meredith cummings

I am the director of journalism and communications-based nonprofit organizations, as well as communications organizations, that operate at the state and national levels. Read more about them below:

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ASPA: The Alabama Scholastic Press Association, sponsored by The University of Alabama's Department of Journalism and Creative Media, is 82 years old and seeks to empower middle and high school newspaper, yearbook, multimedia, newsmagazine, literary magazine and broadcast staffs around Alabama. As director, I organize contests, events and training for students and teachers, a well as write grants and handle business aspects of a non profit.

 

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Multicultural Journalism Program: For 38 years, The University of Alabama Department of Journalism and Creative Media has been committed to increasing diversity in America’s newsrooms with its Multicultural Journalism Program. As part of year-round recruiting efforts, the Multicultural Journalism Workshop is held. The purpose of the workshop is to give high school students experience that teaches them more about college life and a career in media. Each year, 10 to 20 students from around the country are selected to attend an intensive 10-day workshop is held on the UA campus each summer. The workshop emphasizes multimedia reporting, writing, editing, graphics, photography, production and basic communication skills, and participants produce the MJP Journal (online and in print) to showcase what they’ve learned.

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NESPA: I direct the National Elementary Schools Press Association, founded in 1994, an organization dedicated to helping elementary and middle schools start new and improve existing class and school media programs. NESPA currently serves about 800 schools around the United States and honorary members include Judy Blume, among others.

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I have been a member of Alabama Media Professionals for 10 years and am a past president. I currently serve as Membership Vice President and served as Contest Coordinator for five years. AMP serves the interest of professional communicators in many different fields. Some members are in the news media, some in marketing, some in advertising, some are professors, while others are authors. We welcome photographers, linguists, writers, and broadcast professionals. Most of our members work in more than one area of communications.

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Society of Professional Journalists: I serve on the Society of Professional Journalists Education Committee and coordinate the #press4education efforts. I served on the SPJ Alabama Professional Chapter Board for nine years, including as president. For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

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I am a TED Circles host. I was previously lead organizer for TEDxTuscaloosa. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, such as the one in Tuscaloosa, are self-organized. 

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I am Secretary of the National Federation of Press Women and served as Student Membership Director for two years. NFPW represents professionals and students working across the communications spectrum in the United States. We offer community and connections to other professionals in 32 state affiliates and welcome at-large members from areas without affiliates.