Contacts:
Lynn Walsh, SPJ National President, 614-579-7937, lynn.k.walsh@gmail.com
Jennifer Royer, SPJ Communications Strategist, 317-361-4134, jroyer@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – Joe Skeel, executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, will be leaving his position, effective Dec. 1, to assume the executive director role at the Indiana State Bar Association.

Skeel has been the top staff person for SPJ and the supporting Sigma Delta Chi Foundation since 2009. He edited the association’s magazine, Quill, for four years before being promoted to executive director.

“I will be forever thankful for the opportunity to work for SPJ and the SDX Foundation,” said Skeel, who intends to remain an SPJ member. “The accomplishments we have had, and the friendships made, will stay with me forever. It’s not easy to leave, but the decision was made easier by knowing how far we have come, and what we are on the verge of becoming.”

SPJ President Lynn Walsh said Skeel’s leadership and support will be missed.

“Joe moved SPJ to financial stability, delivered on leadership’s vision and built the bridges that help us get to where we want to be,” she said. “We wish him great success in his new role.”

SPJ will launch a national search for Skeel’s successor. Details will be finalized in early September after the SPJ and SDX Foundation boards meet during the Excellence in Journalism 2017 conference in Anaheim, Calif.

SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member, give to the Legal Defense Fund, or give to the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

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