What’s New with Grady Alumni

• Kaitlin Bible (ABJ ’12) has been promoted to Manager, Marketing Events, Promotions & Talent at SiriusXM. (March 30, 2021)
• Maxine Clark (ABJ ’71), founder and CEO of Build a Bear, is named a Georgia Groundbreaker by UGA. (March 4, 2021)
• Ann Drinkard (ABJ ’16), social media specialist at ESPN, is profiled in Georgia Magazine. (March 4, 2021)
• Linda Hurtado (ABJ ’89), a news anchor and author in Tampa, FL, is profiled in Georgia Magazine.  (March 4, 2021)
• Anne Noland (ABJ ’15) is the new senior director for football communications for the Miami Dolphins.  She previously worked in sports communications with the New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, and UGA Athletics. (March 4, 2021)
• Mikaya Thurmond (ABJ ’12), a news anchor for WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC, is interviewed by the Red & Black about her 40 under 40 honor. (Feb. 27, 2021)
• We share our condolences with the family of John Futch (ABJ ’68, MA ’81), former managing editor of the Press Telegram. You can read more about his life in the Press Telegram and in Flagpole Magazine.
• Cayce Myers (MA ’06, Ph.D. ’14) was named Director of Graduate Studies for the Virginia Tech School of Communication where he is also an Associate Professor in Advertising and Public Relations. His most recent book “Public Relations History:  Theory, Practice, and Profession” was published in 2021.
• Matthew Brown (ABJ ’92) has been named managing editor of the Times-Georgian.  It is a homecoming for the Carrolton native who previously worked for the Press-Sentinel, Americus Times-Recorder, Houston Home Journal, and Moultrie Observer.
• Kathleen Cochran, pen name for Marcia Smith (ABJ ’76), authored her eighth book, “Unintended Consequences – Wallis & Edward.” It is a historical fiction work set between the world wars.
• Nancy Mace (MA ’04) was elected as a Representative in the United States House for the state of South Carolina. She was sworn into office in January.
• Tamara Best (ABJ ’09) has been named a Nieman Visiting Fellow at Harvard’s Nieman Foundation.
• Jacqueline Holness (ABJ ’96) authored a novel in 2019 titled: “Destination Wedding.” It was recently selected as one of the best works of fiction for 2020 by the Detroit Public Library System and was included in its prestigious African American Book List which has been published for 52 years.
• David Jones (ABJ ’01) has been promoted to Senior Vice President at the Williams Mills Agency. 
• Congratulations to alumna Tanya Sichynsky (ABJ ’14) and on being named a senior staff editor for the New York Times Food section.
• Candice Alger (ABJ ’77), supervising producer and professor of practical virtual at Georgia State University, was named a finalist for the 2020 Women of the Year STEAM Award.
• Joy Lee (ABJ ’14) is now the press secretary for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
• Tony Barnhart was announced to be a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame class of 2021. 
• Beyond the Trestle, is a story telling project created by Johnathan McGinty (ABJ ’00) designed to share and engage around sports in the south. Contributors include Marc Lancaster (ABJ ’97). 
• Mamie Shepherd (ABJ ’13) has been named one of Nashville Lifestyle Magazine’s 25 Most Fascinating People.
• Margaret Kreger (ABJ ’10), assistant news director, is part of a team at WSLS10 in Roanoke VA, that has been awarded two 2020 Capital Emmy Awards, three 2020 RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards and a 2019 Virginia AP Broadcaster Award.
• A number of alumni were honored by with a 2020 Southeast Emmy including; Jennifer Bellamy (ABJ ’08), Dominic Brown (ABJ ’05), Valerie Burgos (ABJ ’16), Thomas Goodhew (ABJ ’05), Samuel Larsen (ABJ ’14), Adam Murphy (ABJ ’97), Matt Pearl (MFA ’19) and Maddie Ray (AB ’19).
• Rosemary Scott (AB ’20) is part of a Georgia Public Broadcasting  team that produced a podcast series titled: “Shots in the Back: Exhuming the 1970 Augusta Riot.”
• Vivian Greentree (ABJ ’00) was featured in this UGA Alumni Association article highlighting her dedication to service through her employer and alma mater.
• Congratulations to Keysha Lee (ABJ ’97) on her new book, “Keysha Lee Presents: Filmmaking 101.” (Sept. 3, 2020)
• Congratulations to Amie Marsh Jones (MMC ’03, PhD ’19) on winning the Blanchard Dissertation Prize awarded by the American Journalism Historians Association. Jones works as an Asst. Dir. of Student Services at the UGA Graduate School. (Sept. 2, 2020)
• Congratulations to Ryan Lavner (ABJ ’09) on winning a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Short Feature for his work reporting on “Life Without Katie: The Jason Eloe Story.” Lavner is a senior writer for the Golf Channel. (Aug. 12, 2020)
• Cal Massey (ABJ ’78) was named the winner of the 2020 Kenneth Patchen Award for innovative novel by the Journal of Experimental Fiction. Massey wrote “Own Little Worlds” after a 22 year career at the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
• We send our condolences to the family of Jackson Smith (ABJ ’15). He died after a short illness in December 2019. He had been working as a teacher in South Korea.
• The WNET group named Eugenia Harvey (ABJ ’82) to chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
• Taronda Gibbons (MA ’11) was featured on VoyageATL in May 2020.
• Michael Trujillo (ABJ ’05, AB ’05) has been named the Latin American Association’s Volunteer of the Year
• Amber Roessner (MA ’06, PhD ’10) published a new book, “Jimmy Carter and the Birth of the Marathon Media Campaign.” See this feature from the Athens Banner-Herald.
• Congratulations to Lindsey Cook (ABJ ’14) on the publication of her first book, “How to Bury Your Brother.”
• WJJC radio in Commerce, Ga. is rebranding their station as “Whisperin’ 95.1” to honor country music legend Bill Anderson (ABJ ’59).
• Mary Jean Land (MA ’82, PhD ’99) is retiring from Georgia College and State University after 35 years.
• Condolences to the family of Jim Martin (ABJ ’52) who died at age 91. He was the former general manager at WDUN AM-FM in Gainesville, Ga.
• Mollie Simon (AB ’18) has been named a 2020-21 Scripps Howard Fellow. 
• Grady College sends condolences to the family of Judge Nancy Smith Stephenson (ABJ ’78, JD ’81) who died at age 61 in Albany, Ga. She was the Dougherty County Probate Court Judge.
• Marcella Genut (AB ’18) is now the social media and communications assistant for Extra Special People (ESP), an Athens-area organization that serves children and young adults with developmental disabilities.
• Tracy Page (ABJ ’88), a fine art photographer, is one of 25 global ambassadors for ZEISS, an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics.
• Condolences to the family of Ed Ingles (ABJ ’58) on his death. Ingles was a WCBS-AM sports director and Jets broadcaster, and was a 2012 Grady College Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
• Christine Sperow (ABJ ’98) will be joining Fox 5 as anchor of the channel’s new Fox 5 News at 4:30 p.m. broadcast.
• Guy Seabrook (ABJ ’69) has written a novel about his experiences as a pilot in Vietnam. “In the Nam” is available on Amazon.
• Kelly Jordan (ABJ ’07) is a director of strategic communications at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and a children’s book author. Her first book, “The Little Blue Cottage,” will publish in May 2020.
• Amber Thomas Wallin (ABJ ’13) has been selected as a Bob Curry Fellow at Second City Television in Chicago.  The Bob Curry Fellowship is ten-week master program for qualifying actors and improvisers from diverse multicultural backgrounds to train and study at The Second City Chicago.
• Donald Sylvester (ABJ ’75) won the Oscar for Sound Editing on “Ford v Ferrari” at the 92th Academy Awards.
• Tanya Sichynsky (ABJ ’14), a newsletter editor at The Washington Post, received an Association of Food Journalists 2019 award for best column.
• Kevin Wuzzardo (ABJ ’00) is now Managing Editor at FOX13 in Memphis. Kevin spent the previous 13 years at WWAY-TV in Wilmington, NC, including the last five as News Director.
• Congratulations to Mikey Mooney (ABJ ’12, MA ’13) on being named one of PRNEWS’ Rising PR Stars 30 & Under for 2019. Mikey serves as one of the vice presidents at Poston Communications.

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Want to share some alumni-related news? Contact Diane Murray, director of Alumni Relations and Outreach, at murrayd@uga.edu.