Welcome to our new board!

By Katy Mersmann

This is my last post as the president of ONA Mizzou and I'm sad that my time is at an end. I've had a great time with our events and Open Newsrooms. I'm thrilled to introduce our new executive board (they should look pretty familiar), and I'm so excited to see what they do!

Sarah Darby, President:

@_SCDarby

Hello, my name is Sarah Darby, and I am excited to be the new president of ONA Mizzou! I am currently a junior convergence journalism major and entrepreneurship minor, and I am originally from the Kansas side of Kansas City. My love for digital media began when I helped launch my high school newspaper's first website. I saw how engaging online content could reach audiences in new ways, and I pursued a number of digital news internships in college as a result. I have worked at news startups in the Midwest and in Buenos Aires. I have also worked as a social media coordinator for ONA Mizzou and Mizzou's Women in Engineering Center. This summer I hope to further develop these skills and interests as a digital news intern at the Kansas City Star.

I am very interested in the intersection of journalism, technology and entrepreneurship. Someday, I hope to work for a digital media company or as a media strategist. I am excited to grow ONA Mizzou this year and to continue to organize digital media workshops for students.

In my free time you can find me hanging out in Rocheport, reading about entrepreneurship and watching “Game of Thrones."

Emerald O'Brien, Vice President:

@emrolled

I am a senior convergence journalism major with a particular interest in radio reporting and producing. This summer I'll join the staff of KBIA news, Columbia's NPR member station as a civics and health reporter. I call Denver, Co., home, but I have embraced Missouri as a fun, extended sleepover location.

After graduation, I hope to pursue a career in public radio, but in the next year I am excited to see the opportunities that this group of ONA executive members can bring to Mizzou. "Online news" isn't just Twitter and news blogs. It's a culture and it is a changing model of how we will be looking at journalism for the foreseeable future. I hope this year will bring a lot of new faces and new materials to our meetings.

In my little free time, I like to fish, attempt to play the mandolin and eat vegetarian food.

Maria Davison, Secretary: 

@mariadavison12

I am a senior studying convergence journalism and art history. My path in journalism is focused on content marketing. I’m particularly interested in the place where digital media meets high art. My dream job is to create multimedia content for the great art museums of the world.

I’m currently studying in Milan, Italy, which has been an incredible experience to travel and experience a new culture. I’m from the Kansas City area, and last summer, I worked as a communications intern at Tria Health in Kansas City. In my free time, I scour Columbia, Kansas City and Italy for the best vegetarian food I can find.

I’ll always miss Italy, but I’m excited to be back at Mizzou and to see the opportunities ONA Mizzou presents over the next year.

Madison Feller, Treasurer:

@_madisonline

Hi, everyone! My name is Madison Feller, and I will be serving as ONA Mizzou's treasurer during the 2015-2016 school year.

I am a magazine journalism major with minors in business and computer science. I've worked as a public safety and health reporter at the Columbia Missourian, an editorial intern at Levo League, and an online communications intern at the European Youth Forum.

When I'm not writing or reporting, I can be found reading in Peace Park or drinking a chai shake from Lakota.

Ryan Levi, Social Media Coordinator:

@ryan_levi

Hello, friends! I'm excited to be back on that ONA grind this year as social media coordinator. I held this position last fall before ceding it to our lovely incoming president, Sarah Darby, who did a far superior job while I studied in Pamplona, Spain and generally galavanted around Europe. I am now a senior majoring in convergence journalism and Spanish with a minor in history. I came to Mizzou thinking I would be a magazine writer, but I fell hard for multimedia journalism as a sophomore, which led me to the wonderful world of convergence. I love being able to start with a story idea and then figure out the best platform to tell it on. After flirting with photo-J for a few minutes, I am strongly and confidently pursuing a career in radio (I think). Before moving into convergence, I satisfied my fascination with religion by writing columns for ColumbiaFAVS.

I hail from the Great White North of Minnesota, and I have the (mis)fortune of being a diehard Twins, Timberwolves and Vikings fan. In addition to sports, I enjoy running, reading and watching TV and movies.

Kara Tabor, Membership Development Chair:

@KATabor

My name is Kara Tabor, and I am thrilled to be serving as membership development chair for ONA Mizzou. This is my second year serving on the board and I’m ready to make it my best one yet! I am an Entrepreneurial Journalism major and Business minor, with interests including (but not limited to) public media, audience development and new media funding models. My goal for this year is to make sure that our organization maximizes its potential as an on-campus digital media resource by reaching as many students as possible, no matter the year in school or emphasis area.

I currently report and produce for KBIA 91.3 FM, serve on the community outreach team at the Columbia Missourian and contribute to Investigative Reporters and Editors. In addition, I have taught as an Honors Journalism peer advisor in the Freshman Interest Group program for the past two years and will serve as one of program’s student coordinators starting in the fall. This summer I will be interning for Minnesota Public Radio.  

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, listening to an eclectic array of music and podcasts, exploring my environs, cooking for my friends and drinking craft beer. Spicy food and soulful voices are the keys to my heart.