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Board of Visitors in Fall 2024

Board of Visitors

The University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism is assisted in its work by a distinguished Board of Visitors. The board, established in 1983, provides a source of professional support and guidance by experienced journalism and media professionals.

The board meets twice a year, providing students and faculty with an opportunity to interact with board members over informal discussions or in workshop panels.

The Board

  • Chair: Richard Davis M.A. ’84, Retired Executive Vice President of News Standards and Practices, CNN
  • Trif Alatzas, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Baltimore Sun
  • Lori Beecher ‘87, Senior Vice President/Head of National and Region Media Relations, Wells Fargo
  • Bonnie Bernstein ’92, Founder, Walk Swiftly Productions
  • Sara Bernstein ’95, Executive Vice President, Imagine Documentaries
  • Guy Cecala M.A ’84, CEO and Publisher, Inside Mortgage Finance
  • Ralph Crosby ’56, Founder and Chairman, Crosby Marketing
  • Angela Davis ’90, Host, MPR News with Angela Davis
  • Robert Doherty ’79, Senior Communications Officer, The World Bank
  • Chris Frates '02, Founder, Storyline; former host of “Politics Inside Out with Chris Frates” on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel; former CNN investigative correspondent
  • Etan Horowitz ’03, Senior Partner Operations Manager, News and Content, Google
  • Gerald Hroblak, President, Richard Eaton Foundation
  • John Jenkins ’72, Founder and CEO, Law Street
  • Jay Kernis ’74, Producer, CBS Sunday Morning
  • Catherine Merrill, CEO and President, Washingtonian Media
  • Ron Nixon, Vice President, News and Head of Investigations, Enterprise, Partnerships & Grants, The Associated Press
  • Adam Ostrow ’04, Chief Digital Officer, TEGNA
  • John Seng ’79, Principal, Grayscale, LLC
  • Michelle Singletary ’84, Personal Finance Columnist, The Washington Post
  • Sherrese Smith, Managing Partner, Paul Hastings
  • Jennifer Gilbert St. John, Retired News Anchor, Fox 45
  • Margaret Talev ’94, Kramer Director, Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship; Senior Contributor, Axios; Political Analyst, CNN
  • Andréa Vieira ’98, Owner, Nailsaloon

Honorary Board Members

  • Connie Chung ’69, Journalist and News Anchor, Board Member 2009-2015
  • Marion Poynter, Times Publishing Co., Board Member 1990-2005
  • Scott Van Pelt, Anchor and Reporter, ESPN 2012-2023

Past Board Members

  • Joe Adams, President, The Adams Group
  • Thomas Baden ’80, Editor, The Daily Record
  • Arnold Barach, Secretary, The Kiplinger Foundation
  • Jeanne Viner Bell, Public Relations Counselor
  • Cathie Black, Publisher, USA Today
  • Jerry Ceppos, Dean and Professor, Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University
  • John Carroll, Editor, The Baltimore Sun
  • Hodding Carter III, President Main Street TV Productions
  • Barbara Cochran, President Emeritus, Radio Television Digital News Association
  • Walter Cronkite, News Anchor, CBS News
  • Paul Delaney, Senior Editor, The New York Times
  • Hal Donofrio, President, Richardson, Myers and Donofrio
  • Paul Duke, Senior Commentator, Public Broadcasting System
  • Paula Lynn Ellis ’76, former Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami, Fl. and former Vice President for Operations, Knight Ridder, Inc.
  • Constance Mitchell Ford, former Real Estate Bureau Chief at the Wall Street Journal
  • Tim Franklin, Editor, The Baltimore Sun
  • Geoffrey Gonella ’90, President, Cornerstone Government Affairs
  • Donald Graham, Chairman, The Washington Post
  • Mireille Grangenois, Vice President, Marketing and Interactive Media, The Baltimore Sun
  • Christopher Harte, Journalist and Inventor, formerly the Chairman at the Star Tribune Company
  • Jane Healy ’71, Editor and Columnist, Orlando Sentinel (retired)
  • Arelis Hernandez ’09, Politics and Government Reporter, The Washington Post
  • Gwen Ifill, Moderator and Managing Editor, “Washington Week”
  • Tom Johnson, former president, CNN
  • Bo Jones, chairman, The Washington Post
  • Lee Levine, Senior Counsel, Ballard Spahr LLP
  • William Marimow, Editor and Senior Vice President, The Baltimore Sun
  • Doyle McManus, Washington Columnist, The Los Angeles Times
  • Kevin Merida, Executive Editor, Los Angeles Times
  • Eleanor Merrill, Chairman, The Washingtonian
  • Reg Murphy, Publisher, The Baltimore Sun
  • Jack Nelson, Washington Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times
  • Susan Patrick, MBA ’85, Managing Partner, Patrick Communcations LLP
  • Gene Patterson, editor and president, St. Petersburg Times
  • Ken Paulson, Editor, USA Today
  • Peter Perl, Senior Editor, The Washington Post
  • Thomas Phillips, Chairman, Phillips Publishing International
  • John Quinn, Senior Vice President and Chief News Executive, Gannett Co., Inc.
  • William Raspberry, Columnist, The Washington Post
  • Gene Roberts, Executive Editor, The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Charles S. Rowe, retired Co-Publisher and Editor, Free Lance-Star
  • Roy Schwartz ’98, MBA ’01, Co-founder and President, Axios
  • John Seigenthaler, trustee and former Chairman, The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, Vanderbilt University
  • Claude Sitton, Editor, The News & Observer
  • William Sutton, Jr., Reynolds Visiting Professor, Grambling State University
  • Sandra Long Weaver ’74, former Vice President, Newsroom Operations, The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Katharine Weymouth, Publisher and CEO, Washington Post Media
  • DeWayne Wickham, Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Chair, Communication Studies, Morgan State University and former Columnist, USA Today and Gannett News Service
  • Eun Yang ’95, Anchor and Reporter, NBC4
  • Mortimer Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-In-Chief, U.S. News & World Report
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