I started my media career in high school with both the yearbook and newspaper (with a darkroom), which continued to college. I worked at the student-run radio station, the newspaper, and ECC (full name above) for video. My senior project was desktop video and boy has that exploded. I founded a media production company and operated it for 27 years. Life happens and I obtained my teaching credentials. I taught high school Family and Consumer Science, photography, Yearbook and debate for eight years. Now, I’m working on returning to corporate and/or higher ed media in a leadership role.

How many years have you been a judge?

10+ years

What excited you about judging for the Telly Awards?

I like to see the creativity and especially the documentary entries because I enjoy learning about new areas and topics.

What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?

Production assistant at the Kansas Regents Educational Communications Center. I learned how to operate live broadcast studio equipment, how to plan a shoot. Things have changed significantly since then.

What project are you most proud to have worked on?

I developed an eight-part educational video series about our state. Almost every school in the state purchased at least one volume as did many public libraries and care homes. This series earned several Telly Awards. I also am proud of the four high school yearbooks that my media students produced, which earned state and national honors.

What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?

In education, burnout is real. I also think priorities are skewed. Academics should be more important than football. As far as the media industry, the challenging part is how quickly it changes, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

What do you look for to determine excellence in video?

Storytelling and does the entry keep me engaged.

What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?

See above and I enjoyed introducing high school students to media and having them discover their talents and become successful.

Do you have any specific practices you lean on to spark creativity?

The dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus.

What inspired you to pursue your career path?

I wanted to do something totally different than anything available in my small hometown.

In your experience, what is a significant change you are seeing happen in the video, television, and/or film industry, and what insight can you share about how to navigate it?

I think AI is most significant right now. There’s very little regulation. I do like the increased productivity. I don’t like how it uses intellectual property without compensating the creators.