Election Schedule

Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. EST – Candidate forum during online business meeting (Zoom link)

Dec. 2 – Voting opens

Dec. 5 – Voting closes

Jan. 1 – Terms begin

Candidate Forum

Student Director (2 open positions)

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

This past CMBAM was an incredible experience, and getting to meet student media and CMBAM members from across the country reinforced just how valuable this organization is. Having such important discussions and addressing key topics was so motivating, and this inspired me to take a more active role in helping students feel connected and supported within their organizations. I hope to serve on the CMBAM board as Student Director because I truly believe in the impact CMBAM has. As I complete my second year at student media, I am so grateful for the skills and mentorship I’ve received, and hope to provide those same opportunities to other students who are eager to learn. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

If elected to the Student Director position, I hope to continue the strong momentum Destanee and Ethan have built this year by continuing initiatives to connect and collaborate with students. One of my key goals is to expand outreach through regular communication touchpoints, increased interaction between local student media groups, and increasing the visibility of the resources CMBAM has to offer.

I also hope to create more opportunities for professional development and student collaboration sessions, not only in areas like sales and marketing, but also around any challenges students are navigating throughout the year. Additionally, I see a lot of potential in increasing student focused content for CMBAM’s digital channels that they can regularly refer back to, such as campaign guides, managing burnout, quick tips, etc. It was especially great to see this year’s social media initiatives, and I hope to contribute to this by helping maintain active, engaging platforms that highlight CMBAM and make it easy for student media groups to connect.

Most importantly, I want to serve wherever I’m needed! CMBAM is an incredibly collaborative space, and I’m excited to support the board, offer new ideas, and contribute wherever my skills can make a meaningful impact.

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

I would really like to serve in order to connect with other students and support student media. Attending the CMBAM conference this past November was a great way to learn more from others, and I’m really hoping to connect more with other students in order to help them whether it be through connecting them to resources or giving them advice. Student media is a really great way to get students involved in their schools and community, and I’m really looking forward to putting students’ needs first so CMBAM can reach it’s goals of helping students navigate their positions within independent media.

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

I hope to strengthen the connection between CMBAM and its students by ensuring our social media presence is relevant, engaging, and centers students needs. Though CMBAM is a helpful resource for our students, there is room to grow by ensuring that what is being posted actually serves students. My goal is to leverage our social media engagement to create content that speaks directly to students, going beyond just raising awareness of CMBAM. By prioritizing engagement analytics and student feedback, we can show how much CMBAM cares about helping students hone their skills in independent media.

Along with using engagement to inform our social media strategy, I hope to create and highlight the support systems CMBAM provides for its students. Mainly, I want to find and highlight ways students can reach out to Student Directors for help. Whether it is to ask for advice or resources, creating an environment where students feel welcome to engage with CMBAM more directly through Student Directors.

Overall, my goal is to put student needs at the forefront of our social media strategy and work, so that we can prioritize them and ensure that CMBAM is as supportive and engaging as it is promoted to be.

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

As a Marketing major at West Virginia University, I am intrigued by the outreach, engagement, and event planning fields. I would be thrilled to get hands-on experience in those fields, especially after seeing how smoothly the conference went this year. I am eager to learn from the Programming Director so that I can have a better understanding of what goes into planning a huge event. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

I aim to increase brand awareness among students. Many students are not aware of all the services CMBAM has to offer, and by communicating those services, an increase in brand awareness can be achieved. I also hope to drive more anticipation and excitement surrounding the conference. By heavily promoting the location, networking opportunities, and more, CMBAM’s biggest event of the year can generate more enthusiasm. 

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

To provide more editorial perspective in the world of student media.

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

I hope to provide student media ways to bridge the gap between media and business, and ways the two sides can collaborate to produce successful content. 

Programming Director-Elect

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

CMBAM has been one of the most impactful resources during my time at student media. It has served as a lifeline for me both as a student and now as an advisor. The combination of amazing sessions, collaboration within the community, and tailored resources has given me the confidence and support I needed to tackle complex projects as a new advisor. I wish to serve on the Board to pay that forward, ensuring that current and future CMBAM members can access that same level of value, community, and professional growth.

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

It has been inspiring to witness the efforts and successes of past Programming Directors, and I hope to serve in this position to foster the collaborative community they have built. My goal is to strike a balance in our programming by ensuring we have foundational sessions for those rebuilding or starting new projects, while also offering advanced strategy sessions for those looking to expand their operations. As an advisor currently managing projects in both stages, I was incredibly grateful for the diversity of sessions provided this year and want to ensure we continue to feature a wide range of speakers from the marketing and sales world.

Additionally, drawing on my experience at NC State Student Media, I plan to prioritize accessibility in our materials. I hope to expand resources like session recordings and digital accessibility standards to ensure our content is inclusive for everyone. Ultimately, my goal is to continue the legacy of value and community that I have had the privilege to experience over the last three years.

Member Recognition & Awards Director

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

I love college student media. I have worked in it for the last four years. I have been on the board the last two years and I have loved every minute!

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

I hope to keep hosting the awards as well as bring more recognition to the work these amazing student accomplish through social media posts and podcast style interviews. I hope to be a conduit for opportunities to help these incredible student reach their professional goals by showing them what can be accomplished in the business side of student journalism and media. 

Vice President of Membership

Why do you wish to serve on the CMBAM Board of Directors?

I’ve enjoyed getting to know and learn from advisers and students at our CMBAM members schools during the time that I’ve served on the board, first as communications director and, for the last year, as vice president of membership. The post-pandemic years have been a time of change for CMBAM, and it’s been fulfilling to collaborate with other board members to move CMBAM forward as an organization. I’ve been able to learn a lot about the challenges and opportunities the organization faces by seeing firsthand what’s working well and where there’s room for improvement. I’m eager to use that knowledge to continue serving as vice president of membership. I want to use that experience to help CMBAM continue to grow in value to member schools and ensure long-term stability as an organization vital to college media.

What do you hope to accomplish during your term if elected to the position you are running for?

My first priority if I remain vice president of membership is to fine-tune the workflows and tools that the board uses to recruit, onboard and retain members. With the CMBAM board made up of volunteers serving limited terms, turnover in each position is inevitable and the transition for a new board member into a position can be a challenging hurdle. I hope to create workflows that allow future people in the membership position or on the membership committee to focus their time on recruiting new members. To make that possible, I want to create a more manageable membership database and CRM workflow for tracking members that will provide organized, scalable systems for the long term. Once I have that in place, I will create a how-to guide that will allow seamless transitions between future vice presidents to help them focus on recruiting and retaining member schools. Once there’s an easy-to-use system in place, I’d also like to rebuild the membership committee by mid 2026. That will get more advisers at current member schools to feel better plugged in to CMBAM as they build connections with other advisers and help the organization grow.

I’ve been in the vice president position for one year after being appointed to fill a vacancy when the previous vice president was elected to president. During that year, I’ve begun to get a good handle on the position. Over the summer I moved to a new state and started a new job, so I haven’t had as much time to focus on CMBAM membership as I would have liked and have focused primarily on getting current members to renew. I am excited about the possibilities for what I could accomplish with a full term in the position.