2016-2017 Board Officers

Caley Cook teaches journalism in the University of Washington Department of Communication and has over a decade of experience as a reporter and editor. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Crosscut.com, San Diego CityBeat, Orlando Weekly, San Diego Union-Tribune, VIBE magazine, CBS Sports and others. Cook won the 2013 Nevada Press Association Outstanding Journalist of the Year award as well as their 2013 Freedom of the Press Award for work investigating law enforcement corruption. She led an investigative team at the Elko Daily Free Press that took home the NPA award for investigative work for a series on DUI. Cook has an M.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California Annenberg School. She served as a research fellow at USC Annenberg and at University of Colorado-Boulder. Cook is also a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Center for Investigative Reporting. She has contributed to multiple books, including “Journalism of Ideas” (2013, Routledge) and is a regular speaker at writing and journalism conferences across the country.

Ashley Stewart is technology and finance reporter for the Puget Sound Business Journal. Previously, Ashley covered the Oregon statehouse for Northwest News Network, a collaboration of NPR-affiliate stations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. She has covered the Washington State Legislature for KUOW, TVW – Washington’s public affairs network – and The Seattle Times. Ashley last year graduated from the University of Washington, where she helped launch the student SPJ chapter. She’s been on the SPJ Wash board since then and previously served as treasurer. Find her on Twitter: @ashannstew.

Natalie Singer-Velush is the managing editor of ParentMap magazine and parentmap.com, a Seattle-based publication and media site for parents and educators. In her role, she oversees all print and digital content and directs editorial strategy. Natalie was previously a reporter at The Seattle Times, where she covered transportation, government and Superior Court. She is a 2000 graduate of San Francisco State University’s journalism program and previously worked as a reporter at the San Francisco Independent, where she covered city government and the arts, and The Desert Sun, where she covered immigration and LGBT communities. Her writing has also appeared on the Huffington Post, in Harvard Law Bulletin, at the University of Washington and in journals and anthologies. Natalie has taught classes on how to successfully pitch an editor and has won multiple gold Parenting Media Association awards for her recent work in niche media. Natalie is also currently a candidate for a University of Washington MFA in creative writing and poetics, and she will be a 2015/2016 mentor with Pongo Teen Writing, teaching poetry to young people in difficult circumstances. She is inspired by the renewed attention storytelling is receiving across many media and channels and gets super energized by mentoring other writers. Follow her on Twitter @Natalie_Writes.

Lauren Foster is the assistant editor for 425 magazine and South Sound magazine and a writer for 425 Business. She was part of a three person team that recently won a Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service reporting for a multi-faceted feature on the state of family homelessness in Pierce County. Always on the hunt for new stories, she’s covered everything from farming to fashion. She’s interviewed Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane von Furstenberg and Jeff Bridges. But she especially enjoys profiling quiet heroes – the people who may not be seeking the limelight but deserve it.

Sara was most recently a reporter for KIRO Radio 97.3 FM. She has more than a decade of experience as a local and national radio journalist and is a longtime Seattle reporter. She is the recipient of a national Public Radio News Directors Incorporated award and multiple regional awards for her work. She has covered everything from Seattle-area real estate to motorcycle gangs to human trafficking, a topic in which she’s developed an expertise after producing a documentary series on the problem here in Washington. She says her motivation as a journalist is to continue asking questions and telling stories, truthfully.

Erika Schultz was raised in Fremont County, Wyoming and attended college at Northern Arizona University and Syracuse University London. She loves the American West, well told tales, Spanglish and to travel. As a staff photographer for The Seattle Times, Erika tells stories about the Pacific Northwest through photography, video and social media. She believes in the power of visual storytelling, and believes support of the craft is vital as the media landscape changes and evolves. Also a strong believer in community, Erika helped found NW Photojournalism. The group, comprised of professionals and students, meets once a month to provide support and foster inspiration for visual journalism. Erika’s work as a photojournalist has been recognized by the Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism, Pictures of the Year International, National Edward R. Murrow Awards, The Alexia Foundation, Society of Professional Journalists and was a finalist for the 2010 ASNE Community Service Photojournalism award. She also was part of The Seattle Times’ 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning team for Breaking News Reporting.

Karen Ducey is a documentary photographer and writer and founder of Animal News Northwest, SPC an independent news site reporting on animal protection issues in our region. Her photography has been published in the Washington Post, NationalGeographic.com, Marketplace radio, the New York Times, and many other publications. She was a staff photographer at the Puget Sound Business Journal, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the Indianapolis Star for over ten years. Most recently she had a photo exhibition at the 2016 FisherPoets Gathering in Astoria, OR. Two stories from her independent news site helped influence bills introduced in the 2016 Washington state legislative sessions (one on a proposed tax to small animal rescues orgs and another relating to impounding livestock). A recent story about a horse perpetually, and legally, locked 24/7 for years in a stall, sparked a social media campaign that went global. In 2011 she directed a documentary short film that was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival. Her work has been honored by ASNE Community Service Photojournalism, DART coverage of Trauma, Casey Medals, Society of Professional Journalists, the News Photographers Press Association, and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. In 2011 she was a Knight Digital Media Center, News Entrepreneur bootcamp fellow. She also serves on the board of the Blue Earth Alliance, an organization supporting the work of documentary photographers.

Ana Sofia is a reporter for The Stranger and focuses on hyperlocal news coverage and connecting communities across the city. She graduated from University of Washington’s Journalism and Germanics programs in 2013. As a reporter, Knauf hopes to help support diverse voices in media and consistently cover issues affecting communities of color. She has reported on a variety of topics, including refugee issues, environmental justice, city politics, arts, and food. Her work has appeared in The Seattle Globalist, Grist, Crosscut, Puget Sound Business Journal, Seattle Met, The Seattle Times, and The International Examiner. Follow her on Twitter for snark, overthinking, and news @asknauf.

Genna Martin is currently a staff photographer at seattlepi.com. She previously worked at the Everett Herald for three years and at the Advocate in Victoria, TX.  She is an Oregonian at heart and loves to travel places off the beaten path.  While at the Herald, Genna was a part of the team covering the devastating Oso landslide and its aftermath.  She was awarded with the 2015 New Journalist of the Year Award by the Society for Professional Journalists and was also part of the breaking news team that was awarded last year’s national Sigma Delta Chi award for the Herald’s coverage of the Marysville-Pilchuck shooting.  Genna loves that her job allows her to learn new things and meet new people every day.  She strives to encourage compassion and perspective in viewers through her visual storytelling.

Currently a news reporter writing daily blog posts and original feature stories for the Microsoft News Center through Prowess Consulting, Athima Chansanchai also published her first book in spring 2015 — “100 Things to Do in Seattle Before You Die.” She was a daily contributor to msnbc.com’s Tech-Sci blogs for nearly two years, writing about consumer tech and editing posts on all the section’s blogs and wire content. She did so as founder/President of Tima Media, after almost 10 years as a reporter and editor at the Seattle P-I and The Baltimore Sun. She’s also been a columnist for msnbc.com (“DigiGirl”) and worked at The Village Voice. Tima began her career in journalism at Florida Trend magazine, before receiving a master’s degree in Communications/Journalism at Stanford University. In addition to previously serving as president, vice president and treasurer of the SPJ Western Washington chapter board, she has also served as national secretary for the Asian American Journalists Association in 2011 (after serving nearly a decade as a national board member and chapter officer), and has also been a member of the Online News Association. Follow her on Twitter: @TimaMedia.

Dan Catchpole loves being a journalist. He loves having a job that can make a difference in people’s lives. Currently, he covers the Boeing Co. and aerospace for the Everett Herald. Previously, he worked for the Associated Press, the Yakima Herald-Republic and as editor of the SnoValley Star, a community weekly. He also worked as a stringer in Tbilisi, where he covered the aftermath of Russia’s war with Georgia in 2008 for the Christian Science-Monitor and the Washington Times. Catchpole thinks making databases is fun, and has spoken at the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting’s annual conference. He has been part of teams whose reporting was nationally recognized. The best professional compliment he ever received came from the Yakima chief of police: “Catchpole’s a pain in the ass, but he gets my quotes right.” He lives in the Seattle-area with his wife and their three children. He grew up outside Boston and loves the Red Sox.