Featured Speakers:

Lauren Gibbons, MLive Media Group
Lauren Gibbons is a reporter for MLive’s Public Interest Team, covering federal politics and policy. Previously, she covered the state Senate for MIRS News. She is a longtime Lansing resident and Michigan State University graduate. Gibbons also is president of the Mid-Michigan Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Nashville Public Radio
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán is Nashville Public Radio’s political reporter and host of “The Tri-Star State“ podcast. Before moving to Nashville, Martínez-Beltrán covered education for the Standard-Examiner newspaper in Ogden, Utah. He is a Puerto Rico native and his work has also appeared on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “On Point” and “Here & Now”; NPR station WKAR, San Antonio Express-News, Inter News Service and GFR Media. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News
Mary Sell is a reporter and editor for Alabama Daily News, an online news site based in the state’s capital. Since launching in 2018, Alabama Daily News’ morning email has become a must-read for elected officials, lobbyists, state agency leaders and other Alabamians. The website also supplies content to newspapers, TV stations and news websites around the state. Sell’s coverage has included the ouster from office of a governor in 2017 for his inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Until COVID-19 took over the news cycle, she had been writing about former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ efforts to win back is former U.S. Senate seat. She has won multiple Alabama Press Association awards for her First Amendment and deadline reporting.

Moderated by Jeremy Steele, Michigan Interscholastic Press Association
Jeremy Steele is executive director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association and a specialist in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, where he teaches various reporting courses. Steele is an award-winning journalist who has also worked for one of Michigan’s largest independent public relations firms.