The Washington Journalism and Media Conference

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Beth Jannery

Beth Jannery has more than 25 years experience in Communication and Media. Jannery is the Director of Journalism for the Department of Communication. Her work was recently featured in The Washington Post.   She is a former journalist who covered the Pentagon. She was the Communication Officer for Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 

Jannery is a member of the Advisory Board for The Washington Journalism and Media Conference, Faculty Liaison for The Insight Committee and Faculty Advisor for the Society of Professional Journalists. Jannery is author of the Journalism and Communication textbook What’s the Story? The Art of Writing & Communication (2nd Edition pending publication 2018) as well as author of several non-fiction books and novels.

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Ali Dodson, MS, MPP

ALI DODSON

Associate Director, Washington Scholars Program

Ali Dodson is the Associate Director of the Washington Scholars Program. She has a B.S in Conservation Biology from George Mason University, and an M.S. in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology and M.P.P in Environmental Policy from University of Maryland. Her master’s research focused on student perception of environmental issues, which she then used to create and teach a summer Living Learning Community for University of Maryland’s Upward Bound Program. Before going to Maryland, Ali worked with the Consortium for Ocean Leadership’s National Ocean Sciences Bowl, a national competition for high school students in the marine sciences. Before coming to Mason, Ali worked with the EPA, where she was an ORISE fellow researching coastal wetlands. In her free time, she attempts to grow her own vegetables, hangs out in her big back yard with her dogs, and sings karaoke as often as possible.

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Counselor Leadership

Rachel Cleaver, MPA

RACHEL CLEAVER

Senior Associate Director, K-12 Partnerships

Rachel is the Senior Associate Director of K-12 Partnerships in the Office of Admissions. In this role, she creates and oversees partnerships that help bring more students to the Mason campus. She works with many departments and organizations across the campus as well as the community as a whole to talk about the great things happening at George Mason as well as College Access and Success overall. Rachel oversees bringing groups of students of all ages to campus and you will often see her corralling large groups of middle school students around campus. Rachel provides general support to the Washington Scholars Program. Prior to coming to George Mason, Rachel has extensive experience leading the programmatic efforts at two college access and success programs on the East Coast, Let’s Get Ready and The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund. She has extensive experience in curriculum design and program management and in helping under-served high school students achieve their college dreams. She earned BS degrees in Elementary Education and Human/Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University and a Masters in Public Administration from George Mason University. She loves living in Washington, DC and looks forward to welcoming you here this summer!

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Leadership

Elena Johnson, M.Ed.

ELENA JOHNSON

Director, Washington Scholars Program

Elena is the Director of the Washington Scholars Program (WSP) which includes the Washington Journalism and Media Conference (WJMC) and the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment (WYSE).  As the director, she works to create fulfilling conference experiences by developing curriculum for the programs, as well as recruiting professional faculty and nationally recognized speakers in the fields of journalism and the media and environmental science. Under her leadership the programs have tripled in size and furthered their reach through key partnerships. Elena also manages several key partnerships for the Office of Admissions that focus on dual enrollment programming and college access initiatives. Prior to working in the Office of Admissions, Elena worked as a College and Career Specialist helping high school students explore their educational and career goals and choices. Elena earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her Masters in Education from George Mason University.

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Speakers

Raquel DeSouza

Raquel DeSouza graduated in May from George Mason University with a BA in Communication, concentration in Journalism and minors in American Government and Global Affairs. She’s a local to the NoVA area and loved her four years at the Mason Nation. She was involved in Student Media with GMU’s Fourth Estate newspaper and had internships in Virginia and DC, including Northern Virginia Magazine. Raquel is looking forward to working in a creative field that harnesses her writing skills.

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Speakers

Jennie Keohane

Dr. Jennifer Keohane teaches courses in rhetorical criticism, business communication, and public speaking at George Mason University. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her expertise lies in social movement rhetoric, labor organizing, and gender. Her current research explores how advocates for the labor movement use gendered narratives to organize workers. Dr. Keohane is also invested in using rhetorical research for civic engagement, and at UW-Madison, she served as the vice president of the Teaching Assistants’ Association, the labor union of graduate students on campus. In this role, she worked with university administrators to ensure compliance with campus labor regulations. She has also previously served on the Board of Directors for the Rhetoric Society of America.

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Speakers

Lisa Gring-Pemble

Lisa M. Gring-Pemble is an Associate Professor in the School of Integrative Studies at George Mason University. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of St. Olaf College, she received her M.A. and Ph.D. in communication from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on political communication and social policy. She is author of Grim Fairy Tales: The Rhetorical Construction of American Welfare Policy and a co-editor of Readings on Political Communication. Her work has appeared in The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Political Communication, and Communication Quarterly.

Gring-Pemble delights in teaching undergraduates and is a George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award recipient. Recently, she served as Director and Principal Investigator for a State Department grant that brought 120 high-achieving, underserved, Afro-Latino and indigenous undergraduates from Central and South America to the United States to study U.S. History and Government and to develop long-term solutions to pressing challenges faced in their home communities.

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Speakers

Richard T. Craig

Dr. Craig is an Assistant Professor of Communication at George Mason University. He has been a part of the university and the communications department since the fall of 2009. Dr. Craig received his BA in Journalism from Olivet College, his MA in Telecommunications Management from Michigan State University, and his PhD in Mass Communication/Media Studies from Howard University.

His research centers on mass media political economy; addressing the production, distribution and consumption of media content. He takes particular interest in exploring the social structure/struggle embedded in media production and interpreted in media consumption. His goal is to use research to influence the development of policy to enhance opportunities for media production and distribution by marginalized cultures.

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Speakers

Hannah Menchhoff

Hannah Menchhoff is the arts and entertainment editor for the Fairfax County Times. She has worked on a variety of exciting stories, including interviewing “See You Again” singer, Charlie Puth. She graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Communication in 2015. Hannah also does freelance writing and works to do marketing research, analysis and social media with Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters.

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Speakers

Jamie Smith

Jamie Smith is the Global Chief Communications Officer of The BitFury Group – a leading technology company in the transformational financial technology sector dedicated to the breakthrough innovation of the Blockchain. Jamie is leading global initiatives designed to fundamentally change the way the larger global community does business, transfers value, and opens up new doors to prosperity for billions of people throughout the world.

Jamie has dedicated her career to making lives better, enhancing security, and ensuring opportunity is available to all. Jamie brings nearly two decades of communications experience to her role as Global CCO, serving at the highest levels of government and the private sector. She previously served as Special Assistant to President Obama and deputy White House press secretary, Executive Vice President at Edelman Public Relations where she oversaw multi-channel media strategies, Director of Public Affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and General James Clapper, Communications Director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation under its then Chairman John D (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Traveling Press Director for Secretary Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign, Communications Director for former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and The Albright Group, LLC. and policy aide to Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY).