Miami Herald Executive Editor Aminda Marqués Gonzalez has been elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board, Columbia University announced Tuesday.

Marqués, a graduate of Hialeah High and the University of Florida, began her journalism career 25 years ago at The Miami Herald and now oversees The Herald’s newsroom for print and online.

"When I served as a journalism juror, reading the entries from across the country by organizations of all sizes was a total affirmation of the importance of what we do," Marqués said.

In addition to journalism, the Pulitzer board also judges the top works of literature and the arts.

"It has been described as being part of the best book club in the world," Marqués said. "I’m privileged to be in such great company."

She started at the newspaper as an intern covering community news and went on to cover the city of Hialeah. She became an editor in 1994 and directed local political reporters and breaking news. She was named deputy metro editor in 2000.

Marqués, 48, left The Herald in 2002 to lead People magazine’s Miami bureau. She returned to The Herald newsroom in 2007 as a multimedia editor and features editor, helping to launch the entertainment website miami.com and the redesign of the Tropical Life section. She then was named managing editor and helped lead the Haiti earthquake coverage that was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2011.

Marqués, who grew up in Hialeah and now lives in Davie, was named executive editor in November 2010. She is the second woman and the first Hispanic to hold the position.

The Pulitzer Board also elected to the board journalist Steve Coll of The New Yorker magazine and playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes. Coll spent 20 years at The Washington Post and has twice won the Pulitzer Prize. Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for drama for her play Water by the Spoonful.

The 19-member Pulitzer board is made up of leading journalists and executives from across the country. Each year the Pulitzers, administered by Columbia University, honor the best works in journalism, literature and the arts.

The Miami Herald has been awarded 20 Pulitzers.