SPJVA officers, 2025-26
President
Tyree is the senior director and co-founder of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.
Vice President
Bryan-Campos is an assistant professor in the Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Secretary
South, a former newspaper editor and reporter who taught journalism at VCU, was president of SPJVA from 2019 to 2021.
Treasurer
Meredith is communications manager for the Virginia Press Association and an award-winning writer and photographer.
Board of Directors, 2025-26
Director 1
Fletcher, SPJ’s national president in 2015-16, is CEO of the Virginia Bar Association and teaches media law and ethics at VCU.
Director 2
Davis, editor-at-large at Charlottesville Tomorrow, is a longtime journalist and an award-winning educator and author.
Director 3
Elmquist is a much-honored photojournalist for Style Weekly and recipient of the SPJVA’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Director 4
Weinstein, SPJVA president from 2021 to 2023, is a Virginia Humanities fellow and the Community Vitality reporter for Henrico Citizen.
Director 5
Nicholson is a professor emeritus of journalism at VCU and a longtime SPJ leader at the state and national levels.
Director 6
Hutchins, editor of The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, also is on the board of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
Director 7
Adams is a freelancer covering the Blue Ridge Mountains and co-host of Inside Appalachia on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Director 8
Day is the senior director of public affairs for the consulting firm Capital Results. He has been a journalist for The Virginian-Pilot and other newspapers.
Director 9
Smigielski Acker, who served as SPJVA’s vice president in 2024-25, is a freelance journalist and editor with more than 25 years of experience
Ex-Officio Member, 2025-26
Student chapter representative
Reed, who has been an anchor at WDBJ, is a professor of professional practice at Virginia Tech. He is the student-chapter representative on the SPJVA board.
The officers and board members in 2024-25 are listed here.
Here is how the lineup of board members has changed:
| Position | 2024-25 officeholder | 2025-26 officeholder |
| President | Chris Tyree | Chris Tyree |
| Vice president | Susan Smigielski Acker | Alix Bryan-Campos |
| Secretary | Jeff South | Jeff South |
| Treasurer | Deana Meredith | Deana Meredith |
| Director 1 (expiring 2026) | Vacant | Paul Fletcher |
| Director 2 (expiring 2026) | Nicole Livas | Bonnie Newman Davis |
| Director 3 (expiring 2024/2027) | Chuck Jackson | Scott Elmquest |
| Director 4 (expiring 2024/2027) | Dina Weinstein | Dina Weinstein |
| Director 5 (expiring 2026) | Alix Bryan-Campos | June Nicholson |
| Director 6 (expiring 2024/2027) | Reynolds Hutchins | Reynolds Hutchins |
| Director 7 (expiring 2025) | Mason Adams | Mason Adams |
| Director 8 (expiring 2025) | Shawn Day | Shawn Day |
| Director 9 (expiring 2025) | Brett Hall | Susan Smigielski Acker |
| Immediate past president | Mechelle Hankerson | Vacant |
| Student chapter representative | Robin Reed | Robin Reed |
Thank you, departing board members
The SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter thanks Nicole Livas, Chuck Jackson and Mechelle Hankerson for their service on the board during the previous year.
SPJVA Today 
You must be logged in to post a comment.