Board Members
Leslie Shipp, President
Iowa JEA State Director
Shipp survived 32 yearbooks, over 200 newspaper issues and a website as an Iowa adviser. She now coaches tennis and academically advises college students. She is a big fan of the First Amendment.
Natalie Niemeyer Lorenz, Past President
Des Moines East High School
Natalie advises journalism at East High School in Des Moines. Natalie has been on the IHSPA board for 10 years and also served as president. Natalie was IHSPA Adviser of the Year and a JEA Rising Star. Natalie holds her Master Journalism Educator certification from JEA.
Sara Whittaker, Member
Iowa City West High School
Sara Whittaker is Iowa City West High’s journalism teacher and adviser to the Trojan Epic yearbook and the West Side Story newsmagazine and website.
Ashley Cunningham, Member
Jostens Yearbook
Ashley Cunningham is a certified master educator who taught for 13 years at the high school lever before becoming a Jostens yearbook sales representative. Her love of yearbook has been long documented going back to her own high school years and being on the yearook staff. Ashley advised for both yearbook and newspaper during her time teaching. Now she enjoys partnering with elementary, middle and high schools as they create their yearbooks.
Marc Havnen, Member
Varsity Yearbooks
For nearly 30 years, Marc has partnered with some of the most creative and dedicated yearbook staffs in central Iowa while earning Hall of Fame status with industry leader Herff Jones/Varsity Yearbook publishing company.
Beth Basinger, Member
Adel DeSoto Minburn (ADM) High School
Beth Basinger is Adel DeSoto Minburn’s journalism teacher and adviser to The Tiger yearbook, Black & Redgister online news, and Roar! literary magazine.
Beth’s been advising high school publications for nearly 20 years and has a master’s degree from the University of Missouri in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in journalism education.
Sarah Hamilton, Member
Des Moines Hoover High School
Sarah Hamilton, 2021 High School English Teacher of Excellence & 2022 Iowa High School Press Association’s Rod Vahl Journalism Teacher of the Year, is the advisor to Des Moines Hoover High School’s award-winning journalism program. She serves as an advocate for students to showcase their own voices and connect to college and career readiness initiatives.
Jonathan Rogers, Member
Iowa City, City High School
Jonathan Rogers is an award-winning journalism adviser at Iowa City High School of The Little Hawk, and the Red and White yearbook. Former students have won NSPA Pacemakers, NSPA story and designs of the year, RFK Human Rights in Journalism, IHSPA News-Team of the Year, and have gone on to work at NPR, NY Times, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Google, Hamilton and Yahoo Sports.
Dow Jones named Jonathan a Distinguished Adviser in 2013 and in 2015 he was named Iowa High School Journalism Teacher of the Year. He has served as IHSPA President, on the NCTE Censorship Committee, JEA Professional Outreach Chair, Iowa Common Core revision team, Adobe Education Leader, and is a JEA mentor.
He is a contributing writer for JEA Digital Media and has been published in English in Texas Journal, Media Shift, and JEA Today Magazine.
Jonathan is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Iowa teaching Methods of High School Journalism. He has spoken nationally at NCTE, SXSWEdu, Google Summits and JEA education conferences. He speaks on digital journalism, media literacy, bringing student voice into all classes through blogging, using social media, powerful non-fiction writing, video storytelling, and producing excellence. In the summer, he taught at the U of Iowa, Marquette, and Drake-Media Now summer journalism camps.
Before teaching Jonathan was a sports writer, environmental writer, and college golfer at Missouri State. He published stories in E/The Environmental Magazine, Missouri State Standard, Springfield News-Leader, and worked on ESPN College Football GameDay.
Maureen Dyer, Member
Pleasant Valley High School
Maureen Dyer has been teaching journalism at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf since 2013. As an English teacher, she advises the award-winning Spartan Shield newspaper and the Valenian yearbook, both of which have received numerous accolades for excellence, including several Iowa News Team of the Year and Yearbook of the Year awards. In 2024, Maureen was honored as the Iowa High School Journalism Teacher of the Year.
In addition to her work at Pleasant Valley, Maureen has taught as an adjunct college instructor for 15 years, helping to shape aspiring writers at the collegiate level. While her graduate degree is in English, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in Journalism and Mass Communications, a field that has been a lifelong passion of hers. Maureen is committed to nurturing the next generation of storytellers, inspiring students to find their voice and share their stories through the power of journalism.
Lyle Muller, Member
Grinnell College Scarlet & Black
Lyle Muller is a retired, long-time journalist and educator from Iowa who, although retired, remains as the professional adviser for Grinnell College’s student-run Scarlet & Black newspaper.
His career has included leading the former Iowa Center for Investigative Journalism and being the Iowa editor for PolitiFact. Before that, he held several reporting and editing positions during 25 years at The Gazette, (Cedar Rapids, IA), among them being editor of the Iowa City Gazette in 1999-2003 and The Gazette in 2009-12, leading investigative and special projects, and serving as a senior editor. A 1992 Council for the Advancement of Science Writing national fellow, his focus as a reporter was on health, science and higher education.
He formerly was the reporting coach for The Daily Iowan’s Ethics and Politics Initiative journalism project, taught political reporting and editing at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication as an adjunct faculty member, and served on Pulitzer Prize juries that selected finalists for investigative reporting for 2017 and commentary for 2018.
A University of Iowa graduate, he was a 2023 recipient of the Iowa Newspaper Association’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to the newspaper industry.
Michelle Sillman, Executive Director
University of Iowa, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Michelle Sillman graduated with a B.A. from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC). She worked in magazine journalism and as a freelance writer then moved into marketing and strategic communications before returning to the UI.
In her current role, she supports journalism students with professional development and internship opportunities, directs the Iowa Summer Journalism Workshop, and is executive director of the Iowa High School Press Association.
