Renee Burke MJE, taught at William R. Boone HS, in Orlando for 22.5 years. Renee is JEA's 2015 H.L. Hall Yearbook Adviser of the Year.  She was also the 2012 OCPS Teacher of the Year, 2011 FSPA Journalism Teacher of the Year, and a 2011 Gold Key recipient from CSPA.  She advised the Legend yearbook and Hi-Lights newspaper for 20 and 21 years, respectively. Both publications have earned CSPA Crown awards and NSPA Pacemakers. She currently works as the Assistant Director of Media Relations and Media Promotions for OCPS.

Makena Busch CJE, advises the Pantera yearbook at Mead HS in Spokane, WA, where she teaches digital media, graphic design, and yearbook. JEA named Busch a Rising Star in 2019, a Special Recognition Adviser in 2021, and a Distinguished Adviser in 2023. Her yearbooks have earned numerous state and national awards, including CSPA Gold Crowns, NSPA Pacemakers, and Best of Show awards. Busch is crazy enough to coach track in the spring, thinks coffee runs through her veins at this point, and isn't afraid to tell you the cringest dad jokes she knows.

Jim Jordan: After 35 years as the yearbook adviser of the Decamhian at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California, Jim Jordan is now a Special Consultant with Walsworth Yearbooks. Under Jordan’s guidance, the Decamhian yearbook earned 20 NSPA Pacemakers and 20 CSPA Crowns which earned it second place in the NSPA all-time Top 100. In 1996, he was named the National Yearbook Adviser of the Year by JEA. He also was awarded the CSPA Gold Key, the JEA Medal of Merit, the NSPA Pioneer Award and the Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award from JEA. With Walsworth, he serves as the lead mentor for the company’s Adviser Mentor Program and is a host of “That Yearbook Podcast” a podcast that encourages advisers and staffs to create great yearbooks.

Leland Mallett has been advising yearbooks and newspapers since 1999. He is the newspaper, yearbook and photo adviser at Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas. Legacy’s publications have won Crowns, Pacemakers and Stars. Mallett won JEA’s Distinguished Yearbook Adviser award in 2018. In 2015 he won the Max Haddick Texas Adviser of the Year award from ILPC. He loves the art of telling stories and working with publication staffs and advisers.

Susan McNulty has been The Stampede yearbook adviser at J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Florida since 2014. In that time, The Stampede has been named an NSPA Pacemaker finalist and winner, a CPSA Silver Crown winner, and a Sunshine Standout and All-Florida ranking for 11 straight years from the Florida Scholastic Press Association. She has been named Pasco County Teacher of the Year, JEA Rising Star, FSPA Teacher of the Year, and FSPA Gold Medallion winner. Her students regularly attend state and national workshops and compete and place in design, photography and writing contests.  

Mark Murray retired from the Arlington Independent School District in Arlington, Texas in 2019 after 35 years as a classroom teacher and district technology director. He is the Executive Director for the Association of Texas Photography Instructors, an organization of high school photography teachers from around the U.S. that sponsors photography and video contests and workshops for students and teachers. He has been honored with recognitions from CSPA, NSPA, JEA, the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and ATPI, including the CSPA Joseph M. Murphy award, the JEA Carl Towley award and the TAJE Texas Treasure award.

Sabrina Schmitz is a representative of  Walsworth Yearbooks as the Key Accounts Specialist and is the former yearbook and newspaper adviser at J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, FL. Under her leadership, The Stampede yearbook was awarded multiple CSPA Crown awards, a NSPA Pacemaker Award, and was a Design of the Year Finalist in 2012. She was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 2013, was a District Teacher of the Year Finalist, and teaches at workshops and conventions around the country.  

Lindsey Shirack, CJE, advises the Lone Star yearbook at James Bowie High School in Austin, Texas. Previously, she advised yearbook, broadcast, newspaper and online at Gorzycki Middle School. Her staffs have won Pacemakers, Crowns, and Stars. No matter the medium, her passion is for helping students capture the story of the year in a way only they could tell. Shirack is a 2022 recipient of the ILPC Edith Fox King award.

Brit Taylor is a yearbook, newspaper and website adviser in Oviedo, Florida at Hagerty High School. He has advised yearbook for 32 years and newspaper for 27. Taylor is drawn to the real-world application of high school journalism, and he appreciates the many lessons that publications teach. He is a past president of the Florida Scholastic Press Association and a Distinguished Adviser for JEA, and his publications have earned Pacemaker and Crown awards. When he is not teaching workshops in Florida or beyond, Taylor likes to visit national parks with his wife, Maureen, and three kids.