The Columbia Scholastic Press Association is pleased to announce confirmed speakers (please see below) for the 101st Annual Spring Convention and Centennial celebration, which include media professionals and scholastic journalism educators. CSPA is proud to welcome representatives from the Associated Press, the Athletic, Automattic, Balfour Yearbooks, CNN, CalMatters, The Columbia Journalism Review, the Columbia Spectator, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Fortune, Friesens Corp., Getty Images, Google, Jostens, the Knight Foundation, Mansueto Ventures LLC, MassLive Media Group, NBC News, Newspack, The New York Times, People, Pew Research, Pictavo, Pitch Publicity, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Press Pass NYC, Reuters, the Student Press Law Center, URL Media, Varsity Yearbooks, Walsworth Yearbooks, WNYC Radio, Wired, as well as educators and scholastic journalism experts from around the country.
New speakers are being added daily and will be updated on the event registration site.
The event will take place March 19-21, 2025, on the Columbia University campus in New York, and will offer more than 240 sessions. In addition, the convention will feature a free critique room for student publications, and a student “swap shop” for student journalists to meet and exchange ideas.
CSPA also invites advisers in attendance to join two luncheons. (Please note that advance registration for the luncheons is required, as space is limited.) On Thursday, March 20, CSPA will honor the National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year, and on Friday, March 21, CSPA will recognize Centennial Awards recipients and student essay contest winners. The convention will culminate in the Crown Awards convocation, taking place the afternoon of Friday, March 21.
To register, please visit here. Financial assistance is available for students who qualify for the Greenman Leadership Grant. Learn more here.
Keynote Address: Richard Gingras, Strategic Advisor, Google; former Global VP of Google News, Google
Speakers from Professional Media Organizations
KC Baker, Senior Writer, People
David Berkwitz, Professional Photographer
Jim Brady, Vice President, Journalism, Knight Foundation
Shirley Carswell, Executive Director, Dow Jones News Fund
Sewell Chan, Executive Editor, Columbia Journalism Review
Neil Chase, CEO, CalMatters
Jen Christiansen, Senior Graphics Editor, Scientific American
Evan Dreillich, Senior Writer, The Athletic
Rehema Ellis, Correspondent, NBC News
Arlyn Gajilan, Digital News Director, Reuters
Jonathan Gaston-Falk, Staff Attorney, Student Press Law Center
Arlene Getz, Editorial Director, Committee to Protect Journalists
Jeremy Kahn, AI Editor, Fortune
S. Mitra Kalita, CEO and Co-founder, URL Media
Esha Karam, Managing Editor, Columbia Spectator
Pratika Katiyar Student Journalist; Student Member, Student Press Law Center
Scott Klein, Automattic; Newspack
Steven Levy, Editor at Large, Wired
Kathryn Lurie, Editor-in Charge, Social Media, Reuters
Marcus Mabry, Senior Vice President of Digital Editorial and Programming for CNN Digital Worldwide
Josh Macht, President, MassLive Media Group
John Markoff, Reporter, The New York Times (retired)
Stephanie Mehta, CEO and Chief Content Officer of Mansueto Ventures LLC
Gina Mizell, Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer
John Moore, Getty Images Special Correspondent
Andrew Nagorski, Journalist and Author
Lafontaine Oliver, President and CEO, WNYC Radio
Dan Revitte, Director of Product Design, CNN
Aimee Rinehart, Program Manager, AI Solutions and Local News, Associated Press
Patrick Rogers, Senior Editor for Crime, People
Carolyn Ryan, Managing Editor, The New York Times
Amy Summers, Principal, Pitch Publicity
Ben Welsh, News Applications Editor, Reuters
Esther Wojcicki Educator, Journalist and Author
Scholastic Journalism Educators
Ann Akers, Varsity Yearbook
Sara-Beth Badalamente, Huron High School
Lara Bergen, Press Pass NYC
Bonnie Blackman, Jostens Yearbooks
Betsy Brittingham, Varsity Yearbook
Rick Brooks, Jostens
Kathryn Campbell, St. Paul Academy and Summit School
Tina Cleavelin, Jostens
Becky Cook, Pictavo
Linda Corlew, Ann Arbor Huron High School
Jenny Dial Creech, CSPAA Board President; St. Mark’s School of Texas
Meredith Cummings, Lehigh University
David Cutler, Brimmer and May School
Mary Kay Downes, Chantilly High School (retired)
Mitch Eden, Jostens Yearbooks
Meredith Evans, Northview High School
Steve Ferguson, Balfour Yearbooks
Mark Francioli, Benedictine High School
Yuichiro Hara, Jakarta Intercultural School
Thomas Hayes, Ben Davis High School
Nelson Helm, Pictavo
John Horvath, Pictavo
Kori James, Fresno Christian School
Jim Jordan, Walsworth Yearbooks
Steve Kent, Pictavo
Jarrett Krause, Winchester Thurston School
Katie Kroeze, Lincoln High School
Kel Lemons, Jostens
Michael Malcom-Bjorklund, Burke High School
Brian Martinez, Jostens Yearbooks
Caroline Mattox, Varsity Yearbook
Mimi Melkonian, Brunswick School
Jeff Moffitt, Jostens Yearbooks
RJ Morgan, University of Mississippi
Mark Murray, CSPAA Technology Chair; Executive Director, Association of Texas Photography Instructors
Sarah Nichols, Whitney High School
Katina Patron, author
Ethan Pender, Darlington School
Marci Pieper, Jostens Yearbooks
Satvika Ramanathan, Huron High School
Jon Ringel, Stamford High School
Julia Satterthwaite, Monta Vista High School
Rod Satterthwaite, Palo Alto High School
Laura Schaub, Friesens Corp.
Hal Schmidt, Jostens Yearbooks / PS Graphics,inc
Sabrina Schmitz, Walsworth Yearbooks
Helen Smith, New England Scholastic Press Association
John Soliday, University of Miami School of Communications
Margaret Sorrows, Jostens Yearbooks
Larry Steinmetz, Bullitt East High School
Gail Synder, South River Senior High School
John Taglareni, Bergenfield High School (retired)
Ling Teo, Salk School of Science
Alana Van der Sluys, Kinnelon High School
Wanda Vanish, CSPAA First Vice President; Altoona Area High School
Sharon Villapiano, Seashore Transportation
Chris Waugaman, Virginia State University
Lizabeth Walsh, Jostens
Walsworth Yearbooks
Julie Zack, Villa Maria College
Brett Zinger, CSPAA Second Vice President; New Bedford High School
- Kathleen Zwiebel, CSPAA Judging Standards and Practices Chair; Pottsville Area High School (retired)