The SPJ DC Pro Chapter year for this election is June 2024 to June 2025.
Here is the excerpt from the DC Pro Chapter Constitution about officers and directors.
Article Four – Officers
Section 1: The officers of this Chapter shall be a president, a vice president, a recording secretary, a corresponding secretary and a treasurer.
Section 2: The officers shall be elected for one-year terms, which shall begin at the next annual installation of officers and shall end at the following installation.
Article Five – Directors
Section 1: There shall be elected from the membership of this Chapter six directors who shall meet at least nine times per year with the officers of the Chapter to formulate plans and procedures. These directors together with the officers of the chapter and the immediate past president shall constitute the Executive Board.
Section 2: Three directors shall be elected each year for a term commencing at the next annual installation of officers and expiring at the installation two years thereafter.
The following is an excerpt from the DC Pro Chapter’s Bylaws about duties of officers.
Article Six – Duties of Officers
Section 1: The president shall preside at all meetings, shall exercise general supervision over the affairs and activities of the Chapter, and shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.
Section 2: If the president is absent or incapacitated, the president’s duties shall be assumed by the vice president. The vice president shall also serve as program coordinator for the Chapter.
Section 3: The recording secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Chapter and send records of the proceedings to members of the Executive Board.
Section 4: The corresponding secretary shall be the custodian of all Chapter records unless a special officer shall be appointed for that purpose, shall maintain the Chapter roster, including all records and reports on membership enrollment, and shall conduct all correspondence of the Chapter, as required.
Section 5: The treasurer shall receive all Chapter funds, keep them in one or more federally insured depositories approved by the Executive Board, and pay out funds only by direction of the Executive Board. The treasurer shall make a written monthly report to the Executive Board of all disbursements, receipts and balances.
These are the candidates for officer positions. Officers serve one-year terms.
President — Celia Wexler
Vice President — Will Schick
Corresponding Secretary – Amy Fickling
Recording Secretary – Kaela Roeder
Treasurer – Dan Kubiske
These are the candidates for the Board of Directors.
The at-large directors serve two-year terms. There are six directors. Three are elected each year. Sometimes there are unexpired terms, and even if someone is appointed to the seat, if a year remains in the term, that seat must be elected at the next election.
For two-year terms (no more than three may be elected)
Giang Nguyen
Christina Sturdivant Sani
Randy Showstack
For a one-year term to fill a board seat with one year unexpired
Chelsea Cirruzzo
Micha Green
Meet the candidates.
Officer candidates
Celia Viggo Wexler is an award-winning journalist and nonfiction author. Her freelance work has appeared in The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbia Journalism Review, Salon, Fodor’s Travel Guide, NBC News’ online opinion site THINK, CNN Opinion, and The Nation. Her first book, “Out of the News: Former Journalists Discuss a Profession in Crisis” (McFarland, 2012), won a national SPJ SDX Award for journalism history. Her second book, “Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), earned a starred review in Publishers’ Weekly. Currently vice president of the board of the SPJ DC Pro Chapter, Wexler is a member of national SPJ’s Ethics Committee. She previously served on the Board of Governors for the National Press Club, and was a member of the Club’s Ethics Committee.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: As a candidate for chapter president, I am looking ahead to the next national SPJ convention (there is not going to be a convention in 2024), which will be in Washington in 2025. I hope our chapter can increase our membership numbers, and ensure that more DC members are engaged in the work of the chapter and in helping inform preparations for the national convention next year. My goal is to help members at whatever level — student, early-career, mid-career, retired but freelancing — to feel involved in the work of the chapter and the national organization, and to offer members stimulating programs, as well as informal get-togethers. At a time when our profession faces economic challenges and threats to press freedom, SPJ is even more relevant.
Will Schick is the director of programs and partnerships at the Asian American Journalists Association. An 11-year veteran of the Marine Corps, he formerly served as editor-in-chief of Street Sense Media, a nonprofit newsroom that covers homelessness and poverty issues in Washington, D.C. Will currently serves on the National Advisory Board for the Poynter Institute and is also a member of the Military Veterans in Journalism Network. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and an MFA in creative writing from American University.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: The journalism industry is facing an existential crisis. In recent years, numerous local newspapers have shut down, and most major newsrooms in our city have significantly reduced their reporting staffs. During these turbulent times, our chapter — and SPJ at large — holds a profound responsibility to our members. As the industry transforms, we continue to play a crucial role in shaping the future of the news environment. If elected vice president, I will commit to finding innovative ways to support local journalists. This includes aiding them in developing skills for a digital-first world, fostering community partnerships, and creating programs that stimulate discussions about the future of journalism.
Amy Fickling has during more than 35 years as a DC Pro Chapter member held every office on the board and been an at-large director. She has served as corresponding secretary for the past several years, and previously performed the duties while also being chapter treasurer. In addition to being in charge of the chapter membership roster in this role, she has been developing a definition for chapter correspondence in the new digital world, so the duties of the position have come to include responsibility for putting together the chapter’s newsletter along with all other membership correspondence, including presentation of material on the chapter’s website. She was honored as the chapter’s Distinguished Service Award winner in 2019, recognizing long-time service to the DC Pro Chapter while working as a reporter and/or editor at a variety of media outlets in the metropolitan area, including as assistant news editor at the McClatchy-Tribune News Service (was there when the service was closed in 2014). She is currently copy editor at Warren Communications News for the specialty publications International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. She is a National Press Club member and serves on the committee that produces the Club’s weekday daily newsletter in rotation with several other editors.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Having been chapter president (1991) and a two-term national SPJ board member – in my role as Region 2 director (1993 to 1997) – after moving “up the ladder” in the DC Pro Chapter and continuing service to the organization to the present, I’ve seen participation in the chapter wax and wane, and witnessed preferences among journalists turn to some of the many other niche journalism groups out there. But the broad-based efforts for all journalists that SPJ stands for, and the sense of family it gives to long-time members, still are our aces in the hole. I want to see the chapter continue to attract new minds and voices that carry our efforts forward into the future — especially on journalism ethics and seeking truth to report it. We work well with other journalism organizations, but either growing our membership organically or scaling our expectations to fit a new reality must be our ambition. Building on the sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves as underpinning in the profession is key.
Kaela Roeder is an award-winning journalist based in Washington, D.C. She’s the lead D.C. reporter at Technical.ly where she writes about technology and entrepreneurship in the DMV. Previously, she worked as a freelance reporter and on the assignment desk and digital teams at WUSA9. Before that, she was the deputy editor at Street Sense Media, a local newspaper covering homelessness and housing in D.C. She’s written for publications including Washington City Paper, DCist/WAMU and the Washington Blade. She holds a B.A. in journalism and anthropology from American University and was a Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellow.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: My goal is to help fellow local journalists succeed, as others have coached me in my career. It’s been a turbulent time in journalism, and at times, it’s easy to feel discouraged. It’s important to connect with other journalists, especially to learn from one another. Organizations like SPJ are critical to helping journalists thrive, through formal programming or simply connecting people. It would be an honor to serve as the recording secretary, and I will work to foster and build on a sense of belonging for our local chapter members.
Dan Kubiske is the current treasurer of SPJ DC Pro Chapter, and is seeking re-election. He also is the co-chair of the SPJ International Community, and online group within the national SPJ organization. He has covered environmental, human rights, political and commodity issues around the world, and has worked as a freelance journalist in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Honduras, as well as in the Washington, D.C., area for 35 years. In addition to long-time SPJ membership, he is a member of the National Press Club in Washington and remains a (distant) member of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club, where he once served on the board of governors.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: “I like to think of myself as part of the living memory of the DC Pro Chapter and as one who encourages newer members to step up and take over the reins of power to move the chapter in new and exciting directions. For now, I continue to do what I can to help the chapter grow and remain an important part of the Washington journalism community.”
Board of Directors candidates
Giang Nguyen is a bilingual broadcast journalist with more than 15 years of experience in international newsrooms and on-air, including at CNN, NHK World, CGTN America, local television stations across the United States, as well as Vietnam-focused outlets such as Radio Free Asia and SBTN. She was also the creator, producer and editor-in-chief for Loa, one of the first English-language scripted podcast series focused on Vietnam news. She has been a lifelong advocate for press freedom, freedom of expression, and a voice for the voiceless.
Giang enjoys mentoring and training reporters and citizen journalists to highlight underreported stories. She currently serves as the digital news director for WTOP News, the D.C.-region’s premier source for local news, traffic and weather on air and online.
Christina Sturdivant Sani is a proud Washington, D.C. native, content strategist, and freelance journalist. As a former staff writer at DCist, Christina wrote more than 1,600 breaking news stories on politics, transportation, education, policing, food, and entertainment, among other topics. She has freelanced for nearly two dozen publications including The Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, Washington City Paper, Zagat, PBS, and CityLab. Many of her feature stories highlight Black life and culture in the District and unpack issues faced by marginalized communities. She studied print journalism at Hampton University. You’re likely to spot her working remotely at your favorite D.C.-area coffee shop.
Randy Showstack served three consecutive terms as president of the SPJ DC Pro chapter 2019-2022, and he has been a member of the chapter board since 2017 in various roles, involved with numerous issues related to the chapter and to journalism in the DC metro area. He is an independent journalist focusing primarily on environmental, science and public health issues. Previously, for many years he was the senior staff writer for Eos, the daily news service published by the American Geophysical Union, where he extensively covered environmental and Earth and space science issues, and where he also mentored other journalists. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Micha Green is the managing editor for the Washington Informer. She is a storyteller and actress from Washington, D.C. Micha received Bachelor’s of Arts from Fordham University, where she majored in Theatre, and a Master’s of Journalism from University of Maryland’s prestigious, Philip Merrill College of Journalism. She worked as D.C. and Digital Editor for the AFRO American Newspapers for four years before transitioning to Features Content Editor at the Baltimore Sun. Micha is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Xi Omega Chapter. In her spare time, Micha teaches Zumba, enjoys running and participating in races, and cuddles with her dogs.
Chelsea Cirruzzo is a health policy and local news reporter in Washington, D.C. She’s been published in The Washington Post, The Lily News, VICE News, Eater DC, DCist, Washington City Paper, WIRED, and more. She currently serves a health reporter for Politico.
Rest of Board for 2024-2025
Once the newly elected officers and at-large directors are sworn in, the immediate past president becomes an ex-officio member of the board.
Ex Officio for 2024-2025
Denise Dunbar
At-large directors in second year of terms
The three board members who will be in the second year (2024-2025) of their two-year terms are:
Will Schick (who is running for vice president, and will vacate the board seat if he wins election)
Steve Taylor
seat with unexpired term (will be filled by the winning candidate in the contest for a one-year term)
Thank you for your service, directors who are not seeking re-election.
The board member terms that will be ending with the current election
Kathryn Foxhall
Allison Hageman
Karina Cuevas (who was appointed to fill the remaining time in the unexpired year of the term of Kenneth Jost, who resigned his seat)
Previous immediate past president’s ex-officio status ending
And handing Immediate Past President duties to Denise Dunbar is Randy Showstack, who served three consecutive terms as chapter president, followed by two years as immediate past president with ex-officio board status.