National City and Regional Magazine Award Judges, 2009-10
Tim Alexander
Art Director, Meredith Special Interest Media
Tim Alexander works in Meredith’s Special Interest Media group overseeing approximately 100
magazines that focus on home, interior design, food, garden, outdoor living and crafts. During his
29 years at Meredith, Alexander has worked in the creative areas of sales promotion, editorial,
interactive media and broadcast.
James A. Baggett
Editor, Country Gardens
James A. Baggett edits Meredith’s only quarterly newsstand and subscription garden title, and he
has been a consumer magazine editor for 25 years. He was founding managing editor of Elle
Décor, garden editor of American HomeStyle & Gardening, author of a book for Martha Stewart
and executive editor of County Living Gardener and Rebecca’s Garden.
Richard Banks
Editorial Director, Red Barn Publishing
Richard Banks honed his skills at Memphis, his hometown magazine, where he eventually
became editor. In May 2000, he joined Southern Progress Corporation as the online editor for its
flagship publication, Southern Living. In the years that followed he worked as editorial director of
SPC Custom Publishing and as senior writer at Southern Living. In late 2009, Banks began
working as a freelance journalist, writing an online blog for Memphis Business Quarterly, and as
editorial director of Red Barn Publishing.
Cynthia Barnes
Writer/Editor
Cynthia Barnes is a freelance writer and editor, whose work has appeared in National
Geographic, Slate, Salon, Newsweek, Endless Vacation and Continental. She is a graduate of the
University of Missouri.
Jackie Bell
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Jackie Bell has 15 years of combined experience as a staff photographer at The Tennessean, The
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, The Arizona Daily Star and a chain of magazines in Tel Aviv,
Israel. She came to the Missouri School of Journalism after working for two years as an assistant
professor at the University of Montana School of Journalism. She has also worked as adjunct
faculty at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and Nashville State Technical Institute.
John Bennett
Associate Professor, University of Missouri
John Bennett is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Marketing at the University
of Missouri. Prior to coming to MU, he taught at Stephens College, University of Northern
Colorado and Murray State University. He has also held visiting professor positions in South
Korea, Ireland and Italy. Bennett’s areas of expertise are integrated marketing communications,
Internet marketing and marketing research.
Christopher Berend
Deputy Editor, ESPN The Magazine
Christopher Berend is the deputy editor of ESPN The Magazine, a 2-million circulation consumer
magazine serving sports fans all over the United States. He joined ESPN in 2006 as the senior
articles editor, a role in which, among other contributions, he spearheaded culture-of-sports
features and packages as well as much of the magazine's investigative reporting. Prior to joining
ESPN, Berend served as an assigning editor at Esquire magazine for nine years.
Judy Bolch
Former Harte Chair, Missouri School of Journalism
Judy Bolch, retired Harte Chair at the Missouri School of Journalism, has been in journalism for
45 years. She was managing editor at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., and has judged
dozens of magazine and newspaper contests, including the Pulitzer Prizes.
John Brady
Partner, Brady & Paul Communications
John “Jack” Brady is an experienced editor, author and magazine consultant. He was editor-inchief of Writer’s Digest and Boston magazine and founding editor of The Artist’s Magazine and
M: The Magazine for Montessori Families. With magazine designer Greg Paul, he has overseen
the redesign and repositioning of hundreds of publications and has assisted with the launch of
numerous new magazines. Brady is the author of five books, including The Craft of Interviewing,
Craft of the Screenwriter and the investigative biography Bad Boy: The life and politics of Lee
Atwater. Brady is currently consulting editor for Travel New England and working on a book
about Clay Felker. He has taught journalism at Boston University, the Scripps School of
Journalism at Ohio University, and at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Elizabeth Brixey
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Elizabeth Brixey is the education editor at the Columbia Missourian and an associate professor on
the print and digital news faculty at the Missouri School of Journalism. Brixey joined the
Journalism School in August 2003, after working for 17 years at the Wisconsin State Journal in
Madison, Wis.
John A. Byrne
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of C-Change Media Inc.
Before starting his own digital media company in early 2010, John A. Byrne had been executive
editor of BusinessWeek for the past four years as well as and editor-in-chief of
BusinessWeek.com. Prior to this, he was editor-in-chief of Fast Company magazine, and before
joining Fast Company in 2003, he worked for BusinessWeek for nearly 18 years, most recently
holding the position of senior writer and authoring a record 57 cover stories for the magazine.
Byrne is the author or co-author of eight books on business, leadership and management. He
earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Jan Colbert
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Jan Colbert teaches classes in design, writing, media issues and graduate research seminars. She
has been the executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors, the managing editor and
art director of The IRE Journal and co-editor of the second edition of The Reporter’s Handbook.
She has worked as a reporter and editor of the Mexico Ledger and has designed numerous
magazines and books.
Beth Collins
Associate Editor, Budget Travel
Beth Collins currently an associate editor at Budget Travel magazine. She earned an M.A. from
the Missouri School of Journalism.
Chuck Conconi
Senior Consultant
With more than 40 years experience in television, radio and print journalism, veteran journalist
Chuck Conconi is vice chairman international of Qorvis Communications in Washington, D.C.
He offers Qorvis clients strategic counsel in corporate reputation, crisis management and media
training. Conconi joined Qorvis from The Washingtonian, where he worked 14 years as editor-atlarge, responsible for the front of the magazine, “Capital Comment” and also writing major
pieces. Prior to his tenure at The Washingtonian, he spent nearly 13 years at The Washington
Post. Conconi also served as NBC affiliate’s commentator for the funeral of Princess Diana and
has appeared on CNN International in a number of foreign locations. Conconi has taught courses
at the University of Maryland, as well as lectured at the Smithsonian Institution, Georgetown
University, American University, GW University and the University of Miami in Florida. He
graduated with a public relations/industrial journalism degree from Kent State University and
earned a master’s degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
C. Michael Curtis
Fiction Editor, The Atlantic
C. Michael Curtis is fiction editor of The Atlantic, for whom he has worked since 1963, and the
John C. Cobb Professor of the Humanities at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. He has edited
six short story anthologies, including Faith Stories and God: Stories, both published by Houghton
Mifflin. His own essays, articles, reviews, creative nonfiction and poems have been published in
The Atlantic, The New Republic, National Review and Sport, among other periodicals. Curtis has
taught for more than 40 years at Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Tufts, Boston University, Bennington
and Wofford, where he has been teaching since 2005.
Robin DeRieux
Senior Writer, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Robin DeRieux writes a humor column in UC Davis Magazine for the parents of college students,
even though some people don’t see anything funny about spending $26,000 a year to teach the
leaders of tomorrow how to play beer pong. She is also a senior writer for the UC Davis College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She has a master’s degree in journalism from the
University of Missouri.
Richard Eisenberg
Editor/Writer/Consultant
Richard Eisenberg is a freelance editor/writer/consultant who formerly worked as Good
Housekeeping’s special projects director and Money Magazine’s executive editor. He is the
author of two books: How to Avoid a Midlife Financial Crisis and The Money Book of Personal
Finance.
Sarah Engler
Senior Editor, Body+Soul
After finishing her degree at Mizzou in 2004, Engler headed to New York City and started
working as an editorial assistant at Real Simple magazine. Now, as a senior lifestyle editor for
Body+Soul, she edits stories on everything from eco-friendly travel to fashion to crafts to home
design. She has also worked at Cookie and freelanced for Time Out New York and
ConsumerSearch.com.
Scott Fosdick
Professor, San Jose State University
Scott Fosdick has led the magazine program in the School of Journalism and Mass
Communications at San Jose State University since 2005. He teaches magazine writing and
editing classes, advises the student magazine Access and advises the Magazine Club. He has
served in various capacities as an officer in the Magazine Division of the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, culminating in 2008 when he was head of the
division. He also teaches media history and conducts research on the history of arts journalism.
His professional writing on theater and dance has been published in Stagebill, American Theatre,
The San Jose Mercury News, The Baltimore News American, The Newark Star Ledger, The Daily
Herald (Chicago) and The Sunday New York Times.
Ann Friedman
Deputy Editor, The American Prospect
Ann Friedman is the deputy editor of The American Prospect, a monthly progressive political
magazine, and an editor of Feministing.com, a leading feminist blog. She was previously the
editor of the Prospect’s Web site. She has also been an editorial fellow at Mother Jones magazine
and the managing editor of AlterNet.org. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of Missouri.
Michael J. Grinfeld
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Michael J. Grinfeld teaches courses in writing; journalism and conflict; covering terrorism;
health, science and environmental writing; and media, law and the courts. He is also co-director
of Missouri’s Center for the Study of Conflict, Law and the Media; an adjunct associate professor
at the MU School of Law; and a senior fellow at its Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution.
He previously was a reporter with the Los Angeles Daily Journal and a freelance magazine writer.
Ralph Groom
Owner, RGroom Design
Ralph Groom has been in the publishing industry for more than 13 years, having spent 10 of those
years in NYC working at consumer magazines such as; O The Oprah Magazine, Men’s Health,
Sports Illustrated for Women, National Geographic Adventure, Fortune Small Business, Conde
Nast Women’s Sports & Fitness and Disney Adventures. He has worked with business clients
such as The Ritz-Carlton, USAA, AmTrak and Johns Hopkins. He resides in Phoenix, Ariz.
Darrick Harris
Photo Editor, ESPN The Magazine
Darrick Harris’ path to publishing began with the help of New York-based, still-life photographer
David Lawrence. After a few freelance assignments, Harris became alternate third assistant with
fashion photographer Wayne Maser. In the mid-’90s, he became first assistant to Pamela Hanson.
After 10 years of working with Hanson as an assistant and de facto studio manager, he entered the
publishing world with the start-up publication Cookie magazine. When Cookie was discontinued,
he was lucky to find his current position at ESPN The Magazine.
Justin Heckert
Contributing Writer, ESPN The Magazine
Justin Heckert lives in Atlanta and was a staff writer for two years at Atlanta magazine, where he
won the City and Regional Magazine Association’s gold award for Writer of the Year in 2005
and the silver award in 2006. He has also written for Esquire, The Oxford American, The
Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. His work has been anthologized in the Best
American Crime Reporting and cited in the Best American Essays and Best American
Sportswriting.
Tim Heffernan
Assistant Editor, Esquire
Tim Heffernan edits features and two monthly columns at Esquire. In January 2009, he launched
the magazine’s primary blog, the Daily Endorsement, and will be the editor and lead writer of the
forthcoming Esquire politics blog. In addition to Esquire, has written for The Atlantic, The
Boston Globe and The Village Voice.
Suzette Heiman
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Suzette Heiman is an associate professor and director of planning and communications for the
Missouri School of Journalism. She oversees the School’s Web site, publications and other
marketing and media relations efforts. Heiman also oversaw the activities to celebrate the
centennial of the school and dedication of the Reynolds Journalism Institute in 2008. She is editor
of the book, The J-School: Celebrating One Hundred Years of Journalism and the Dedication of
the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Heiman is an accredited member of Public Relations Society
of America, has served on the National Advertising Review Board and is co-author of Public
Relations: The Profession and the Practice published by McGraw-Hill. She joined the school’s
faculty in 1989.
Matt Hendrickson
Contributing Writer/Editor
After starting his career at Seventeen, Matt Hendrickson moved to Rolling Stone, where he helped
launch the first incarnation of Rolling Stone Online in 1995. Moving to the magazine full time a
year later, Hendrickson spent the next five years as a staff writer and editor. Leaving in 2000,
Hendrickson helped launch Maximum Golf, a News Corp. publication where he edited all of the
lifestyle content. After a stint as the music editor at Teen People, Hendrickson formed media
consulting company Big Swede Media in 2003. Most recently, Hendrickson was a contributing
editor at Life magazine and held a three-year visiting professor position at the Missouri School of
Journalism. He currently writes for Details and is a contributing editor at Garden & Gun as well
as writing for other national publications.
Steve Hoffman
Partner, HoffmanNoli Graphic Design
As creative director of Sports Illustrated magazine for more than 20 years, Steve Hoffman was
responsible for the renowned visual excellence of one of America’s most iconic titles. Working
on a tight weekly deadline, he and his staff at SI designed more than 1,300 covers, many of them
among the most memorable magazine images ever created. He also oversaw the phenomenal
success of the SI Swimsuit franchise, the most successful annual special issue in publishing
history. He designed more than 30 books for the Sports Illustrated imprint.
Brant Houston
Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of Illinois
Brant Houston is the Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting at the University of Illinois where
he teaches investigative and advanced reporting. He is co-author of The Investigative Reporter’s
Handbook and author of Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide. Houston is co-founder
of the Global Investigative Journalism Network and is on the board of the Fund for Investigative
Journalism. From 1997 to 2007, Houston was executive director of Investigative Reporters and
Editors and taught at the Missouri School of Journalism. Before that, Houston was an awardwinning investigative reporter and was part of the newsroom staff at The Kansas City Star that
won the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of a hotel building collapse.
Linda Kast
Publisher, Kalmbach Publishing Co.
Linda Kast works for Kalmbach Publishing Co. in Waukesha, Wis. Her career in publishing
started more than 30 years ago when she compiled display ads for newspapers and weekend
shopping guides. Since that time, Kast has done everything from sports photography to graphic
design to magazine editing. She has worked for such magazines as Professional Builder,
Remodeling Ideas and Midwest Living. She currently serves as publisher for two titles, Birder’s
World and Art Jewelry magazines, plus the Kalmbach Books department, and associate publisher
for Cabin Life magazine.
Julia M. Klein
Contributing Editor, Columbia Journalism Review
Julia M. Klein is a cultural reporter and critic, a contributing editor at Columbia Journalism
Review and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal’s Leisure & Arts page. She was
formerly a staff reporter and editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Andrew Lawrence
Writer-Reporter, Sports Illustrated
For the past six years, Andrew Lawrence has written about the NFL, pro and college basketball,
tennis and motorsports for Sports Illustrated. He also contributes to SI.com, SI Latino and Sports
Illustrated Presents. He is based in New York.
Grace Lee
Principal, Priest + Grace
Grace Lee is a partner in Priest + Grace, a multidisciplinary design company in Manhattan. Lee
was the art director at Condé Nast Portfolio since the conception of the magazine in 2006.
Previously, she freelanced at various places such as O at Home, More magazine, ESPN, T, The
New York Times Style and Priest Media and was also the deputy art director at Organic Style
magazine. She graduated from Cooper Union.
Joy Mayer
Design Editor, Columbia Missourian
Joy Mayer is the design editor for the Columbia Missourian. She oversees student designers for
the Missourian’s print publications and is working on the launch of a new
ColumbiaMissourian.com. She teaches news design, multimedia planning and design and
participatory journalism at the Missourian School of Journalism.
Lynn Medford
Style Editor, Washington Post
Lynn Medford is Style editor at the Washington Post. Before that, she served as metro editor for
enterprise, features and writing and as deputy style editor. She came to the Post in 1999 from the
Baltimore Sun, where she was features editor. Medford also spent 15 years at the Miami Herald
in news, business, design and features.
Christian Millman
Executive Editor, Taste of Home
Christian Millman is the executive editor at Taste of Home magazine, the largest food magazine
in the world. Previously, he had been a deputy editor at Better Homes and Gardens magazine and
a writer and editor for various Rodale brands.
Terrance Noland
Executive Editor, Men’s Journal
Terrance Noland is executive editor at Men’s Journal. He has also been an editor at Esquire,
Smart Money and Business North Carolina.
Mark Obbie
Associate Professor, Syracuse’s Newhouse School
Mark Obbie teaches magazine journalism at Syracuse’s Newhouse School. He’s a freelance
magazine writer and the former executive editor of The American Lawyer magazine in New
York. In his 30 years as a journalist, he has worked in Ohio, Texas and New York as a daily,
weekly, monthly and Internet writer and editor. He has a master’s from the Missouri School of
Journalism.
Chris Ocken
Photojournalist
Chris Ocken has been a photojournalist since 1988. He began his career at the Arkansas Gazette
and continued with the Associated Press where he photographed both the 1992 and 1996
presidential campaigns in Arkansas. His pictures have appeared in publications including
Newsweek, Time, The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. He has served as both
photographer and photo editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune and as director of photography at
the Columbia Missourian. He holds a master’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism.
Ocken is currently a freelance photographer based in Chicago, and he was a contributor to the
photo documentary project Chicago in the Year 2000. His current work includes editorial and
commercial images, as well as documentary-style wedding photography.
Jessica Royer Ocken
Freelance Writer
Jessica Royer Ocken is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago. Her work has been
featured in publications including the Chicago Tribune, Midwest Home Chicago magazine and
Chicago Social magazine. She served as staff writer for Chicago in the Year 2000, a documentary
project about the city at the turn of the millennium, and she is currently one of three writers at
work on a history of the federal District Court for the Northern District of California.
Greg Paul
Partner, Brady & Paul Communications; Creative Director, SPOT ON media
Greg Paul is a veteran publications designer who was founding art director for Ohio Magazine,
design director for New Age magazine, art director for The Plain Dealer Magazine and art
director for Sunshine, the Sunday magazine of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Since 1984, he has
worked with more than 300 publications on redesign and repositioning projects. A graduate of
Kent State University, Greg has received more than 300 national and international awards for
excellence in publication design and editorial art direction.
Merrill Perlman
President, Merrill Perlman Consulting
Merrill Perlman is the president of Merrill Perlman Consulting, which offers journalism training,
consulting and freelance editing services. Among her clients are The New York Times,
ProPublica and the Poynter Institute. She writes the “Language Corner” column and blog for
Columbia Journalism Review. She spent 25 years at The New York Times, most recently as
director of copy desks. She is also an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate
School of Journalism. She helped finish the 1999 revision of The New York Times Manual of
Style & Usage. Before going to The Times, she was a copy editor and assistant business editor at
The Des Moines Register and a reporter and copy editor at The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale,
Ill.
Maurice Possley
Former Criminal Justice Reporter, Chicago Tribune
Maurice Possley was a journalist more than 36 years until taking a buyout to leave the Chicago
Tribune in August 2008. He has been an investigative criminal justice reporter and was awarded a
Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2008. He now works at the Northern California
Innocence Project at Santa Clara University. He is the author of two true-crime books —
Everybody Pays: Two Men, One Murder and the Price of Truth and The Brown’s Chicken
Massacre.
Robert Priest
Creative Director, Priest + Grace
Robert Priest is a partner in Priest + Grace, a multidisciplinary design company in Manhattan.
Previously he was design director of Conde Nast Portfolio. Before that, he had his own design
company, Priest Media Inc. that designed O at Home for Oprah Winfrey, redesigned More
magazine and Sky for Delta Airlines. Priest was design director of GQ, Esquire (twice),
Newsweek, House and Garden, InStyle Special Issues and Us.
Don Ranly
Professor Emeritus, Missouri School of Journalism
Don Ranly, professor emeritus, headed the magazine sequence at the Missouri School of
Journalism for 28 years. Ranly has worked as a newspaper reporter, a magazine editor, a weekly
columnist, a radio host and television producer, director and host. He has conducted more than
1,000 communication seminars for corporations, associations, organizations, newspapers and
magazines. He has co-authored News Reporting and Writing, Telling the Story: The Convergence
of Print, Broadcast and Online Media and Beyond the Inverted Pyramid and is author of
Publication Editing. He has compiled a readings book, Principles of American Journalism. He is
the recipient of numerous teaching awards.
Jennifer Reeves
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Jennifer Reeves spent seven years producing newscasts in newsrooms, including KBAK-TV in
Bakersfield, Calif., KSBW-TV in Salinas, Calif., and WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich. She
started her teaching career as executive producer at KOMU-TV at the Missouri School of
Journalism. She now works as KOMU’s new media manager and leads the ongoing developments
at KOMU.com. She is working on finding ways to expand traditional media by using
nontraditional media delivery sources (podcasting, vodcasting, social media and other on-demand
and push technologies that can deliver content). Reeves was a part of the inaugural class of
Reynolds Journalism Institute fellows in 2008-09.
JD Rinne
Assistant Editor, Budget Travel
JD Rinne is the assistant editor at award-winning Budget Travel magazine and
BudgetTravel.com, specializing in travel deals and news, hotel reviews, vacation tips and more.
JD has written for Cookie magazine, Milwaukee magazine, the Kansas City Star and other
regional publications on subjects ranging from booster seats for kids to airport check-in strategies.
Jennifer Rowe
Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Jennifer Rowe is editorial director of Vox, a weekly city magazine. She worked as
communications coordinator and editor for a nonprofit organization in St. Louis and served as
president of an association of editors before joining the faculty at her alma mater in 1998. She has
spoken at conferences and workshops across the country on writing, editing and design, including
Folio in New York City and Chicago. Freelance writing projects have appeared in Real Simple,
Elle, Westways and Missouri Life magazines.
Ina Saltz
Principal, Saltz Design; Professor, City College of New York; Design Critic and Author
Ina Saltz is an art director, designer, writer, photographer and educator whose areas of expertise
are typography and magazine design. She has written more than 50 design-related articles for
STEP Inside Design magazine, How and Graphis. Saltz was the design director at Time
(International Editions), Worth and other magazines, including Golf magazine, Golf for Women
and Worldbusiness. Saltz is on the design faculty of the Stanford Professional Publishing Course.
She is a judge for the National Magazine Awards, the Society of Publication Designers and the
Type Directors Club as well as a member of the Advisory Board of the Society of Publication
Designers. She is the author of Typography Essentials, Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in
Flesh and Body Type 2: More Typographic Tattoos. Twenty-six of her design essays will appear
in Phaidon’s forthcoming three-volume reference work, Classics of Graphic Design.
Julia Savacool
Articles Director, Fitness magazine
Julia Savacool joined Fitness magazine in 2007. Prior to that, she was deputy editor at Marie
Claire, where she worked for four years. She has been senior editor at Good Housekeeping and
the psychology editor at Self magazine. She has written for Marie Claire, Self, Glamour,
Redbook, Good Housekeeping and The New York Times. She is the author of The World Has
Curves. Highlights in Savacool’s career include testifying on Capitol Hill. She also launched a
campaign with 23 members of Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act in 2004
and served as a co-chair for a National Summit to End Domestic Violence. Savacool’s stories
have won the 2007 NARAL Pro-Choice Media Award, the 2006 Media Award from the United
Nations Friends of the World Food Program and the 2006 Los Angeles Commission on Assaults
Against Women’s Humanitarian Award.
Geraldine Sealey
Articles Editor, Glamour
Geraldine Sealey has been an articles editor at Glamour magazine since 2005. Previously, she
was the news and opinion editor at Salon.com and an editor at ABCNEWS.com. In 2003, she
received a Pew International Journalism Fellowship to report in Zambia on the HIV/AIDS crisis.
She has also worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and holds a master’s degree
from the Missouri School of Journalism.
Bruce Selcraig
Writer
Bruce Selcraig is a former staff writer with Sports Illustrated and The Dallas Morning News and
was a U.S. Senate investigator in the ’80s. A former board member of Investigative Reporters and
Editors and University of Texas journalism instructor, Selcraig lives in Austin and writes for The
New York Times, Harper’s and Smithsonian among others.
Nancy A. Sharkey
Professor of Practice, University of Arizona School of Journalism
Nancy A. Sharkey has joined the faculty of the University of Arizona School of Journalism after
a 26-year career at The New York Times. She teaches editing, reporting and a journalism
symposium. At The Times she was a senior editor overseeing the recruiting of reporters as well as
the development program for young reporters. She joined The Times in 1984 and has served in
various positions, including education editor, assistant metro editor and deputy travel editor. She
began her career as a reporter for The Times Record in Troy, N.Y., worked for The Bergen
Record in Hackensack, N.J., and The Times-Union in Albany, N.Y., before joining The Times.
For 17 years before moving to Arizona, she was an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s
Graduate School of Journalism.
Casey Shaw
Creative Director, USA WEEKEND
Casey Shaw joined USA WEEKEND magazine in 1995. He oversees the art and photo
departments and the magazine’s Web site. During that time, USA WEEKEND has earned dozens
of design awards (Clarion Awards, National Headliner Awards, Society of Publication Designers
and Print Magazine’s Regional Design Annual). Prior to joining USA WEEKEND, he taught
college-level computer graphics, created courtroom presentations, designed computer software
interfaces and illustrated a syndicated comic strip.
Jake Sherlock
Assistant Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
Jake Sherlock is an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism. He is the opinion
editor for the Columbia Missourian. His interests include copy editing, design, social media and
online journalism.
Michelle T. Shinseki
Editorial Director, KidsHealth.org
Michelle T. Shinseki is the editorial director of KidsHealth.org, the most visited site on the Web
for information about health, behavior and development from before birth through the teen years.
She has worked on many Web sites in the parenting category, including Kaboose.com,
BabyZone.com, Funschool.com, AmericanBaby.com, Parents.com, iVillage.com, Lamaze.com
and Parenting.com. In the lifestyle and health category, she has covered Ladies’ Home Journal
online (LHJ.com), Better Homes and Gardens online (BHG.com), and WiseBear.com. Before
working on the Web, she was a book editor at William Morrow, acquiring popular non-fiction,
and the co-author of the book, The Secret Life of Teens: Young People Speak Out About Their
Lives.
Heather Morgan Shott
Senior Food Editor, Better Homes and Gardens Network
Heather Morgan Shott is the senior food group manager for the Better Homes and Gardens
Network. In this role she manages the daily operations for five interactive food properties,
including BHG.com Food and MixingBowl.com. Prior to joining BHG.com in September 2007,
Shott was travel editor at WineSpectator.com and an editor at Brides.com. She began her career at
National Geographic Traveler magazine, where she won two Lowell Thomas awards during a
six-year stint as the magazine’s online editor. Shott has written about travel, health, weddings,
food and wine and art for Wine Spectator, Modern Bride, National Geographic Traveler, Better
Homes and Gardens, Web MD and Washington Flyer magazines.
Pat Smith
Managing Editor, Global Journalist
Pat Smith is managing editor of Global Journalist magazine, which is published at the Missouri
School of Journalism. In her 30 years as a journalist, she has worked on newspapers, magazines,
specialized and online publications and has taught at the college level for 16 years. Smith has also
served as a consultant for specialized communication projects that include publication design,
writing, editing and planning for businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Randall Smith
Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism, Missouri School of
Journalism
Randall Smith is the first Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at the
Missouri School of Journalism. Before joining the School, Smith had 30-year career at The
Kansas City Star, where he worked on both the news and business sides in senior positions.
Smith is a former president of the Society of American Business Writers and Editors and a
recipient of the organization’s Distinguished Achievement Award. He is the vice chair and first
non-family member of the board of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships. The author of the book
A Kenyan Journey, Smith has lectured to classes in China, Africa and the U.S. As an editor
Smith has worked with award-winning newsroom teams that have earned the profession’s top
awards and honors. One won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for coverage of the Kansas City Hyatt
skywalks disaster in July 1981. Other staff recognitions include a Sigma Delta Chi award, an
Eppy award, a Philip Meyer Award, 12 Missouri Press Association Gold Cups and a Nancy
Dickerson Whitehead Award. Smith received the Mizzou Alumni Association's highest
recognition, the Faculty-Alumni Award, in 2005.
Michael Solita
Associate Art Director, IEEE Spectrum magazine
Michael Solita is the associate art director at IEEE Spectrum magazine in New York City. He has
previously done art direction and design for Outdoor Life, Disney Adventures, Ms. and POZ
magazines, as well as the Chicago Tribune and Times of Northwest Indiana.
Ted Spiker
Associate Professor, University of Florida; Writer, Men’s Health
Ted Spiker is an associate professor of journalism and heads the magazine sequence in the
Department of Journalism at the University of Florida. A contributing editor to Men’s Health
magazine and a freelance writer, Spiker has had work published in magazines such as O, The
Oprah Magazine, Outside, Fortune, AARP, The Magazine and many others. Spiker is also coauthor of several books, including the national bestsellers, YOU: The Owner's Manual and YOU:
On a Diet.
Sonja Steptoe
Global Communications Director, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Sonja Steptoe serves as the global communications director for the law firm of O'Melveny &
Myers LLP, where she has worked since 2007, based in Los Angeles. For the previous 22 years,
Steptoe was a journalist for various print and broadcast media. She began her career at the Wall
Street Journal and has been a correspondent, writer and/or editor for Sports Illustrated, People,
HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Court TV and CNN/SI. Most recently she was TIME
magazine’s senior correspondent and deputy news director based in Los Angeles. With Jackie
Joyner-Kersee she co-wrote A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Female
Athlete. She won an EMMY Award in 1999 for her HBO work and the National Headliner Award
in 1998 for outstanding sports journalism for her work at CNN/SI. A Duke University law
graduate, Steptoe was a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a Rhodes Clay Scholar as an undergraduate
at MU where she double-majored in economics and journalism.
James Sterling
Endowed Chair and Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
James Sterling holds the Missouri Chair in Community Newspaper Management and has taught
at the Missouri School of Journalism since 2000. He had a long career managing and operating a
newspaper group in Southwest Missouri. Sterling has also worked as a newspaper/magazine
broker and owned a Web offset printing plant. He serves on the board of directors of the National
Newspaper Association and is past president of the Missouri Press Association, the Ozark Press
Association, the Missouri Advertising Managers Association and the Springfield (Mo.) Ad Club.
He also served six years on the board of curators (trustees) for the University of Missouri System.
He has been an observer and consultant of city, state and regional magazines in recent years.
Reuben Stern
Print and Graphics Editor, Futures Lab of Reynolds Journalism Institute
Reuben Stern is the print and graphics editor in the Futures Lab of the Reynolds Journalism
Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism. He also teaches courses in multimedia journalism
and advertising design. Reuben was previously the managing editor for the Columbia Missourian,
where he oversaw the day-to-day operations for the morning community newspaper and its Web
operation. Before that, Stern was the design editor for the Los Angeles Daily News. He also
worked as art director and later editor of The Budapest Sun, an English-language newspaper in
Hungary that received multiple international design awards during his tenure. Additionally, he
spent several years working as a freelance editor and graphic designer. Stern graduated from the
Missouri School of Journalism and began his career in the graphics department at The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.
Matt Strelecki
Art Director, Successful Farming Media
Matt Strelecki has recently completed the redesign and repositioning of Successful Farming
magazine, Meredith’s 107-year-old publication. Prior to this position, Strelecki was the art
director for Food and Holiday, Center of Excellence for Better Homes and Gardens Special
Interest Media. Strelecki recently managed the design and execution of BHG.com, the Web site
for Better Homes and Gardens magazine where he oversaw the initial steps of its redesign. While
there, he also managed the redesign of LHJ.com (Ladies Home Journal) and the start up of
Mixingbowl.com. Other experience includes more than 11 years as executive director, Design for
Meredith Books. Strelecki’s magazine art direction experience includes Atlanta magazine,
Traditional Home, Renovation Style and Decorator ShowHouse.
Ingrid Sturgis
Assistant Professor, Howard University
Ingrid Sturgis is a newly appointed assistant professor/new media at Howard University in
Washington. Previously, she was a senior programming manager at AOL’s BlackVoices.com and
editor-in-chief of ESSENCE.com. Sturgis also has worked as an editor for the Philadelphia
Inquirer, Bridgewater Courier News, The Poughkeepsie Journal, the Middletown Times-Herald
Record as well as managing editor for both BET Weekend and Savoy magazines. Sturgis is an
author; she edited Aunties: 35 Writers Celebrate Their Other Mother, and she wrote The Nubian
Wedding Book: Words and Rituals to Celebrate and Plan an African-American Wedding.
Alecia Swasy
Adjunct Instructor, Missouri School of Journalism
Alecia Swasy is the author of Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter & Gamble and Changing
Focus: Kodak and the Battle to Save a Great American Company. Both were published by Times
Books/Random House while she was a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Swasy has also
worked as assistant managing editor of the St. Petersburg Times and assistant managing editor of
Northeast Equities, Dow Jones Newswires, among other posts. She is currently pursuing a
graduate degree at the Missouri School of Journalism and teaching undergraduate magazine
writing.
John Taranto
Senior Editor, Outdoor Life
John Taranto is senior editor at Outdoor Life magazine where he’s worked since graduating from
New York University in 2000. He lives in Brooklyn.
Lettie Teague
Contributing Wine Editor, Food & Wine magazine
Lettie Teague is currently the contributing wine editor and wine columnist (“Wine Matters”) at
Food & Wine magazine. She was the magazine’s wine editor for 12 years, overseeing the wine
coverage and various wine awards programs for the magazine. She won the 2003 James Beard
Foundation MFK Fisher Award for Distinguished Writing and the 2005 James Beard Foundation
Award for Columns and Column writing. She is the author of Educating Peter and illustrator and
co-author of Fear of Wine.
Tami Terrell
Freelance Writer and Editor
Tami Terrell is currently working out of her home writing and editing. She is the former editorin-chief of Dynamic Graphics+Create, where she planned content and assigned stories for the
magazine as well as its newsletter and free online webcasts.
Matt Thompson
Editorial Product Manager, National Public Radio
Matt Thompson is an editorial product manager at National Public Radio, where he’s helping to
coordinate the development of 12 topic-focused local news sites in conjunction with NPR
member stations. Before moving to DC, Matt served as the interim Online Community Manager
for the Knight Foundation. In May 2009, he completed a Donald W. Reynolds Fellowship at the
Reynolds Journalism Institute; his explorations into creating context-centric news Web sites are
quickly becoming central to the discussion about online journalism’s future. He came to RJI from
his position as deputy Web editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where he led the creation of
the Edgie-award-winning, socially networked arts-and-entertainment Web site vita.mn. Before
the Star Tribune, Thompson was an online reporter/producer for the Fresno Bee, winning firstand third-place Best of the West awards in 2004 for his multimedia projects. He worked at the
Poynter Institute from 2003-04 as the Naughton Fellow for Online Reporting and Writing. In
2010, Matt completes a four-year term on Poynter’s National Advisory Board. Thompson
graduated with honors in English from Harvard College in 2002.
Victoria von Biel
Executive Editor, Bon Appétit
Victoria von Biel helps shape the voice of the magazine. She started her career with Bon Appétit
in 1997, when she joined the staff as managing editor. Before coming to Bon Appétit, von Biel
worked at a variety of magazines, including Vanity Fair and Parenting. She has studied cooking
in both the United Kingdom and the United States and completed a post-graduate course in wine
studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has appeared as a judge on the Food
Network’s Iron Chef television program and speaks frequently about food and travel writing.
Steve Weinberg
Professor, Missouri Journalism School
Steve Weinberg is one of the most prolific writers in the School of Journalism. He is author of
eight books, both trade books and textbooks. His newest book from publisher W.W. Norton is
Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller. Weinberg’s writing
has also been published in newspapers and magazines around the country. He worked as a staff
reporter for the Metro-East Journal in East St. Louis, Ill., and at The Des Moines Register.
Currently, he is a contributing editor of The IRE Journal, the magazine of Investigative Reporters
& Editors; he served as IRE’s executive director from 1983-1990. At MU since 1978, he teaches
magazine writing.
Rob Weir
Director of Digital Development, The Columbia Missourian
Rob Weir started his journalism career at 15, working in the job printing department of The
Examiner in Independence, Mo. A third-generation Missouri journalist, Weir is a 1999 graduate
of the University of Missouri with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science. Weir
subsequently worked on a master’s degree in U.S. history at Missouri, studying partisanship at
Missouri newspapers from 1867-1890. He became the first managing editor of the Columbia
Missourian’s eMprint editions in 2005 and is now the director of digital development for the
Columbia Missourian.
Jocelyn C. Zuckerman
Freelance writer
Jocelyn C. Zuckerman is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in Gourmet, The New
York Times Magazine, Parade, Harper’s Bazaar, Plenty, Utne Reader and other publications. She
served on the staff of Gourmet magazine for 12 years, most recently as deputy editor. (For the
year prior to its folding, Zuckerman was a contributing editor at Gourmet.) A former Peace Corps
volunteer and a 1996 honors graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism
(where she is currently an adjunct professor), she is the recipient of numerous fellowships and in
2001 was awarded a James Beard Journalism Award for feature writing.