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Adam Dawes, who has led Embarcadero Media Foundation through stiff winds buffeting both the organization and wider media landscape, has announced that he will be stepping down as chief executive officer of the local nonprofit that publishes The Almanac. Dawes said he will continue in the role until later in the year to ensure continuity for the organization and smooth the transition to a new leader.
Dawes, a Palo Alto native, took the helm of the organization that publishes seven online and print publications in the fall of 2022. He succeeded Bill Johnson, who founded the Palo Alto Weekly in 1979. The organization now serves the Midpeninsula communities of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, Portola Valley, Woodside and Redwood City, as well as Pleasanton, Livermore, Danville and San Ramon in the East Bay. Before taking the position, Dawes served for years on Embarcadero’s foundation board – as did his father, Dexter Dawes, before him.
Johnson, now the executive chairman of the foundation board, said the search for the organization’s next leader – the second in its 47-year history – would begin immediately.
“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Adam for his leadership, determination and fortitude,” Johnson said in a prepared statement to staff. “He has successfully accomplished a very ambitious change agenda while also navigating the many expected (and unexpected) challenges of managing a small, mission-driven organization.”
Dawes’s tenure was characterized by sometimes difficult changes that came on the heels of a global pandemic that shifted the way people think about the workplace and the news.
Significantly, he led the conversion from a for-profit corporation to a 501c(3) nonprofit model that supports community members who wish to donate to the foundation to further the mission of local journalism. Readers have responded, and as a result, the organization has experienced two straight years of profitability after five years of losses. Dawes hosted a series of fundraising events and ongoing dialogue with supporters across the region to generate revenue for Embarcadero’s journalism.
In 2024, Dawes championed the move toward an industry standard online platform that reduced the need for technical support to maintain the organization’s aging homemade content management system. All seven Embarcadero Media Foundation websites launched anew that year. Behind-the-scenes processes were simplified and readers got a more modern look and feel to the news.
The conversion to a nonprofit also meant the organization had to divest of its previous headquarters building on Cambridge Avenue. Dawes navigated the move across El Camino Real to the organization’s new home on Yale Street in Palo Alto.
Many of Dawes’s most meaningful accomplishments were less visible to the community. He led the organization to produce an annual report in 2025 and shepherded Embarcadero Media Foundation (EMF) through its first audit as a nonprofit. He hired the first development director in the organization’s history and instituted new efficiencies in payroll and for other internal functions.
Dawes is also leading the organization’s collaborative efforts to draft its first collective bargaining agreement with the Pacific Media Workers Guild, which represents some of EMF’s journalists and designers.
“My skills and approach to improving the company has always centered around pivoting our business model and shaping our organization to be aligned with best practices in local publishing,” Dawes said in an email to staff announcing his decision. “With that transition largely achieved, now is the right time to find a leader who is going to define and drive the next chapter of EMF.”
In many ways, Dawes, 56, was born for the job. He and his family have a long interest in local journalism. He served as one of the editors-in-chief of the Palo Alto High School news publication, The Campanile. His father was a well-known philanthropist and investor, serving on the foundation board of directors from 2000 to 2013.
Before becoming CEO of Embarcadero Media Foundation, Dawes worked as a senior product manager for the Google News Initiative, which partners with organizations — including EMF — to work on solutions for the digital age.
“I’ve long viewed my time here as an exciting project and not another career,” Dawes said in his statement to staff. “I’ve got precious time with my kids still at home and new life adventures I want to explore.”
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I would like to offer a huge thank you to Adam for his multi-faceted effort to get Embarcadero Media on stronger financial footing. And to the community for their essential generosity in supporting our papers. To Bill Johnson for his unwavering commitment to our local news. And most importantly to Embarcadero staff, who have produced excellent papers day in and day out through all of these years. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated and committed folks working in local news in our communities.