IJEA Board of Directors
Meet Our 2019-20 Officers and Directors
Article 3.01 of the IJEA Bylaws mandates that the IJEA Board will consist of at least 17 members (“directors”): two directors elected from each of the association’s six regions, four at-large directors appointed by the president with the consent of the board, and the executive director.
Currently the board has 22 directors: 12 regional directors, eight at-large directors and two ex officio directors. The latter two are the IJEA executive director, Prof. Linda Jones, and the Illinois state director for the national Journalism Education Association, Brenda Field, MJE.
Regional directors serve three-year elected terms, and they may stand for re-election. At-large directors serve one-year appointed terms, and they may be reappointed. Ex officio board members hold their board positions by virtue of their offices with IJEA. They have full voting rights and remain on the board for the duration of their respective offices.
The board organizes itself each year at the association’s June meeting by electing the following officers, who comprise the IJEA executive board: president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Currently the board has five officers, a total that includes two co-secretaries.
IJEA Officers
President
John Gonczy, CJE
Marist High School
[email protected]
Vice President
Dr. Dan Kerns, CJE
Richwoods High School
[email protected]
Co-Secretary
Brad Bennewitz, CJE
Galesburg High School
[email protected]
Co-Secretary
Jennifer Reiser, CJE
Washington Community High School
[email protected]
Treasurer
Katie Comeford Fernandez, CJE
Phoenix Military Academy
[email protected]
IJEA Board of Directors | Regions Represented
As stipulated by the IJEA Bylaws, regional directors represent the following six regions:
Region 1 | Map
Counties of Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jersey, Knox, Macoupin, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Mercer, Morgan, Pike, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Warren, Whiteside
Region 2 | Map
Counties of Boone, Bureau, Carroll, DeKalb, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Winnebago
Region 3 | Map
Counties of Cook, DuPage
Region 4 | Map
Counties of Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Tazewell, Will, Woodford
Region 5 | Map
Counties of Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Logan, Macon, Montgomery, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby, Vermilion
Region 6 | Map
Counties of Alexander, Bond, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, St. Clair, Saline, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, Williamson
Region 1
Brad Bennewitz, CJE
[email protected]
Galesburg High School
1135 W. Fremont St.
Galesburg, IL 61401 (Knox County)
Term expires 2022
Patti Kaylor
[email protected]
Glenwood High School
1501 E. Plummer Blvd.
Chatham, IL 62629 (Sangamon County)
Term expires 2020
Counties Represented
Region 1 covers the counties of Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jersey, Knox, Macoupin, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Mercer, Morgan, Pike, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Warren and Whiteside.
Region 2
Dennis Brown
[email protected]
Huntley High School
13719 Harmony Road
Huntley, IL 60142 (McHenry County)
Term expires 2020
Colleen Calvey
[email protected]
Oswego High School
1525 Harvey Road
Oswego, IL 60543 (Kendall County)
Term expires 2022
Counties Represented
Region 2 covers the counties of Boone, Bureau, Carroll, DeKalb, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago.
Region 3
Kathy Abdul, CJE
[email protected]
Morton West High School
2400 South Home Ave.
Berwyn, IL 60402 (Cook County)
Term expires 2022
John Gonczy, CJE
[email protected]
Marist High School
4200 W. 115th St.
Chicago, IL 60655 (Cook County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Counties Represented
Region 3 covers the counties of Cook and DuPage.
Region 4
Dr. Dan Kerns, CJE
[email protected]
Richwoods High School
6301 N. University
Peoria, IL 61614-3499 (Peoria County)
Term expires 2020
Jennifer Reiser, CJE
[email protected]
Washington Community High School
115 Bondurant St.
Washington, IL 61571 (Tazewell County)
Term expires 2022
Counties Represented
Region 4 covers the counties of Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Tazewell, Will and Woodford.
Region 5
Anne Sacheli
[email protected]
Schlarman Academy
2112 N. Vermilion
Danville, IL 61832 (Vermilion County)
Term expires 2020
Carol Smith (retired)
[email protected]
Taught at: Lovington High School (Moultrie County)
Please note that Lovington High is now part of:
Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond (ALAH) High School
301 E. Columbia
Arthur, IL 61911 (Douglas County)
Term expires 2022
Counties Represented
Region 5 covers the counties of Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Logan, Macon, Montgomery, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby and Vermilion.
Region 6
Samantha Goetting
[email protected]
Herrin High School
700 N. Tenth St.
Herrin, IL 62948 (Williamson County)
Term expires 2022
Trudy Hurd, CJE (retired)
[email protected]
Taught at: Cisne High School
1476 U.S. Highway 45
Cisne, IL 62823 (Wayne County)
Term expires 2020
Counties Represented
Region 6 covers the counties of Alexander, Bond, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, St. Clair, Saline, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White and Williamson.
At Large
Greg Bilbrey, CJE
[email protected]
Managing Editor
Robinson Daily News
302 S. Cross St.
Robinson, IL 62454 (Crawford County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Keith Carlson, CJE
[email protected]
Naperville Central High School
440 W. Aurora Ave.
Naperville, IL 60540 (DuPage County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Ken Erdey
[email protected]
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Media
119 Gregory Hall
810 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801 (Champaign County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Katie Comeford Fernandez, CJE
[email protected]
Phoenix Military Academy
145 S. Campbell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60612 (Cook County)
Term expires 2020
Elizabeth Levin, MJE
[email protected]
Downers Grove North High School
4436 Main St.
Downers Grove, IL 60515 (DuPage County)
Term expires 2020
Dave Porreca, CJE
[email protected]
Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
8201 W. Fullerton Ave.
Elmwood Park, IL 60707 (Cook County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Jeff Rogers
[email protected]
Director
Illinois Press Foundation
900 Community Drive
Springfield, IL 62703 (Sangamon County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Randy Swikle, CJE (retired)
[email protected]
Taught at: Johnsburg High School
2002 W. Ringwood Road
Johnsburg, IL 60050 (McHenry County)
Appointed term expires 2020
Ex Officio
Brenda Field, MJE | National JEA State Director
[email protected]
Glenbrook South High School
4000 W. Lake Ave.
Glenview, IL 60026 (Cook County)
Ex officio board term runs with office
Linda Jones | Illinois JEA Executive Director
[email protected]
Roosevelt University
Associate Professor of Journalism
430 S. Michigan Ave., AUD 358C
Chicago, IL 60605 (Cook County)
Ex officio board term runs with office