2021 faculty

The heart of every Gloria Shields Workshop is its people. Our experienced faculty members are renowned for their dynamic instruction. 

Most have taught at the workshop for more than a decade. This summer, they’ll reach across the miles to help you prepare for the school year ahead. 

Martha Akers, 2005 JEA Yearbook Adviser of the Year, advises the Saga at Loudoun Valley High School, in Virginia.

The Saga consistently earns NSPA Pacemaker, CSPA Gold Crown and VHSL Trophy honors. Akers has received the CSPA Gold Key, NSPA Pioneer Award, VHSL Lifetime Achievement Award, VHSL Torch Award, VHSL Hall of Fame and the SIPA Distinguished Service Award.

Teaching advanced publication design

Alyssa Boehringer has been advising some combination of broadcast journalism, yearbook and online news since 2005 at her alma mater, McKinney High School.

She is the 2017 JEA Broadcast Adviser of the Year and is a recipient of TAJE’s Trailblazer and ILPC’s Edith Fox King Award.

Teaching beginning publication design

Christine Davis, CJE, is a 26-year journalism teacher at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas where she serves as the adviser to the Triune yearbook and the Trinity Student Media staffs.

A lover of all things yearbook, she especially enjoys helping scholastic journalism students develop their own voices for storytelling and eyes for design.

She serves as a past board member for the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and judges yearbooks for ILPC, TAPPS, CSPA and NSPA. She has also been recognized with the TAJE Trailblazer award and is an ILPC Edith Fox King award recipient.

Teaching beginning yearbook

Jennifer de la Fuente is a web designer and developer who has operated her own business, Rosebud Designs, since 2009. She specializes in building custom WordPress sites and has been teaching code and design to all levels of learners.

She began teaching at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2014. She teaches design and content creation classes in public relations.

Before running her own business, Jenn spent 10 years in journalism — almost all of it in sports — as a reporter, copy editor, page designer and web producer. Her journalism career includes stops at the Orange County Register, Arizona Daily Star, The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) and The Sacramento Bee.

Teaching online publications

Don Goble is an award-winning multimedia instructor at Ladue High School (Missouri). He advises LHS-TV & Films (LHSTV.net) and has published numerous digital media resources for students and educators all over the world.

Goble is an Apple Distinguished Educator and global Adobe Education Leader, who speaks internationally at education conferences, conventions, and provides professional development workshops and webinars, offering educators innovative ways to incorporate video, multimedia, and media literacy into the classroom.

JEA named Goble the Broadcast Adviser of the Year in 2015. Connect with Don at DonGoble.com or on Twitter @dgoble2001.

Teaching advanced video

Corey Hale has advised high school publications for 20 years and just finished his second year at Marcus High School (Flower Mound, Texas), where he advises The Marauder yearbook and is associate adviser for The Marquee newspaper.

Prior to that, he advised newspaper and broadcast programs at Lovejoy, Lewisville and Lancaster high schools.

His students have won a number of individual and staff honors including the ILPC Gold Star, CSPA Gold and Silver Crowns, and the NSPA Pacemaker.

Hale cut his journalistic teeth in the wilds of central Arkansas, where he wrote, edited and designed in the sports department of a medium-sized daily paper.

In 2012 he was the Lewisville High School teacher of the year, and he is a recipient of ILPC’s Edith Fox King Award.

Teaching newspaper editorial leadership

LaJuana Hale works with newspaper and broadcast staffs in Flower Mound, Texas.

She has hard working students who have won numerous state and national awards, include gold and silver CSPA crowns and ILPC gold stars. Last year, The Marquee received a NPSA Pacemaker nomination, and she couldn’t be prouder of her editor who won NSPA’s 2020 Writer of the Year award.

Teaching newspaper editorial leadership

Charla Harris, the 2018 JEA/H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year, has advised the journalism program at Pleasant Grove High School (Texas) for the past 32 years.

Her students have won multiple CSPA Gold Crowns, NSPA Pacemakers and ILPC Star Awards. Harris is an ILPC Max Haddick Teacher of the Year and Dow Jones Distinguished Adviser.

She is a past president of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators.

Teaching yearbook theme development

Bobby Hawthorne is an Austin-based writer and writing instructor. He is author of “The Radical Write,” “Longhorn Football: An Illustrated History,” “Home Field: Texas High School Football Stadiums from Alice to Zephyr” and “University Interscholastic League: An Illustrated History of 100 Years of Service.”

A popular workshop and convention speaker, Hawthorne is a former director of Texas Interscholastic League Press Conference. He has received the TAJE Trailblazer Award, ILPC Edith Fox King Award, NSPA Pioneer Award, CSPA Charles O’Malley Excellence in Teaching Award and the JEA Carl Towley Award.

Teaching feature writing

Wade Kennedy is a high school journalism adviser and a professional freelance photographer. Kennedy has advised yearbook and newspaper classes at Richardson High School (Texas) for 13 years.

An ILPC Tops in Texas award winner, Kennedy now enjoys seeing his students win the top state and national awards. Kennedy won the Edith Fox King Award from ILPC.

Teaching advanced photography

David Knight has advised high school and middle school newspapers, helped create a student-produced cable station and has been recognized by state, regional and national press organizations as a leader in scholastic journalism.

He is a popular workshop instructor and convention speaker.

Teaching specialized writing

Pete LeBlanc will be starting his 30th year of teaching.

Since helping open Antelope High School in 2008-09, he has advised Titan Times the Magazine, the Titanium yearbook and the Channel 5 Titan TV News. Students on those staffs have won several NSPA Pacermaker and CSPA Crown awards.

LeBlanc was named the 2006 National Yearbook Adviser of the Year.

Teaching newspaper boot camp

Tucker Love is the journalism teacher and publications adviser at Shawnee Mission South High School (Kansas).

Named a 2020 JEA Rising Star, Love has worked with newspaper, online, yearbook and photojournalism students to create CSPA Gold Medalist and NSPA First Class publications. Love also got his start in scholastic journalism as a student, attending the Gloria Shields Media Workshop nearly 15 years ago. He still loves the environment and taking his own students now.

Teaching beginning publication design

Gary Lundgren, associate director of the National Scholastic Press Association, has received the CSPA Gold Key, NSPA Pioneer, JEA Medal of Merit, ILPC Edith Fox King and TAJE Friend of Journalism Award.

In his 10 years at the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Traveler newspaper and Razorback yearbook staffs he advised were consistent CSPA Crown and ACP Pacemaker winners.

During his 20 years at Jostens, he launched the Look Book and Jostens Adviser University, and he edited three editions of the 1,2,3 Yearbook Curriculum, as well as Jostens Adviser & Staff magazine.

Teaching advanced publication design

Jim McCarthy teaches broadcast journalism, multimedia and yearbook at Joseph A. Gregori High School (Modesto, California). He advises JNN, a nationally recognized broadcast program, and presents at JEA/NSPA conventions every year. He recently completed two three-week broadcast-production workshops for the spring convention. In addition, he presented at the 2019 JEA Advisers Institute in New Orleans.

For 2020, McCarthy was named the JEA National Broadcast Adviser of the Year.

Teaching beginning video

Tamra McCarthy is an English teacher and Certified Journalism Educator with more than 20 years of teaching experience and 15 years of service to the student journalism program at James Enochs High School (Modesto, California), where she serves as yearbook adviser of Wingspan.

Her work with students has garnered numerous awards, including being named a JEA Rising Star in 2011, JEA Distinguished Adviser in 2013, a CLHS Teacher of the Year in 2017 and CSPA National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year Special Recognition Adviser 2021.

Wingspan has received a collective 23 CSPA Crown and NSPA Pacemaker awards with a 12 year streak on both lists in its short 15 years. It has also been consistently recognized with CSPA Gold Medalist and NSPA All-American critiques since its inception.

Teaching intermediate yearbook

Mark Murray has served as president and now executive director for the Association of Texas Photography Instructors for 34 years. During that period he also worked for the Arlington Independent School District in Arlington, Texas, until his 2019 retirement. 

He is a Joseph M. Murphy and Gold Key recipient from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and a Pioneer Award winner from the National Scholastic Press Association. He has been awarded the Carl Towley Award and Medal of Merit by JEA, has been named a TAJE Trailblazer, and has been presented ATPI’s highest honor, the Star of Texas award.

Workshop administration

Lori Oglesbee advised outstanding students at McKinney High School (Texas) and Prosper High School (Texas) to create award-winning yearbooks, newspapers and online sites for 35 years.

The 2005 Max R. Haddick Texas Journalism Teacher of the Year and 2009 JEA/H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year works as an independent educational consultant and devoted Yorkie mom. She has advocated for New Voices legislation and student press rights. She uses Twitter to give pointers on writing: #WritingTipsFromMsO

Teaching feature writing

Rebecca Pollard, MJE, advises the yearbook at Lovejoy High School (Texas). She loves all student media, which is why she has advised at five different schools and all mediums in 21 years. Her programs have won top state and national awards including Pacemakers and Crowns.

She is a recipient of the JEA Distinguished Yearbook Adviser in 2019, Medal of Merit in 2020 and ILPC Edith Fox King Award in 2013. She is a JEA mentor and also serves on the planning committee for the Gloria Shields NSPA Media Workshop.

Teaching advisers

Mary Pulliam advised publications at Duncanville High School for 37 years. Before retirement, she won just about every award out there — including the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award, JEA’s Teacher Inspiration Award, ILPC’s Max Haddick Journalism Teacher of the Year and Edith Fox King awards, TAJE’s Trailblazer Award and Friend of Journalism award, CSPA’s Gold Key and NSPA’s Pioneer award.

Her publications also won just about every award, state and national. During her tenure, both publications were inducted into the NSPA Hall of Fame.

She has retired from the classroom but not from judging and consulting. Pulliam is an author of “Springboard to Journalism,” “The Second Page” and “Get the Picture.”

Workshop administration

Margie Raper, MJE, is an 18-year journalism teacher. Raper is the broadcast journalism and publication adviser at the new Rock Hill High School in Prosper ISD (Texas). She is proud to share her passion for scholastic journalism with her students, see them grow as storytellers and celebrate their achievements.

She serves as the past president of TAJE and on the Gloria Shields NSPA Media workshop committee. In 2019, Margie was named the ILPC Max R. Haddick Texas Journalism Teacher of the Year. She has also been named a JEA Distinguished Adviser, Medal of Merit and ILPC Edith Fox King honoree.

Teaching beginning yearbook

Clint Smith has taught for 15 years at Texas High School (Texarkana, Texas), where he instructs photojournalism and commercial photography and is co-adviser to the newspaper and yearbook.

Prior to beginning his teaching career, he worked in broadcast news and TV commercial production and ran his own photography studio.

He currently serves as past president of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors and received the ILPC Edith Fox King Award in 2019.

Teaching intermediate photography

Dow Tate is a journalism teacher at Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas, and the director of the Gloria Shields All-American Publication Workshop. He’s the co-author of “Scholastic Journalism,” 12th edition.

In 2011, he was named a Kansas Teacher of the Year finalist. He was inducted into the Scholastic Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of Oklahoma and was named a Texas Legend, as one of the most influential people in the state’s 75-year scholastic journalism history.

He taught 14 years at Dallas Hillcrest High School (Texas). His students’ publications — the newspaper, yearbook and news website — have earned the nation’s highest honors, including NSPA’s Pacemaker and CSPA’s Gold Crown. He’s had four students named National High School Journalist of the Year and two have gone on to win Pulitzers.

Tate has been named the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund’s National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year as well as the Texas Max R. Haddick Teacher of the Year.

He served as the president of the Dallas Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 1990.

Workshop administration

Becky Lucas Tate, the 2019 JEA/H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year, has advised both the award-winning newspaper and yearbook at Shawnee Mission North High School (Kansas) for the past 31 years. Tate’s staffs consistently earn All-American and Medalist ratings, along with Crown and Pacemaker awards.

Tate has been named a Special Recognition Adviser in newspaper by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and in yearbook by JEA. She also received the Engel Award for the  Excellence in Publication Advising from the Kansas Collegiate  Media. In addition, she received a CSPA Gold Key and JEA Medal of Merit.

She serves on the NSPA/ACP board of directors.

Teaching yearbook theme development

Cindy Todd currently serves as the Texas Association of Journalism Educators executive director. Todd “retired” from the classroom after 25 years of advising yearbooks and teaching photojournalism at Westlake High School (Texas) Randall High School (Texas).

Her students earned top awards from NSPA, CSPA and ILPC. The 2012 JEA/H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year, Todd was also named Max Haddick Texas Teacher of the Year and a TAJE Trailblazer and received CSPA Gold Key, NSPA Pioneer and JEA Medal of Merit and Lifetime Achievement awards.

Teaching yearbook theme development

Scott Winter, an associated professor of journalism and English at Bethel (Minnesota) University, earned his Ph.D. at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he wrote the 2015 biography “Nebrasketball: Coach Tim Miles and a Big Ten Team on the Rise.”

His research interests are long-form creative nonfiction and international social justice reporting. He spent a decade as an assistant professor at UNL, where he also taught in journalism master’s programs in Ethiopia and Kosovo.

He takes Bethel students on social justice journalism trips in collaboration with Art and Design Department and advises The Clarion student newspaper.

Teaching specialized writing