Development and Alumni Affairs
Alumni of Distinction
The College of Journalism and Communications takes great pride in the accomplishments of its remarkable alumni. These Greater Gators bring respect and stature to our college as well as to the University of Florida.
With more than 24,000 graduates with degrees in advertising, journalism, public relations and telecommunications, only 116 individuals have been selected to receive this honor since its creation in 1970.
Below are the College’s 2012 Alumni of Distinction. Click on the decades below to see Alumni of Distinction from previous years.
2012
John Antonio, TEL 1989
John is currently deputy director of programming for CNN/U.S. based in Atlanta. In his role, he helped oversee coverage of the Arab Spring, the Japanese tsunami, and the death of Osama bin Laden.
Prior to his work at CNN, Antonio served as managing editor at WABC-TV in New York City responsible for overseeing editorial direction and news coverage for the most-watched news station in the country. During his time there, he covered several major stories including the blackout of 2003, the Miracle on the Hudson landing of US Airways Flight 1549, and the Times Square bombing plot in 2010. He has also field-managed coverage of the 2008 RNC, the 2004 DNC and Pope John Paul II’s visit to Israel and Jordan.
He was the executive producer of special projects at WFXT-TV in Boston, and spent the first part of his career as a producer in Gainesville; Jacksonville; Providence, R.I.; and New York City. Outside of television news, Antonio helped launch a start-up Internet company in 2000 that specialized in video streaming and building out websites for media companies.
Samantha Avivi, ADV 1995
Samantha is the global marketing director for Kimberly-Clark’s $4.2 billion bath tissue businesses. Her responsibilities include developing consumer-relevant, profitable brands such as Scott, Cottonelle, Neve and Andrex with strong brand vision, marketing strategy, foundational tools and robust product innovation plans against global growth targets. She leads a global cross-functional team and a global consumer team that is composed of marketing directors from around the world.
Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Avivi worked in marketing at Procter and Gamble for seven years on various brands including Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Tampax, Pampers, Luvs and Kandoo. Within that period, she also worked on the Walmart team running P&G’s baby care business.
Avivi also worked 10 years in advertising, leading global efforts on iconic brands such as M&M’s, Always and Pampers at agencies such as BBDO, DMB&B and Young and Rubicam. Career highlights include creating the M&M’s Global Color Vote and Pampers Global Baby-Stage-of-Development diapers.
She has won multiple awards from Effies, Clios, Cannes, Ad Age and Brand Week.
Aminda (Mindy) Marques Gonzalez, JM 1986
Mindy is executive editor and vice president of The Miami Herald. She has oversight and responsibility for the Herald’s print and online news operation, which reaches 1.2 million readers a week.
She began her journalism career 25 years ago as a summer intern at the Herald’s Neighbors community news publication. During nearly a decade of local reporting, Marques covered Hialeah, the county’s second largest city, and followed the landmark Santeria case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Named deputy metro editor in 2000, she directed the Herald’s metro, state and community news operations.
From 2002 to 2007, Marques was Miami bureau chief for People magazine, overseeing coverage for the southeast U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America.
She returned to the Herald in 2007 as a multimedia editor to help launch Miami.com, the Herald’s entertainment website. Named managing editor in 2010, Marques led a wide-ranging newsroom reorganization building teams around content, curation and design. During her tenure, the Herald was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of the earthquake in Haiti. In November 2010, Marques was named executive editor, the first Hispanic editor and only the second woman to hold the post.
She is a member of the National Advisory Board of the Poynter Institute, sits on the board of the Associated Press Media Editors and is a Pulitzer juror (2011, 2012).
Katherine Green, TEL 1983
Katherine is senior vice president, managing editor for HLN based in Atlanta. In this position, she oversees the network’s overall on-air presentation, editorial content and digital platforms. Additionally, she coordinates the development of new programming, furthering the growth of HLN’s distinctive news content. Prior to this appointment, Green was senior vice president of programming for CNN International. In that role, she was responsible for all of the editorial production, program and schedule development, network talent and day-to-day operations of CNN’s international production centers.
With more than 25 years of experience in television production, Green earlier served as vice president and news director at WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C. In that role for nearly 10 years, she directed the station’s coverage of several key events including the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; the D.C.-area sniper attacks in 2002; the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections and inaugurations; and the ongoing war in Iraq. Before joining WTTG, Green served more than two years as news director for WBAL-TV in Baltimore. Green began her career as a reporter at WTLV-TV in Jacksonville and then later she became a producer. She has produced at stations in Miami, New York and Tampa/St. Petersburg.
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