SPJ elects 2020-21 Board of Directors and Regional Coordinators
9/13/2020
CONTACT:
Matthew T. Hall, SPJ National President, 619-987-7786, spjmth@gmail.com
Zoë Berg, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785, zberg@spj.org
INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists membership has elected its 2020-21 Board of Directors and Regional Coordinators.
The winners were sworn in at the SPJ2020 Closing Ceremony, along with SPJ’s 104th President Matthew T. Hall, who became president-elect in 2019. He was sworn in by 2019-20 National President Patricia Gallagher Newberry. Hall is editorial and opinion director at The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he has worked since 2001.
Additions to SPJ’s 2020-21 Board of Directors are:
— President-Elect: Rebecca Aguilar is a freelance reporter in Texas. She was the 2019-20 SPJ Secretary/Treasurer and is the Diversity Committee Chair.
— Secretary-Treasurer: Ivette Davila Richards is a freelance regional assignment editor for the National Desk at Fox News Channel. She is the SPJ Diversity Committee Vice Chair and an executive council board member for the Deadline Club, SPJ’s New York City chapter.
— At-Large Director (two-year term): Rafael Olmeda is a senior writer at South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— At-Large Director (two-year term): Claire Regan is a contributing writer to print and web at the Staten Island Advance. She the president of the Deadline Club and is on the board of the New Jersey Pro Chapter.
New Regional Coordinators, who do not serve on SPJ’s Board of Directors, are:
— Region 1: Ann-Marie Adams is the editor and publisher of The Hartford Guardian in Connecticut.
— Region 4: Ginny McCabe is a freelance writer in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is on SPJ’s Membership Committee, the board of the Freelance Community and is the president Cincinnati Pro Chapter.
— Region 5: Amy Merrick is a professional lecturer in College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago and freelances for local and national magazines. She also advises 14 East, DePaul's online magazine, and DePaul's SPJ Chapter. She served as the 2018-20 Region 5 coordinator.
— Region 7: No candidates ran.
— Region 8: Kathryn Jones is a freelance contributor to The New York Times, a contributing editor for Texas Monthly and she teaches journalism at Tarleton State University, where she is the campus co-adviser. She served as the 2018-20 Region 8 coordinator.
— Region 9: Ed Otte retired in August 2010 after serving for 15 years as executive director of the Colorado Press Association. He served as the 2018-20 Region 9 coordinator.
Regional Coordinators serve two-year terms, with half of the 12 RCs being up for re-election each year.
The first Board meeting of the year will take place at noon EDT Sept. 26 via Zoom.
SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member, give to the Legal Defense Fund or give to the SPJ Foundation.
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