Our Staff

David L. Nevins, Co-Publisher

David L. Nevins serves as co-publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded any one organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.

Kristina Becvar, Co-Publisher

Kristina Becvar serves as co-publisher of The Fulcrum. She also serves as Executive Director of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund and project manager for the Citizen Connect initiative. In these roles, she is a driving force behind collaborative efforts to transform our democracy. Recognizing that no single idea or organization can address our complex challenges in isolation, Kristina excels in blending intuitive leadership with data-driven insights. Her extensive background in legal operations and change management, coupled with her recent M.S. in Data Analytics and Computation for Social Sciences from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, equips her with a powerful skill set. Kristina’s expertise in research is rivaled only by her passion for nonviolence advocacy, amplified by her experiences as the spouse of a disabled combat veteran. Her practical knowledge of business and project management, combined with her connection to a vibrant community of changemakers, brings a focused approach to the essential work required for a thriving democratic republic.

Hugo Balta, Executive Editor

Hugo Balta serves as the Executive Director. He previously served The Fulcrum as Director of Solutions Journalism & DEI Initiatives. He also serves as a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. An accredited solutions journalism trainer, Balta nurtures a newsroom culture that focuses coverage on responses to social issues as well as the problems themselves. The goal is to present the public with a truer, more complete view of complex challenges and opportunities, helping to drive more effective citizenship. The award-winning journalist has led newsrooms in multiple markets and platforms, including The Chicago Reporter, WBBM News Radio, Telemundo, NBC, CBS, and ESPN. Balta is the Publisher of the Latino News Network (LNN), overseeing seven local independent and national digital news outlets in the U.S. Balta is the only person to serve twice as President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). He was inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame in 2016. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches journalism courses focused on all aspects of newsroom collaboration in covering local news.

Chloe Bell, Associate Editor

Chloe Bell is the Associate Editor of The Fulcrum and the Baum Fellow at the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic. Chloe holds a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law with certificates in both environmental and energy law and public interest law, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University with a policy concentration. Prior to joining The Fulcrum, Chloe served as Editor-in-Chief of the Chicago-Kent Journal of Environmental and Energy Law as well as Social Media Manager of numerous law school organizations. Her academic research drives and inspires Chloe’s roles at both The Fulcrum and as an environmental justice attorney. Her work has focused on the impact of our two-party political system on the creation of environmental policy and the intersection of historical race-based federal housing policy on modern industrial development, environmental injustice, and political power within minority communities. Chloe advocates for a comprehensive understanding of these interconnected issues to foster a more equitable democracy and healthful environment for all.