Biographies as of June 20, 1999 Editor's note: These files reflect the staff of UNITY's very first New Media project in Seattle in 1999, and are retained for historical purposes.

STUDENTS

Vonetta Booker Southern Connecticut State University A recent journalism graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, Vonetta Booker is a resident of Stamford, Conn. She is currently an associate web editor at Weekly Reader, a long-running grade school magazine for children, teachers, and parents.  Also a freelance writer, Booker has contributed to magazines such as XXL and HealthQuest, and newspapers, including the New Haven Register, Stamford Advocate, Connecticut Post and Umoja News.

James Ellis III University of Maryland James Ellis III, 20, a junior, Pre-Law/African-American Studies major attending the University of Maryland, plans to attend law school to become a lawyer specializing in cyber law and politics.  The young, multi-talented NABJ member has worked as a webmaster for three years, and been published in The Washington Post, The MD Independent, The Metro Connection, and various campus and community newspapers.

Ana Lia Gomez University of Texas at El Paso A recent graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso, Ana Lia Gomez is currently working at the Technology Planning and Distance Learning department at UTEP as Technical Staff Assistant.  She is involved in the design and development of seven online courses, and two master degree programs. Gomez is the project coordinator for the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce multimedia project that includes the design and development of a database of Mexican environmental laws that can be accessed on-line. She is also developing the new Border Multimedia Repository (The Borderland Encyclopedia 2000), which will include a multimedia CD-ROM in addition to a web site. Gomez is not only bilingual (English and Spanish), but also bicultural.

Melissa Ann Henry Fort Lewis College Melissa Ann Henry, a communications major at Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colo., was born and raised in New Mexico; she is a member of the Navajo Nation. Henry is familiar with print, video and new media genres. Future plans for Henry include traveling, attending graduate school, and finally to become a Media Studies professor. Her emphasis will focus on ethnicity and gender in film.

Michelle Massie Rutgers University in New Jersey Michelle K. Massie is a senior at Rutgers University in New Jersey, double majoring in journalism and mass media and political science. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., where she is an editorial intern at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this summer. She has several years of experience in print journalism, and recently wrote and produced a segment on the history of the Pullman Porters for a New Jerseytimes public radio series at Rutgers. She began writing in high school for The New Pittsburgh Courier.

Raymond Vincent Moniz Brown Institute Raymond Vincent Moniz (Mandan/Oglala) will be a sophomore at Brown Institute this coming fall. He has been working as a technical/web intern at MIGIZI Communications web site creation program the National Native Information Center. He has also worked as a desktop publisher for New Voices newspaper for three years. "Vince" says he really enjoys working with all the talented people of the New Media program and hopes that he will be able to keep in touch with everyone.

Marcela Morales The University of Texas at El Paso Marcela Morales will graduate from The University of Texas at El Paso, in December with a Master of Arts degree in Communication. She is a bilingual (English/Spanish) person who is looking for an environment in which she can use her computer and web design skills. Currently she is involved in the design and development of the first Masters online program on Educational Technology for delivery via the World Wide Web. Her e-mail address is: moralesa@utep.edu

Faith Price University of Montana Faith Price is a first-year graduate student at the University of Montana's school of journalism.  Her primary interest is in new media, and her goals include developing an online magazine for Native American youth.  Price has constructed web sites for various programs and departments on the U of M campus, including the school of journalism's 1999 Native News Honors Project.

Gabriela Yasileni Rios The University of Texas at El Paso Gabriela Yasileni Rios recently graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso as one of the top ten seniors with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Advertising and a minor in Film Studies. In 1997, she attended the National Collegiate Honors Council Semester in New York City where she interned with CBS Network News. Rios was an online producer last year at the online student project "The Latino Reporter Digital," at NAHJ's annual convention in Miami. She has a strong interest in computers and new media, and her aspiration is to one day become a film director to produce films with Hispanic themes.

Kathryn Tong Swarthmore College As a Dow Jones Business Reporting Intern at Newsday, Kathryn Tong covers Wall Street and local business news. Tong, 19, has also written for The Journal of Commerce and McMahon Medical Publishing Group.  She is an honors Political Science major, Economics minor at Swarthmore College.  Tong will be spending her junior year in Beijing, China, studying Mandarin Chinese.

Lora Victorio Pepperdine University Lora Victorio, a junior at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Cal., is studying journalism and political science. She has helped design web sites for UltimateTV, an Internet site devoted to television, and for Pepperdine University. Currently, she works at ABC Network as a desk assistant for News One Los Angeles. In the fall, she will be the assistant news editor for Pepperdine's newspaper, the Graphic. E-mail her at lvictorio@mail.com.

Stefanie Wong University of California, Los Angeles Stefanie Yuen Wong is currently working as an intern for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California. She is a senior at UCLA majoring in political science and Asian American studies. Wong will return to reporting for UCLA's student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, after serving as managing editor. Next year, she will also be managing editor of UCLA's Asian Pacific Islander newsmagazine, Pacific Ties.

PROFESSIONAL

To contact everyone on the professional list, email the list @ u99nm-prostaff@devigal.com. This listserv is temporary and will be deleted after Unity in Seattle. If you wish to be deleted from this list or want to be added to this list of staff professionals for the new media project, please contact Andrew DeVigal.

Jason Terrell (tenkiller@aol.com) Designer, GoMemphis.com Jason R. Terrell is a newspage and webpage designer for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn. He was on the original team that developed and designed the paper's website at GoMemphis.com, and he still works to maintain it today. A member of the Native American Journalists Association and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, he has been a print design and project coordinator for NAJA's student newspaper project since its inception in 1995.

Brian Chin (bchin@seattle-pi.com) Senior Online Producer, SeattleP-I.com Brian Chin is senior producer in the New Media Department at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His eclectic career in journalism includes copy editing, covering high technology as a reporter and columnist, editing and typesetting books, designing infographics, and setting up a distributed workgroup communications system for American City Business Journals. His career in new media began in 1995 when he worked with the Small Business Administration in setting up their sites on the original incarnation of the Microsoft Network. A graduate of the University of Washington, he was a 1997 NAA Minority New Media Fellow and continues as an adviser to the program.

Andrew DeVigal (andrew@devigal.com) Visiting Professional, The Poynter Institute Principal, DeVigal Design Andrew DeVigal is a Visiting Professional with the Poynter Institute for 1999, teaching and directing seminars in the area of New Media and Visual Journalism. He is also involved with the Stanford-Poynter Project, a research studying how users read online news using a sophisticated eye tracking system. Formerly he was an interface designer for Knight-Ridder New Media in San Jose, designing many of the early verticals offered by Real Cities and was a producer for chicagotribune.com, shaping the look and format of the original Internet version. In his other life, DeVigal was an informational graphic artist for the Chicago Tribune and the Contra Costa Times. DeVigal has also redesigned several online publications including Albany's (NY) The Times Union web site, timesunion.com, through his firm, DeVigal Design. His work can also be appreciated from the design of Handelsblatt Interaktiv, Germany's financial daily.

Michelle Johnson (michelle@mijohn.com) Consultant, MJ Internet Consulting Michelle Johnson is a former editor for the Boston Globe. She currently freelances for the Globe's new technology section "Click," as well as several online publications. Following a 13-year career at the Globe that included serving as editor of the computer page and editorial manager of Boston Globe Online, Johnson founded an Internet consulting business that advises media, small minority-owned businesses, and non-profit organizations. Johnson began her career in newspapers in 1982 as a copy editor at the Binghamton Evening News in Binghamton, NY. She came to Boston and the Globe in 1983, with her first personal computer in tow (a Commodore Vic 20 with 300 baud modem). She was assigned to a variety of editing positions over the years, including assistant night editor and assistant business editor. In 1995, a year after she returned from a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University, Johnson was detached from the newsroom to join the team that launched the Globe's regional web site, boston.com , as Editorial Manager of Boston Globe Online. Johnson has lost count of how many convention print and online student projects she's volunteered for. Probably "eight or nine," she says, including NABJ, ASNE, ANPA, NLGJA, and Unity 94. She is also co-chair of Boston's 12-year-old High School Journalism Workshop, sponsored by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, which encourages young people of color to consider newspaper careers. Johnson holds degrees in journalism from the University of Maryland ('78), and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism ('82).

Tara Arden-Smith (tas@nytimes.com) New York Times on the Web

Danielle Bachelder (danielle.bachelder@msnbc.com) associate producer, MSNBC

Darrell Bowling (darrell.bowling@msnbc.com) MSNBC

Sheryl Cababa (sherylc@microsoft.com) Designer, MSN Sheryl Cababa is a Web designer for the Microsoft Network. She began her online career as an intern at the Seattle Times, where she designed their first intranet site. She then became the art director for the Microsoft Network's "One Click Away," one of MSN's most popular sites. When MSN changed directions, she went on to design e-commerce sites for Getty Images, namely photodisc.com and tonystone.com. She now art directs promotional packages for MSN and is working on site design for MSN.com. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two-year-old daughter.

Barry Cooper (bcooper@blackvoices.com) Founder, Black Voices

Noreen Figueroa (noreen.figueroa@msnbc.com) Multimedia Producer, MSNBC

John Hashimoto (John.Hashimoto@turner.com) Senior Editor, cnn.com An 18-year veteran of the news media, John Hashimoto is a senior editor at CNN Interactive, supervising production of the companion Web sites for three landmark CNN documentaries: Cold War (1998-1999), Celebrate the Century (Spring 1999) and Millennium (Fall 1999). Nearly a year in the making, the Cold War Web site garnered three awards in 1999, including the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi for Best Online Site, an Interactive Achievement Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and, in conjunction with the television series, a prestigious George Foster Peabody Award. Before beginning work on the COLD WAR companion site in April 1998, Hashimoto was senior editor of CNN Interactive's Special Projects unit. Prior to joining CNN Interactive in 1995, Hashimoto worked Time Inc. New Media, CBS News and WGBH-TV in Boston. A native of San Diego, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Tim Ito (tim.ito@washingtonpost.com) Editor, washingtonpost.com I split time between the international section as a producer and as home page editor washingtonpost.com. As a producer, I put together special reports for the world section, help manage online discussions with guest experts, and assist in editing material to be sent to the live site. As home page editor, I select and edit items on the home page. I have been working at washingtonpost.com for about a year and a half. Previously, I was a reporter for about four and a half years at U.S. News & World Report magazine. I also spent two years teaching English at a high school in Japan.

Kim Johnson (kjohnson@globe.com) Researcher, Boston Globe Kimberly Johnson is a researcher for the Boston Globe, focusing on the history of the millennium, business, and technology. She previously held a position as a Content Developer Boston.com, the Boston Globe's Web site, and continues to develop Web sites on a freelance basis. Most recently Johnson was selected to be a CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Media Fellow at the University of Michigan. From writing news for Boston's NPR station (WBUR-FM) to programming content for Ziff-Davis' PC Week Online, Johnson has worked for a variety of journalism outlets. She has also held positions at Inc. magazine, CNNfn, and CFO magazine. A graduate of Boston University's College of Communication, Johnson holds a Masters of Science in Business and Economics Journalism and a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism. She has also spent time studying politics and the media in London where she worked for CNN International's Financial News department.

Miguel Llanos (miguel.llanos@msnbc.com) Writer/Editor, MSNBC Package top breaking news stories as well as write/edit/produce environment and "learning online" features. Prior to joining MSNBC.com when it launched in July 96, I was special projects editor at The Seattle Times and helped evangelize the Net there.

Rob McDonald (robm@spokesman.com) Reporter, Spokane Washington's The Spokesman-Review Rob McDonald is the cultures reporter at The Spokesman-Review. Before that he worked at The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Indiana as a feature writer and columnist. For 18 months, he took over the NAJA web site before handing it over to fellow NAJA member, Ben Winton.

Bert Medley (bert.medley@msnbc.com) Producer, MSNBC I'm coordinating producer for MSNBC on the Internet ... I manage MSNBC.COM's East Coast newsdesk in Secaucus, which is where MSNBC Cable and the NBC News SuperDesk (central newsdesk) is located. I'm a 31 year veteran of NBC News, having produced for TODAY, Nightly, Specials and a number of NBC prime time broadcasts.

Kim Moy (kimmoy@yahoo.com) Channel One

Bobbi Nodell (bobbi.nodell@msnbc.com) Writer, MSNBC I've been a writer at MSNBC from its genesis, watching it morph from MSN News to a joint venture with NBC News. I'm a general assignment reporter focusing on breaking news and doing original reporting. I came to MSNBC from the Oakland Tribune, where I covered technology in the days when reporters had to explain the Internet in every story, but I completely bought into the vision of the new medium.

Lori Smith (Lori.Smith@msnbc.com) News Producer, MSNBC I joined MSNBC.com at launch as a copy editor, about 2 days after I returned to the States from Israel. 3 years later, I now work as a daily news producer, coordinating what our "front page" looks like as well as what stories go up on the site and how they're packaged.

Craig Staats (Craig.Staats@msnbc.com) Producer/Writer, MSNBC Craig Staats is a producer/writer at MSNBC on the Internet. He made the move to new media in 1996, as part of the team that started CNN-TIME's AllPolitics Web site. Before that, Staats was a reporter for the Oakland, Calif. Tribune, where he wrote about campaign money-laundering, the city's economic problems and fatal fires in poor neighborhoods.

Rajee Suri (Rajee.Suri@turner.com) Senior Editor Special Projects, CNN Interactive

Cathy Taylor (ctaylor@corp.blackvoices.com) Black Voices Cathy Taylor is a 16-year veteran broadcast journalist who developed a passion for new media 5 years ago in Orlando, Fla., with the launch of her very own Web page, Taylor-made News. It was a freelance opportunity that ultimately converted into a career change. Now Taylor works at the Chicago headquarters of BlackVoices.com, the leading destination online for African-Americans. Taylor has worked with NABJ's student online project for the past three years.

Wayne Taylor (wayne.taylor@msnbc.com) Producer, MSNBC Before working at MSNBC.com, I was an associate designer at ABCNEWS.com for a year. At MSNBC, I coordinate the development of interactive elements on the site, working with editorial contacts and designers on both coasts to produce them. I also research and develop long-term editorial/interactive projects.

Ben Winton (benwinton@home.com) Editor, Native Peoples magazine

Aileen Yoo (yooa@washpost.com) Producer, washingtonpost.com Reporter for Asbury Park Press (N.J.), after which I joined their 4-person online team with very little knowledge of the computers or, for that matter, the web. Joined Discovery Channel Online as an HTML Developer and learned the intricacies of building web pages for different platforms and browsers. Became a news producer for Washingtonpost.com in 1997.

Elaine Pan Zinngrabe (elaine.zinngrabe@latimes.com) Business Editor, latimes.com Elaine Zinngrabe is the Business Editor for latimes.com. She is manages all the online content for the Business section and special projects. Before joining the Times, Elaine was the New Media Manager for USC News Service. She has also worked as a copy editor for the Seattle Times and the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York. Elaine is also the president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and has a B.A. in Journalism with a business minor from the University of Southern California.