Executive Director
Alison Bethel McKenzie
317-920-4780
Email
@bethelmckenzie

Alison is a veteran journalist with over 30 years of experience as an award-winning reporter, bureau chief, senior editor and media trainer. She also has a decade of experience as a non-profit leader. Read More She has worked in senior-level positions at The Boston Globe, the Detroit News, Legal Times and the Nassau Guardian in The Bahamas as managing director. She has also worked at The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, Poughkeepsie Journal and the now-defunct State Times in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alison spent a year in Accra, Ghana (2008-2009), for the Washington, D.C.-based International Center for Journalists, as a Knight International Journalism Fellow, helping Ghanaian journalists improve their reporting skills in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election; and a year in Bangalore, India (2016-2017) as a visiting professor of print and investigative journalism. From 2009-2015, she served as the executive director of the International Press Institute in Vienna, Austria. Alison is a co-founder and former vice president of the board of directors for Media Institute of the Caribbean. She is a former board member of AlJazeera America (NY) and a member and former board member of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Her hometown is Miami, Florida.

Deputy Executive Director
Tara Puckey
317-618-0581
Email
@tpuckey

Tara Puckey is the Deputy Executive Director of SPJ, helping to bring together each component of the Society’s operations into one cohesive brand. Read More She previously worked as Chapter Coordinator and Membership Strategist, both roles she continues to be heavily involved in today. Tara holds a journalism degree from IUPUI in addition to an MBA, and was an active SPJ volunteer prior to joining staff in 2012.

Membership Manager and Chapter Liaison
Chrystal Parvin
317-927-8000,
ext. 213
Email

Chrystal Parvin joined SPJ in January 2015, originally as a Retention Coordinator before taking on the role as Membership Coordinator and now Membership Manager and Chapter Liaison. Read More Chrystal oversees the day-to-day duties of SPJ’s membership department as well as strategic planning for the future of membership. She is also the contact person for the 200+ SPJ chapters and helps with everything from re-building and delegates, to annual reports. Chrystal is an Indianapolis native and attended IUPUI. In her downtime she likes to read, watch baseball and hockey, and hang out with her two kids, fiancé, and dog.

Creative Director
Tony Peterson
317-927-8000,
ext. 214
Email

As Creative Director for SPJ, Tony Peterson is responsible for the design of Quill magazine, convention collateral, brand identity, marketing material — and pretty much everything in between. Read More Prior to that, he worked for both an ad agency and local newspaper, where he specialized in website design, publications and special projects. Feel free to contact him if you’re in need of a logo, copies of the Code of Ethics or just want to talk about football. When he’s not designing for SPJ, Tony can be found perusing local record store bins, catching a band or at home on the couch with his wife and three cats.

Program Manager
Abbi Booth
317-920-4791
Email

Abbi Booth is the Program Manager for SPJ. Abbi oversees planning for SPJ’s annual conference, Excellence in Journalism, in addition to conference planning for SPJ’s partner associations. Read More She is a graduate of Ball State University and lives in Shelbyville, Indiana with her husband, cat, an extremely hyperactive Weimaraner and a white German Shepherd. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, camping, hiking and cheering on the Chicago Bears. Contact Abbi if you have any questions about SPJ’s events.

Education Manager
Michael Sanserino
317-920-4786
Email

Michael Sanserino joined SPJ in November 2017 as Education Manager and editor of Quill Magazine after eight years as a reporter and editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Read More He graduated from Indiana University and wonders when he can start to enjoy being an IU fan again. He spends his spare time with his wife, their two children and a golden retriever who really runs the house. Contact him on anything related to Quill or any journalism education/training topics.

Director of Communications and Marketing
Jennifer Royer
317-361-4134
Email
@jenroyer1

Jennifer Royer joined SPJ HQ in August 2014 as the Society’s first communications strategist. She develops and implements overall strategy for SPJ’s communication and marketing efforts regarding proactively promoting journalism advocacy and SPJ’s role in the profession and democracy. Read More She also works closely with the communications coordinator in managing HQ’s day-to-day communications. Jennifer graduated from Indiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. After working as a newspaper reporter and editor for six years, she made the transition to public relations, working for her alma mater and, later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Web Administrator
Billy O'Keefe
Email
@billyok
billyok

Billy O'Keefe builds, designs and manages all of SPJ's homes on the web, including SPJ.org, Quill, the Journalist's Toolbox, the Excellence in Journalism website and more. On the side, he has authored and illustrated two books and moonlights as a freelance illustrator and writer as well as a web developer and consultant. Read More A graduate of Columbia College Chicago's journalism school, Billy previously worked as a reporter, copy editor and print page designer for the Tribune Company, and he reviewed thousands of games and movies for McClatchy-Tribune's newswire between 2001 and 2013.

Program Coordinator
Christine Cordial
317-920-4788
Email

Christine Cordial joined the SPJ team in 2017. She oversees all things awards, manages the board elections process and assists with event planning for SPJ’s partner organizations. Read More She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University and bachelor’s degree from Christopher Newport University. In her spare time, she spends too much money going to concerts and spoiling her dog, Cleo. Feel free to drop Christine a line if you have questions about awards, elections or other SPJ programming.

Accountant
Sarah Beck
317-927-8000,
ext. 212
Email

Sarah Beck has been keeping the books at SPJ since coming to HQ at the end of 2012. She has a bachelor’s in accounting from Northwood University in Michigan. Read More When she’s not crunching numbers, Sarah watches a lot of Big Ten sports — she has lived in Indiana for 19 years but stays true to her Illinois roots by enthusiastically rooting for the Illini. Talk to Sarah if you have questions about the financial goings-on of SPJ.

Communications Coordinator
Anna Gutierrez
317-927-8000,
ext. 205
Email

As SPJ’s communications coordinator, Anna Gutierrez works on a variety of communications for SPJ: Creating the weekly e-newsletter for members, creating a monthly e-newsletter for supporters, writing press releases and managing and generating content for SPJ’s social media channels. Read More A Texas-native, she graduated in 2017 from the University of Texas at Arlington where she was editor in chief for the student-run, award-winning multi-platform news agency, The Shorthorn. Anna regularly contributes to Quill and has contributed to and edited for Indulge Magazine in Fort Worth, Texas and the Bulletin, the monthly magazine for American Mensa. She believes in the First Amendment and loves planners, pineapples and all things Texas.

Office Manager
Linda Hall
317-927-8000,
ext. 203
Email

Linda Hall is in her 13th year at SPJ. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Columbus State Community College. She was hired as the Accounting Manager and one year later moved over to membership. Read More You can contact Linda for help on most anything member-related. Linda is a native of Ohio and relocated to Indianapolis from Charlottesville, Virginia to be near her daughter, Jami, and grandsons, Will and Max. Linda loves all things baseball ... especially the Dodgers!

Communications Coordinator
Marina Cinami
317-361-4133
Email

Marina Cinami joined SPJ in September 2017 to support ACES: The Society for Editing and provide communication services to SPJ client organizations. Read More She earned her degree in journalism and political science from the University of Connecticut, and is a Connecticut native. She has previously worked in higher education, gaining experience in professional communications. She also volunteered for four years at P.A.W.S. (Pound Animals are Worth Saving) and is a crazy cat lady with two rescues of her own.