Board and Officers

Pictured are 2022-23 board members for SPJ of Central Ohio.

OFFICERS FOR 2024-25

Officers of Central Ohio SPJ for the 2024-2025 programming year are:

  • President: Eleanor Kennedy, senior director of digital content, Columbus Dispatch
  • First Vice President (programming): Mikel Livingston, assistant editor, Gongwer News Service
  • Second Vice President (membership): Chuck Ringwalt, anchor, Spectrum News
  • Secretary: Lisa Benton, contributing writer, Columbus African American News Journal
  • Treasurer: Garth Bishop, content writer, ForeFront Web; contributing editor, CityScene Media Group

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Central Ohio SPJ Board of Directors consists of 12 members. Directors serve staggered three-year terms, with four directors starting new terms each year.

Our 2024-25 Directors are:

Elected in 2024 – to serve 2024-25, 2025-2026, 2026-2027
  • Sarah Mills Bacha, president, SMB Communications
  • Natalie Fahmy, Ohio Statehouse reporter, NBC4
  • Amelia Robinson, opinion and community engagement editor, The Columbus Dispatch
  • Clare Roth, managing editor, The Ohio Newsroom
Elected in 2023 – to serve 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26
  • Garth Bishop, content writer, ForeFront Web; contributing editor, CityScene Media Group
  • Mary Ann Edwards, retired editorial writer, The Columbus Dispatch
  • Julanne Hohbach, editor, Columbus Parent
  • Bonnie Meibers, reporter, Columbus Business First
    • (Meibers replaced Hayleigh Colombo in 2024)
Elected in 2022 – to serve 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25
  • Lisa Benton, MD, contributing writer, Columbus African American News Journal
  • Eleanor Kennedy, senior director of digital content, Columbus Dispatch
  • Mikel Livingston, assistant editor, Gongwer News Service
  • Chuck Ringwalt, anchor, Spectrum News