Profile Type: Hall of Fame

Mark Swanson has spent nearly three decades working at CNN. Originally hired as a video journalist, Swanson was promoted to a technical director after just two years, later working his way up to Senior Technical Director until being promoted to his current role as Director in 2023. His extensive news coverage has included some of […]

Mary Shedden is the Senior Managing Director of Content at WUSF Public Media in Tampa. She’s responsible for editorial vision, multi-platform storytelling strategy and brand management. Shedden joined WUSF in 2013, jumping to public radio from her newspaper reporting career. She was News Director for a decade, overseeing WUSF’s broadcast and online newsroom. A local […]

Artie Kempner is an acclaimed television director whose career in sports broadcasting spans more than four decades. He spent most of this time with Fox Sports, directing the network coverage of the NFL and NASCAR. Kempner worked at CBS Sports from 1982-94, before moving to Fox Sports, to help launch the network’s NFL coverage. Over […]

Eric Esteban is a public relations and communications executive with more than 15 years of experience shaping media strategy and storytelling for some of the nation’s most prominent sports networks and organizations. Based in Miami, he currently serves as Vice President of Media Relations for FOX Sports since January 2022 covering high-level communications across the […]

Jamie Dupree started his broadcasting career in 1983 at WUFT-FM.  His first radio job was playing jazz music from 1-5 a.m. He later hosted a blues music show on Saturday nights, which drew letters from inmates at the Florida state prison in Starke. Jamie’s original goal was to be a sports play-by-play announcer. But he […]

Dawne Widener-Burrows is the founder of two prominent communications and advertising research firms in the Washington-Baltimore area: WBA Research, Inc. (established in 1987) and Widener Research, LLC (established in 2005). WBA Research quickly became one of the largest market research firms in the Mid-Atlantic region, serving clients such as the got milk? campaign, National Public […]

Rich Preuss is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television director and producer specializing in live and live-to-tape programming. He began his career at UFCJC, directing Gator Growl and news broadcasts for WUFT. While at UF, he was selected for the Television Academy’s prestigious internship program. Over the past 25 years, Preuss has directed a wide […]

Rena Langley is Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for Disney Signature Experiences and Consumer Products. She leads teams in Corporate Social Responsibility, Government and Industry Relations, Public Relations, and Executive and Guest Communications for multiple Disney divisions, including Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Aulani (a Disney Resort & Spa), and Disney […]

Alvin J. Cowans, CCUE, has been the President and CEO of McCoy Federal Credit Union in Orlando since November 1985. He has worked in the financial industry since 1978, joining McCoy Federal in 1983 as Senior Vice President before becoming President and CEO at the age of 30. Cowans earned a Bachelor of Science in […]

Stefanie Price Nimick is senior vice president of portfolio distribution and partner marketing for Hallmark Media. She is responsible for managing Hallmark Media’s strategic plans for partner relationships including carriage agreements and distribution of content on traditional and new platforms. Before joining Hallmark Media, Nimich served as senior vice president, distribution & partnership marketing at […]

Juan C. Andrade, B.S. Journalism, 1986, is President and CEO of USAA, one of the nation’s leading financial services organizations serving the military community and their families. Previously, Andrade served as President and CEO of the Everest Group, Ltd., a global provider of insurance and reinsurance solutions. He also held senior executive leadership roles at Chubb, The […]

Mary Sellers, U.S. president of United Way Worldwide, is responsible for leading the organization’s enterprise-wide strategy implementation. Sellers joined United Way in 2012 with more than 20 years of leadership experience in non-profit and community organizations including The Children’s Museum of the Upstate in Greenville, South Caroline, the South Florida Science Museum, the Science Center of […]