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Tag: 2019

Maggie Campbell

MAGGIE CAMPBELL

Junior Faculty Advisor

Maggie Campbell is a rising senior at Ohio University studying journalism and a Washington, D.C. area native. She attended WJMC as a correspondent in 2014 and has served as a Junior Faculty Advisor since the summer of 2017. While at Ohio University she has been active in the campus Society of Professional Journalists and the student-run publication The Post. This past year she served as president of OUSPJ and was a copy editor, social media contributor, and member of The Post’s investigations team. She has covered issues such as education, facilities, and sexual assault in schools. Maggie has previously been recognized for her public affairs reporting by the Central Ohio chapter of Society of Professional Journalists. Maggie is looking for toward to a great summer of watching aspiring journalists grow and discover D.C.

Jada McClure

Advance Team Member

Jada McClure is a junior at George Mason University from Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. She is a Communication major with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Journalism. After attending the 2014 Washington Journalism and Media Conference, she worked as an intern in the Office of Admissions at GMU, assisting the Washington Scholars Program with logistics and social media. She is currently Social Media Manager for Northern Virginia Area Health Educations Center (NVAHEC) at Mason. Jada is a sister of the Zeta Tau Alpha (Theta Chi) chapter where she served as Junior Panhellenic Delegate and is also a member of Optimist International in North Carolina. She is very excited to be returning as an Advance Team Member!

 

Justin Turner

JUSTIN TURNER

Faculty Advisor

Justin Turner has taught journalism and advised yearbooks, newspapers, and literary magazines for 15 years. In that time he’s found his passion: supporting students, the 1st amendment, and the power of those two things together. Justin’s staffs have won numerous state and national awards including gold medals, first divisions, individual write off awards, Arkansas’s top honor, the All-Arkansas award, and has placed in the top 10 best of show at a JEA/NSPA convention. Justin was named the 2020 Arkansas Adviser of the Year. He’s lost count of how many WJMC sessions he’s been able to attend, but each one has made for an amazing summer!

Sue Muraida

Evoto

SUE MURAIDA

Assistant Director

Sue Muraida is a best-selling author, speaker, and pursuer of abundant life. Over the past 30 years, she has worked as a medical photographer, photojournalist, leadership trainer, writer, and teacher. Sue has published three books, Change For a Penny, The Silent Sound of Darkness, and her memoir Going Back For Me, as well as co-authored the anthology Deserts To Mountaintops: Our Collective Journey To (Re)Claiming Our Voice. She is currently the program director for Humanities North Dakota.

Samantha Shaw

www.terriclarkphotography.com

SAMANTHA SHAW

Faculty Advisor, WJMC Alum 2016

Samantha earned her B.A. in English and comparative literature and M.A. in teaching from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was named Student Teacher of the Year in 2022. Now, she teaches English and has started a journalism program at Carrboro High School. In 2023-24 she was recognized as the runner up Beginning Teacher of the Year for the state of North Carolina. Sam loves inviting students’ passions into a project based and equity focused classroom. It’s true: words have the power to change us — whether that’s a potent literary work or the unique power of the press. Her teaching has been inspired by her experiences at WJMC. She is a WJMC 2016 alumna, worked as an intern and a JFA; she’s ecstatic to be back for her third year as an FA! When she’s not in the classroom, Sam is managing social media or editing books for the author Katie Cross, listening to audiobooks, or going on hikes with her fiancé.

Camden Layton

Advance Team Member

Camden Layton is a rising senior at George Mason University studying Public Administration. After first attending the conference in 2016, he then returned as a Conference Intern in 2017, and then again as a Junior Faculty Advisor in 2018. His favorite part about the conference is the friendships he has made and those he has been able to watch form. He is involved in many different things on campus, but when he is free you can normally find him in a Dunkin Donuts with his friends. Camden is super excited to be returning to the program again this summer!

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 where she creates and oversees partnerships to bring students to the George Mason campus. She works with departments and organizations across the campus and the community to talk about college access and success. Prior to coming to George Mason, Rachel led the programmatic efforts at two college access and success programs,, Let’s Get Ready and The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund. She has experience in curriculum design and program management and in helping under-served high school students achieve their college dreams. She earned B.S. degrees in elementary education and human/organizational development from Vanderbilt University and a M.P.A. from George Mason University. She loves living in Washington, D.C. and looks forward to welcoming students to WJMC this summer!

Elena Johnson, MED

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 Summit 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 college access initatives, events, and recruitment partnerships for the Office of Admissions. Elena earned a B.A. in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her M.Ed. from George Mason University.

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 Summit 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 college access initatives, events, and recruitment partnerships for the Office of Admissions. Elena earned a B.A. in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her M.Ed. from George Mason University.

Rodger Smith

RODGER SMITH

Professor & WGMU Radio/Podcast Faculty Advisor, George Mason University

Professor Rodger Smith is a professor of Communication at George Mason University. He is currently teaching COMM 359 Media Management, COMM 148 Radio Workshop 1, COMM 354 Radio Production, COMM 348 Radio Workshop 2 and COMM 372 Sports and the Media.

He is currently the faculty advisor for WGMU, the campus online radio station. Professor Smith’s interest in Communications came from an interest in the cause and effect of programming and how the media affects culture, daily life and technology. His previous work in radio includes working for WFTR Front Royal, Virginia where he was a news director (1986-1988), sports director and mid-day on-air talent (1988-1989) and a morning drive personality (1990-1992). He also worked as an advertising/production director for WUSQ Winchester.

Professor Smith was honored in Who’s Who in the Media and Communications in 1997-1998. Professor Smith also serves as the public address announcer for football and basketball games at his Alma Mater, Warren County High School in Front Royal, VA.

Tom Jackman

TOM JACKMAN

Reporter, The Washington Post

Tom Jackman is a multimedia journalist who has worked at The Washington Post since 1998. Before that he covered crime and courts for The Kansas City Star, where he also wrote a best-selling book about a serial killer, penned a weekly column and hosted a weekly TV show.  At the Post, Tom led the trial coverage of the D.C. sniper case, and he was the lead writer on The Post’s breaking news stories about the Virginia Tech massacre, which won a Pulitzer Prize. More recently he has closely covered the issue of police violence and the ongoing prosecution of those who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The Post’s coverage of the Capitol riot won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for public service. Tom also writes The Post’s “True Crime” blog covering crime and justice issues nationwide, shooting photos and videos with some stories, and hosts national “Washington Post Live” interviews with top American police officials.