Candidates running for the 2020-2021 SPJNE board announced
The following members are asking for your vote in the chapter’s upcoming election, scheduled to take place online October 9th to 11th.
Candidate for president: Adam Sennott (incumbent)
My name is Adam Sennott, I’m running for President of the New England SPJ because I would like to help the chapter continue to build on the progress we have made over the past year. Since the pandemic hit SPJNE has taken advantage of our access to SPJ Natonal’s Zoom account and we have held more than 25 discussions ranging from topics including the lack of diversity in newsrooms, to covering the recent protests against police brutality, and ethics in journalism. We have also had many great speakers including Nikole Hannah-Jones, Soledad O’Brien, Glenn Greenwald, and Seymour Hersh. We also put together a relief fund for journalists impacted by COVID-19, and recently launched our new newsletter. There are many opportunities for the chapter to continue to grow and thrive and I look forward to continuing those efforts.
Candidate for vice president: Abigail Feldman (incumbent)
My name is Abby Feldman and I’m running for reelection as Vice President of the New England Chapter of the SPJ. Since last October, I have enjoyed serving beside my fellow board leaders to bring interesting and timely talk events to members of the regional journalism community. While many of our initial plans had to be scrapped after the start of the pandemic, we are hopeful that our efforts to pivot to online events have added interesting and useful context to important changes happening around the country. I’m excited for the opportunity to continue contributing to the chapter and to meet SPJ members.
Candidate for Secretary: Susie Davidson
My name is Susie Davidson. I am a longtime area journalist and have been a member of SPJ New England for the past decade. I am running for the position of Secretary of SPJ New England for a one-year term.
I have a bachelor’s in English and an M.Ed. and currently write Brookline@Home, a weekly Brookline Tab/Quincy Patriot Ledger column on people and their homebound time during the pandemic. I am also writing a book on protest music through the decades for a Boston-based book publisher client of Penguin Random House that was recently selected as one of Publisher’s Weekly‘s 2020 ten “Fast-Growing Independent Publishers.”
I have contributed to HuffPost, the Houston Chronicle, the Jewish Daily Forward, the Jewish Advocate, JewishBoston.com and other national and international media, and authored a 2005 book and documentary film, “I Refused to Die,” about local Holocaust survivors and liberating WWII soldiers.
As we know, this is a very trying time for those of us in the media. I am in total accord with Marty Baron’s recent statement in Quill that now more than ever, it is critical to both discern and relay the absolute truth.
I have been very impressed with the skills of current Secretary-Treasurer Jordan Frias in executing the duties of the position, which include communicating with local and national SPJ members, arranging meetings and taking minutes, filing the annual April and other reports, and maintaining an online and personal presence, including for Zoom events and regional conferences.
I will aim to carry forward that same high level. I am adept at interacting with others and using social media across platforms.
I hope to win your vote in October to continue to strengthen and build our SPJ chapter. Thank you.
Second Candidate for secretary: Cat McGloin
If I have the honor to serve as secretary of SPJ New England, I will strive to continue the chapter’s excellent work in communicating with members, arranging topical events and sharing board meeting minutes.
I am relatively new to New England, having moved from the U.K. three years ago to complete my master’s degree in journalism, but it quickly felt like home and has been the perfect place to launch my career in local journalism. My work focusses largely on social justice issues, particularly criminal justice reform and immigration. I have written for many Boston-area publications, including The Boston Globe, WGBH and The Bay State Banner, and served as editor-in-chief of the Scope. Since completing a year-long fellowship with Poynter this spring, I have volunteered with SPJ New England, using skills gained from my previous career in content marketing and community management to build the chapter’s first newsletter strategy — if you saw me in your inbox hi, and I’d love your feedback. As secretary, I will look to develop newsletters and explore other ways to connect members, both nationally and locally, through social media or alternative platforms.
I am excited to help further our organization’s aims and be a part of its future. Thank you for your consideration and hopefully your vote.
Candidate for treasurer: Don Seiffert
I am running for treasurer of the New England chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists because I believe in the organization’s mission to “promote the flow of information” and “encourage a climate in which journalism can be practiced freely,” and want to do more to further those goals. I’ve been a full-time journalist in the Boston area for 24 years, from small community weeklies to my current position as managing editor of the Boston Business Journal. Part of my current job includes covering Boston area media companies, and in the past few years I’ve learned that even before the pandemic hit, many media companies were already struggling. Now, it’s gotten even worse, despite the fact that accurate, unbiased, fact-based news in now more important than ever. As treasurer, I am hoping to strengthen the community of journalists throughout the New England area so that together, we can bring about positive changes at the region’s media organizations and ensure that the top focus remains on delivering crucial information and insight. I also hope to encourage innovation in the news industry, while at the same time upholding the ethics that justify public trust in our institution. Please consider voting for me for treasurer.
*Last minute nominations are due to secretary-treasurer Jordan Frias by Friday, October 2. They can be sent to him via email at jfriasspj@gmail.com