Bettina Boxall
Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times
Bettina Boxall joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times in 1987. She has covered environmental issues for the past 11 years. In 2009, Boxall and colleague, Julie Cart, won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a five-part series on wildfires in the West. Prior to working for The Times, she held reporting positions at newspapers in New Jersey and Vermont. Boxall earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maine, Orono and began her news career as a photographer.
Julie Cart
Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times
Julie Cart joined the Los Angeles Times in 1983 as a sportswriter and went on to serve as a national correspondent and Denver Bureau Chief. She broke into journalism as a reporter for United Press International in Phoenix, Arizona and later worked as a general assignment reporter for the Arizona Republic. In 2002, she became an environmental reporter in Los Angeles, covering public lands, natural resources and land-use policy. In 2009, Cart and colleague, Bettina Boxall, won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a series of stories on the increased cost and danger from wildfires in the West. Cart graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Journalism.
Bob Visotcky
Vice President of Sales for KLOS, Cumulus Media
With over 30 years in the radio industry, Bob Visotcky has a successful track record of radio station startups and turn-arounds primarily in major markets including San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, and Los Angeles. He left radio for a brief period to pursue a passion in entrepreneurship when he invented the Listinglight. Today, Visotcky is back to his first love, radio, and is the VP of Sales for two dynamic heritage radio stations, KLOS and KABC, in Los Angeles with Cumulus Media. He has trained many market managers all over the nation who are currently running major radio clusters. Visotcky got his B.A. in Journalism from University of West Virginia.
Trevor Takahashi
Manager of Production, Bravo Media
Trevor Takahashi currently serves as Manager of Production in the On-Air Promotion department at Bravo Media, a division of NBC Universal, where he manages the production and post-production of on-air marketing assets for the Real Housewives and Top Chef franchises, as well as 17 original series and 18 returning series this year. While attending UCLA, he secured an internship in the On-Air Promotion department at Bravo Media and was later offered the staff position of Production Coordinator just after receiving his B.A. degree. After a year of professional development in the coordinator role, during the rapid growth of the Bravo brand, he was promoted to the manager role. He is a graduate of the Mass Communication Studies department at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Gina Ferazzi
Staff Photographer, Los Angeles Times
Gina Ferazzi has been a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times since 1994. Her wildfire photos were part of the staff Pulitzer Prize win for Breaking News in 2004. Ferazzi’s work spans from completing a photo documentary about a couple living with addiction to black tar heroin, documenting the Winter Olympics in Japan, Salt Lake City and Italy to photographing national news events such as Hurricane Katrina. Ferazzi was named California Photographer of the Year in 1992 while working for the San Bernardino Sun. Ferazzi graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maine, Orono. She started her career as a photojournalist for the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Maine. Her passion for photography started in the eighth grade, when she built her first darkroom in a basement closet.
Ryan Ford
Vice President of Creative Strategy, Cashmere Agency
Ryan Ford is the Vice President of Creative Strategy at Cashmere Agency. He has been an essential point of contact for Cashmere Agency’s growing list of clients, including Capitol Record, E!, Warner Bros. Studios, Pepsi and more. Ford was always destined for a career in the music industry. At just twelve years of age, the young Hip-Hop supporter began to DJ at the local radio station in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. He earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Iowa and an M.A. in African American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Upon graduation, Ford moved to California and quickly gained an esteemed reputation as a freelance journalist.
David Ono
Anchor, ABC7 Eyewitness News 4 and 6 pm
David Ono has been the anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News for 17 years. Ono has witnessed history all over the world, covering disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, and the Japan tsunami. He traveled throughout Europe and Asia chronicling the brave acts of the Nisei soldier from World War II. Ono attended the Royal Wedding in London, tracked drug runners through Central America and reported from Paris on a terrorist plot to bring down the Eiffel Tower. He trained with the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's elite Special Enforcement Bureau, one of the world's toughest SWAT teams. He was invited to the White House by President Obama for a one on one interview. Just recently, Ono was in Boston where he chronicled the days immediately after the Marathon Bombing and was there when the suspects were tracked down. Ono has won three Edward R. Murrow awards, 13 Emmy awards and 35 nominations. He grew up in Texas and graduated from the University of North Texas.
Brianne Pins
Director of Public Relations, Cashmere Agency
As the Director of Public Relations at Cashmere Agency, Brianne Pins has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the entertainment, technology, consumer and corporate arenas. Her role at Cashmere has expanded to include strategic communication with the likes of Red Bull, Interscope, Universal Music Group, E! Network and numerous others. In addition to maintaining strong professional relationships with these companies, she personally oversees and executes PR campaigns for them. Pins earned a B.A. in Communication with a minor in Psychology from the University of Iowa.
Nick Lange
Creative Director, One Lens Media
Nick Lange is currently the Creative Director for One Lens Media. Since 2009, Lange and his team have produced live action and animated content for agencies and brands including Nike, POM Wonderful, Luna Bar, Jamba Juice and Liberty Mutual. Lange graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Film, Television and Digital Media before earning his M.F.A. from Columbia University.
Kelly Baas
Neighborhood Service Coordinator, City of Chino Hills
Kelly Baas graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a B.S. in Communication with an emphasis on Public Relations and a minor in Marketing. Baas has worked with A Fein Martini (music management in New York), The Fullerton Flyers Baseball Team, City of Chino Hills and Rogers Group PR Firm. Baas currently resides in Chino Hills and works for the City as the Neighborhood Services Coordinator.
Jennifer Castaneda
CEO and President of REFINE
Jennifer Castaneda is founder and president of REFINE, a public relations and production company specializing in fashion, beauty, and entertainment. Castaneda earned her B.S. in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations from Cal Poly Pomona. She also has her Master’s in Communication from the University of Southern California. She has worked for such companies as Full Picture, CBS, TriSight Communications and Bollare.
Cynthia Gurrola
Strategic Partner and CEO of Creative Touch Communications
Cynthia Gurrola is the Strategic Partner and CEO of Creative Touch Communications. She has been a contributing sports writer to a number of newspapers, The OC Register, The Daily Bulletin, The San Bernardino Sun and The Press Enterprise. She worked as an Account Executive for two and a half years for Harte-Hanks’ PennySaver while completing her B.S., gaining the “real-world” experience it takes to run and grow her own company. She earned a B.S. in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations, and a minor in International Business Marketing from Cal Poly Pomona. She also has an MBA with an emphasis in marketing and a Master’s in Strategic Public Relations.
Sid Robinson
Associate Vice President of Public Affairs, Cal State San Bernardino
Sid Robinson received his B.A. in Communication from Cal Poly Pomona and a Master’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Southern California. While studying at USC, Robinson was named “Graduate Student of the Year.” Currently, Robinson is an accredited member (APR) of the Public Relations Society of America, He was also a past president of PRSA’s California Inland Empire Chapter. Robinson was the Assistant Director of Broadcasting and Publications for the Los Angeles Dodgers as well as a managing editor of Dodger publications. Currently, Robinson is the Associate Vice President of Public Affairs at Cal State San Bernardino.
Nick Salata
Account Executive, Chromatic Inc. Marketing Solutions
Nick Salata attended Cal Poly Pomona for three years before finishing at University of Southern California where he earned his B.A. in Journalism. Salata spent his first seven years in sport public relations at USC as Assistant Sports Information Director and later served eight years as Executive Director of Public Relations for the Los Angeles Kings. During his 15 years in sports P.R., he has worked with many prominent figures in the business. Currently, Salata is an Account Executive at Chromatic Inc. Marketing Solutions.
Joe Schroeder CEO and President of Ventura County Credit Union
Joe Schroeder, a long-time leader in the California Credit Union Movement, is President/CEO of Ventura County Credit Union. He earned his B.A. in Communication Arts and an MBA from Cal Poly Pomona. He is active and well regarded in the industry, having served on the board of the CO-OP ATM Network, an FSCC audit committee and was a founding member of the Marketing Association of California (now Marketing Association of Credit Unions), and served as president.
Christine Steele
Senior Copy Editor, American Funds Distributors, Inc.
Christine Steele graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts from Cal Poly Pomona. Steele is a senior copy editor in investment communications for a Los Angeles mutual fund company and is responsible for copyediting brochures for financial advisers, mutual fund commentaries, white papers, annual fund reports, and quarterly materials for investors.
Sinead Campbell
Graduate Student, Cal State Long Beach
Sinead Campbell graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Communicative Disorders from Cal State Long Beach and has had clinical experience in the areas of phonology and autism spectrum disorders. Campbell is currently completing her first year in the Communicative Disorders Master’s Program at CSULB. She is also employed as a graduate student assistant to the Chair of the Communicative Disorders department at CSULB.
Whitney Fort Graduate Student, Cal State Long Beach
Whitney Fort graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Communicative Disorders from Cal State Long Beach. Fort’s work experience includes an internship at Pleasant View School where she worked with the speech and language pathologist to treat preschool aged children with speech and language disorders. She is a graduate student currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders at CSULB. Further, this semester, she gained experience working with school-aged children in the phonology and child language clinics at the CSULB Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic.
Leah Grigas Graduate Student, Cal State Long Beach
Leah Grigas earned her B.A. in Communicative Disorders also from Cal State Long Beach. Grigas has clinical experience working with children with Speech and Language Disorders (specifically Phonology and Child Language Clinical experience). She is a first year graduate student studying for her Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders from CSULB.
