WHNPA Announces Judges for 2025 ‘Eyes of History®’ Contests

Brian Cassella joined the Chicago Tribune as a photojournalist in 2009. He covers assignments from neighborhood stories and local politics to sports championships and four Olympic Games. A native of Baltimore, Brian previously worked for the Tampa Bay Times and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Jamie Kelter Davis is a Chicago-based independent photojournalist whose work often explores how shifting political landscapes impact communities—from rural families and urban centers to marginalized groups and the environment. A photography graduate of Columbia College Chicago, her work has appeared in The New York Times, POLITICO, The Washington Post, CNN, ProPublica, and NPR.

In 2024, she traveled throughout the country covering the U.S. presidential race. Between key events—primaries, conventions, Election Night at Howard, and Trump’s second inauguration—she sought to understand how political issues were dividing and connecting people’s lives, visually documenting passionate and passive voters, nonvoters, energized volunteers, and the environmental landscapes that shaped their nuanced political experiences and beliefs.

Through her photography, Jamie aims to highlight the human side of politics, offering insight into issues that shape communities and national conversations.

Scott Sharpe is a native of Hickory, N.C. and joined the staff of The Fayetteville Observer in 1983 after graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism. Sharpe then joined the staff of the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. as a photojournalist in 1985 where he covered a variety of assignments including sports, news, features and fashion and traveled internationally to the Middle East, Haiti, Brazil and Albania.

Sharpe has taught as an adjunct instructor in photojournalism and multimedia at UNC, and became a photo assignment editor at the N&O in 2005 and then became Director of Photography and Multimedia in 2008.

During his career, Sharpe has received awards from the NPPA, NC Press Association, The National Headliner Awards and Communication Arts magazine.

Sharpe lives in Cary, N.C. with his wife and has two adult children, who all have thankfully chosen careers outside of journalism.

Charles Anderson is a television production technician with over 40 years of experience working for network news organizations including Fox News Channel, NBC, CNN, and others.

A native Washingtonian and a graduate of American University’s School of Communication, Anderson has held multifaceted production positions at WETA for the past 19 years, including roles as a studio/field lighting director, studio/field camera operator, robotics camera operator, jib operator, camera gimbal operator, and more. In addition to his technical expertise, he is a jazz enthusiast and a saxophonist.

Bob Gould is an award-winning broadcast journalist and recent inductee of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. With nearly 35 years in the industry, starting in local TV news, he is currently in his 18th year teaching visual storytelling and broadcasting at the MSU School of Journalism.

He began his career in 1990 as a TV news photojournalist at WILX-TV in Lansing, later moving to WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, becoming the Chief Photojournalist there in 1995.

Bob’s accolades include over 40 awards from the NPPA (National Press Photographers Association), the MAB (Michigan Association of Broadcasters), and Michigan Associated Press, such as “Best Individual Photojournalism” in 1998 and 2006. He has received 8 regional Emmy nominations and 4 Emmy awards, including a recent one for his documentary on Hurricane Maria, the category 5 storm that ravaged Puerto Rico. A portion of that documentary won a “Best of Competition Award” from the Broadcast Education Association’s annual Festival of Media Arts Competition.

In 2022, Bob received the Edward L. Bliss Award for Distinguished Broadcast Journalism Education from the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2017, he earned the NPPA’s “Robin F. Garland Outstanding Educator” award. He is also a member of the Emmy Silver Circle, recognizing his 25 years in the broadcast industry.

His students have won hundreds of state, regional, and national awards, including a 6th consecutive Station-of-the-Year award from the MAB.

Bob served a 4-year term as President of the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and has been active with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as a Foundation Board member and honorary member for many years. He is currently the Video Chair for the NPPA’s prestigious Best of Photojournalism National Contest and served as NPPA President in 2006.

Bob celebrates 31 years of marriage to Susan, with two children, Ilene, 26, and Isaac, 21, both now working in television news in Michigan.

Kerry Meyer started his professional photography career in Baltimore, in the fall of 1978, joining WMAR-TV2 as a film cameraman shooting local news. We had moved down from NYC to Maryland so my wife could take a job in Washington.

I had always been interested in photography and purchased several magazine subscription for several years where I learned the basics in still cameras, exposure, composition and lighting. This led me to Columbia University in NYC where I studied for an MFA in Film. Of course, there were no film cameraman jobs available in New York so that’s how we decided to go South to Maryland.

I stayed with the 16mm film department for 2 years and then in 1980 WMAR shut down that division. I was asked to stay with the ENG group. It was much easier to shoot with an ENG camera than with a film camera.

From there I moved to MetroMedia Channel 5 TV in Washington DC to shoot national news stories for their new daily national evening news broadcast. Unfortunately, this only lasted for about 6 months. I needed a new job but none were available immediately, so I tried freelancing. I got lucky and landed some work with ITN-TV. While doing this work, I got to know more and more people in DC and someone mentioned Professional Video Services (PVS) was looking for cameramen. In mid 1983 they offered me a full-time job.

This lea to me working with the second correspondent for BBC almost daily. The BBC Washington bureau covered events in North & South America which meant that we got to travel & cover the major news stories of the day. It also meant that we covered Congress and the White House. This BBC relationship continued for almost 20 years.

Around 2000 I decided to not be a full-time cameraman for BBC. They wanted to go 1 man band & I had always had the luxury of having a sound person so I could just focus on my photography. This change threw me into the mix of working with many different clients and keeping a sound person. I worked for many other foreign clients, shot commercials, documentaries and network shows.

Then, in 2004 after PVS had changed hands several times earlier, the present owner closed the business. I decided to go freelance once again except this time I started my own production company. I named it Meyer Video Productions and bought my own camera, sound and lighting equipment. My wife continued to be my soundwoman. We had been a camera team for almost 20 years. I contacted all the people I used to work for and started to work with them again. My broadcast clients included: BBC, NHK, ARD, ZDF, CBC, TV Tokyo, Korean TV, Reuters, APTV and Bloomberg to name a few. This too was a good life for 16 years but in March of 2020 and with COVID beginning I decided this was my time to retire.

Robert Ferrier is a three-time Emmy Award-winning, non-fiction content creator for major worldwide broadcast networks, cable networks, international organizations and companies. Robert specializes in using compelling storytelling to drive ratings, deliver important messages, or to communicate an organization’s mission.

Ferrier began collaborating with Maryland Public Television in 2009 as a freelance contract writer, producer, director, and editor for the original series Outdoors Maryland, earning a regional Emmy in 2018. He also produced the 2019 special “Blue Ribbon River” highlighting the beauty and diversity of the Gunpowder watershed outside Baltimore.

In 2012, Ferrier produced and directed MPT’s Emmy® Award-winning documentary Heart of the Civil War.

In April 2022, Ferrier joined MPT’s Content Division as series producer for Maryland Farm & Harvest. Among other duties, Mr. Ferrier’s primary responsibilities include overseeing production, managing a team of producers, and writing and editing scripts as the series enters its 13th season.

With more than 30 years of national TV production experience, he has worked with organizations such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Channel, History Channel, Food Network, and PBS. From 1997-2005, he produced hundreds of hours of primetime television content as staff supervising producer, producer, director, and editor for Discovery Communications.

Over his career, Ferrier has received multiple Emmy nominations, winning four Emmy Awards, a New York Festivals® TV & Film Awards Gold World Medal, two silver and two bronze Telly Awards, a Special Jury Award from the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, and three CINE Golden Eagles.
In 2018, he was the recipient of the Johns Hopkins University/Saul Zaentz Filmmaking Fellowship.
Mr. Ferrier resides in Severna Park with his wife and their dog, Brody.

Derek Thacker is based in Ottawa where he recently retired from a 37-year career with CTV National News Parliamentary Bureau. He wore two hats at the Ottawa Bureau – first as a Director & Production Editor for CTV Question Period – currently in its 58th year, Canada’s longest running political television program, and secondly as a director for other live studio interview shows such as Power Play, running on CTV NewsChannel.

In addition to studio control rooms, he was assigned to numerous live remotes including Federal Cabinet investitures, Federal Election Night Leaders’ Pools, November 11 Remembrance Day pool coverage, and Canada Day Noon Show pool coverage.

Alongside directing at the Ottawa Bureau, he was Senior Editor for CTV National News – editing daily news stories and numerous special event packages, multicam interviews, and Show Opens incorporating 2D & 3D animated graphics.

Remaining passionate about all aspects of video production, he is pursuing freelance editing in Ottawa and has created his own production company to explore this exciting next chapter.

Lauren Werner graduated from American University with a double major in Graphic Design & Broadcast Communications and was hired as a temporary production assistant at Channel 9, the local CBS affiliate in Washington.

I spent 30 years in TV news, primarily as a media editor for WUSA-TV. Although I began my career as a PA, I soon realized I wanted more of a creative position. I knew I didn’t want to be a reporter so what else could I do to use my skills from my schooling and hobby in photography, and my passion for creativity? Aha! It was a no brainer! I gravitated toward storytelling with video. The station was using 3/4″ videotape editing machines while I was in training, but by the time I retired, I was fully proficient on AVID, the latest in digital editing.

Over the years, I had the opportunity to explore various aspects of broadcasting—producing live programming, scriptwriting, talent coordinator, archivist, scouting live locations, and even dabbling in promotions.

I was lucky to be trained on a wide range of technical equipment, including telemation, prompter, studio cameras, the control room audio board, bringing in microwave signals, and tape playback systems. But editing and videography was where I truly found my passions. Breaking news and live shots were especially thrilling – I thrived on the adrenaline of tight deadlines. Spot news editing became my specialty, as I loved the challenge of visually telling a story in as little as 15 seconds while perfectly timing the words and the pictures.

I earned a reputation for being accurate, fast, and reliable, often as the go-to editor to hit deadlines with the best possible footage. Along the way, I was honored with awards for editing several breaking news stories.

Two of the most unforgettable events I worked on were the DC snipers and the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. The terror attacks were also personal as my brother worked in the Pentagon and my sister lived in Manhattan.

A native Washingtonian, I grew up watching the news—Nancy Dickerson was the first anchor I remember seeing. It’s no wonder I developed a lifelong love for storytelling and capturing history as it unfolded.

Soo-Jeong Kang is an award-winning visual innovator with over 20 years of experience in digital media, photography, video, and immersive storytelling. As Vice President and Head of Visuals & Immersive Video at National Geographic, she led cross-functional teams to produce groundbreaking content that blends cutting-edge technology with powerful narratives.

Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Programming at The New Yorker, where she founded the critically acclaimed The New Yorker Documentary. This series earned seven Academy Award nominations. Her groundbreaking work on “Reeducated,” a virtual reality documentary that takes viewers inside Xinjiang’s “reëducation” camps through the harrowing recollections of three men, received both an Emmy and a Peabody Award.

Soo-Jeong’s career includes a distinguished 15-year tenure as a photography editor and executive video producer at The New York Times. Her contributions included developing award-winning documentaries and innovative video series, including “Vanishing Mind,” which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for photography.

Lauren Schneiderman is a multi-Emmy award-winning filmmaker and journalist, currently working as a Video Producer at The Philadelphia Inquirer. At the Inquirer, Lauren has created both short and long-form documentaries on a variety of topics. She also teaches videojournalism at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication.

She has a MA in New Media Photojournalism from the Corcoran College of Art + Design, a BA in Women’s Studies and International Relations from Goucher College, and a certificate in Documentary Studies from the SALT Institute in Portland, Maine.

Mia Tramz is a two-time Emmy-winning immersive experience producer, specializing in immersive experiences and visual storytelling. In 2020, she was named one of AdWeek’s Creative 100. Previously TIME’s Editorial Director of Enterprise and Immersive Experiences,

Mia oversaw enterprise and immersive content for the brand, including the launch of the TIME Immersive AR app and the development and launch of The March, a virtual reality exhibit that allows visitors to join the 1963 March on Washington and witness first-hand Dr. King delivering his iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

In 2016 she led the launch of Time Inc’s company-wide immersive storytelling brand, LIFE VR, which included executive producing the Emmy-winning VR-docuseries Capturing Everest for Sports Illustrated. In 2020, Mia left her position at TIME to pursue personal projects as well as a career in conservation and agriculture.

She has worked for the Green Mountain Club, the National Parks Service, and is currently the Lead Tractor Operator at Tributary Farm in High Falls, NY. Mia now splits her time between farming and developing independent visual projects.