Category: Faculty Advisor

Trina A. Kraus-Schaarschmidt

TRINA A. KRAUS

Faculty Advisor

Trina A. Kraus, M.Ed. is a veteran English teacher, journalism teacher, award-winning author and adjunct professor in the Philadelphia area. Her co-authored book, Explosions of Joy: A Memoir of the Grief Counselor for Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, is highly acclaimed and most notably received a bronze medal from Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards and was selected as a finalist for the 2018 International Book Awards. She is also the advisor for the student newspaper at the high school where she currently teaches and her writers boast placing in the 2020 Keystone Press Awards in the Editorial category and Video Story category. Mrs. Kraus has a B.A. in English and a Master’s in education. She is pursuing a second Master’s in English from Slippery Rock University and has recently started a private Writing Coach program to provide editing services or tutoring for both aspiring and reluctant writers from middle school through adult age. In 2022 her services proudly played a role in raising almost $150K for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Beth Marshall

BETH MARSHALL

Faculty Advisor

Beth Marshall, C.J.E., M.Ed., advises yearbook and teaches Journalism, English courses, and a dual credit course, Introduction to Mass Commuciations at Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Illinois. She has been teaching and advising journalism for 10 years, and she has taught English for more than 30 years. She is a Certified Journalism Educator, and she earned her M.A.Ed. in Journalism Education through Kent State University in 2020. She was also selected to attend the 2019 CSJ Advanced Advising Workshop at Kent State University in Ohio. Beth’s yearbook staff has earned numerous state awards including IEA Best Overall Yearbook and All-KEMPA recognition as well as first class ratings from the NSPA. Beth is the president of the Kettle Moraine Press Association, which works with scholastic journalism students and their teachers throughout Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Beth is excited to return to WJMC.

Steve Taglieri

STEPHEN TAGLIERI

Marketing and Communications Consultant and Founder, Kingdom Multimedia, LLC

Steve Taglieri is a conservation and climate communications specialist who graduated from George Mason University (Class of 2022). With a background in conservation biology and photojournalism, Steve has paired the two disciplines to assist eco-friendly organizations grow their online presence and outreach strategies. Steve has worked and written for the Smithsonian Zoo and Magazine, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Reverse the Red campaign, the Institute for Advertising Ethics, and the American Forest Foundation. Most recently, he founded Kingdom Multimedia LLC, a creative agency creating green impact through communications and marketing strategies. Actively working with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and The Nature Conservancy, Steve merges public relations, videography, and journalism to grow climate awareness at eco-oriented organizations that have not previously allocated resources to this mission.

Kari Johnson

Faculty Advisor

Kari Johnson, CJE, just finished her 12th year of teaching and advising publications in the Kansas City, Mo. area. Her newspaper and yearbook staffs have earned numerous local, state and national awards from JEMKC, MIPA, JEA and NSPA. Kari loves teaching journalism and photojournalism, especially the First Amendment. She loves seeing the pride her students take in creating publications that are distributed throughout the school and community. Kari earned her B.S. in Journalism from the University of Central Missouri and her Master’s in Teaching from Park University. This will be Kari’s second summer at WJMC, having served as a Faculty Adviser in 2012. In addition to teaching, Kari loves to travel with her husband and two kids, Kayleigh, 7, and Wyatt, 2.

Britney Crowe

BRITNEY CROWE

Faculty Advisor

Britney began her journey with WJMC six years ago when she nominated students for the program, and she continues to come back to this program as a faculty advisor. She is a mentor, teacher, co-worker, mother, and child of Christ. She is finishing her 27th year of teaching in Texas and she just distributed her 24th yearbook to a campus of 3000 students. She lives in central Texas near her grown children, and her companions include two kitties and her plants. Britney enjoys travel, hiking, camping, new foods, and gathering stories from strangers.

Christopher Mauthe

CHRIS MAUTHE

Faculty Advisor

As an educator for 10 years, Chris has enjoyed working with both students and adults as a classroom teacher and instructional coach. Currently, he teaches Sociology, and US/VA Government at Yorktown High School in Arlington, VA. Prior to his placement there, he worked for two years in the North Clackamas School District outside Portland, OR as an instruction and equity coach for K-12 Health and Social Studies teachers around teaching for social justice across the content. In the spring of 2017, Chris was invited by the Ugandan Ministry of Education to travel to Uganda where he presented workshops on leadership in the field of education as part of the team that organized and presented “Teachers Transform the Nation” in Kampala. He started his career as a middle school Social Studies teacher at Swanson Middle School in Arlington, VA. Chris received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from James Madison University. When he’s not traveling, Chris spends his spare time seeing live music at all the amazing venues and cheering on the Washington Nationals. Chris is thrilled to be joining the WJMC family and can’t wait to work with everyone!

Mark Hilburn

MARK HILBURN

Faculty Advisor

Mark has taught journalism for 15 years at Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska and advises the news broadcast, newspaper, yearbook, radio and sports live-streaming. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha teaching Media Writing and Public Speaking Fundamentals while working on a Ph.D. in educational leadership. Mark is the past president of the Nebraska High School Press Association, presents and judges at national JEA/NSPA and CSPA conventions and teaches journalism workshops nationwide He holds master’s in journalism and mass communication from the University of Nebraska. He was named the 2015 Nebraska Distinguished Journalism Teacher of the Year, in 2019 received the Dr. Sherrie Wilson Outstanding Service Award for Journalism, and in 2020, received the Future Administrator Award from JEA.

Matt Rasgorshek

MATT RASGORSHEK

Faculty Advisor

Matt is the journalism advisor at Creighton Prep High School in Omaha, Nebraska. He has advised video and online publications that have received state, regional and national recognition. He has been recognized as a Distinguished Broadcast Advisor of the year by the Journalism Education Association as well as as one of the country’s top journalism advisors by the Dow Jones News Fund. Prior to teaching journalism, Matt worked behind the camera as a newscast director, producer, videographer and editor in local affiliates in Omaha and Phoenix. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, running and playing golf.

Matt Schott

MATT SCHOTT

Faculty Advisor

Matt is the publications adviser at Francis Howell Central High School in Cottleville, Missouri, where he just completed his 19th year advising the newspaper, yearbook, web and broadcast programs. His students have been the recipients of numerous national, state and local awards. He’s been honored twice by the Dow Jones News Fund, was the 2010 Missouri Journalism Teacher of the Year, and his school’s teacher of the year in 2018. In 2019, he was named one of six recipients of the Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award. Prior to teaching Matt worked at newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, and Florida as a design editor. Matt is married with two kids and two dogs. In his spare time, he’s a freelance photographer specializing in sports photography.

Melissa Larson

MELISSA LARSON

Faculty Advisor

Melissa Larson is excited to return to WJMC for her 10th year as a Faculty Advisor for the Pink Group. Melissa taught technology, photography, and journalism for 14 years, before leaving the classroom to chase dreams, and is now working at Edpuzzle making educational videos. She advised yearbook and online publications which received numerous state and national awards. In 2014, she received the “Rising Star” Award from the Journalism Education Association. In 2013, she was recognized as one of nine Apple Award Finalists for Secondary Educator of the Year in the Douglas County School District. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, photography, reading, hiking, and traveling.