The Washington Journalism and Media Conference

Menu
Instagram Youtube Facebook
Instagram Youtube Facebook
Menu

Tag: 2021

Categories
Youth Advisory Board

Logan Dubel

LOGAN DUBEL

Logan Dubel is an aspiring broadcast journalist with a passion for telling stories that matter. Since June 2020, he has served as a digital reporter for OceanCity.com and in November 2020, launched an online newscast, This Week in Ocean City. Since starting his reporting career, he has interviewed local council members and prospective candidates along with public health officials and small business owners. In addition, Logan serves as the news and managing editor of The Gazette, the Franklin High School newspaper. At Franklin, he also works as the public address announcer for sporting events, president of his class, and a member of the internationally recognized mock trial team. Logan first attended WJMC in 2020 and is looking forward to another fantastic experience!

Categories
Speakers

Kayla Sharpe

KAYLA SHARPE

Deputy Newsletter Team Lead, Bloomberg Government

Kayla N. Sharpe is a digital journalist based in the Washington D.C. area. She is the Deputy Newsletter Team Leader at Bloomberg Government and previously worked as an Associate Editor at Axios — where she oversaw reporting teams in D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Twin Cities — at POLITICO as Engagement Editor for Subscriber Strategy and as a Digital Producer, and at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting supporting student and freelance journalists covering under-reported global issues.

Kayla graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2017 with degrees in Film & Media and American Studies and served as the Digital Media Editor for the campus newspaper, The Flat Hat. In addition to completing communications internships at the Brookings Institution, the Democratic National Committee, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Kayla has seen her reporting recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, receiving their 2017 Regional Mark of Excellence Award for In-Depth Reporting, and William & Mary, receiving their 2016 Rex Smith Journalism Award.

Kayla is proud to be an engaged William & Mary alumna and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Young Guarde Alumni Council and on the William & Mary Washington Center Advisory Board as Board Development Chair. Kayla currently lives in Reston, VA with her Australian Shepherd, Kirby, and her many houseplants.

Check out Kayla’s website

Categories
Faculty Advisor Staff

Britney Crowe

BRITNEY CROWE

Faculty Advisor

Britney has been teaching for 21 years north of San Antonio in a consolidated school district; eighteen years at the junior high and the last three at Samuel Clemens High School- both of which offer journalism electives. Journalism, photojournalism, advanced newspaper, and advanced yearbook are the disciplines she fosters to students who are lured by the energy and excitement she exudes because she LOVES watching the students fall in love with commitment to telling factual truth. 

Britney volunteers at photography contests to judge and critique competitors’ entries. She has students earning All-state Journalists awards, ATPI first places for digital construction, and for the first time ever The Stampede (yearbook) was awarded first place from NSPA. Britney belongs to JEA, ILPC, and ATPI and enjoys attending conventions with or without students. The high school where she advises takes pride in producing 7-9 print editions of newspapers, 4 magazines, and online newspaper, and a 296-page yearbook every year.

In her free time, Britney is raising twin fourteen-year-old girls, and a high school senior, Eagle Scout who will be graduating from both college and high school within the same month. She loves gardening, reading novels, and afternoon naps. Travel fuels her heart with confidence in humanity that “people are really good at heart.” -Anne Frank

Categories
Advance Team Junior Faculty Advisor Staff

Laura Scudder

LAURA SCUDDER

Advance Team Member

Laura Scudder is a senior at George Mason University majoring in communication with a concentration in journalism and minoring in sustainability studies. She works for Mason’s student newspaper, Fourth Estate, and was the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the 2020-2021 academic year. This spring, she also worked as a reporting intern with Voice of America’s Student Union. Laura attended WJMC in 2017 and worked as a Junior Faculty Advisor in 2019.
Categories
Speakers

John Hollis

John Hollis, Communications Officer, Strategic Communications. Photo by: Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University

JOHN HOLLIS

Media Relations Manager, George Mason University

John D. Hollis lists 17 years of daily newspaper experience, including nearly 10 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a lengthy stint as a correspondent for Time Magazine.  He has authored three books, including “Sgt. Rodney M. Davis: The Making of a Hero,” the 2018 hit that chronicles the inspirational life and death of the U.S. Marine who became Macon, Georgia’s lone Medal of Honor recipient following his death in Vietnam in 1967.  In 2013, Hollis teamed with former professional wrestler Lex Luger to pen “Wrestling with the Devil: The True Story of a World Champion Professional Wrestler – His Reign, Ruin, and Redemption.”  Over his career, Hollis has covered the Super Bowl, the Olympics, five college basketball Final Fours, the College World Series, the NBA and the NFL and major college football and basketball within both the ACC and SEC.  The University of Virginia and Woodberry Forest School alum is currently working as the Media Relations Manager at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Categories
Speakers

Lauren Ober

LAUREN OBER

Podcast Creator, Host, and Executive Producer

Lauren Ober is a podcast creator, host and executive producer, most recently of The Loudest Girl In The World from Pushkin Industries and iHeart Media. The show landed on a number of “Best of…” lists in 2022, including the CBC and The Atlantic. Before that, Lauren hosted and executive produced Fine Gorilla Person for Topic Studios and Audible. The New Yorker wrote that the show is for people who “want to feel newly furious at all the ways our culture demands that monkeys dance for our enjoyment.” Lauren also hosted and produced Spectacular Failures from APMStudios — one of TIME magazine’s top 10 podcasts of 2019. Lauren began her hosting career with NPR’s The Big Listen, a nationally distributed radio broadcast about podcasts. In a life before hosting, Lauren was an award-winning audio reporter. She is a graduate of the Transom Story Workshop, Syracuse University and American University. A proud Pittsburgh native, Lauren currently lives in the 51st state with her silly hound, Davey.

Categories
Advisory Board Speakers

Savannah Behrmann

SAVANNAH BEHRMANN

Senate Correspondent, National Journal

Savannah Rose Behrmann is the Senate Correspondent for National Journal, where she roams the halls of Capitol Hill focusing on the legislative and bipartisan gridlock of Congress’ upper chamber.  Prior, she served as a Congressional Reporter at USA TODAY, where she led the newspaper’s coverage of both chambers of Congress. Previously, she worked as a Politics NOW Reporter at USA TODAY, covering breaking political news that ranged from the 2020 election, Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. Beforehand, she was a News Associate at CNN. Savannah hails from Utah, and attended George Mason University, where she graduated in 2018. She is a proud alumna of the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, which she attended as a National Youth Correspondent in 2013, and then worked as a staff member for several years.

Categories
Advance Team Staff

Sydney Kirwan

SYDNEY KIRWAN

Coordinator, K-12 Partnerships

Sydney is the K12 Coordinator in the Office of Admissions at George Mason University. In her role, she offers group tours of the university and college information sessions to elementary and middle school students to promote college-going opportunities. She also works closely with other K-12 Partnerships and the Washington Scholars Program. Being a part of the WSP staff is always a highlight of her year and she has been involved with the programs since joining the Advance Team in 2018. Sydney earned a B.S.Ed. in Youth and Social Innovation with a double major in Spanish from the University of Virginia and is currently pursuing a Masters in Counseling at George Mason University.

Categories
Speakers

Rondene Grinam

RONDENE GRINAM

Global Email Marketing Manager, Microsoft

Rondene Grinam is a global email marketing manager at Microsoft. Previously, she was a marketing specialist at Gartner, a leading business research and advisory company.  In this role, she managed marketing campaign strategy through channels like email, web content, and social media. She also served as the communications lead for Gartner’s multicultural employee group.

She developed an early interest in communications as a writer for her high school news publications and columnist for her city’s newspaper. While attending George Mason University, she was involved in a variety of opportunities to develop a career around her passions for global communication, social media, and public relations.

An alum of the Washington Scholars Program for young aspiring communications professionals, she held a number of enriching internships throughout her undergraduate career, most notably in marketing at Northern Virginia Magazine and the British Embassy Washington. She has also refined her intercultural communication skills through studying abroad in France and Italy, and through interning for Italian travel agency Florence for Fun and George Mason’s Center for Global Education.

Rondene received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and minors in journalism and global affairs from George Mason University in May 2016. In December 2018, she earned a master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy.

She loves being a part of the WJMC family and is thrilled to be a part of the conference again this year.

Categories
Speakers

Megan Tucker

MEGAN TUCKER

Communication Faculty, George Mason University

Megan Tucker is an assistant term professor and the Director of Academic Advising for the Communication department.  In the past, Megan served as the BA Program Director for the department from 2017-2020. Previoulsy, Megan has also worked full time in Washington DC at the National Communication Association on the student learning outcomes grant. She has formerly worked as an adjunct professor of Communication at Johns Hopkins University, Northern Virginia Community College, and as an academic advisor at Marymount University.

Megan received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and English (Journalism) from Christopher Newport University. Her Master of Arts in Communication is from George Mason University. In 2015, Megan earned her PhD in Higher Education with a focus in Communication from GMU.

Her research interests include student development, communication and academic advising, interpersonal and organizational communication, media, identity, small group communication, student services, learning outcomes, assessment and marginalized student groups.