Melody Guernsey
Melody Guernsey is a multimedia journalist with more than 10 years of experience. She was a reporter and anchor for Wake Up Wisconsin at WKOW in Madison, WI. Prior to that, Melody was an associate producer at Big Ten Network in Chicago. Melody earned a Master of Science in Journalism degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
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JT Cestkowski
JT is a MMJ/Reporter with WKOW in Madison. Prior to his years in front of the camera, JT worked his way up in the communications field in social media management, including time as a social media and digital content manager for his current station. He now tells stories on a variety of platforms, focusing on the labor, economy and environment beats. Read Full Bio
Sabrina Franza
Sabrina is an Emmy-award winning general assignment reporter with WBBM in Chicago. She has a passion for digging deep, following up, and getting results using investigative and enterprise reporting. Sabrina loves transporting others to a time or place that they might not ever experience otherwise. Read Full Bio
DANIELLE MAXWELL
Dani is News Director at WKOW 27 News. Prior to becoming News Director, Dani was an anchor and Executive Producer of Wake Up Wisconsin and spent several years as the Assistant News Director. Read Full Bio
JENA STOPCZYNSKI
Jena is a South Bend, Indiana native working as the Social Media Manager for ABC57 News. She earned her bachelor's in communications, information and media with a focus in photojournalism from Ball State University in 2011. Read Full Bio
Martin Varghese
Martin is Vice President of Human Resources for Weigel Broadcasting Co. He has been a Human Resources professional for over 20 years and prides himself on working with managers and employees to find a to grow their careers while remaining authentic to themselves. Read Full Bio
WATCH VIDEO of WEBINAR
MARK RIVERA
Reporter/Anchor, WLS-TV. Mark Rivera came back to work in his hometown when he joined the ABC 7 Eyewitness News team as weekend morning news anchor and reporter in December 2017.
JAMIE CEASER
Jamie Ceaser’s career began at legendary WTTW, one of the nation’s leading public television stations, where she created award-winning documentaries.
Cornelius MACK
Cornelius Mack is the Creative/Marketing Director for CBS Chicago WBBM.
2024 "SPEED MEET" CAREER DAY
saturday, April 6, 2024
11 am - 1 pm
Set Etiquette: everything you need to know
about being a production assistant
WATCH VIDEO HERE of webinar
PANELISTS:
STUART BLUE
PA, Dark Matter
Stuart Blue is a filmmaker currently based in Chicago working as a production assistant on television and movie sets in the city. He graduated from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in May of 2022 with a BFA in Film. Stuart enjoyed creating short films and videos long before a formal education via YouTube. In 2021 Stuart released Divine Imperfection, winning him the best comedy short at the Nevada Shorts Film Festival. In 2022 Stuart released The Execution of a Painting. Stuart is excited to finish post-production of his newest film, Discolight Vigil, a dark comedy centering around a friend group.
NOAH SALLAN
Office PA, Chicago PD
Noah Sallen is a production assistant based in Chicago. Originally from Bloomington, IL he studied at DePaul University where he graduated with honors. After TV and Film took him around the Midwest, he is back in the city to plant his roots. This past year, he's worked full-time on 'Chicago P.D.' and 'Holland, MI' an upcoming Amazon Studios film. On various projects, he assists in set coordination and logistics. He likes being in a position that lets him interact with all departments. In the future, he plans to apply his problem-solving skills as a creative producer. When he's not working, you can find him volunteering with conservation groups, kayaking, or improving his cooking skills.
Alli Saurez
Assistant Director, DGA
Born and raised in Miami, Alli received her B.S. in Psychology at Florida State University. After working for three years as a high school math teacher, she moved to Chicago to pursue her passion of working in the film industry. Alli is now a member of the Directors Guild of America and has worked on numerous projects, including FX’s The Bear, NBC’s Chicago Med, Disney Channel’s Saturdays, AppleTV’s Dark Matter, and Emperor of Ocean Park. Through her professional experiences, she has gained knowledge on the process of filmmaking as well as a strong network of peers in the film industry.
AFUA OWUSU
Director of News and Local Content for Weigel Broadcasting in Chicago. Read Full Bio
CHIP BREWSTER
Based at WGN-TV in Chicago, Chip Brewster currently works on Nexstar Media's national digital team as a video producer and livestream host/OBS expert. Read Full Bio
JESSIE GARCIA
Jessie Garcia is News Director of CBS 58 and Telemundo WI in Milwaukee. An award-winning journalist, Jessie spent 25 years on the air as a sports anchor and reporter before transitioning to management. Read Full Bio
BETH GODVIK
Elizabeth Godvik is a newswriter/producer at WBBM-TV in Chicago. She also works with future journalists as an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University. Read Full Bio
Elyssa Kaufman
Elyssa Kaufman is a Digital News Producer at CBS Chicago. She covers breaking news for CBSChicago.com while working closely with the morning show producers. Read Full Bio
ANDREW ROWAN
Andrew Rowan is a multimedia journalist at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. He is passionate about creativity and innovation in TV news storytelling. Read Full Bio
FRANK WHITTAKER
Frank Whittaker retired at the end of 2022 as Station Manager and Vice President of News for NBC 5 Chicago after working more than 46 years in three Chicago TV newsrooms. For nearly 25 years he led the NBC Chicago newsroom, becoming the longest serving news director in Chicago television history. Read Full Bio
SATURDAY, April 8, 2023
11 am - 1 pm
Columbia College Chicago
ferguson Auditorium, 600 S. michigan
Chicago, IL
SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2023
Columbia College Chicago
1104 S. Wabash, Room 301
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Alefiyah Master
Alefiyah Master is the Executive Producer for BAM Studios, where she manages a group of highly experienced audio and assistant audio engineers. She works with high-profile talent daily as well as clients such as Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Wolf's Chicago Franchise, along with a significant number of large Chicago agencies and independent creatives, making relationship management an integral part of her position. As EP, she manages all incoming projects, starting with the budget and guaranteeing effective file delivery to the client. Alefiyah speaks four languages and her passion is world travel. Her greatest love is her puppy, Bailey. Alefiyah is a former member of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter’s Board of Governors and has held many roles within the TV Academy, including Executive Officer.
During this panel discussion you will learn how to use this opportunity to network with great people and sharpen your skills BEFORE entering the workforce. Our panel includes industry insiders from WGN-TV, WBBM-TV, WLS-TV, and Plum Media.
This panel discussion is for high school students who are interested in pursuing their passions in media. Attend this virtual event and learn more about the types of college and university programs there are for journalism, broadcast news, film, documentary, and television.
Discovering what media major is right for you can be a difficult decision when there are so many facets to what makes up our digital world. Learning from industry professionals, we will be discussing the diverse paths that the panelists have taken and what higher education programs have to offer to help you find the right fit! Faculty from Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern, and the Second City Film School will be panelists.
ELLIE HALL & JULIETTE STRANGIO
Brian Andrews
Brian Andrews is a storyteller and visual technologist. Currently he serves as the chair of Post-Production at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts.
marie halliday
Marie was a Vice President of Development at Adaptive Studios and a Director of Production & Development at MarVista Entertainment and is now a professor at Columbia College Chicago.
arionne Nettles
Arionne Nettles is a lecturer/director of audio journalism at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
Caroline posse Emiliani
Carolina Posse Emiliani is an award-winning producer and educator. She worked as Programming Director and Interim Director of the Chicago Latino Film Festival. She is an Assoc. Professor at Columbia College.
Lyn PUSzTaI
Lyn advises, mentors, prepares and supports Second City Film School students and DePaul Screenwriting MFAs. Lyn has over 16 years of experience in professional development and has worked in the improv community for several decades.
Ayesha Abouelazm
Ayesha is a filmmaker, instructor, and poet. She has written and directed many short films. This includes: The Girl in the Blue Bra (2016) and Not On My Shoulders (2017). She is currently an instructor at Loyola University Chicago.
RONAN MORRISSEY
NATAS Junior Board Executive Committee Chair
Ella Lubienski
2nd Assistant Camera
The Chi, South Side, Work in Progress, Fargo
Mono Wilborn
Locations Manager
Chicago Fire, Chi-Raq, Jupiter Ascending, Sense 8, Barbershop
Tony Lullo
Gaffer
Chicago Fire, Prison Break, Chi-Raq, Stranger Than Fiction
Tim Jacobs
1st Assistant Director
Chicago Fire, An Acceptable Loss
Watch Video of Career Day - Hear from outstanding Chicago TV professionals, leaders in their field, about the background needed for a television/new media job.
Moderator: Brandon Pope, Host, WCIU & President, NABJ;
Attendees included:
* Adrienne Balow, News Producer, WGN
* Jessie Garcia, News Director, WDJT Milwaukee
* Cortney Hall & Matt Rodrigues, Hosts,
Chicago Today
* Mike Hall, Sports Anchor, Big Ten Network
* Sean Lewis, Anchor/Reporter, WGN
* Nneka Nwosu, Assistant News Director, WLS
* Alicia Roman, Meteorologist, WMAQ
Video OF EVENT - WATCH HERe
Held on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022
How unconscious biases impact story coverage on-air & newsroom environments. Co-sponsored with the National Association of Black Journalists – Chicago Chapter.
Moderator – Marshall Harris, Sports Anchor, WBBM-TV
Panelists – Polnesha Barnes, Special Projects Producer, WLS-TV Chicago; Taylor Musgrove, Programming, WLS-TV Chicago; Josh Short, Anchor, KDVR-TV, Denver; Taurean Small, Reporter, Spectrum, Washington D.C.
Video OF EVENT - WATCH HERe
Held on Saturday, Dec 11, 2021
Hear from top Chicago TV directors how to be the best in this competitive position, how the craft has evolved in recent years, how technology and COVID changed the industry, and what the future might look like.
Moderator: Javier Aguilar, Freelance Director, Telemundo Chicago; Panelists: Kevin Dusold, Director, Marquee Sports Network; Steven Novak, Director, WGN; Bertha Serrano, Director, Fox 32 Chicago; Jorge Pacheco, Director, Telemundo Chicago