The Washington Journalism and Media Conference

Eva Bramesco

EVA BRAMESCO

Counselor

Eva Bramesco is the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions, and the Director of the University Scholars Program here at George Mason University. Beginning with her involvement in the admissions office at her alma mater, Eva has spent over a decade working with students and families of all backgrounds to overcome the various hurdles of the college admissions process. In her role as Associate Director, Eva supports students before they even apply, all the way through their decision making process. Eva is also responsible for Honors College enrollment and the university’s only full-tuition scholarship program, and loves working closely with Mason’s most motivated and ambitious students. 

 

Prior to her time at George Mason, Eva worked in international development, first with the American Red Cross, and then for a consulting firm. Originally from Danvers, Massachusetts, Eva graduated with honors from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania with degrees in International Relations, Spanish and a minor in Latin American Studies, and received her Master’s in Public Policy from the Schar School at George Mason University. In addition to her work at Mason, Eva is a long-time mentor, tutor, and advocate for educational equity.

Doni Holloway

DONI HOLLOWAY

Producer, "Why Is This Happening?" Podcast, NBC/MSNBC

Doni Holloway is an award-winning multimedia journalist with an affinity for telling meaningful and impactful stories.  His interest in journalism began when he was six. At that age, he fell in love with and realized the power of words. He’s a speaker, producer and frequent host.

The Laurinburg, NC native has won over 25 national, state and local awards for his journalistic and leadership endeavors. He has been featured in U.S. News & World Report, Electronic Urban Report, Talking Biz News, the National Association of Black Journalists Journal and numerous other publications.

He has served as an ambassador for the Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey & ESSENCE Magazine (DDA), returning to the program as an alumnus and guest speaker, entertainment host and mentor. He’s also an alumni board member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) JCamp.

Holloway has reported around the country, studied media markets on the ground in China, and has spoken at a myriad of venues, including the National Press Club, where he auditioned and was selected to introduce NBC TODAY show anchor Hoda Kotb, WJMC’s keynote speaker in 2014. He’s a frequent moderator of events and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in broadcast journalism, where he was named as the National Association of Black Journalists Student Journalist of the Year. Holloway is now producer of NBC/MSNBC’s #1 original “Why Is This Happening?” podcast with Chris Hayes. He previously worked at Bloomberg News in NYC, where he created content for television, radio, podcasts and grew the Bloomberg Businessweek podcast to be the company’s highest grossing one.

Before working at Bloomberg, he was an Emma Bowen fellow in the NBC Washington network newsroom from 2015-2017.

Anna Layden

ANNA LAYDEN

Freelance Photojournalist

Anna Rose Layden is a freelance photojournalist in Washington, D.C. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Reuters, Getty Images and others. Primarily covering the White House, Congress, and D.C. news, Anna can be found traveling with presidents, in the midst of protests, or on the floor during congressional hearings. Outside of politics she finds herself working on stories on immigration, women, religion and family. Anna is a member of the Women Photojournalists of Washington, Asian American Journalists Association, and White House News Photographers Association. She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2021. 

ANNA LAYDEN

Freelance Photojournalist

Anna Rose Layden is a freelance photojournalist in Washington, D.C. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Reuters, Getty Images and others. Primarily covering the White House, Congress, and D.C. news, Anna can be found traveling with presidents, in the midst of protests, or on the floor during congressional hearings. Outside of politics she finds herself working on stories on immigration, women, religion and family. Anna is a member of the Women Photojournalists of Washington, Asian American Journalists Association, and White House News Photographers Association. She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2021. 

Nathaniel Aponte

NATHANIEL APONTE

Advance Team Member

Nathaniel Aponte is a senior at Christopher Newport University studying Marketing and Graphic Design. He hopes to pursue a career in digital marketing after finishing school. Nathaniel enjoys photography, museums, coffee shops, outings with friends, and listening to his favorite artist, Future.

Stephanie Strange

STEPHANIE STRANGE

Faculty Advisor

Stephanie is the publications adviser at Steele High School near San Antonio, Texas. She advises the online newspaper, the weekly broadcast and the 300-page yearbook. She also teaches Journalism and Photojournalism. This is her 6th year teaching high school. Prior to teaching, she was a missionary in China. She believes the world is beautiful and tries to bring that view into her teaching. She is passionate about showing others the importance of true journalism and believes that everyone has a story to tell that must be told with integrity, honesty, and kindness. Stephanie has been married for almost 25 years to her high school sweetheart, a local pastor, and they have three daughters, one son-in-law, and two dogs. She believes in transparency and isn’t afraid to admit when she doesn’t know something, to accept when she is wrong, and to rejoice in the small victories of life.

STEPHANIE STRANGE

Faculty Advisor

Stephanie is the publications adviser at Steele High School near San Antonio, Texas. She advises the online newspaper, the weekly broadcast and the 300-page yearbook. She also teaches Journalism and Photojournalism. This is her 6th year teaching high school. Prior to teaching, she was a missionary in China. She believes the world is beautiful and tries to bring that view into her teaching. She is passionate about showing others the importance of true journalism and believes that everyone has a story to tell that must be told with integrity, honesty, and kindness. Stephanie has been married for almost 25 years to her high school sweetheart, a local pastor, and they have three daughters, one son-in-law, and two dogs. She believes in transparency and isn’t afraid to admit when she doesn’t know something, to accept when she is wrong, and to rejoice in the small victories of life.

Olga Diupina

OLGA DIUPINA

Advance Team Member

Olga is a George Mason University alumna. She graduated with a degree in Government and International Politics. Olga currently works in the Office of Admissions as the Honors College Admissions Counselor. She loves working with prospective students to help them see fit in Mason, and working with current Mason students who are part of the Honors College Recruitment Team. Olga loves going on road trips, spending time with her cat, and trying new restaurants in DC.

Beth Marshall

BETH MARSHALL

Faculty Advisor

Beth Marshall, C.J.E., M.Ed., recently retired after 35 years of teaching and 13 years of advising journalism at Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, IL. She advised the Endeavor yearbook and taught Journalism, English courses, and the dual-credit course, Introduction to Mass Communications. She is a Certified Journalism Educator and earned her M.A.Ed. in Journalism Education through Kent State University in 2020. She was also selected to attend the 2019 CSJ Advanced Advising Workshop at Kent State University in Ohio. Beth’s yearbook staff has earned numerous state awards, including IEA Best Overall Yearbook and All-KEMPA recognition, as well as first-class ratings from the NSPA. Beth is the board secretary of the Kettle Moraine Press Association, which works with scholastic journalism students and their teachers throughout Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Beth is excited to return to WJMC.

BETH MARSHALL

Faculty Advisor

Beth Marshall, C.J.E., M.Ed., recently retired after 35 years of teaching and 13 years of advising journalism at Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, IL. She advised the Endeavor yearbook and taught Journalism, English courses, and the dual-credit course, Introduction to Mass Communications. She is a Certified Journalism Educator and earned her M.A.Ed. in Journalism Education through Kent State University in 2020. She was also selected to attend the 2019 CSJ Advanced Advising Workshop at Kent State University in Ohio. Beth’s yearbook staff has earned numerous state awards, including IEA Best Overall Yearbook and All-KEMPA recognition, as well as first-class ratings from the NSPA. Beth is the board secretary of the Kettle Moraine Press Association, which works with scholastic journalism students and their teachers throughout Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Beth is excited to return to WJMC.

Cassie Dornan

CASSIE DORNAN

Junior Faculty Advisor, Alum 2021

Cassie just finished her sophomore year at Elon University. She is majoring in strategic communications with minors in leadership studies and professional writing studies. She also serves as an account Eeecutive for Live Oak Communications, Elon’s student-run marketing and advertising agency. This summer will be her fourth summer attending the WJMC and she couldn’t be more excited. Cassie is beyond thrilled to be a JFA and watch many students get the incredible journalistic opportunities and connections that WJMC provides.

CASSIE DORNAN

Junior Faculty Advisor, Alum 2021

Cassie just finished her sophomore year at Elon University. She is majoring in strategic communications with minors in leadership studies and professional writing studies. She also serves as an account Eeecutive for Live Oak Communications, Elon’s student-run marketing and advertising agency. This summer will be her fourth summer attending the WJMC and she couldn’t be more excited. Cassie is beyond thrilled to be a JFA and watch many students get the incredible journalistic opportunities and connections that WJMC provides.

Halli Harwood

HALLI HARWOOD

Junior Faculty Advisor

Halli Harwood is a rising junior at Elon University, studying strategic communications and business administration. After attending WJMC in the summer of 2021, and returning as an intern in the summer of 2022, Halli is excited to once again join the WJMC as a JFA. At Elon, Halli is an account executive at Live Oak Communications, a student-run marketing and advertising agency, is conducting undergraduate research on cruise lines and their communication methods regarding the environment, and is currently working as a freelancer for BOLD LA, where she interned last summer. By the time WJMC 2024 is in session, Halli will have just finished a semester abroad at USYD in Sydney, Australia, and would love nothing more than to talk about it!

Peyton Hodge

PEYTON ANN HODGE

Junior Faculty Advisor

Peyton Ann Hodge attended WJMC in 2021 and is now joining this year’s
conference as a Junior Faculty Advisor. She studies journalism at Ohio
University and currently writes for an entertainment news outlet, Celeb
Secrets, as well as her university’s chapter of Her Campus. When Peyton Ann remembers her time at the conference, she recalls the lifelong friends she met and the valuable resources she learned about. As a Junior Faculty Advisor, Peyton Ann hopes to help make this year’s attendees’s experience at the conference as wonderful as hers was.