2014 ACM Awards & Scholarship Recipients
The Buske Leadership Award: Antoine Haywood
Antoine Haywood is Philadelphia Community Access Media’s (PhillyCAM) Membership and Outreach Director. His career in the nonprofit sector began in Atlanta, GA where he worked for the Atlanta History Center, the Mayor’s Office of Community Technology and People TV—Atlanta’s public access television station. Antoine’s professional work has entailed the development of education programs for youth and adults, facilitating community-driven documentary projects, producing a variety of local TV series and grant writing. Throughout the years, he has played an active role in building the field of community media through the Alliance for Community Media, National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, Allied Media Project, Rockwood Leadership Institute, Media Action Grassroots Network, and the Youth Media Reporter. Beyond his extensive work in the community media field, Antoine is also a musician with 20+ years of recording and performance experience. He holds a B.A. in English from Morehouse College and a M.A. in Media Studies from the New School University. Antoine is a native of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Dirk Koning-George Stoney Award: Suzanne St. John-Crane
Suzanne St. John-Crane has worked in community media for the past twenty-two years as a producer, CEO and CMC advocate. Over the past ten years, she successfully launched two community media operations in California: CMAP and CreaTV San Jose. Suzanne has taught thousands of community media makers the ropes and has become a mentor to CMC professionals around the country.
In 2006, Suzanne submitted testimony for Senate congressional hearings on behalf of the Alliance and helped get CMCs to the negotiating table when California state franchising was proposed. She worked with The Buske Group and a core team of CMC directors to successfully fight for PEG friendly amendments in DIVCA, paving the way for centers like CreaTV San Jose to open.
Suzanne has served multiple terms on the Western Region and National Boards. Although she is the recipient of over a dozen regional and national awards for programs she has produced, her greatest joy is enabling others to have a voice through CMCs.
The Jewell Ryan-White Cultural Diversity Award: Chag Lowry
Chag Lowry is of Yurok, Maidu, and Achumawi Native American ancestry from northern California. He is the Program Manager for the Native Cultures Fund, part of the Humboldt Area Foundation, which supports Indigenous artists, elders, culture bearers, and Native language speakers as they create meaningful work in their communities.
An author and filmmaker, Chag incorporates the best practices and values from his Native cultures into his work. He has a BA in Journalism and an MA in Education from Humboldt State University, and supports the Live Your Language Alliance. Thanks to Chag, we hear many Native languages spoken through community media.
The Brian Wilson Scholarship: Emily Alexandra Rouleau
Emily Alexandra Rouleau is a 22 year old senior at Western Michigan University, working towards a degree in Film Video and Media. She is currently the Sports Editor and reporter for the university’s newspaper, The Western Herald, and a member of the student ran television channel, WE-TV. Emily also contributes her time to the campus organization, Young Broadcasters of Tomorrow. Her current position at Public Media Network as Master Control Operator has helped guide her to achieve her future career goals. One day Emily aspires to become a sports reporter or develop a career in film production.