Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Iva Wharton elected new president of GPA
Executive body of the GPA
Kaieteur News – Veteran journalist Iva Wharton has been elected president of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), following the association’s election held on Sunday at the Theatre Guild at Parade Street, Georgetown.
Wharton, who has worked in journalism for over 20 years, will serve a two-year term. She replaces Nazima Raghubir, who served as GPA president for seven years.
The GPA, founded in 1945, is the sole representative body for media workers in Guyana and is the second-oldest media membership and advocacy organisation in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Wharton, a senior journalist with Capitol News, began her media career in 2005 after completing a three-month internship at Prime News through the University of Guyana. Over the years, she has reported extensively on crime, politics, business, and sports. In 2010, she received the Non-Print Sports Journalist of the Year award for her 2009 coverage. Currently, she produces the business magazine Business InspireGY and hosts the radio programme Business Insight.
A total of 61 media representatives participated in the elections, voting to fill key executive positions including president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, and four voting members. While several returning members were elected to new positions, this year’s elections also saw the emergence of fresh faces taking the spotlight within the executive body.
The previous executive included Nazima Raghubir as president, Rawle Toney as vice president, Svetlana Abrams as treasurer, Ariana Gordon as assistant treasurer, and Iva Wharton as secretary. Voting members then included Denis Chabrol, Nyjel Fraser, Alva Solomon, and Marcelle Thomas.
President of the Guyana Press Association, Iva Wharton
Now, Wharton was nominated for the presidency alongside fellow senior journalist Rawle Toney, winning the vote by 49 points. Other elected officials include; vice president: Ariana Gordon, treasurer: Svetlana Abrams, assistant treasurer: Oluatoyin Alleyne, and voting members: Gordon Mosely, Shervin Belgrave, Royston Drakes, and Miranda La Rose.
Wharton received a warm welcome as she took the stage to deliver her acceptance speech. She expressed gratitude for the confidence placed in her, noting, “I am grateful for the opportunity afforded to me to serve as president of the Guyana Press Association. Both Ms. Johnson and Mr. Chabrol contacted me and told me they were going to nominate me to serve—you know how persuasive they can be. I told them if nominated, I would not decline.”
Reflecting on her journey in media, she added, “At the end of this month, it will be 20 years for me working in the media, ten more years than I planned. It is the same amount of time that I have been a member of the Guyana Press Association. Once I was confirmed at Prime News, I was encouraged to join the GPA and given a membership form. Sometime after, I was encouraged, this time by Nazima, to join the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, which I did.”
As the newly elected president, Wharton has set her sights on one of the most demanding periods for journalists, the upcoming general and regional elections.
“We have a lot of work to do. I can tell you that the GPA in the immediate future will be focused on elections training, with the first session scheduled for Wednesday; we will also be looking at preparing more interactive sessions with media and we will have outreaches to media houses to hear their concerns and to see how better we can work with them,” she said.
Wharton also outlined plans to collaborate with the University of Guyana to strengthen media training. “I intend to engage the University of Guyana to work on short certificate courses for reporters. Our engagement with the University will not just be limited to short courses but to see how best we can have persons from other fields to join the media. We need specialists,” she added.
She concluded her speech with a call for unity and shared responsibility within the association. “I want to make it clear; we are the GPA, not just this executive, all of us; all must be involved,” she emphasised. “Thank you for entrusting me with the leadership of this organisation, which was founded 80 years ago. It is a great responsibility, and I promise that with your support, we will continue our tradition of providing credible public information and public awareness to the people of Guyana.”
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