IJEA Board of Directors

Meet Our 2020-21 Officers & 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.

For the 2020-21 membership year, which runs from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, the board has 20 directors: 12 regional directors, six 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, Katie Fernandez, CJE.

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
jgonczy at illinoisjea.org

Vice President

Dr. Dan Kerns, CJE
Richwoods High School
dkerns at illinoisjea.org

Treasurer

Jennifer Galloy
Joliet West High School
jgalloy at illinoisjea.org

Co-Secretary

Brad Bennewitz, CJE
Galesburg High School
bbennewitz at illinoisjea.org

Co-Secretary

Jennifer Reiser, CJE
Washington Community High School
jreiser at illinoisjea.org

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

Directors | Region 1

Brad Bennewitz, CJE

bbennewitz at illinoisjea.org
Galesburg High School
1135 W. Fremont St.
Galesburg, IL 61401 (Knox County)
Term expires 2022

Patti Kaylor

pkaylor at illinoisjea.org
Glenwood High School
1501 E. Plummer Blvd.
Chatham, IL 62629 (Sangamon County)
Term expires 2023

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.

Directors | Region 2

Dennis Brown

dbrown at illinoisjea.org
Huntley High School
13719 Harmony Road
Huntley, IL 60142 (McHenry County)
Term expires 2023

Colleen Calvey

ccalvey at illinoisjea.org
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.

Directors | Region 3

Kathy Abdul, CJE

kabdul at illinoisjea.org
Morton West High School
2400 South Home Ave.
Berwyn, IL 60402 (Cook County)
Term expires 2022

John Gonczy, CJE

jgonczy at illinoisjea.org
Marist High School
4200 W. 115th St.
Chicago, IL 60655 (Cook County)
Term expires 2023

Counties Represented

Region 3 covers the counties of Cook and DuPage.

Directors | Region 4

Dr. Dan Kerns, CJE

dkerns at illinoisjea.org
Richwoods High School
6301 N. University
Peoria, IL 61614-3499 (Peoria County)
Term expires 2023

Jennifer Reiser, CJE

jreiser at illinoisjea.org
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.

Directors | Region 5

Greg Bilbrey, CJE

gbilbrey at illinoisjea.org
School of Communication and Journalism
Eastern Illinois University
Buzzard Hall 2521
1920 9th St.
Charleston, IL 61920 (Coles County)
Term expires 2023

Sheila Moore

smoore at illinoisjea.org
Meridian High School
728 South Wall St., P.O. Box 380
Macon, IL 62544-0380 (Macon 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.

Directors | Region 6

Samantha Goetting

sgoetting at illinoisjea.org
Herrin High School
700 N. Tenth St.
Herrin, IL 62948 (Williamson County)
Term expires 2022

Cathy Wall

cwall at illinoisjea.org
Harrisburg High School
333 W. College St.
Harrisburg, IL 62946 (Saline County)
Term expires 2023

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.

Directors | At Large

Keith Carlson, CJE

kcarlson at illinoisjea.org
Naperville Central High School
440 W. Aurora Ave.
Naperville, IL 60540 (DuPage County)
Appointed term expires 2021

Ken Erdey

kerdey at illinoisjea.org
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Media
119 Gregory Hall
810 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801 (Champaign County)
Appointed term expires 2021

Jennifer Galloy

jgalloy at illinoisjea.org
Joliet West High School
401 N. Larkin Ave.
Joliet, IL 60435 (Will County)
Appointed term expires 2021

Elizabeth Levin, MJE

elevin at illinoisjea.org
Downers Grove North High School
4436 Main St.
Downers Grove, IL 60515 (DuPage County)
Appointed term expires 2021

Dave Porreca, CJE

dporreca at illinoisjea.org
Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
8201 W. Fullerton Ave.
Elmwood Park, IL 60707 (Cook County)
Appointed term expires 2021

Carol Smith (retired)

csmith at illinoisjea.org
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)
Appointed term expires 2021

Randy Swikle, CJE (retired)

rswikle at illinoisjea.org
Taught at: Johnsburg High School
2002 W. Ringwood Road
Johnsburg, IL 60050 (McHenry County)
Appointed term expires 2021

Directors | Ex Officio

Katie Comeford Fernandez, CJE | National JEA State Director

kfernandez at illinoisjea.org
Phoenix Military Academy
145 S. Campbell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60612 (Cook County)
Ex officio board term runs with office

Linda Jones | Illinois JEA Executive Director

ljones at illinoisjea.org
Roosevelt University
Associate Professor of Journalism
430 S. Michigan Ave., AUD 358C
Chicago, IL 60605 (Cook County)
Ex officio board term runs with office