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Jennifer Bertetto, chair
Jennifer Bertetto is a 22-year newspaper veteran and a 1997
graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. She has been the CEO and
president of Trib Total Media since 2015. Before that, she held various
positions within the company, including chief operating officer and
advertising director. She is also the president of the Trib’s affiliate,
535media, which specializes in digital marketing.
In addition to her work for the Trib, Bertetto is very active within
the media industry. She serves on the World Newspaper Publishers board of
directors and sits on the Press Freedom Board for the organization. She
also serves on the News Media Alliance, a national trade organization, and
the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, where she is an officer. Bertetto
is a member of the Founder's Board of Directors for Spotlight PA and
assists with the Board of Visitors for the Dietrich School of Arts and
Sciences at Pitt and the Board of Distinguished Visitors for Westminster
College. She has a passion for helping college students explore their
career options and has been an alumnus-in-residence at the University of
Pittsburgh’s Career Placement Center since the program’s inception in
2016.
Bertetto has earned certificates in Leadership and Management and
Strategic Planning from The Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania. She lives in Lower Burrell with Keith, her husband of 21
years, and their five cats.
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Christine Dombroski
Christine Dombroski is a major account advertising sales executive
for Trib Total Media, where she has worked in sales since 2004. She was
named Sales Person of the Year by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in 2010
and 2011. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications and
business from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004, and during her time as
a student, she wrote for The Pitt News.
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Megan Harris
Megan Harris is a multimedia editor and producer for 90.5 WESA,
Pittsburgh's NPR station, where she leads editorial coverage of and
occasionally hosts its flagship daily morning news show, The Confluence.
Previously, she co-produced the Criminal Injustice podcast and covered
education, city planning, sports, crime and breaking news for outlets in
Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee. Her award-winning work has also
appeared with NPR, the New York Post, USA Today and others. She has a
bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Memphis. |
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Ashley Johnson
Ashley Johnson is the sales director for the New Pittsburgh
Courier newspaper. Previously, she served as the advertising coordinator.
Prior to taking a position in the advertising department, she spent
approximately 10 years in the editorial department as an editorial
assistant and then as an associate editor. During her time with the
Courier, the publication has earned several state and local awards,
including the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation’s Newspaper of
the Year honor for weeklies, as well as winning national attention for its
series on Black homicides. She earned a bachelor’s degree in print
journalism from Point Park University.
In addition to her work with the Courier, Johnson serves as the
membership chair for the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation and is a member
of the board of trustees for Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter
School. She lives in the greater Pittsburgh area.
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Rebecca Johnson
Rebecca Johnson is the managing editor at The Pitt News. A western
Pennsylvania native, she will graduate in April 2023 with degrees in
political science and economics as well as a certificate in global
studies. Johnson previously served as news editor, layout editor and news
staff writer. She plans to pursue a career in journalism after graduating.
When not editing, Johnson enjoys exploring the city, binge-watching baking
shows and spoiling her pet goat.
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Rich Lord
Rich Lord is an assistant editor and reporter, covering economic
development with an emphasis on housing, at PublicSource. He reported for
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 2005 through early 2020, leading projects
on child poverty and the opioid epidemic, and was part of a team that won
the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting, for coverage of the Tree
of Life massacre. Rich has also worked for the Pittsburgh City Paper and
the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He wrote a 2004 book about the subprime
mortgage industry, called "American Nightmare: Predatory Lending and the
Foreclosure of the American Dream." Rich graduated from George Washington
University, and he and his family can often be found on Western
Pennsylvania bike trails.
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Dana Nowlin-Russell
Dana Nowlin-Russell is a lecturer in the University of Pittsburgh’s
Department of English, where she teaches courses in the Public and
Professional Writing (PPW) Program and tutors in the university’s
Writing Center. During her time at Pitt, she has also held administrative
roles in the Office of the Provost and Office of the Senior Vice
Chancellor for Research.
Nowlin-Russell has a diverse professional experience that includes
working in education, mental health, and publishing, and she has
collaborated with students and writers across various settings. Most
recently, she accepted a role as an editor for Color Bloq, a nonprofit
organization and publication that elevates the voices of queer and trans
people of color. She has a BA in sociology, a PPW certificate from the
University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in creative writing from Chatham
University. She lives in Baldwin with her husband and two fur babies, Mama
Jo and Tommy.
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Leigh Patel
Leigh Patel is a writer, educator and scholar. She is a tenured full
professor in the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. Her
undergraduate degree was in print journalism, and she helped guide the
student newspaper at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and worked as a
features reporter for two print newspapers. She has written five books,
including the 2021 Beacon Press book, "No Study Without Struggle:
Confronting Settler Colonialism in Higher Education." She is a highly
sought-after speaker and has written for and been interviewed by such
media outlets as NPR, The Feminist Wire, Racialicious and Beacon
Broadside, among others.
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