UGA Grady College announces recipients of 2017 Alumni Awards
The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to honor four outstanding graduates with its 2017 Alumni Awards.
Bonnie Arnold (ABJ’ 77) receives the John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award; Jason Kreher (ABJ ’00) is honored with the Henry W. Grady Mid-Career Alumni Award; Brooke Beach (ABJ ’11) is awarded the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award; and Jane B. Singer (ABJ ’76) receives the Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award.
Named after the late John Holliman Jr., Grady alumnus and former CNN reporter, the Lifetime Achievement Award honors sustained contributions to the profession throughout a career. The Henry W. Grady Award honors a mid-career graduate who has been influential in his or her field. The Dean John E. Drewry Award recognizes a graduate of the last decade who has experienced a successful early career. The Distinguished Scholar Award honors an alumnus/a for excellence and sustained contributions to scholarship in journalism and mass communication education.
“This year’s Grady Alumni Awards winners underscore the breadth and depth of the college’s graduates and remind me of what an incredible level of talent we produce,” said Charles N. Davis (MA ’92), dean of Grady College. “We’re of course counting down the days to April 28 and our annual Grady Salutes celebration, where we’ll honor all Grady alumni while recognizing these outstanding winners and inducting a new class of Grady Fellows. It’s going to be a glamorous celebration befitting a college with more than 22,000 alumni.”
A trailblazer in the world of animation and president of DreamWorks Animation, Bonnie Arnold is known for critically and commercially acclaimed animated hits as well as award-winning dramas. She won a Golden Globe and garnered an Oscar® nomination for 2014’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” the sequel to the Academy Award®-nominated blockbuster “How to Train Your Dragon,” which she also produced. Her films span from the pioneering “Toy Story” to the Oscar®-winning “Dances with Wolves;” from “Over the Hedge” to the Oscar®-nominated “The Last Station.” Along the way, she has worked with many of the industry’s most creative directors. Next for Arnold is “How to Train Your Dragon 3.”
Jason Kreher is a creative director at Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Oregon, working for clients such as KFC, Verizon, Weight Watchers and Old Spice. Prior to becoming a creative director, Kreher was a copywriter on Old Spice, Target, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Jaguar, Howard Stern for Sirius and MTV. In the span of his 17-year advertising career, he has won nearly every major industry award, including 12 Cannes Lions and the AICP’s Campaign of the Year, a distinction that puts Kreher’s work in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. In 2015, AdWeek chose him as one of the top 30 most innovative people in media.
Brooke Beach is the founder and CEO of Marketwake, a digital marketing agency that focuses on sharing stories and building brands for businesses across the globe. Before starting her own company, Beach was the CEO of a technology company called Kevy, where she helped turn the company around after its pivot into marketing automation in 2015. Beach started her career as a spokesperson for Fortune 500 companies and helped lead nationwide PR and marketing campaigns.
Jane B. Singer is the director of research for the Department of Journalism at City, University of London, where she is Professor of Journalism Innovation. She previously held faculty posts at the University of Iowa and Colorado State University, and served as Johnston Press Chair in Digital Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom. She worked for more than 15 years as a print and online journalist before earning her PhD in journalism at the University of Missouri. Her research has traced the evolution of digital journalism since the mid-1990s, with a focus on journalists’ changing roles, perceptions, norms and practices.
“Grady Salutes: A Celebration of Achievement, Commitment and Leadership” will be held on April 28 at UGA Tate Grand Hall.
