Sarah Min selected for 2024 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award

When Sarah Min (BS ’93, journalism) was appointed to President Joe Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in 2022, she knew her background in journalism would prove useful in government policy and nonprofit advocacy work. 

“For people who practice journalism, it's a job requirement to constantly learn new things and talk to a lot of people outside of the known” Min said. “I think that was the heart of my education at the college that has really stayed with me.”                             

Plus, Min, who moved to New York City right after graduation with only the prospect of a job, likes to embrace unexpected and challenging opportunities.  

“I really look for steep learning curves. I think that's what keeps the brain agile and [provides] intellectual stimulation, from diving into the unfamiliar,” she said. 

Min’s curious nature has been a career asset as a magazine journalist and media executive, and now, as Deputy Chief Commissioner of President Biden’s AA and NHPI Advisory Commission.

Min’s exemplary career accomplishments, along with her engagement with the college, have earned her the 2024 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award.

“The breadth of Sarah Min’s contributions to the media industry, to nonprofits, and to government and advocacy are truly inspiring,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “Her career path demonstrates to our students that there are many opportunities to pursue your interests and to make a difference.”

As a member of the President’s Advisory Commission, Min and her colleagues provide recommendations to President Biden on ways the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can work together to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for every Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community.

The federal advisory commission works to address key priorities, including efforts to combat anti-Asian hate, promote data disaggregation and language access, and advance health and economic equity. 

She also serves on the board of EMILY’s List, an organization that elects pro-choice Democratic women, and Color of Change, a racial justice organization.

Min, who holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, is involved in several additional political nonprofits, working to build political power by “getting good information out to people around civic engagement.”

Min says she owes much of her success to her education, experience, and mentors at Illinois, including Bob Reid, a former investigative journalism professor who taught his students to push themselves as much as possible.

“One of the things that [Reid] always said was to stay outside your comfort zone and how important that is, but also how deliberate you have to be about that,” Min said of Reid, who passed away in 2004. “That idea has truly guided me throughout my career.” 

Working at The Daily Illini also had a huge impact on Min, who said it’s where she learned how to write, edit, and think visually about a story. 

In 2020, she established the Daily Illini Journalism Scholarship Fund with her husband, Matt Pincus, to help support undergraduates in journalism who are committed to working at least one semester at The Daily Illini.

Min said it was a way for her to honor those students who manage work and classes, while remaining committed to sustaining the practice of journalism.

“I’m proud and privileged to be supportive of young people who are willing to commit to continuing that tradition because maintaining journalistic standards is critical in our civil society,” she said. 

While the early part of Min’s career involved jobs at magazines like Glamour and Vibe, her desire to help build political power for women and people of color is where most of her professional and personal focus stands today.

Min said her previous experience and skill set applied to the kind of work that needed to be done, which is related to narrative work and storytelling and changing perceptions.

“These days it's about how you get the truth out to people. How do you meet people where they are, how do you find the audiences,” Min said. “It’s very similar principles to journalism—understanding specific audiences and how to deliver content to each of those audiences so that they will engage with information.” 

For Min, who says the first part of her career was satisfying because she could see an immediate product, what’s most gratifying now is advocating for future leaders.

“I’m inspired to help to build a pipeline of leaders for tomorrow who take a hopeful and innovative approach to the future,” Min said. 

—Kelly Youngblood