JEA board of directors elections took place Feb. 23 through March 4, 2026. Of the 2,439 total ballots successfully emailed, 180 members voted.
Director-at-large
Sarah Kirksey, Ladue Horton Watkins (St. Louis) High School, has been elected as a director-at-large and will serve on the JEA board for two years starting May 1. Kirksey ran against Michelle Coro, Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) High School.
Kirksey is a 12-year veteran adviser of student media, with experience related to a variety of media forms from yearbook to news website to literary magazine. She has been recognized by the Journalism Education Association as a Rising Star (2018) and Special Recognition Adviser in the H.L. Hall Yearbook Adviser of the Year contest (2022). In 2022, she was also recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association as a Distinguished Adviser in the National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year contest. In 2025, Kirksey was named Missouri Journalism Teacher of the Year, as well as a semi-finalist in the statewide Missouri teacher of the year contest.
Scholastic Press Rights Director
Andrea Negri, MJE, Cypress Wood (Cypress) High School, has been elected as the scholastic press rights director and will serve on the JEA board for two years starting May 1. Negri ran against Joseph Runyambo Gasinzira, Isoko Complex (Minembwe) School.
Negri’s bio
Negri has been advising student publications for 17 years. She received the JEA Medal of Merit in 2021 and was recognized as a Distinguished Yearbook Adviser in 2022. In addition to her past work as JEA Scholastic Press Rights Director, Negri serves as contest director for the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and on the board of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors.