SPJ/LA Board Election Candidates for 2023
The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists announces newest board members.
Five candidates were elected to fill the vacant seats available this year.
The chapter uses member information provided by SPJ national headquarters for the ballot list. Members are required to renew or sign up as a member of SPJ/LA by Dec. 9 to be eligible to vote.
New board members will begin their three-year terms on Jan. 1, 2023.
For more information about SPJ/LA, visit www.spjla.org
Aaron Day is a producer for Good Day LA at KTTV-TV FOX 11 in Los Angeles. Aaron also produces documentaries and special projects for the station. Aaron is an Emmy, Golden Mike, Edward R. Murrow, and LA Press Club award winner.
Before Los Angeles, he was a Supervising Producer at KCPQ-TV in Seattle where he oversaw coverage for morning newscasts, story placement, live events, and breaking news strategy. Aaron has been a broadcast journalist for more than 21 years.
Before Seattle, he worked at television stations as a producer/writer in San Diego. He started his career as an assignment editor in Los Angeles at KNBC-TV.
In addition to producing, he is an adjunct professor of journalism and mass media.
He holds a B.A. in Film & Electronic Arts from California State University, Long Beach, a M.A. in Organizational Leadership from City University of Seattle, and Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership, also from City University of Seattle.
Alex Razo is an award winning producer with over 5 years of radio and broadcasting experience. She currently works at Spectrum News 1 as a producer.
After graduating from Cal State Northridge in 2017, she began working for KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles as a producer. KFI is one of the most listened to news-talk radio stations in the country and serves all of Southern California.
Alex started her career there as an intern for the morning show while as a student, and after being hired part-time was promoted to being the full-time producer of both morning shows (Wake Up Call and the Bill Handel Show) only a few months later.
Besides her regular duties as the executive producer of two of the station’s highest rated shows, she is also a member of a news documentary team for KFI, co-producing long-form radio programs and limited podcast series focusing on major issues impacting SoCal.
Eleanore Vega is an award-winning veteran journalist based in Los Angeles and was the former West Coast Bureau Chief for CBS News.
She has worked diligently to promote diversity and inclusion in local and network newsrooms she has managed in both English and Spanish markets.
Eleanore joined the SPJ Diversity & Inclusion committee in 2019 and helped revamp the Diversity Leadership Fellowship program. Since 2021, Eleanore has been the SPJ D&I Committee Chair.
Elizabeth Marcellino works as a communications consultant for the Chief Executive Office of Los Angeles County with a focus on the county budget. She previously worked for more than a dozen years for Los Angeles-based City News Service, reporting on a wide range of policy issues and also covering criminal courts and the police beat during her time there.
Prior to her career as a journalist and writer, Elizabeth was a managing director at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., where she worked from 1991 to 2004 in investment banking, portfolio management and private equity.
She earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to serving as SPJ/LA’s treasurer since 2018, she sits on the board and finance committee of Jumpstart, a national nonprofit organization working to close the early childhood education gap.
Elizabeth is currently serving on the SPJ/LA board as its treasurer.
A USC Trojan, Kate Cagle has lived on the West Coast all of her adult life and takes full advantage of all the great beaches, sunsets and museums SoCal has to offer.
Before joining the Spectrum News 1 team, Kate covered city hall and development issues for the Santa Monica Daily Press.
Before that, she worked in the Bay Area, Portland, and Palm Springs as a broadcast reporter and producer.
Today, Kate embraces the opportunity to tell the stories of the incredible people who call SoCal home.
She recalls her reporting on The Valley Fire in Sonoma County as one of her most deeply moving stories.
During her coverage of the fire, Kate took it upon herself to drive past the fire line and check on the home of an evacuee who had no idea if her pets were alive or her house was still standing. Thankfully, all ended well, and Kate remains good friends with the woman she courageously helped to this day.
Outside of work, Kate has her hands full with a husband, baby boy, and two dogs. She loves being able to see her favorite spots in SoCal through her son’s eyes.
Kate is a current SPJ/LA board member and serves on the Advocacy and Awards committees.
Sara Catania (she/her) is Chief Program Officer for the Solutions Journalism Network.
She leads the strategy to accelerate rigorous reporting on promising responses to society’s most difficult problems and expand access to those stories, wherever people get their news.
She launched the HBCU and HSI Solutions Journalism Educator Academies and serves on the program committee for the JSK Fellowship at Stanford, addressing information gaps in communities of color.
Her experience includes years as a reporter, editor and newsroom leader at NBC, Reuters, Global Press Journal, Zócalo Public Square, Mother Jones, LA Weekly and the Los Angeles Times.