featuring award-winning anti-racism activist and educator Jane Elliott. She admired how Winfrey handled the tension in the room as the audience realized they were participating in Elliott’s controversial “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” anti-racism social experiment— all while looking, as Faye puts it, “fabulous.”

As for NYABJ’s entry into her life, it was 2022, during her time at Yahoo.

“And as I do at every corporate place I go, I tried to find all the Black people,” Faye notes. “I remember meeting this woman, and she told me, ‘You need to join this organization called NYABJ. Bonita is super sweet and nice.’”

Faye attended the chapter’s screening of The Lady Makers, a film starring Jasmine Guy. Already a fan of Guy from A Different World, she was determined to find community.

“It was just so nice to meet people who loved doing the same thing I did and understood me in a sense,” she says.

Despite numerous highlights in her young career—including nearly 10 licenses and certifications, multiple scholarships such as the Ida B. Wells Scholarship, leadership roles at Meta, the creation of her own podcast Mana on Air (a platform that showcases inspiring stories and advice from creatives), and her new role on NYABJ’s executive board—Faye still struggles with doubt.

“To this day, I’m still figuring out what I want to do,” she admits.

When asked how she overcomes her reservations, she credits her faith, family, and friends.

“God is going to figure it out because it’s not even up to me at this point,” she explains. “So, I don’t even let myself dwell in doubt. Every time I doubted, it’s always turned out the way it’s supposed to. It’s just energy that can go toward being productive. And with my community, they remind me that it’s okay to slow down and not burn myself out. It’s a good balance—where I’m self-motivated, but I also have people around me to remind me not to tie my worth to objects or work titles.”

As she gears up for her upcoming tenure on the NYABJ executive board starting January 1, 2026, Faye hopes to expand NYABJ’s digital presence, collaborate with her colleagues to revitalize membership, help prepare NYABJ for the next generation, and “make sure that journalism is still something that young Black kids are into and feel like they can do, even with all that’s going on in the world.”