NEW MEDIA CONTEST JUDGES 2010 MEREDITH BIRKETT Meredith Birkett is a senior multimedia editor for special projects at MSNBC.com, a general news Web site seen by more than 40 million unique users each month. Birkett has worked at MSNBC.com for nine years. In this role, Meredith works as a liaison with freelancers, picture agencies, staff multimedia journalists and wire services to produce multimedia projects across all sections of MSNBC.com. Birkett also produces popular visual features such as The Week in Pictures and the Year in Pictures. During her years at MSNBC.com, Meredith's projects have earned recognition from organizations such as the Online News Association, Pictures of the Year International and the National Press Photographers Association. Most recently, a project Birkett led, “Multiracial in America,” earned first place in NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism multimedia competition. In recent years, Meredith traveled to workshops and conferences to share her knowledge of multimedia production and the growing freelance and agency marketplace for multimedia reporting. She was a panelist and coach at the 2008 and 2009 NPPA Convergence, a coach at the Eddie Adams Workshop and she led a course on multimedia production at the University of Miami’s Beyond Bootcamp. PAM CHEN Award-winning producer, photographer, and composer Pamela Chen manages photography and multimedia for the Open Society Institute, where she is part of the team leading the development of the foundation’s visual communications strategy tackling some of the most complex social issues around the world. Previously she was a producer with MediaStorm, where her work earned numerous industry accolades including the national News & Documentary Emmy Award, Webby Awards, and Pictures of the Year International awards in both photography and multimedia. She has served as teacher and coach for universities, national news outlets, multimedia workshops, and industry conferences, on storytelling topics ranging from the conceptual narrative to techniques in video editing and music composition. Pam studied photography and mathematics at Syracuse University and received a Fulbright scholarship for journalism to Taiwan. BRUCE STRONG Bruce Strong is a multimedia storyteller and associate professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Visual Communications at Syracuse University in New York. His life and work have taken him to more than 60 countries and to some of the best visual communications programs in the U.S. His work has been published in Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report, National Geographic and various international magazines, as well as The Orange County (Calif.) Register, where he was on staff for more than a decade.  He currently teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in photojournalism and video and audio storytelling. He previously served as the visiting professional at Ohio University School of Visual Communication, where he also was awarded the Knight Fellowship in Newsroom Graphics Management and Publication Design. Before that, he served as the Kellogg Public Policy Fellow at the University of Michigan Journalism Fellowship program, during which time he published “Armenia: The Story of a Place in Essays & Images.’’  Bruce also founded Photo Night, a monthly gathering of photographers that has drawn up to 500 professional photographers as well as such renowned speakers as James Nachtwey, Arnold Newman, Antonin Kratochvil, Douglas Kirkland, Sam Abell and William Albert Allard. Bruce loves to work with cool people on awesome projects. Life is too short to do anything else. He finds teaching to be a rewarding and enlightening journey, and he is proud of his students, many of whom—while still students—have won top honors from NPPA, POY, World Press and BOP. He also had the good fortune of mentoring back-to-back College Photographer of the Year winners, Matt Eich and Travis Dove. But Bruce is most proud of his two young sons, Jack and Cole, and loves adventuring through life with his visual journalist/professor wife, Claudia.  Judging Schedule The public is welcome to observe the evaluation process. Please check in at the lobby. You will need a badge or an escort for access to the New Media judging area. Judging Venue: National Geographic, 9th floor (Room TBA) 17th and M St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 All times and categories are subject to change. Sat., Feb 13 approximate schedule: 9:00 - 5:00 PM Sun., Feb 14 At this point we do not know if the judging will conclude on Saturday, or carry over to Sunday