Board and Officers
OFFICERS FOR 2026-27
Officers of Central Ohio SPJ for the 2026-2027 programming year are:
- President: Mikel Livingston, editor, Gongwer News Service
- Vice President: Zachary Jarrell, data reporter, Columbus Business First
- Secretary: Lisa Benton, contributing writer, Columbus African American News Journal
- Treasurer: Nathaniel Shuda, suburban communities editor, The Columbus Dispatch; editor, Newark Advocate
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 2026-27 Directors are:
Elected in 2026 – to serve 2026-2029
- Jesse Bethea, Statehouse reporter, NBC4
- David DeWitt, editor, Ohio Capital Journal
- Mary Ann Edwards, retired editorial writer, The Columbus Dispatch
- Julanne Hohbach, editor, Columbus CEO; digital editor, Dispatch Magazines
Elected in 2025 – to serve 2025-2028
- Lisa Benton, MD, contributing writer, Columbus African American News Journal
- Zachary Jarrell, data reporter, Columbus Business First
- Mikel Livingston, editor, Gongwer News Service
- Nathaniel Shuda, suburban communities editor, The Columbus Dispatch; editor, Newark Advocate
Elected in 2024 – to serve 2024-2027
- Sarah Mills Bacha, president, SMB Communications
- Amelia Robinson, opinion and community engagement editor, The Columbus Dispatch
- Clare Roth, managing editor, The Ohio Newsroom
- Mitchell Grogg, senior producer, Spectrum News
Future Board Meetings
Meetings of the SPJ Central Ohio Chapter’s Board of Directors are open to all Chapter members in good standing. For information on how to attend a meeting, please contact the board at spjcentralohio@gmail.com or any board member.
Board meetings are generally held at noon on the third Monday of the month. The board typically does not meet in June or July. Meeting dates may be adjusted to accommodate holidays. Planned meetings for the 2026-2027 Chapter year are currently as follows and will be held at noon virtually unless indicated otherwise:
- May 18, 2026;
- Aug. 17, 2026;
- Sept. 21, 2026;
- Oct. 19, 2026:
- Nov 16, 2026;
- Dec 21, 2026;
- Jan. 11, 2027;
- Feb. 8, 2027;
- March 15, 2027;
- April 5, 2027.