SPJ to elect new board

Make sure to cast your ballots for new board members

Time to cast your vote

Eight candidates vie for five SD-SPJ board seats

By Scott Lewis, San Diego Pro Chapter

Co-executive editor, voiceofsandiego.org

There are five open spots for the San Diego SPJ board this year and eight candidates vying to fill them. Ballots should be in the mail by June 10 and they'll need to be returned by June 25.

Running for re-election are: freelancer Catherine Hockmuth, attorney Jodi Cleesattle, San Diego Union Staff Writer Lori Weisberg and editor Leo Laurence.

But there are a few new faces looking to get on board: Joe Guerin, the editor of the San Diego Daily Transcript; Hank Crook, a producer at KPBS; Will Carless, a writer at voiceofsandiego.org, and Megan Russell, who works at the North County Times’ online desk.

Below are their bios, in their own words. Give them a look and be sure to cast your vote.

Will Carless was born in New York. He moved to England when he was 10 years old and attended high school and later read law at Exeter University. In 2003, he flew to San Diego (because British Airways had a special deal going) with a backpack and a surfboard bag. After various freelancing writing jobs around town, Carless landed a job as arts and culture editor at the La Jolla Light. In June 2005, he was hired by voiceofsandiego.org, and after a brief stint as a features writer, he settled into writing about real estate. His real estate stories were quoted on The New York Times’ housing blog (which named him as the “go-to real estate journalist in San Diego”) and his three-part feature on the lives of economic migrants in a North County migrant camp won the Best in Show Award from the San Diego Press Club in 2006. Starting August 2006, Carless took eight months off to travel to India, Nepal, Europe and Mexico, and started back at voiceofsandiego.org in March 2007.

Jodi Cleesattle is an attorney and former journalist, and a current member of the board of the San Diego Pro chapter of SPJ.  Throughout her legal career, Jodi has handled media law and First Amendment cases, including prepublication review, defense of defamation claims, newsgathering cases, and open government cases.  She serves as Southern California Project Sunshine Chair for national SPJ, and she provides advice to the public on open government and First Amendment issues through Californians Aware and other media law organizations.  Her journalism background includes daily news reporting (covering politics and legal issues for The Lancaster (Ohio) Eagle-Gazette) and magazine editing (serving as founding editor of The National Jurist magazine).  Jodi also will take over as newsletter editor for Lawyers Club of San Diego in July.  As a San Diego SPJ board member, Jodi is currently coordinating a summer mixer for local journalism groups and is working on the development of a downtown bench/bar program to bring journalists, lawyers and judges together for educational sessions on covering legal issues and understanding the judicial system.

Hank Crook.  I'm a producer for "These Days" and the "Editors Roundtable" on KPBS Radio.  I produce content on a wide variety of subjects, including: local and national politics, the environment, real estate, health care, education and sports.  Before my current stint at KPBS, I worked as an assignment editor at Fox 6 News.  I earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from SDSU in 2003. I'm very interested in becoming a board member for the San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.  Joining the SD-SPJ board will be a great opportunity to advance my professional skills, and to meet other local journalists.  I look forward to the opportunity to help the SD-SPJ continue its efforts to advocate for more open government, and to protect the freedom of the press.  Thank you for considering me for this great opportunity.

Joe Guerin joined the Transcript in 2000 as managing editor. He was named editor in the summer of 2006. Guerin was the editor of the weekly Chula Vista Star-News from 1996 to 2000. Prior to that, he served as editor of Neighbors, a weekly supplement to the Union-Tribune. Guerin started his journalism career at the San Diego Log newspapers in the 1980s. A graduate of San Diego State University, Guerin has lived in San Diego for 30 years. He presently lives with his wife and three children in the San Diego community of Tierrasanta.

Catherine Hockmuth is a freelance writer specializing in military research and development. Catherine is a contributing editor at Defense Technology International magazine, which is published by McGraw-Hill and Aviation Week and Space Technology, and blogs daily for the magazine at http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp . She also contributes to Air Force magazine and San Diego Metropolitan magazine, and was previously a regular contributor to voiceofsandiego.org. Prior to becoming a freelance writer two years ago, Catherine was a staff writer for the San Diego Daily Transcript and managing editor of Inside the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. She is currently vice president of the San Diego chapter of SPJ, and has served two years on the board. During that time, she has served as the annual journalism contest coordinator.

Leo E. Laurence, San Diego News Service. Leo is running for re-election. He serves as our diversity chair and is an active on diversity. In that national role, he recently worked with Hiram Soto, V.P. of the San Diego chapter of the California Chicano News Media Association (CCNMA) which co-sponsored a successful Freedom of Information Act workshop for Spanish-speaking media. They are planning a similar program in Tijuana for the Mexican media. He also wrote over a dozen stories about San Diego for the national committee’s Diversity Blog. Consistent with his diversity activities, Leo also serves as secretary of the San Diego chapter of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association and is a member of the CCNMA. He’s a regular at board meetings and attends all of our functions. He recently single-handedly produced a Tribute to the Military, a huge, home-cooked meal for the military at Riley’s Sports Bar in Pt. Loma, funded largely by Sempra Energy. Last December, he worked closely with the CCNMA in producing the annual Holiday Party for the five journalism organizations in San Diego.  He can be reached at (619) 757-4909 or leopowerhere@msn.com.

Megan Russell works for the North County Times at the online desk of the newsroom. She is a 2004 Magna Cum Laude journalism graduate of San Diego State University, where she served as co-president of SDSU's chapter of SPJ during her last year.  During her last semester at SDSU, she interned at KGTV Channel 10 with Marti Emerald where she helped producer Kristen Castillo develop story ideas and investigate consumer complaints from viewers.  In May of 2006, Russell joined the online desk of the North County Times.  With NCT's online team, she has helped build the Web site's online community through the ever-increasing comment section, as well as shooting and editing online videos.  She also writes the entertainment blog for nctimes.com.

Lori Weisberg is a  staff writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, specializing in coverage of land use and development, affordable housing and demographics. She has won several national and local awards for her reporting during her time at the newspaper. She is a past president of the San Diego chapter and as a board member has helped organize several SPJ programs, including panels on using the Internet for reporting, integrating multimedia into daily journalism, and an upcoming hands-on training session on how to produce an audio slideshow. During her tenure as president, the chapter was named best large SPJ chapter in the country. Lori looks forward to creating more inspiring, educational programs useful to members as they pursue their careers in journalism. Before coming to the Union-Tribune, Lori worked for the Orange County Register and The Vista Press.