Program Staff | The Washington Journalism and Media Conference | George Mason University

Program Staff

Conference Leadership

Amy Takayama-Perez
Dean of Admissions
Executive Director of the Washington Scholars Program

Elena Johnson, M.Ed.
Director, Washington Scholars Program

Lauren Jackman
WJMC Assistant Director and Speaker Coordinator

Rachel Cleaver, MPA
Senior Associate Director & Student Support

Ali Dodson, MS, MPP
Senior Assistant Director

Faculty Advisors

Sue Skalicky
Faculty Advisor

Justin Turner
Faculty Advisor

Katie Fletcher
Faculty Advisor

Abrianna Nelson
Faculty Advisor

Jessica Young
Faculty Advisor

April van Buren
Faculty Advisor

Chrissy Wiedemann
Faculty Advisor

Matt Schott
Faculty Advisor

Mark Hilburn
Faculty Advisor

Christopher Mauthe
Faculty Advisor

Britney Hernandez
Faculty Advisor

Kari Johnson
Faculty Advisor

Beth Marshall
Faculty Advisor

Junior Faculty Advisors

Allison Alberty
Junior Faculty Advisor

Kobe Mosley
Junior Faculty Advisor

Charles Hunter
Junior Faculty Advisor

Gabriela Latimer
Junior Faculty Advisor

I’Kesha Little
Junior Faculty Advisor

Megan Mittelhammer
Junior Faculty Advisor

Alexandria Millet
Junior Faculty Advisor

Sydney Johnson
Junior Faculty Advisor

Advance Team

Student Support

Interns

Samuel Girgis
Sam is a rising senior at Cherry Creek High School in Denver Colorado. He attended WJMC’s 2019 conference and was part of the pink group. He runs his own photography and videography business and came to WJMC wanting to learn more about the journalism field. Sam is very excited to come back to WJMC as [...]

Maria McComish
Maria McComish is a high school senior from South Bend, Indiana. She has a passion for journalism and politics. Maria loves to travel and is thankful for WJMC and the opportunities the conference provides. She is excited to return to WJMC this year to help 2020 Correspondents have an amazing experience.

Manuela Bushamani
Manuela Bushamani is a graduating senior of the Green Run High School class of 2020. She attended WJMC’s 2019 conference and was a part of the silver group. She came to WJMC wanting to learn about journalism as a career path and left with a new passion. She plans to attend the University of Virginia [...]

Paloma Coelho
Paloma Coelho is a graduating senior at Coral Gables Senior High School in Miami, Florida. She was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and moved to Miami during the summer of 2016. At her current school, she is the historian and treasurer for the Academy of Finance. WJMC 2019 was one of the [...]

Photographers

Meghan A.T.B. Reese
Producer, Writer, & Photographer