Gisselle Acevedo-Franco
Gisselle Acevedo-Franco is the public affairs vice president of the Los Angeles Times. She also serves as president of the Los Angeles Times Foundation. She is responsible for The Times public affairs activities, including civic engagement, Reading by 9, student journalism programs, and the Los Angeles Times corporate philanthropy. Formerly, Acevedo-Franco was the executive director of corporate communications and public affairs for AT&T Broadband - Southern California and responsible for the development of the company's communications and public relations strategies. Before that, Acevedo-Franco was the director of the Government Relations and Public Affairs Department of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). She has held several positions in the field of communications, including director of corporate communications and public relations for MedPartners.
She was a staff attorney and legislative analyst for Protection and Advocacy, a national law and civil rights firm mandated to oversee the rights of people with developmental disabilities. Acevedo-Franco has been honored with many prestigious awards including the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission's Volunteer of the Year Award, Hispanic Women's Council's Community Service Award, President Clinton's appointment to the President's Commission on Mental Retardation and the National March of Dimes' Humanitarian of the Year.
Ramona Clay Alexander
Ramona Clay Alexander, vice president and general sales manager of WHBQ Fox 13, Memphis, Tenn., has been a broadcaster for 14 years. She began her career at WJTV-12, a CBS affiliate in Jackson, Miss., in 1990 as a junior account executive and rose through the ranks as an account executive, regional account executive, political specialist, local sales manager and interim general sales manager.
Alexander joined WGHP, a Fox affiliate in N.C., as the regional account manager and was promoted to national sales manager after four months. From there, Alexander was promoted to her current position at WHBQ. Prior to a career in broadcasting, Alexander worked eighteen years in retail.
Dorothy M. Bland
Dorothy M. Bland is the president and publisher of the Fort Collins Coloradoan. She has more than 20 years of newspaper experience and is a three-time Gannett president's ring winner. Based on her performance in 2000, 1998 and 1995, she was named one of Gannett's top 10 daily newspaper publishers.
Prior to joining the Coloradoan, Bland was president and publisher of the Chillicothe Gazette in Ohio from August 1992 to June 1994. From 1990 to 1992, she served as assistant to the president of the Gannett Central Newspaper Group. During that assignment, she worked in every newspaper department and served as the customer service director for the Rockford Register Star in Illinois. From 1983-1990, she served in a variety of news roles at USA TODAY including reporter, states editor, newsmakers editor and managing editor for the library and information services. She joined Gannett in 1980 as a reporter at the Rockford Register Star in Illinois. Prior to joining Gannett she worked for daily newspapers in Arkansas and Tennessee. She has won numerous writing awards. She serves as chair of the Colorado Press Association Board and has served as a mentor in Newspaper Association of America's Breakthrough Program.
Shirley Carswell
Shirley Carswell has been assistant managing editor/planning and administration at The Washington Post since 1994. She came to The Post as a metro desk copy editor in 1988 and worked in various positions in metro, including copy desk chief and operations editor before assuming her current job. Carswell is responsible for the newsroom operating budget, news information technology and research, facilities management and special events planning as well as other administrative support. Before joining The Post, she worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.
Michael Jung
Michael Jung is the director of national advertising for the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times. He began his newspaper career as a major account executive at the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He continued his career with Knight Ridder at the Akron Beacon Journal as the assistant advertising director. From there, Jung spent 10 years as the advertising director at FLORIDA TODAY, a Gannett newspaper, before rejoining Knight Ridder in 2001 as the director of retail advertising for the San Jose Mercury News. Jung recently co-chaired Knight Ridder's National Advertising Revenue Task Force Team.
Gordon Peppars
Gordon Peppars is the general sales manager of KTLA, Los Angeles. In this position, Peppars oversees every aspect of the station's sales and marketing efforts and helps develop and execute the strategic plan and budget for KTLA 's sales department as well as develop multimedia projects with the Los Angeles Times. He has been with KTLA since 1994. He was promoted to national sales manager in 1998 and to local sales manager in 1999. Previously he served as national sales manager in Chicago at WLS-TV and in Houston at KHOU-TV. In 2003 Peppars was part of the KTLA-Los Angeles Times team to receive the annual Tribune Values Award for their work in creating and building multimedia initiatives to increase revenue and promotion.
Wendy Thompson
Wendy Thompson currently serves as general manager of both Telemundo Channel 64, WZDC, the Washington, D.C. affiliate of the Telemundo Spanish-language television network, and VIVA 900 AM, a Latin radio station in the Washington, D.C. market. Additionally, as vice president of operations, she oversees the day-to-day operations of six other Telemundo affiliate stations and two radio stations that are part of the ZGS Broadcasting family. Thompson began her career with Telemundo and in October 1997 and was promoted to general manager within one year. She works closely with the local Hispanic community to ensure that the stations meet their needs. Thompson has appeared in numerous local newspapers and trade publications, most notably profiled in the Washington Business Journal, and has made several appearances on local television and radio stations.
Thompson was honored by the Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County with its 1999 Ponder con Ganas Award for Business Excellence. She sits on the board of the National Center for Community and Justice, and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
Cam B. Trinh
Cam B. Trinh joined KHWB, Houston, Texas, as assistant controller in June 1996. She was promoted to chief financial officer /human resources director in October 1997. In this capacity, she is involved in directing the business activities of the station and the human resources administration. Trinh is also involved in many aspects of the strategic and operational activities of the company.
Prior to joining the station, Trinh served as accounting manager for the Orlando Sentinel, where she was responsible for providing systems and controls to monitor the company's financial performance to ensure accurate, timely and consistent financial reporting to Tribune Company. She joined the Orlando Sentinel in June 1987 as cost accountant and moved up through the ranks. Prior to joining Tribune employee, Trinh was the cost accountant for United Technologies.