The NPPA's Women in Visual Journalism conference will be returning this year in an online format. Join us for the 2-day event, November 19-20, 2021. The speakers are some of the best in the business, and will be on hand for critiques. Television reporters, still and tv photojournalists, online journalists, freelancers, documentary filmmakers--this conference has something for every type of visual storyteller. There are so many ways to tell stories—this event embraces them all—because we are better together.
Information for the 2021 event will be announced soon.
Registration Info
NPPA Members $40
Non Members $100
NPPA Student Members $10
Student Non-Members $20
Event Schedule
All Central Time Zone
Saturday:
10:00 am - 10:15 am Welcome to Day 1!
10:15 am - 11:00 am Keynote with Danielle Villasana
11:00 am - 11:15 am Break
11:15 am - 12:15 pm Stills Breakout: Life On The Wires
Ashley Landis, of AP, talks about life from the NBA bubble and covering pro-sports on deadline. Leah Millis of Reuters works the political circuit in DC, present for the first draft of history, traveling in the WH pool.
Speakers: Ashley Landis and Leah Millis
Video Breakout: Reporting In The Era Of COVID
Broadcast journalists are navigating new challenges during the global pandemic. Whether you work solo or as a team, this session will cover it all. Hear how other journalists cope and thrive with the constantly changing work environment, how they deal with burnout and anxiety, and how they are creating memorable stories during this time.
Speakers: Jaleesa Irizarry, Heidi Wigdahl, Brenna Kelly, Katie Eastman
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm Lunch and Networking
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Black Lives Still Matter
With a panel of four Black female journalists, hear their perspective of the Black Lives Matter movement and what it has been like to cover the news and the protests. This session will also discuss visibility, solidarity and how to be allies to minority communities.
Speakers: Lynsey Weatherspoon, Yoshi James, Tashara Parker, Eva McKend
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm Break
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Feeling Empowered During The Pandemic
Christina Zdanowicz, a senior producer for social discovery at CNN, says it best, “In the midst of covering a coronavirus pandemic and working from home, I’ve found myself in a surprising situation: I’m more confident in my job than I was before this all started.”
Speaker: Christina Zdanowicz
4:00 pm - 4:15 pm C’ya tomorrow!
Sunday:
10:00 am - 10:15 am Welcome to Day 2!
10:15 am - 11:00 am Keynote with Cynthia Izaguirre
11:00 am - 11:15 am Break
11:15 am - 12:15 pm Breakout: So You Want To Make A Podcast?
So many of us have that one story that makes us think, this would be a great podcast! Amory Sivertson produced and hosted several podcasts in partnership with Boston’s NPR station. Learn what it takes to create a powerful story without the visuals.
Speaker: Amory Sivertson
Breakout: Reporting As A Team Before And During COVID
Joy and Alanna know what it takes to tell powerful stories on a deadline under tough circumstances in Baltimore. Learn how they have modified their storytelling techniques as a pair during the pandemic.
Speakers: Alanna Delfino, Joy Lambert
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Break
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Stills Breakout: Staying Positive And Productive During COVID
Jasmine DeFoore and Alicia Wagner-Calzada discuss steps you can take to move your business forward, update contracts, and use the pandemic downtime to create a stronger foundation for your business.
Speakers: Alicia Wagner Calzada, Jasmine DeFoore
Video Breakout: MMJing Abroad
Working solo can be tough, but imagine doing it in a foreign country. How do you pitch an idea to your managers? When they say yes, how do you prepare? What do you pack? How do you stay safe? How do you eat? What vaccines or medications do you need? There are so many questions to ask before taking a journey that could be one of the most memorable experiences of your career.
Speakers: Sarah Blake Ochsner, Ginna Roe, Tiffany Liou
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm Break
1:45 pm - 2:45 pm Continuing To Kick Ass When Times Get Hard
Anne Herbst is one of the most well-known names in photojournalism, and one of the main reasons why WIVJ is a success. She doesn’t give up on making a story the best it can be, and has proven that during COVID-19. She pushes through even as all the odds are stacked against us.
Speaker: Anne Herbst
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm Thank you and farewell!
*schedule is subject to change
Questions?
For any event related questions please contact Julia Robinson. For issues concerning registration contact [email protected].
Speakers
More speakers TBA!
Danielle Villasana
Danielle Villasana is an independent photojournalist based in Istanbul whose documentary work focuses on human rights around the world. She’s a National Geographic Explorer, a Magnum Foundation awardee, and an International Women's Media Foundation fellow. Her work has been included in solo and group exhibits and has been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, and the Washington Post, among others. Her first photo book, "A Light Inside," was published in 2018 by FotoEvidence. Danielle’s strong belief in the power of photography paired with education and community development has guided her involvement in various initiatives and organizations. She’s the co-founder of We, Women, is a Community Team member of The Everyday Projects, is on the board of the Authority Collective, is a member of Women Photograph and Ayün Fotógrafas, and is a co-author of the Photo Bill of Rights.
http://www.daniellevillasana.com
Instagram: @davillasana
Twitter: @davillasana
Facebook: danielle.villasana
Authority Collective, Board Member https://authoritycollective.org
Twitter: @theauthorityc
Instagram: @authoritycollective
We, Women - Co-Founder | Authority Collective - Board member
The Everyday Projects - Community Team
Women Photograph + Diversify Photo - member
Photo Bill of Rights - Co-Author
Lynsey Weatherspoon
“Suddenly this camera, this thing, allowed me to move around the world in a certain kind of
way, with a certain kind of purpose.” Carrie Mae Weems
Lynsey Weatherspoon’s first photography teacher was her late mother, Rhonda. Like her
mentor-in-her-head Carrie Mae Weems, that first camera - a gift - delivered purpose. Her
career includes editorial and commercial work that has been inspired and powered by her first
teacher’s love and lessons.
The #blackqueergirl is a photojournalist and portraitist based in Atlanta and Birmingham. Using
both photography and filmmaking as tools to tell stories, Weatherspoon’s work has been
featured in print and online in such publications as The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, Wall
Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, ESPN and ESPN-owned The Undefeated.
As a member of a modern vanguard of photographers, she is often called on to capture
heritage and history in real time. The Equal Justice Institute’s Bryan Stevenson. The National
Memorial for Peace and Justice. The Legacy Museum. Ronnie the shoe repairman in downtown
Birmingham. The people of the Gullah-Geechee Corridor. An entire family infected with and
affected by a pandemic. Demonstrators with raised fists and sad, vulnerable eyes. The sons and
daughters of history. The mothers of children who died making history. The majesty of Mardi
Gras. The loving hands of family caregivers.
Lynsey Weatherspoon’s work has been exhibited at The African American Museum in
Philadelphia and Photoville NYC. She is an awardee, The Lit List, 2018. Her affiliations include
Diversify Photo, Authority Collective, and Women Photograph.
www.lynseyweatherspoon.com
www.instagram.com/lnweatherspoon
www.facebook.com/lnweatherspoon
www.twitter.com/lnweatherspoon
Tashara Parker
Tashara Parker is an innovator, adviser and mentor. She currently serves the Dallas-Fort Worth community as part of the ABC Dallas (WFAA) morning ensemble anchor team. She is also a traffic reporter helping guide viewers around the D-FW Metroplex every morning. Tashara is passionate about community-focused storytelling and using her platform to showcase stories that both inform and educate viewers.
Prior to joining WFAA, Tashara worked for KYTX in Tyler, Texas becoming the first black woman hired to anchor the CBS affiliate’s primetime evening newscasts in East Texas.
While in Tyler, Tashara covered some of the region’s most prominent stories, including the 2017 Van Zandt County and 2019 Alto tornadoes as well as two high-profile executions, of which she also wrote and executive produced majority of the content.
Viewers have described Tashara as a “vivacious spirit and someone who truly cares about people and this community. She lights up the room with her awesome personality.”
Prior to making the move to CBS19, Tashara worked as an evening anchor/reporter in College Station, Texas at the NBC affiliate, KAGS News.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Texas A&M University. She also received a master’s degree in journalism from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
While pursuing her master’s degree, Tashara was able to report firsthand on the Chicago district closings of 54 elementary schools – the largest single wave of school closings in U.S. history. She also co-authored and produced an in depth look at the ‘Decline of Inner-City High School Athletic Championships’ in Chicago.
Prior to her time in Chicago, Tashara worked behind the scenes at Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, the ABC affiliate, KTRK in Houston and the CBS affiliate, KBTX in Bryan.
Aside from work, Tashara volunteers hundreds of hours every year with many organizations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. In addition to her volunteer work, Tashara serves as the Director of Social Media for the Junior League of Tyler.
Tashara is committed to using her platform as a journalist to shed light on underserved communities and organizations. Over the course of her career, she has learned the most important obligation we have to ourselves is to never lose sight of who we are and to always uplift others along the way. She lives by the motto, “If all else fails, just be YOU.”
Eva McKend
Eva McKend is a congressional Correspondent for Spectrum News. Described by her previous news director as "fearless," she is driven to tell stories that amplify the circumstances of marginalized groups. Eva is a proud graduate of Swarthmore College and the S.I. Newhouse masters program at Syracuse University.
Heidi Wigdahl
Heidi Wigdahl is a multimedia journalist at KARE 11 in Minneapolis. She started her career at KTTC in Rochester, Minnesota before heading south to work at WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee. Heidi has always been a solo video journalist and she enjoys every part of crafting a story. She has received three regional Emmys for Best Video Journalist. Her work has also been recognized by the Edward R. Murrow Awards, the National Press Photographers Association, the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association’s Eric Sevareid Awards and the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists. In 2015, the Tennessee Associated Press named her “Best TV Reporter.” Heidi graduated from DePaul University where the College of Communication named her “Journalism Student of the Year.” She has been able to cover many noteworthy events but reporting on Kitten Bowl V during the Minnesota Super Bowl remains a career highlight. Besides her work as a general assignment reporter, Heidi features local businesses every week as part of a “Behind the Business” segment on the KARE Saturday morning show. Heidi lives in south Minneapolis with her husband Eliot and their two cats, Bunny Pancake and Backpack the Brave.
Brenna Kelly
Brenna Kelly is a reporter and one-woman band at FOX 12 Oregon, who shoots, produces and edits her own stories. In the last several months, Brenna has covered national headlines such as the downtown Portland riots, Black Lives Matter protests and COVID-19 in Washington and Oregon.
Brenna began her career in Bangor, Maine, at WABI. During her time there, Brenna covered two presidential candidates during the 2016 election, an in-depth series on police officers that train service dogs for veterans living with severe PTSD, the state’s many winter Nor’easters which dumped up to two feet of snow or more on Maine towns, and the beautiful “Vacationland” summers, which included lobster races.
In March of 2017, Brenna was honored for her dedication to multi-media journalism with a scholarship from the Darrell Barton Foundation to attend the week-long NPPA News Video Workshop in Norman, Oklahoma.
Brenna was born and raised in San Diego, California and graduated from Washington State University (#GoCougs!) where she studied Broadcast Journalism at The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication and joined student-run Cable 8 Productions. While in college, she attended a backpack journalism trip in Cuba where she profiled the nation’s pride and joy — baseball.
In her free time, Brenna loves to explore Portland’s food and coffee scene, and take adventures with her fiancé and adopted rottweiler pup.
Katie Eastman
Katie is a reporter at 9News in Denver, Colorado where she shoots and edits her own stories.
Every day she hopes to make you understand the people she gets to meet in hopes of bringing us all closer as a community.
Her stories have won five Emmy awards and earned her numerous accolades within the National Press Photographers Association.
While at 9News, she's had the privilege of riding in a Sno-Cat during a bomb cyclone snowstorm, traveling to California to report from the fire ravaged town of Paradise and meeting kids who truly defy all odds.
Katie worked at the Boston Herald as a video journalist and was running the Boston Marathon in 2013 when the bombs went off. She spent much of her time there telling stories of the survivors, and that race will always hold a special place in her heart.
After graduating from Emerson College in 2011, Katie began her career in Des Moines, Iowa as a reporter at the ABC affiliate, WOI. While there, she got a few cameos on the Colbert Report and became known as the "Intrepid Cub Reporter."
Katie is originally from Maine, and when she's not at work, she's adventuring with her husband, Ciaran.
Jaleesa Irizarry
Jaleesa is a multimedia journalist at KENS 5 in San Antonio, Texas. She has spent the last eight years as a “one-woman band” for stations throughout the country including South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan and now Texas. Jaleesa received her journalism degree from Suffolk University but often credits her success to the photojournalists that have taken her under their wing and have taught her what it means to be a storyteller.
Over the years she has garnered a few AP awards as well as a couple of Emmy nominations for her work as a solo-journalist. She is a member of the National Press Photographers Association and the 2020 recipient of the Darrell Barton Foundation scholarship to attend the Advanced Storytelling Workshop.
When she’s not out finding her next enterprise story, she’s catching a baseball game or checking out the latest brewery with her pup Benjamin.
Christina Zdanowicz
Christina Zdanowicz is a Senior Producer at CNN Digital. She manages the hectic evening shift for the Social Discovery Team, the network's hub for social media newsgathering. Assigning, writing and editing stories, verifying user-generated content and making tough editorial decisions are all part of what she does. Her role involves identifying trending topics and social conversations around CNN's top news priorities, as well as curating content for a social and digital audience.
The highlight of her day is mentoring interns, whom she recruits, hires and supervises. They've gone on to full-time jobs at CNN, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, NPR and The Wall Street Journal. Outside of work, she has been working with teens for over a decade as a volunteer at VOX ATL, a teen-led journalism outlet and non-profit. Before her time at CNN, she worked for the Chicago Tribune, CBS 2 Chicago and COSMOS, an Australian science magazine.
Amory Sivertson
Amory Sivertson is the co-host and producer of the podcast Endless Thread, a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR station. She's one of the founding producers of Modern Love: The Podcast and the former producer of Dear Sugar Radio (now called Dear Sugars), hosted by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond.
Previously, she was the studio director and a producer for WBUR’s daily local news program, Radio Boston.
Amory is also an independent musician, and she's about to release her fourth full-length album. More at listentoamory.com.
Alanna Delfino
Behind her lens, Alanna Delfino finds the special moments that can turn any assignment into a memorable story. As a photojournalist at Baltimore’s Fox 45, she specializes in producing daily news stories under deadline, with a creative, unique approach.
In five years, Alanna has covered a range of topics like the Freddie Gray trials, two deadly Ellicott City floods, the Annapolis legislative session, the Capital Gazette mass shooting and many other local and breaking news topics. In 2018, Alanna traveled to Vietnam, where she worked with a team to tell stories highlighting culture, lifestyle, history of the war and covered a signing ceremony, where the United States received the remains of three US troops, who died in the Vietnam War.
Alanna’s work has earned her several awards, including being named the National Press Photographer Association’s 2017 and 2018 East Top Photographer of the Year and finalist for National Photographer of the Year. In just five years, Alanna has won 10 regional Emmy awards. Of those wins, a documentary she co-produced called “After Shock,” which documents the deadliest year per capita in Baltimore City and two-time Outstanding General News Photographer.
In 2017, Alanna joined University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism adjunct faculty staff, where she teaches an intermediate news reporting class to undergraduate students. As an instructor, she emphasizes the value of quality storytelling and the importance of becoming an expert with technology and gear. During the semester, students learn how to shoot video while using broadcast gear, DSLR cameras and audio equipment.
As a speaker at the WIVJ Workshop, Alanna hopes to help visual storytellers find a balance in teamwork, work well under deadline and offer some useful tips she uses while covering local news during a pandemic.
Joy Lambert
Joy Lambert is a multiple Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow Award Winning journalist.
This Summer Joy was runner-up to Boyd Huppert for NPPA Reporter of the Year.
She’s been named Best General Assignment Reporter two years in a row from the Capital Region Emmys and was honored with a Regional Murrow Award for Excellence in Writing.
Over the last few years she has contributed to more than a dozen stories that placed in the East Top NPPA Quarterlies and was instrumental in WBFF being selected as the runner-up for NPPA Station of the Year in 2018.
In her 15 year career she has covered everything from Presidential visits and CMA red carpets to deadly flooding and mass shootings, finding humanity and meaningful stories at every turn.
With a true passion for journalism and storytelling, in 2018 Joy, wrote and produced a 30 minute documentary on the then-record setting violence in Baltimore. Winning the Regional Emmy for Crime Program, "After Shock" focused on the impact of violence and lasting trauma in a community.
Still, her most important job is mother of two boys, proving it is possible to balance family with a rewarding career in journalism.
Sarah Blake Morgan
Sarah Blake Morgan is an award-winning journalist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She currently covers the Southeast for the Associated Press, often focusing on military issues.
She has reported across the United States and around the world for local and international news organizations, shooting, writing and editing her own television and print stories.
Sarah Blake has interviewed protesters marching through tear gas, mothers who have lost children to overdoses and embedded alongside soldiers training in South America. While each narrative is different, she's found the human connection is almost always the same. Everyone has their own story to tell, they just need the right moment to do so.
Ginna Roe
Ginna Roe is KUTV's first-ever MMJ. She joined the team in Salt Lake City, Utah in January 2018 and showed her peers what one-woman-bands are capable of. In February, Ginna crossed the border into Mexico as a solo-journalist. She shared a Utah family's journey to find affordable insulin for another family in need. Ginna is passionate about journalism, her craft as a storyteller and people. She's dedicated her 6 years in the business to honing her skills as a multimedia journalist by attending workshops all over the country, including the NPPA Women in Visual Journalism conference. She's honored to be able to share her experience at the very same workshop she attended two years ago.
Tiffany Liou
Background in journalism? No.
Sequencing? PKG? Huh?
She did what?
With a business degree, Tiffany left a cushy corporate marketing job to pursue her curiosity of journalism. Turns out, she fell in love with this risky move. In just over four years, she learned the industry hands-on in California, Louisiana, Iowa and Oklahoma before landing a job at WFAA in Dallas, Texas. She’s been in Dallas a little over two years now.
Tiffany is proud to haul around her gear, turning down “reporter” positions for MMJ spots. She loves the whole process and believes it makes her a stronger journalist. She’s been able to tell stories around the world. Her most memorable experience was soloing in Haiti.
Tiffany is co-president of the Asian American Journalism Association Texas Chapter. She has taken home a few Emmy, Texas AP, RTDNA, and NPPA awards.
When Tiffany is not busy turning daily stories, you’ll find her on a plane/beach/mountain, with her dogs, holding a camera, or all of the above.
Oh, but now with the COVID-19 pandemic during her free time, she’s mostly home playing Animal Crossing and baking sourdough bread with her dogs while watching true crime shows.
Anne Herbst
I’m the director of the NPPA Advanced Storytelling Workshop, the Director of Visual Journalism at KUSA-TV in Denver, and the director of my 7th grade play about hippies living in Wisconsin. Don’t ask.
When I’m not directing things, I write/shoot/edit/produce stories at KUSA that take me all around the state of Colorado—or as I call it—ColoRADo.
Here’s the annoying awards section. I have four national Murrows, a bunch of regional Emmys, I’ve been NPPA regional POY several times, national NPPA POY runner up twice, NPPA Solo Journalist of the year, and a lot of ribbons from my competitive swimming days. I also lead a photography staff that just won NPPA Station of the Year. We’ve won it 14 times—more than any other station—and I feel lucky to be surrounded by storytelling geniuses.
The important stuff comes now. I love telling stories, hiking with my husband Steve and dog Stella, the San Juan mountains of ColoRADo, craft beer, travel, helping people become better journalists, and laughing loudly with my friends.
ColoRADo. Say it with me.
Julia Robinson
Julia is an independent photojournalist based in Austin, Texas. She began as a staff photographer for large metropolitan dailies and small-town newspapers across the US covering everything from house fires to professional sports. She returned to her hometown in 2009 and covers the great state of Texas for clients including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
Jasmine DeFoore
Jasmine DeFoore is a freelance photo editor and marketing consultant partnering with photographers, non-profits, agencies, and corporations to create engaging visual content. Recent clients include Dell, AFAR, Chase, United, Texas Tribune, and many talented photographers around the world.
Instagram: @jasmine.defoore
Twitter: @jasminedefoore
Facebook: @jasminedefoore
Website: https://www.jasminedefoore.com
Alicia Wagner Calzada
Alicia Wagner Calzada serves as NPPA’s Deputy General Counsel where she advocates for members through legislative efforts, litigation, amicus briefs, crisis response, educational efforts, and cooperation with other groups that support NPPA’s mission. With a background in photojournalism, Alicia has nearly a decade of experience serving the legal needs of a broad range of local and national media organizations including print, electronic, and television organizations as well as individual journalists, trade associations and photographers, on a variety of litigation matters and other matters involving defamation, First Amendment, and copyright infringement.
Instagram: @aliciaphoto
Twitter: @aliciaphoto
Facebook: SanAntonioPhotographer
Yoshi James
Yalonda "Yoshi" James is an award-winning staff photojournalist and video producer at The San Francisco Chronicle in San Francisco, CA. Her passion is documenting stories focusing on social justice issues. Yoshi is formerly a staff photojournalist and video producer for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, TN.
Before joining the CA, Yoshi worked for The Charlotte Observer covering stories ranging from presidential campaign trails to homelessness in the Charlotte region. During her tenure at the CO, James was a 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalist with her Observer team for a project called, 'Sold a Nightmare,' which earned them a second place Gold Medal for Public Service.
Yoshi is a 2001 Mass Communications graduate from the University of South Carolina (Upstate), where she won Gold and Bronze medals from College Photographer of the Year, 1998. She is also a 2008 Interactive Media Design graduate from The Art Institute of Charlotte, being selected into the Alpha Beta Kappa National Honor Society during the '08 election. Yoshi is currently a 2019-2020 Community Listening Fellow with the American Press Institute.
Yoshi's photography and videos have been published in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Commercial Appeal, The Charlotte Observer, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, MSNBC, Fusion, Education Week, St. Petersburg Times, The State (Columbia, SC), The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Post & Courier, South Carolina: 24/7, and The Bridge Builder's and Charleston's Grand New Span. In addition, Yoshi has worked on the set of FOX drama, Sleepy Hollow, and on assignment for the Associated Press.
Yoshi's 2017 short documentary film, "The BLM (Black Lives Matter) Bridge Protest: One Year Later," screened at the 2017 IndieMemphis Film Festival, The National Civil Rights Museum, the 2018 Nashville Film Festival, the 2018 Indie Grits Film Festival, the 2018 BendFilm Festival and the 2020 San Francisco Urban Film Festival. Her latest short documentary film, "Singing for KING," is currently touring the film circuit.
Instagram: @yoshijames
Twitter: @yoshifoto
Facebook: yoshijames
Website: https://www.yoshifoto.com/index
Ashley Landis
Staff Photographer, Associated Press
Instagram: @ashphotog
Twitter: @landisimages
Facebook: ashley.s.landis
Website: https://www.landisimages.com/index
Leah Millis
Staff Photographer, Reuters
Instagram: @leahmillis
Twitter: @leahmillis
Facebook: leah.millis
Website: http://leahmillis.com
Cynthia Izaguirre
Cynthia Izaguirre is an anchor at WFAA in Dallas, TX. One of her proudest accomplishments is her work with Wednesday’s Child. Since 2011, she has produced and anchored the segments which help find abused and neglected children a loving home. She advocates for the most vulnerable kids in the community. She is a household name in North Texas. Cynthia keeps busy when she isn’t at work too. She is a mom, a wife, a friend and a mentor to many in the business.
Twitter: @wfaaizzy
Facebook: wfaa.cynthia.izaguirre
