The Washington Journalism and Media Conference

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Advance Team Leadership Staff

Melissa Moore

MELISSA MOORE

Director of Logistics

Melissa Moore is the Senior Assistant Director of Events for the Office of Admissions at George Mason University and the Director of Logistics for the Washington Scholars Program.  Melissa attended WSP’s Washington Journalism and Media Conference as a high school student and worked as a staff member for the programs throughout her undergraduate tenure. She received her B.A. in Communication from GMU in 2018 and has since worked in events for the Washington Capitals (and has a ring to prove it!) and a tech startup before returning to her alma mater.  In her free time, Melissa enjoys riding her bike around Washington D.C.’s National Mall, going to local sporting events, and traveling.

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Speakers

Stephen Taglieri

STEPHEN TAGLIERI

Marketing and Communications Coordinator, American Forest Foundation

Stephen Taglieri is an alumnus of WJMC’s sister conference, the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment. He is the marketing and communications coordinator at the American Forest Foundation (AFF). AFF is a non-profit that delivers meaningful conservation impact through the empowerment of family forest owners in America. Stephen is a graduate of George Mason University and is excited to talk to the National Youth Correspondents about building audience trust around climate change, financing climate action, and engaging both corporate and rural audiences in a conversation about our planet’s future.

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Speakers

Dr. Alan Byrd

DR. ALAN BYRD

Dean of Admissions, George Mason University

Alan Byrd began his tenure as Dean of Admissions at George Mason University in November 2020. With over 20 years of experience in enrollment management and community engagement, Dr. Byrd has a long, successful track record of leading, planning, and coordinating student recruitment and retention initiatives. He brings a team-oriented, data-driven recruitment approach to Mason that prioritizes exceptional service and commitment to student success.

Prior to Mason, Dr. Byrd was the chief enrollment officer at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He led UMSL to several new milestones for enrollment growth, diversity of the student body, the academic profile of incoming students, and graduation rates. Removing financial barriers for students was central to his work in St. Louis, where he developed innovative financial aid programs such as the “UMSL Grant” and “Finish Your Degree Scholarship” that reduced the average student loan debt at graduation by 12% and earned UMSL national recognition as a top 100 institution for social mobility according to U.S. News & World Report. 

Dr. Byrd received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at UMSL. He earned a B.A. in Communication and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Southeast Missouri State University.

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Speakers

Sarah Westwood

SARAH WESTWOOD

Political and Investigative Reporter, Washington Examiner

Sarah Westwood is a political and investigative reporter for the Washington Examiner.  Previously, she was a White House reporter for CNN. She was a Robert Novak journalism fellow at the Fund for American Studies and is a graduate of the National Journalism Center fellowship program. Sarah attended George Washington University.

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Speakers

Dana Bash

DANA BASH

Chief Political Correspondent and co-anchor, “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” CNN

Dana Bash is CNN’s chief political correspondent and co-anchor of State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the network’s Sunday morning newsmaker show. Bash is based in Washington, D.C., where she covers both campaigns and Congress and regularly serves as a moderator for CNN’s political town hall specials. She also moderated CNN’s first debate of the 2020 election cycle in Detroit, as well as the last Democratic Presidential Debate of the cycle held in Washington, D.C. Bash also anchored special coverage of Election Night in America surrounding the 2020 election, which lasted several days until CNN was the first to project Joe Biden as the winner. Bash is the winner of the National Press Foundation’s 2019 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.

In 2017, Bash launched her CNN series, Badass Women of Washington, which features women from a wide range of backgrounds and generations and shows how they have shattered glass ceilings on their way up the ranks. From the halls of Congress to the White House, Bash gets personal with some of the most powerful women in our nation’s capital.

Bash played a key role in CNN’s 2016 presidential primary debates, serving as a questioner in six of the network’s seven primetime primary debates on both sides of the aisle. Bash also serves as a co-anchor on set in the CNN Election Center for all election night specials and is the primary fill-in anchor for Jake Tapper on CNN’s premier political show, State of the Union. As part of her coverage of the 2016 presidential campaigns, Bash has conducted sit-down interviews with majority of the candidates including Donald Trump, Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Bernie Sanders, and Governors Jeb Bush and John Kasich. In addition, Bash secured several extensive interviews with the candidates’ families and spouses including the first interview with Kasich’s wife and daughters; Heidi Cruz, exploring her role in her husband’s campaign; Governor Scott Walker’s two sons before announcing his presidential bid; and Frank Fiorina, husband of the only woman that ran for the Republican nomination.

Bash also continues to be instrumental to the network’s Capitol Hill coverage. In 2015, she broke news on live television that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy would not be running for Speaker of the House and also conducted Speaker John Boehner’s final interview on his last day in office. Bash also served as the lead correspondent covering former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 11-hour testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. She played a key role in the network’s midterm Election Night in America coverage providing reports from the war rooms of the RNC, the DNC and CNN’s Election Center in Washington. Bash has secured several key interviews with lawmakers, including a television-exclusive with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to talk about his gay marriage reversal, the groundbreaking interview with former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (R-Ariz.) and her husband Mark Kelly in Arizona, and the first interviews with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after each member’s Senate filibuster.

In 2012, Bash was part of the duo to win the Joan S. Barone Award for excellence in congressional reporting on a STOCK Act loophole that could have allowed family members of lawmakers to profit from insider information on trades. She earned the prestigious Everett McKinley Dirksen for Distinguished Reporting of Congress Award from the National Press Foundation an unprecedented three times, most recently for her 2012 reporting on a STOCK Act loophole. Her reporting resulted in Congress passing legislation to close the loophole in August.

Bash was a key player in the network’s America’s Choice 2012 election coverage, reporting from the field and inside voting centers across the country on primary and caucus nights. She was also pivotal to CNN’s Emmy award-winning election night coverage, breaking down the key congressional races. As a member of the Peabody Award-winning team for the network’s America Votes 2008 coverage, Bash covered the candidates on the trail and was the network’s primary reporter on Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain’s campaign. During the course of the long primary campaign, Bash also interviewed the major Republican contenders and broke a number of stories, including Gov. Mitt Romney’s decision to suspend his campaign.

Prior to covering Congress and the 2008 campaign, Bash reported as CNN’s White House correspondent from the nation’s capital and from various locations around the world during President George W. Bush’s administration. Bash has reported on major stories including Hurricane Katrina, the CIA leak investigation, and the capture of Saddam Hussein. She was instrumental in CNN’s 2006 mid-term election coverage and the 2004 presidential campaign.

In 2002, she broke the story of the government’s secret intercepts of Al Qaeda translations on Sept. 10, 2001, for which she received her first Everett McKinley Dirksen for Distinguished Reporting of Congress Award from the National Press Foundation.

In 2000, she covered the presidential primaries, including those in Iowa and New Hampshire, traveling extensively with former Vice President Al Gore, Sen. Bill Bradley and other presidential candidates. She also helped coordinate coverage for both the Republican and Democratic vice presidential selections.

Previously, Bash was an editor in CNN’s Washington bureau, where she helped plan and coordinate the network’s coverage of Capitol Hill, the State Department and key issues such as Medicare and Social Security. Bash also served as a producer on several of the network’s public affairs shows, including Late Edition with Frank Sesno, Evans & Novak and Inside Politics Weekend with Wolf Blitzer, producing long-form live interviews with heads of state, lawmakers and other newsmakers.

Bash graduated cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in political communications from The George Washington University.

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Youth Advisory Board

Madison Garrett

MADISON GARRETT

Madison Garrett is a high school junior at Saint Saviour High School in Brooklyn, New York. As a passionate writer, Madison has had several articles published in local New York City newspapers voicing the injustices that plague the world. Additionally, as an aspiring broadcast journalist, Madison has co-moderated panels sponsored by The Girl Scouts of Greater New York. In her leisure, Madison enjoys writing, reading, and advocating for what she truly believes in. Attending the 2020 Washington Journalism and Media Conference allowed for Madison’s love for the art of journalism to blossom and she is extremely excited to participate on the Youth Advisory Board for the 2021 Washington Journalism and Media Conference!
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Youth Advisory Board

Sarah Levy

SARAH LEVY

Sarah Levy is a high school senior in Davis, California. She attended the WJMC in 2020, and the experience furthered her career interests in creative writing and journalism. In addition to writing, Sarah also finds her creative inspiration through singing in the Davis Madrigals and martial arts–she recently earned her 2nd degree black belt.
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Youth Advisory Board

Julia Narvaez Munguia

JULIA NARVAEZ MUNGUIA

Julia Narvaez Munguia is a senior at Isaac Bear Early College High School. In addition, she is a dually-enrolled sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington double-majoring in communication studies and political science. Upon graduating from university, she intends to pursue a career in journalism. Julia currently serves as president of her high school’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter and is a member of the National Honor Society and UNCW’s Communication Studies Society. In her free time, you can find her working as a Starbucks barista, listening to a good podcast, or enjoying the beach with her pitbull-English pointer mix, DJ.