Todd Franko is RFA director of Local Sustainability and Development. He served as editor of The Vindicator from 2007 until it closed in August 2019. He previously was an editor at the Rockford Register Star in Illinois, the Sandusky Register, the Post-Tribune, the Columbus Telegram and the Corning Leader. His Ohio newsrooms won first place General Excellence awards in competitions in 2014, 2013, 2002, 2001 and 1999. Franko has also been an active civic leader and prolific fundraiser for local causes, as board member of The Boys and Girls Clubs of Youngstown; founder of The Simeon Booker Group, dedicated to honoring famed Civil Rights journalist Simeon Booker; founder of The NewsOutlet, an Ohio journalism collaborative of 5 universities and 5 professional media organizations; and a founder of the “Greatest Golfer of the Valley” franchise that every summer engages 3,300 golfers. When not doing any of this, you can find him playing hockey, golf, jarts or Spikeball or just hiking the Ohio-Pennsylvania woods. He's a son of Buffalo, NY. His wife is a teacher and his 3 sons are all in college.
