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Category: Speakers

Savannah Behrmann

SAVANNAH BEHRMANN

Politics and Congress Reporter

Savannah Rose Behrmann was most recently the Senate Correspondent for National Journal, where she roamed 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.

SAVANNAH BEHRMANN

Politics and Congress Reporter

Savannah Rose Behrmann was most recently the Senate Correspondent for National Journal, where she roamed 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.

Michael Sandler

Michael Sandler, Director of Strategic Communications, Strategic Communications. Photo by: Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University

Director of Strategic Communications, George Mason University

Michael Sandler is the Director of Strategic Communications. He oversees external and internal communication for the university and leads a team that handles news, media relations, internal communications and crisis communications. Prior to joining Mason in 2014, Sandler spent nearly two decades as a reporter and editor in Washington, D.C., and Florida, covering government, politics, and policy. He has been a reporter or editor at the Associated Press, Congressional Quarterly, The Hill, the Tampa Bay Times (formerly St. Petersburg Times) and The Washington Post.

Michelle Jaconi

MICHELLE JACONI

Executive Producer, Washington Post Video Team

Michelle Jaconi is the Executive Producer of The Washington Post video team, where she oversees on-camera journalists and topical, satirical videos on politics and culture.

Michelle previously worked at Independent Journal Review (IJR), where she was a driving force behind some of their viral video journalism during the 2016 election campaign. Before joining IJR, Michelle spent six years at CNN as the executive producer on “State of the Union” and “Inside Politics,” before becoming the founding executive producer of CNN Politics’ Cross Platform Programming Unit. Before CNN, Michelle was a programming executive and political analyst at NBC’s “Meet the Press with Tim Russert.”

Michelle has won multiple Emmy Awards for her election coverage at NBC and CNN. She won a Peabody for CNN’s coverage of the Arab spring and a Cronkite Award for “Meet the Press.” She has a bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a master’s degree from Georgetown’s Communications, Culture and Technology program.

Nadgeena Jerome

NADGEENA JEROME

Multimedia Journalist

A first-generation Haitian-American, Nadgeena Jerome is a dynamic multimedia journalist, on-camera host, and content creator with a focus on lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and entertainment. Over the past year, she has covered major cultural events including New York Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week, Arizona Fashion Week, and Swim Week Las Vegas, while continuing to produce engaging digital content for national media brands and her personal platform, The JooJoo Journey.

Previously, she served as a senior lifestyle reporter and assistant editor at The U.S. Sun, and has held on-air and digital roles at News 12, Talent Recap, and 2M Media Group in Washington, D.C.

Nadgeena is a proud alumna of George Mason University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2017. She is also a proud 2012 alumna of the Washington Journalism and Media Conference and is honored to return as a featured speaker, continuing to give back to the organization that helped spark and shape her path in journalism.

Outside of journalism, Nadgeena is a signed professional model, a nationally recognized pageant competitor, and the founder of The Unbroken Collective, a mental health initiative tied to her lifestyle brand. She placed 1st runner-up at the 2024 and 2025 Miss Virginia USA pageants and is currently completing her first children’s book. She also serves as an advocacy ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is a Girls Write Now mentor.

NADGEENA JEROME

Multimedia Journalist

A first-generation Haitian-American, Nadgeena Jerome is a dynamic multimedia journalist, on-camera host, and content creator with a focus on lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and entertainment. Over the past year, she has covered major cultural events including New York Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week, Arizona Fashion Week, and Swim Week Las Vegas, while continuing to produce engaging digital content for national media brands and her personal platform, The JooJoo Journey.

Previously, she served as a senior lifestyle reporter and assistant editor at The U.S. Sun, and has held on-air and digital roles at News 12, Talent Recap, and 2M Media Group in Washington, D.C.

Nadgeena is a proud alumna of George Mason University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2017. She is also a proud 2012 alumna of the Washington Journalism and Media Conference and is honored to return as a featured speaker, continuing to give back to the organization that helped spark and shape her path in journalism.

Outside of journalism, Nadgeena is a signed professional model, a nationally recognized pageant competitor, and the founder of The Unbroken Collective, a mental health initiative tied to her lifestyle brand. She placed 1st runner-up at the 2024 and 2025 Miss Virginia USA pageants and is currently completing her first children’s book. She also serves as an advocacy ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is a Girls Write Now mentor.

Jack Curry

Adjunct Professor, George Mason University

Jack Curry has held leadership positions in the newsrooms of many of the nation’s largest circulation publications: USA Today, The New York Daily News, and TV Guide. He has written for many media outlets ranging from The Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine to Cosmopolitan and Playbill. Curry also serves as a Writing Coach at the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and teaches English as a Second Language at Northern Virginia Community College. Curry received his MA in Journalism from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. He received his BA at the Jesuit institution, LeMoyne College. Curry lives in Arlington now but has also called Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Norway, Switzerland and Long Island home.

Fareeha Rehman

Fareeha Rehman served as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Fourth Estate from fall 2017 to spring 2018. Prior to that, she was the Online Editor and started as a staff writer in 2016. While working with the newspaper, she also served as President of the Society of Professional Journalists, which won Region 2 Chapter of the Year during her term. She graduated from George Mason University in May 2018 with a B.A. in Communication (Journalism concentration) and is currently an intern with On Tap Magazine.

Laxmi Parthasarathy

Director, Global Media Partnerships, Ashoka

Laxmi Parthasarathy is the Director of Global Media Partnerships for Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, She is also a Media Development Professional and Vice Chair of the board of Crossroads International, a Canadian international development organization.

Laxmi is also the author of “The Bottom-Up Media Revolution: How Social Entrepreneurs Are Building Trust Between Communities and the Media,” a report published by the University of Michigan.

Prior to Ashoka, Laxmi worked in Swaziland as the communications leader for the country’s only gender-based violence prevention NGO, where she developed and executed a national media campaign and co-produced a national radio program.

In 2007, Laxmi founded MY ROOTS, a Toronto based newspaper distributed in North East Scarborough. She has worked on media and development projects in Canada, Swaziland, India, Rwanda, Mexico, Spain, and the UK. Laxmi has delivered lectures on Social Entrepreneurship, Media Development and the Future of Journalism at Harvard University, Skoll World Forum, and Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum.

Laxmi received a BA from Carleton University and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science where she assessed the effectiveness of rural community radio for development in Southern India.  In 2008 she was awarded Top 20 Under 20 in Canada and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Steve Berta

Editor, Investigative Reporting, Indy Star

Steve Berta, 64, has been investigations editor of the Indianapolis Star since 2012. Berta led IndyStar’s award-winning coverage of sexual abuse in USA Gymnastics, which led to the conviction of Larry Nassar, the biggest sexual abuse scandal in U.S. sports history. The coverage resulted in federal legislation and the resignations of the USA Gymnastics president and board, as well as the president of Michigan State University, its gymnastics coach and the dean of its medical school. The university recently agreed to pay $500 million to settle lawsuits brought by more than 300 women who say Nassar assaulted them. Berta has led investigations into government corruption, day care regulation, pet medicines, abandoned housing, violent crime and the spread of disease through the captive deer industry. The graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism was previously news director at the Star, and business editor of the Akron Beacon Journal, where he led award-winning investigations into Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the coal industry’s influence on Ohio’s utility and air quality regulators.

Rondene Grinam

RONDENE GRINAM

Global Email Marketing Manager, Microsoft

Rondene Grinam is a global email marketing manager at Microsoft. Previously, she was a marketing specialist at Gartner, a leading business research and advisory company.  In this role, she managed marketing campaign strategy through channels like email, web content, and social media. She also served as the communications lead for Gartner’s multicultural employee group.

She developed an early interest in communications as a writer for her high school news publications and columnist for her city’s newspaper. While attending George Mason University, she was involved in a variety of opportunities to develop a career around her passions for global communication, social media, and public relations.

An alum of the Washington Scholars Program for young aspiring communications professionals, she held a number of enriching internships throughout her undergraduate career, most notably in marketing at Northern Virginia Magazine and the British Embassy Washington. She has also refined her intercultural communication skills through studying abroad in France and Italy, and through interning for Italian travel agency Florence for Fun and George Mason’s Center for Global Education.

Rondene received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and minors in journalism and global affairs from George Mason University in May 2016. In December 2018, she earned a master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy.

She loves being a part of the WJMC family and is thrilled to be a part of the conference again this year.

RONDENE GRINAM

Global Email Marketing Manager, Microsoft

Rondene Grinam is a global email marketing manager at Microsoft. Previously, she was a marketing specialist at Gartner, a leading business research and advisory company.  In this role, she managed marketing campaign strategy through channels like email, web content, and social media. She also served as the communications lead for Gartner’s multicultural employee group.

She developed an early interest in communications as a writer for her high school news publications and columnist for her city’s newspaper. While attending George Mason University, she was involved in a variety of opportunities to develop a career around her passions for global communication, social media, and public relations.

An alum of the Washington Scholars Program for young aspiring communications professionals, she held a number of enriching internships throughout her undergraduate career, most notably in marketing at Northern Virginia Magazine and the British Embassy Washington. She has also refined her intercultural communication skills through studying abroad in France and Italy, and through interning for Italian travel agency Florence for Fun and George Mason’s Center for Global Education.

Rondene received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and minors in journalism and global affairs from George Mason University in May 2016. In December 2018, she earned a master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy.

She loves being a part of the WJMC family and is thrilled to be a part of the conference again this year.

Megan Tucker

MEGAN TUCKER

Communication Faculty, George Mason University

Megan Tucker is an assistant term professor and the Director of Academic Advising for the Communication department.  In the past, Megan served as the BA Program Director for the department from 2017-2020. Previoulsy, Megan has also worked full time in Washington DC at the National Communication Association on the student learning outcomes grant. She has formerly worked as an adjunct professor of Communication at Johns Hopkins University, Northern Virginia Community College, and as an academic advisor at Marymount University.

Megan received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and English (Journalism) from Christopher Newport University. Her Master of Arts in Communication is from George Mason University. In 2015, Megan earned her PhD in Higher Education with a focus in Communication from GMU.

Her research interests include student development, communication and academic advising, interpersonal and organizational communication, media, identity, small group communication, student services, learning outcomes, assessment and marginalized student groups.

MEGAN TUCKER

Communication Faculty, George Mason University​

Megan Tucker is an assistant term professor and the Director of Academic Advising for the Communication department.  In the past, Megan served as the BA Program Director for the department from 2017-2020. Previously, Megan has also worked full time in Washington DC at the National Communication Association on the student learning outcomes grant. She has formerly worked as an adjunct professor of Communication at Johns Hopkins University, Northern Virginia Community College, and as an academic advisor at Marymount University.

Megan received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and English (Journalism) from Christopher Newport University. Her Master of Arts in Communication is from George Mason University. In 2015, Megan earned her PhD in Higher Education with a focus in Communication from GMU.

Her research interests include student development, communication and academic advising, interpersonal and organizational communication, media, identity, small group communication, student services, learning outcomes, assessment and marginalized student groups.