JEA announces 2023 election results, runoff

JEA announces 2023 election results, runoff

JEA board of directors elections took place Feb. 17-26, 2023. Of the 2,466 total ballots successfully emailed, 395 members voted.

Valerie Kibler, MJE, of Harrisonburg (Virginia) High School has been elected as the 36th president of the Journalism Education Association and will lead the JEA board for two years starting May 1.

Kilber ran uncontested and received 361 votes.

Kibler advises newspaper, website and yearbook at Harrisonburg High School. A journalism educator since 1988, Kibler’s Harrisonburg news program has been consistently recognized with state and national honors.

She has been JEA’s vice president since 2017 and has been the state director for Virginia as well as president and treasurer of the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers.

Kibler was a National Scholastic Press Association board member for three years. She helped begin jCamp and jDay in Virginia and helped found the JEA Partner Project to reach underserved regions. She was the initial writer of the leadership module for the JEA curriculum. Kibler also was the local chair for the 2009 and 2014 national conventions in Washington, D.C., and is an active JEA mentor.

In recognition of commitment to helping journalism educators, students and programs nationwide, Kibler has been awarded the 2010 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year, 2011 Gold Key from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the 2014 Pioneer Award winner from National Scholastic Press Association, the 2014 JEA Medal of Merit winner and inducted into the VHSL Hall of Fame in 2020. She received JEA’s Carl Towley Award in 2021.

Other positions elected include the following:

Vice president

Justin Daigle, MJE, of Brighton (Colorado) High School ran uncontested for the position of vice president. Daigle received 362 votes.

Daigle advises the Reflections yearbook at Brighton. His students’ publications have earned state and national awards including CSPA Crowns,  NSPA Pacemakers, and Best of Show trophies. Daigle has received the CSPA Gold Key (2020) and was named the Colorado Student Media Association Teacher of the Year (2009), JEA Rising Star (2010), Special Recognition (2014) and Distinguished (2016) Yearbook Adviser of the Year, and the Medal of Merit (2022). He serves as JEA Colorado state director. This will be his first term serving on the JEA board of directors.

Educational initiatives director

Shari Adwers, MJE, of Loudoun Valley High School, Purcellville, Virginia, was elected to serve another term as as educational initiatives director with 71% of the votes for the position.

Adwers advises the Saga yearbook and Viking newsmagazine and website. Her students have won top state and national awards.

She has served as JEA’s education initiatives director since 2017. With degrees in education and English and a master’s degree in curriculum, instruction and assessment, Adwers understands the place journalism has in the Common Core curriculum. Adwers has been teaching at state and national conventions since 2006 and served on the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association as trustee, first vice president and president. 

Director-at-large (two open positions)

For the two director-at-large seats, none of the 17 candidates met the 50% threshold, so a runoff election will begin March 3. There will be a runoff between the top four vote getters:

  • Louisa Avery, MJE, The American School in London
  • Sandra Coyer, MJE, Puyallup (Washington) High School
  • Brenda Field, MJE, Glenbrook South High School, Glenview, Illinois
  • Debra Klevens, CJE, Parkway West High School, Ballwin, Missouri

Review the candidate statements.

Voting members who were eligible to vote in the Feb. 17-26 election will be emailed a ballot Friday, March 3, to vote for candidates to fill the two director-at-large positions. Voting closes Tuesday, March 7, with runoff results posted at JEA.org Wednesday, March 8. The two candidates with the majority of the votes will be elected to serve on the board.


Founded in 1924, JEA supports free and responsible scholastic journalism by providing resources and educational opportunities, promoting professionalism, encouraging and rewarding student excellence and teacher achievement, and an atmosphere which encompasses diversity yet builds unity. It is headquartered at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.

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