Emerging Leader Award
Katie Duval from Medfield TV



Katie Duval is an award-winning video producer, director, and community media leader with 15 years of experience in multimedia production and community engagement. Since joining Medfield TV in 2022 as Executive Director, she has led the organization through a period of strategic growth and expanded community involvement while serving as Executive Producer on numerous local productions.

After earning a Bachelor of Communications degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Katie entered the community media field through an internship at Amherst Media. She has since worked at five Massachusetts community media stations — Everett Education Channel, Harbor Media, NewTV, Bedford TV, and Medfield TV — building her expertise in production, operations, education, live event coverage, and community engagement. Her work across these organizations has shown her the unique way each station operates to serve its community, and has strengthened her commitment to local storytelling and civic engagement.

Katie currently serves as President of MassAccess and has previously held leadership roles including Vice President, Governance Committee Chair, and Communications Committee Chair. In 2019, she participated in the Alliance for Community Media Emerging Leaders program, an experience that shaped her leadership approach and long-term commitment to the field. She is also a two-time recipient of the ACM Nor’easter Awards. In 2020, she earned a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Middlesex Community College.

In addition to her community media work, Katie is a freelance video producer for a local chef and is a technical director for a local concert band. She has also served on the Board of Directors for Medfield’s merchant and business organization. She is passionate about mentoring emerging media creators through Medfield TV’s Youth Media Program, which serves students in elementary through high school.

Katie lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Mike, and their two cats, Roxy and Indy. Outside the studio, she enjoys crafting, reading, playing tabletop and video games, and attending concerts.

The Dirk Koning – George Stoney Award for Humanistic Communication

Dr. Antoine Haywood from the University of Florida


Dr. Antoine Haywood is a journalism assistant professor at the University of Florida, specializing in community journalism and media history. As a community-engaged scholar, he is passionate about developing collaborative research projects that use place-based media making to foster collective learning, civic participation, and community care. His scholarly work has been published in leading academic journals such as Journalism Practice, Javnost – The Public, the Journal of Information Policy, and the Journal of Popular Music Studies. He has presented over 20 research papers, given numerous lectures at academic and professional practitioner conferences, and authored several book chapters. 

Dr. Haywood’s research agenda is grounded in his extensive experience as a community engagement director at public access television centers–People TV (Atlanta) and PhillyCAM (Philadelphia). His 15 years in Access media have given him firsthand insight into how community media centers–rooted in access television’s infrastructure and history–have remained relevant and valuable since the 1970s. This experience continues to guide his research, which focuses on how communities–particularly historically marginalized ones–use hyperlocal communication resource networks to enhance civic engagement, build social capital, and preserve their authentic stories. 

Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of directors of Radio Free Georgia (WRFG), the Alliance for Community Media (ACM), and the Philadelphia-based People’s Media Fund (formerly the Independence Public Media Foundation). He has led the News Futures Community Media Center Alliance working group, which produced a nationwide survey of public service assets supported by community television infrastructure. Currently, Dr. Haywood serves on the board of directors of Media Burn, an independent media preservation organization, and of Gainesville’s Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center, which is dedicated to preserving African American culture and history in North Central Florida. 

Beyond his academic and public service duties, Dr. Haywood enjoys collecting vinyl records, exploring Florida's natural landscapes, and spending quality time with his beloved wife, Jill, and daughter, Ava.

Dr. Haywood is also an ACM Buske Leadership Award recipient (2014).

The Sue Miller Buske Leadership Award
Jasmine White from Montgomery Community Media

Jasmine N. White is a community media professional with over 20 years of experience in multimedia production, leadership development, and change management. She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Montgomery Community Media (MCM), where she leads the organization’s strategy, operations, fund development, and community impact initiatives, including the consolidation of Montgomery County’s public access and educational channels.

Previously, Jasmine served as Executive Director of Capital Community Media in Salem, Oregon; Director of Education and Community Engagement at MCM; and held leadership roles at DCTV, where she managed Production Services, Creative Services, and DCTV’s Youth Training Institute. As an independent producer, she has also created content focused on food injustice, voting rights, and social justice issues.

Jasmine earned her undergraduate degree in Communications from Ramapo College of New Jersey and holds a Master of Film and Video degree from American University, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of the District of Columbia.  She is the immediate past Board Chair of the Alliance for Community Media’s national board of directors, where she has championed good governance and issues of inclusion, equity, engagement, and accessibility.

Jewell Ryan-White Award For Cultural Diversity 
Jessica Mason from BRIC Arts Media

A native New Yorker, Jessica Mason has had interest in Television, media and production from a young age. She fell in love with the camera in High School while taking a video production class. She then went to Sullivan County Community College to study Communication and Media Arts. Mason began her career working in print for the New Paltz Oracle newspaper as a Staff writer and Copy Editor, while earning her B.A in Journalism from the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz.

Mason began to miss her love for the camera and began filming college sporting events for the University. She then went on to work for Transit Transit News Magazine, an Emmy award winning television program affiliated with the MTA New York City Transit Authority as an Associate and Field Producer.

To fulfill her love for both writing and filming, Mason continued to work with Transit while obtaining her Master’s degree in Media Studies from Brooklyn College; where she also worked as a Teacher Assistant. Mason is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Mass Communications department at Medgar Evers College. She is also managing the Adult Media Education department at BRIC.

 

The Special Recognition Award

Jay April from Akaku Maui Community Media


Fifty years ago I saw a Sony Portapak and had to have one. A few months later I shot SEABROOK 1977, with several NFLCPers. It was the first video documentary on Civil Disobedience and Nuclear Power and helped ignite a worldwide anti-nuclear movement. I crashed a meeting at NYU where some college kids led by George were birthing the National Football League of Cable People or some such, and they let me hang out. The rest is history.

Jump started public access in Connecticut. Drafted the first state law in the nation to protect it. Became a national cable consultant, moved on to start E! Entertainment, specialized in Guerrilla TV for The 90’s on PBS, and CNN’s Environmental Unit. Scored awards for Best Super Bowl spot of 1995 and Best Film in Hawaii. Now running the public access clown car in the nation’s smallest market.