DEI Certificate
If DEI is a priority for you and your staff, prove it!
Earn JEA’s DEI certificate by attending four out of 14 special breakout sessions geared toward diversity, equity and inclusion. Take the lead and put these sessions on your schedule so you can come away with new strategies and insights. Below is information for all 14 sessions in the special DEI strand. If you attend at least four, you’ll earn a certificate from JEA based on your participation. Sessions — and the certificate — are open to all! Those earning the special DEI certificate will receive it by May 30, 2025.
There are many sessions in the program that incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion, but only these 14 comprise JEA’s DEI certificate.
Please review NHSJC’s rules of conduct before attending any convention events.
DEI Certificate sessions:
NEWSGATHERING
Reporting on diverse communities
Discover practical strategies for covering multilingual and multicultural communities with accuracy and respect. This session equips journalists with tools to build trust, avoid bias and craft inclusive stories that resonate with diverse audiences. Learn how to elevate your reporting to reflect the richness of every community you cover.
Natasha Welcome, Metamorphosis Education Consultants, Piscataway, New Jersey
8 a.m. Friday, Grand Ballroom A, Floor 2, Sheraton Grand Seattle
LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING
Diversity matters
How to create a staff and environment that is welcoming and inviting for students from all walks of life. Discuss how to build a culture of acceptance and inclusivity where students feel supported, regardless of race, gender, sexuality or neurodivergency.
Louisa Avery, MJE, The American School in London, England; Nicole Motahari, North Springs Charter High School, Atlanta
9 a.m. Friday, Grand Ballroom B, Floor 2, Sheraton Grand Seattle
LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING
Take the lead: The role of representation
In this session, editors will learn practical strategies for leading their staff’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Each segment will offer specific tasks, takeaways and talk time to help prepare leaders to begin or advance essential DEI work in their student media program.
Sarah Nichols, MJE, Whitney High School, Rocklin, California; David Ragsdale, CJE, Clarke Central High School, Athens, Georgia
10 a.m. Friday, Tahoma 5, Level 3, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
ADVISERS
Come to the cookout
Advisers of color come together in a panel discussing the advantages and struggles of teaching in 2025. All advisers, teachers, students and professionals are welcome to have a vulnerable and open conversation with like-minded advisers.
Louisa Avery, MJE, The American School in London, England; PJ Cabrera, University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas; Michelle Coro, Mountain Pointe High School, Phoenix, Arizona; Margie Raper, Rock Hill High School, Frisco, Texas
11 a.m. Friday, Cedar, Floor 2, Sheraton Grand Seattle
NEWSGATHERING
Movement journalism: Reporting on youth activism
Across the country, young people are leading the fights to improve the world around them. Sonali Kohli, journalist and author of the young adult nonfiction book Don’t Wait: Three Girls Who Fought for Change and Won, will talk about how to cover injustice in your school and community, especially when you are both the reporter and someone impacted by those injustices.
Chanel Cain, The 19th, Seattle; Sonali Kohli, Los Angeles [FEATURED SPEAKERS]
11 a.m. Friday, Tahoma 3, Level 3, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
NEWSGATHERING
How and why to cover religion in high school media
As school communities become ever more diverse, student media have an opportunity and responsibility to make people less mysterious to one another — leading to some great stories that also bridge cultural gaps and promote tolerance and civic understanding. Learn where to start, how to move from basic news to deeper features, and develop sources you trust — and who trust you — if conflict should arise.
Joelle Keene, Jewish Scholastic Press Association, Los Angeles
Noon Friday, Tahoma 2, Level 3, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING
Getting new kids on the block
Come to this session if you’ve ever said “but our school isn’t very diverse.” This adviser and student editor discuss how they built a culture of inclusion. The father/daughter duo will go “Step by Step” (there’s three) delivering tons of practical tips for “Hangin’ Tough.”
Audrey Krake and Glenn Krake, West Linn (Oregon) High School
1 p.m. Friday, Grand Ballroom B, Floor 2, Sheraton Grand Seattle
NEWSGATHERING
Covering diverse communities
Whether through a documentary film or a newspaper story, learn how to cover diverse communities responsibly. Drawing on a 2019 film for PBS, this workshop teaches students how to tell stories in collaboration with communities.
Benjamin Shors, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University, Pullman [FEATURED SPEAKER]
1 p.m. Friday, Tahoma 4, Level 3, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
NEWSGATHERING
Covering issues of disability
Twenty-five percent of us live with some level of disability. That 25% is part of the news we cover, part of our audience, and its voices are part of the stories we write. At times disabilities are part of the news. How do we treat all our sources and our audience with dignity and respect?
Janet Ewell, MJE, Goodheart-Willcox, Huntington Beach, California
2 p.m. Friday, Tahoma 2, Level 3, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING
Representation matters: Seeking diversity in the news and in your newsroom
A panel of local journalists discuss the challenges they’ve faced on matters of diversity in their careers as well as how they worked to improve their coverage of underrepresented groups in their newsrooms. Veteran reporters and producers speak about the impact a diverse staff has on the culture and coverage of news organizations.
Shawn Chitnis [FEATURED SPEAKER] and Jessica Cipriano, FOX 13 News, Seattle; Tyrah Majors, KOMO News and Seattle University; Jay Martin Jr., PBS; Roberta Romero, KING 5
2 p.m. Friday, Grand Ballroom D, Floor 2, Sheraton Grand Seattle
DESIGN
Accessibility practices in visual design
Do your visual design choices work well for everyone, including people with disabilities? Learn about accessibility tips and tools to make sure your print and online publications are designed for everyone when it comes to color, fonts, graphics, contrast, alternative text, translation and more.
Lisa Waananen Jones, Washington State University, Pullman [FEATURED SPEAKER]
8 a.m. Saturday, Skagit 4, Level 0, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
NEWSGATHERING
Best practices for covering race and equity
This session will explore the best practices in coverage of race and equity and how best to report on these sensitive issues with care and sensitivity. Bring your questions for Q&A with the staff reporter covering race and equity for The Seattle Times.
Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks, The Seattle Times [FEATURED SPEAKER]
9 a.m. Saturday, Tahoma 5, Level 3 Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
LAW & ETHICS
Belonging & justice: Building newsroom diversity
Explore methods to incorporate recognition of underrepresented groups in your newsrooms and in your media. We will offer a basic understanding of student press rights and how to use those rights to protect your staff and the diverse populations you cover.
Aerith Hamper, Kathleen Johnson and Parker Toth, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts
Noon Saturday, Yakima 1, Level 1, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center
ADVISERS
Telling their own stories
Based on her ongoing research concerning underrepresented high school journalists telling stories from their communities, Dr. Melanie Wilderman will share tactics for advisers to encourage and assist their student journalists in this important area of reporting. There are often concerns of subjectivity and bias when reporters do work within their own self-identified cultures and communities; however, the work can be approached ethically and add a much-needed perspective to any scholastic publication.
Melanie Wilderman, Gaylord College, University of Oklahoma, Norman
2 p.m. Saturday, Tahoma 1, Level 3, Arch at 800 Pike, Seattle Convention Center