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 Alison spent a year in Ghana (2008-2009), for the International Center for Journalists as a Knight International Journalism Fellow; and a year in 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 Al Jazeera America (NY) and a member and former board member of the National Press Club. Her hometown is Miami, Florida.

Director of Development
Larry Messing
317-920-4784
Email

Larry joined the staff in May 2018 to oversee the fundraising efforts of SPJ and the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. He earned his degree in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of Memphis and has worked in fundraising for 15 years. Read More Larry enjoys visiting record shops, checking out music at local venues and hanging out with his wife whenever she lets him.

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

Tony is responsible for the design of Quill magazine, convention collateral, brand identity, marketing material — and pretty much everything in between. Read More Prior to SPJ, he worked for both an ad agency and local newspaper, where he specialized in website design, publications and special projects. 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.

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

Jennifer 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 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.

Journalist on Call
Rod Hicks
317-954-0025
Email

Rod has experience at numerous news organizations across the country. Most recently, he served as an editor for The Associated Press at its Philadelphia-based East Regional Desk. In this role, he worked on several major national stories including the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut, the Boston Marathon bombing and the sexual assault trials of Bill Cosby. Read More Hicks previously held editing positions at newspapers in New Jersey, Alabama, Michigan and Missouri. He managed the St. Louis Post-Dispatch news operation at night. He was working the night a gunman entered a suburban city council meeting and killed the mayor, two council members, a police officer and two other people. The coverage was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News. Before that he was a suburban editor for The Detroit News.

Director of Conferences and Events
Basharat Saleem
317-920-4782
Email

Basharat has more than 18 years of experience as a convention and event planner, most recently with the Islamic Society of North America. He has managed and coordinated a variety of events including large conventions with more than 20,000 attendees, trade shows with 500+ booths, fundraising events, galas, conferences, education forums and other programs and events. Read More He received his MBA from the University of Indianapolis and completed a graduate fellowship in non-profit management from IUPUI.

Program Coordinator
Matthew Kent
317-920-4788
Email
@mskent5

Matthew joined SPJ in January 2019 as Awards/Programs Coordinator overseeing SPJ’s annual awards programs and SPJ elections. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in English, and is a native of Chicago. Read More Before coming to SPJ, Matthew worked as a reporter at The (Columbus) Republic in Indiana, The Chillicothe Gazette in Chillicothe, Ohio, and several newspapers in Missouri. In his free time, he enjoys live music and attending different festivals and events in the Indianapolis area.

Manager of Membership and Chapters
Caroline Escobar
317-361-4132
Email

Caroline is an Arizona native who calls Indy home. She studied art and journalism in college in Southern Illinois, and found her first experience working with membership-based associations at Raybourn Group International. Read More Her experience there as a membership coordinator ultimately led her to fall in love with the association model and all things membership. In her spare time, you can usually find her at The Hot Room, where she teaches Original Hot Yoga. When she isn’t teaching or practicing, she’s spending time with her daughter and partner.

Quill Editor
Lou Harry
317-920-4786
Email
@LouHarry

Lou Harry’s journalism career includes editing stints at Philadelphia magazine, Indianapolis Monthly and the Indianapolis Business Journal along with freelance work for more than 50 publications and websites. Read More The winner of multiple SPJ awards, Harry has taught writing classes at Temple University, the University of Indianapolis and the Midwest Writers Workshop. He has served as emcee for many fundraisers, has organized conferences and once took a pie in the face from Soupy Sales. During downtime, he enjoys writing plays and trying new board games with friends, family and strangers.

Accounting Assistant
Toni Sculky
Email

Toni joined SPJ in November of 2018, as Accounting Assistant. She has a master's degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Touro University and a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida. In her spare time, she enjoys being with her family and traveling.

Communications Coordinator
Isaac Taylor
317-920-4785
Email

Isaac joined SPJ as Communications Coordinator in May 2018. He manages SPJ’s social media and is responsible for SPJ’s weekly newsletter, Leads, and the monthly support newsletter, The Advocate. Read More He graduated from Georgia Southern University and worked for a magazine, a book publishing company and several news publications before joining SPJ. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, writing and playing baseball.

Project Coordinator & Digital Marketing Specialist
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. Since September 2018, she has taken on the additional roles of marketing the SPJ/Facebook Journalism Project partnership and assisting in the planning of the annual Excellence in Journalism conference. Read More She earned her degree in journalism and political science from the University of Connecticut and is a Connecticut native. She 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.

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

Linda 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 a year later moved over to membership. Read More She 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!