Meet the mentors for SNPA's 2015-16 mentor program

Mentors for the 2015-16 class will be:

David Arkin

David Arkin, senior vice president of content and product development, GateHouse Media Inc., Austin, Texas. Arkin oversees GateHouse Media's print and digital content strategies, as well as the company's digital development and online product strategy. In 2014, he launched the Center for News & Design in Austin, Texas, which provides editing and design services for more than 185 GateHouse newspapers. Since 2012, Arkin served as vice president of content and audience for GateHouse Media. From 2007-2011, he served as executive director of the News & Interactive Division for GateHouse where he launched the company's national news service, developed its digital content strategy and led its newsroom training programs. Prior to that, Arkin served as executive editor for newspapers in New York, Alabama, California and Texas.

Brad Boggs

Brad Boggs, senior director/digital sales, Evening Post Industries/Informed Interactive, Charleston, S.C.  Boggs has digital revenue responsibility for South Carolina's largest newspaper website, PostandCourier.com, and related products. In this role, he manages a team of 11 and sets goals and budgets while teaching, coaching and training his team on all aspects of a consultative digital sales approach.  Since his arrival at the paper, he has grown digital GOP by more than 50 percent, and has continued to grow digital revenue at a pace of more than 10 percent annually. Boggs is recognized as one of the Southeast's emerging leaders in digital media.

Steve Dorsey

Steve Dorsey, vice president/innovation and planning, Austin American-Statesman, Austin, Texas.  Dorsey works on product development, improvement and project planning. He works with and between the newsroom, audience/marketing, and sales to troubleshoot and project plan everything from print initiatives to new digital efforts. He also works closely with Cox Media properties in other markets, as well. Part of his goal since joining the leadership team in Austin has been to connect the staff more closely with the local technology ecosystem, and when appropriate, infuse a sense of "start-up-ness" wherever possible through building partnerships with small companies, participating in events outside the staff's normal focus, and finding places where the paper can collaborate or partner. Prior to joining the Statesman in 2013, he worked with the Detroit Media Partnership where he was vice president for R+D, after working 11 years in the Detroit Free Press newsroom in numerous roles.

Steve Gray

Steve Gray is vice president of strategy and innovation for Morris Communications, working with the Morris media divisions on new strategies and business models. Before joining Morris, he served as managing publisher of The Christian Science Monitor and then headed the Newspaper Next innovation project for the American Press Institute. His career began at his family's newspaper, the Monroe (Mich.) Evening News, where he still serves as chairman of the board. The company is now 100 percent employee-owned.

Jeremy Halbreich

Jeremy Halbreich, chairman and CEO, AIM Texas Media, Dallas, Texas.  AIM Media Texas LLC is the acquisition entity formed by Halbreich for the purpose of purchasing the print and online publishing assets in Texas from Freedom Communications, Inc.  The operating company's headquarters is in McAllen, Texas, and it is managed by AIM Media Texas Management of Dallas, Texas. He also is chairman, president and CEO of AMERCOMM, a management, consulting and investment holding company that he founded.  He previously led Sun-Times Media Holdings LLC and American Consolidated Media.  He is the former president and general manager of The Dallas Morning News.

Chris Hendricks

Christian A. Hendricks has been vice president/products, marketing and innovation for The McClatchy Co., Sacramento, Calif., since June. In this role he is responsible for digital and print audience development, mobile initiatives, marketing, business development, product management, corporate communications, partnerships and innovation. He joined the company in 1992 and held marketing and technology-related executive positions until 1996 when he was promoted to president and publisher of Nando.net (renamed McClatchy Interactive), a pioneering digital publishing and software company. He remained there until 1999 when he was named vice president, interactive media for McClatchy. He also is chairman of the Local Media Consortium's executive committee, whose leadership team is dedicated to leveraging the collective digital strength and assets of its members' 1,600+ newspaper and broadcast outlets to the benefit of members.

Christy Oglesby

Christy Oglesby, managing editor/audience growth, Cox Media Group, Atlanta, Ga. Oglesby devoted the first 10 years of her career to investigative, crime and enterprise advocacy reporting for newspapers. Her work as a print journalist in New Orleans and Atlanta generated writing awards and accolades for exposing shoddy daycare centers, shuttering a teen club that allowed underage drinking and resulting in changes to Georgia's foster care laws.  In 2000 she moved to CNN.com as a reporter before becoming the supervisor of the site's writing staff. She began using instant and trend metrics from digital platforms to combine analytics with her journalism acumen to develop revenue-generating audience growth and video strategies for news sites and television broadcasts. Since 2013, she's been the managing editor for audience growth of the National Content Desk of Cox Media Group. In that role she supports dozens of CMG's websites by developing custom content and reach strategies.

Barb Hough Roda

Barb Hough Roda, executive editor, LNP Media Group, Lancaster, Penn.  Roda is responsible for guiding LNP's newsroom of about 80 full-time reporters, editors, photographers, artists and digital gurus through the exciting but challenging transition into a greater online presence and stronger print product. In less than two years, she has led the editorial department through a leadership and staff reorganization, beat restructuring, extensive staff retraining, a rebranding, a newspaper redesign and the move to a new print facility. Through it all, the leadership team and Roda have worked diligently to champion great journalism, the community they serve, and the staff that is responsible for getting the job done all day, every day.