Hope Beelman was born and raised in the Illinois Valley and is a senior at LaSalle-Peru Township High School in LaSalle, IL. She attended WJMC in the summer of 2019 and is excited to help with the development of the next conference. Not only is she currently in her second year of leading her school’s Ell Ess Pe Yearbook staff as editor-in-chief, but she is also involved in Link Crew and Key Club. Throughout her high school career, Hope has represented her school as a state qualifier and medalist at the IHSA Journalism Competition. She plans to continue her education at a four-year university with a major in either Education or Journalism.

Allison Alberty is the Assistant Director of Outreach Events and Programs in the Office of Admissions at George Mason University. A proud (almost) double Patriot, she is both a George Mason and Washington Journalism and Media Conference (WJMC) alumna. Allison earned her BA in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations in Spring 2023 and is currently pursuing her MA in Strategic Communication. Outside of work and graduate school, you’ll find her at rock concerts, on a yoga mat, nurturing her growing plant collection, or finding the best new brunch spots in town.
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.