Heeten Choxi

Notable work and positions

Montclair Local - Co-founder
Google - Engineering Manager

Biography

Heeten Choxi co-founded Montclair Local, a nonprofit news organization serving Montclair, New Jersey, in 2017 together with his wife, Thalla-Marie Choxi. An engineering manager at Google with no prior journalism background, Choxi and his wife personally funded the outlet in its initial years, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours after seeing local coverage dwindle when the weekly Montclair Times laid off staff following its parent company's sale to Gannett. Heeten led the Local's first Board of Trustees. The couple continued significant financial support after Montclair Local became a community-supported nonprofit in 2021, and by 2024 the organization had grown to five full-time journalists. In 2022, Heeten and Thalla-Marie relocated to North Carolina with their five children and concluded their direct financial support of the Local. The Choxis have described their commitment to local journalism as stemming from their Baha'i faith's emphasis on community connection.

Career highlights

• Co-founded Montclair Local 2017 · Personally funded the outlet in its early years, growing it into a five-journalist newsroom before its 2021 transition to nonprofit status.
• First Chair, Montclair Local Board of Trustees