Category: Advisory Board

Savannah Behrmann

SAVANNAH BEHRMANN

Senate Correspondent, National Journal

Savannah Rose Behrmann is the Senate Correspondent for National Journal, where she roams the halls of Capitol Hill focusing on the legislative and bipartisan gridlock of Congress’ upper chamber. Prior, she served as a Congressional Reporter at USA TODAY, where she led the newspaper’s coverage of both chambers of Congress. Previously, she worked as a Politics NOW Reporter at USA TODAY, covering breaking political news that ranged from the 2020 election, Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. Beforehand, she was a News Associate at CNN. Savannah hails from Utah, and attended George Mason University, where she graduated in 2018. She is a proud alumna of the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, which she attended as a National Youth Correspondent in 2013, and then worked as a staff member for several years.

Tags 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Advisory Board Photographer Speakers

Meghan A.T.B. Reese

MEGHAN A.T.B. REESE

Producer, Writer, & Photographer

Meghan Reese is a producer, writer, and photographer. Reese’s credits include producing and writing for National Geographic, National Geographic WILD, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, History Channel, Smithsonian Channel, Science Channel, Oxygen, A&E, Animal Planet, Amazon Prime, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Discovery Family, PBS, Sony, Capital TV Pakistan, Facebook and Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, the White House, the U.S. Department of State, and NASA.

Reese also runs Ography — her own photography and multimedia shop — capturing events for the National Park Service, the White House, and many other businesses, families, and events. Her photography has been featured by The National Park Service, The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Wall Street Journal, PBS, and more.

Reese’s first step into production was as an assistant director and producer for WGBH PBS’s news coverage team, where Reese covered local Boston stories and major national events including the nomination and election of President Barack Obama.

Prior to making the switch to television and film, Reese was an award-winning writer and editor for several newspapers, medical, health and lifestyle magazines, and executive editor of Today’s Dietitian Cookbook. Her writing career began at USA Today, covering fashion, trends, and popular culture.

Reese holds a journalism degree from American University, where she held several prestigious internships around the Washington D.C. area, including The Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and at the White House.

Tags 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023

Advisory Board

Dr. Robert Lichter

DR. ROBERT LICHTER

President, Center for Media and Public Affairs

Dr. Licther is a member of the Communications faculty as well as a consultant for Fox News Channel and Voter News Service. He is the President and founder of The Center for Media and Public Affairs. CMPA is a nonpartisan research and educational organization which conducts scientific studies of news and entertainment media. He has also authored two books, Prime Time and Watching America, as well as coauthored several books that examine the media’s coverage of government and election campaigns with Dr. Stephen Farnsworth.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Ann Klenk

ANN KLENK

Former Senior Producer, Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC

Ann Klenk is a retired senior producer for MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Ms. Klenk started her career in Washington broadcast journalism in 1976 as a business reporter for WTOP radio and Channel 9. She moved to cable in the 1980s producing financial and political programming, including a nightly investigative magazine show. In 1991, Ms. Klenk was hired to start the CNBC’s first primetime bureau in Washington and created “Equal Time with Mary Matalin and Jane Wallace” and launched “Russert” and “McLaughlin” on the network.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Steve Klein

STEVE KLEIN

Professor Emeritus/Journalism, George Mason University

Mr. Klein specializes in a cross-platform journalism approach and provides workshops for high school programs through his “Journalism for the Rest of Us” initiative and as a Teacher Consultant for the Northern Virginia Writing Project. He has taught classes in Writing Across Media, News Writing and Reporting, Introduction to Journalism, Online Journalism, Sports Writing and Reporting and Political Journalism at George Mason University, American University, Cape Cod Community College and Michigan State University. Mr. Klein will also teach History of Journalism (From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg) at GMU and a Journalism Practicum and Feature Writing at Mary Washington University during fall 2014. Prior to coming to Mason, he served as Online Sports Editor of USA TODAY, and also worked at the Lansing State Journal, Tennis magazine, the Stamford (Conn.) Advocate, Enterprise Radio/The Sports Network, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Akron Beacon Journal, for the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association, the South Bend Tribune, the Wisconsin (Madison) State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Dr. T. Mills Kelly

DR. T. MILLS KELLY

Professor, Global Affairs Program, George Mason University

Dr. Kelly is currently a professor with the Global Affairs Program at George Mason University as well as an associate professor in the Department of History and Art History, and an associate director of the Center for History and New Media.

CHNM uses digital media and technology to preserve and present history online, transform scholarship across the humanities, and advance historical education and understanding. Each year CHNM’s many project websites receive over 16 million visitors, and over a million people rely on its digital tools to teach, learn, and conduct research.

Dr. Kelly is also a Georgetown University Research Fellow on the influence of digital media on student learning in history.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Andrew Flagel

ANDREW FLAGEL

President and CEO, Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area

Andrew Flagel is President and CEO of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Consortium member George Washington University, where he served as a regional director of admissions before being appointed as director of admissions for the Congressional Youth Leadership Council. He later received his PhD from Michigan State University’s prestigious program in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education while serving as a director in Flint for the University of Michigan, focusing his research on access and inclusion.

As Dean of Enrollment for over a decade at another Consortium member, George Mason University, Flagel created ground-breaking new programs for members of the military, veterans, international, and transfer students, founded and led the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment and the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, and spearheaded the Pathways partnership with Northern Virginia Community College and Fairfax County Public Schools. He left Mason to become Senior Vice President at Brandeis University, serving as both their chief student affairs and chief enrollment officer. Just prior to joining the Consortium, he served as Vice President for Advancement at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) where he successfully developed a broad range of innovative partnerships with non-profit organizations, foundations, and private companies to support quality and equity throughout higher education.

Flagel is a Visiting Senior Scholar at The George Washington University, and serves on the Board of Trustees for ConnctedDMV.org and the DC College Access Program, on the Board of Directors for the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and as the State Executive for the District of Columbia for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He is also a member of the Presidents’ Trust for the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, the Millennium Campus Network Global Education Council, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, the Washington Journalism and Media Conference Advisory Board, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival Board of Advisors. He previously served as a Senior Scholar for the National Research Center for College and University Admissions, and on the Board of Trustees for the Tremont School. His wife, Jennifer, is Assistant Vice President and Director of Graduate Admissions at Bentley University, and their son is a student at Denison University.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Sam Feist

SAM FEIST

Senior Vice President, CNN/U.S. and Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief

Sam Feist is senior vice president for CNN/U.S. and Washington, D.C. bureau chief. Since January 2009, Feist has served CNN’s political director and vice president of Washington-based programming, overseeing Washington programming, including John King, USA, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, State of the Union with Candy Crowley, and Reliable Sources. As political director, he also coordinated all facets of CNN’s daily political coverage including the production of political specials such as primary nights, conventions, and election nights.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Jennifer Carroll

JENNIFER CARROLL

Editor, Mission Point Press

Jennifer Carroll has a lifelong passion for helping others write, find personal connections, tell stories.

She worked at three Michigan newspapers in reporting, writing, coaching and top editing/management roles, including as managing editor of the Lansing State Journal and then at The Detroit News. She joined the Burlington (VT) Free Press as executive editor.

She also served as a digital content vice president for Gannett in Washington, D.C.

She collaborated with writers, videographers, web designers and editors across Gannett, leading extensive training on digital storytelling tools including video and mobile design. She won several awards for her work on innovation in digital publishing, and for launching a series of print entertainment publications and related niche products.

She enjoys editing, writing coaching, ghost writing and helping others synthesize thoughts into words. She has edited several books for authors with Mission Point Press.

She retired from Gannett and returned to Michigan in 2015. She also is a glass artist with displays in Charlevoix area art galleries.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018

Advisory Board

Mark Bauman

MARK BAUMAN

Chief Executive Officer, Virtual Wonders

Mark Bauman currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Virtual Wonders, a multi-plaform 3D media company that creates immersive experiences for every major media platform. Mr. Bauman is an award-winning International Media and Communications Executive with more than 20 years experience developing broadcasts, publications, and new media businesses and outreach strategies. Before his tenure with Virtual Wonders, he worked with The National Geographic Society and served as a radio correspondent, Bureau Chief, and Producer for ABC News both domestically and abroad.

Tags 2016, 2017, 2018