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April 12, 2024 - April 13, 2024

NABJ Region III Conference
April 12-13, 2024
Tulsa Community College – Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity
Tulsa Community College – Alfred M. Philips Auditorium & Student Commons
Tulsa, OK
Theme: Press and Prosperity: NABJ Meets Black Wall Street
POWERED BY

View the Program Book: bit.ly/NABJRegion3Book
NABJ Region III members will gather in historic Tulsa for two days of training, networking, job opportunities, empowering conversations, and a walk through history.  Registration is available onsite. See information below.
Tulsa is recognized nationally as the home of the Greenwood District, an affluent African American community surrounded by a thriving business district, “Black Wall Street.” This important community to the African American experience was nearly destroyed as a result of racist violence in June 1921.
During this year’s conference, we will reflect on how to continue the legacy of Black Wall Street while preparing members and attendees to make an impact and uplift our stories through journalism and communications in their respective communities.
Featuring:
Session Breakouts & Keynotes
Job Fair & Networking
Healthy NABJ Activities
History Tours
Conference Awards
NABJ-Tulsa Chapter Party

 

Registration Rates
Onsite Registration is Available In-person on April 12-13, 2024
*No Cash Accepted • Debit or Credit Cards Only
  • Professional Member (Professional/Emerging Professional/Alumni/Academic/Media Related Members) – $75
  • Student Member – $40
  • Nonmember – $100
  • Student Nonmember – $50
(Total includes a $3.00 administrative fee)
– Early-Bird and Online Registration by April 5, 2024
  • Professional Member (Professional/Emerging Professional/Alumni/Academic/Media Related Members) – $50
  • Student Member – $25
  • Nonmember – $75
  • Student Nonmember – $35

 

Host Hotel Booking:
Hotel Indigo: Tulsa DWTN-Entertainment Area
121 South Elgin Ave, Tulsa, OK
Availability: 04/11/2024 – 04/14/2024
Click Here to Book Your Room at the NABJ Region III Discounted Rate.

 

 Shuttle Schedule & Transportation Information: The conference will provide a TranSol shuttle to and from several on and off-campus events, and back to the host hotel. Check out the shuttle schedule below for details. Please note: Each day the shuttle picks up from the host hotel main entrance area to bring attendees to the campus. If you do not make it to the below shuttle pick-up designations at the scheduled time, you will have to provide your own transportation to and from conference events. 
Friday, April 12: 
11 AM |  Pick-up: Hotel Indigo
  Drop-off: TCC McKeon Center for Creativity
910 S. Boston Ave.
4:30 PM | Pick-up: TCC McKeon Center for Creativity
    Drop-off: Greenwood Rising History Center
23 N. Greenwood Ave
6 PM | Pick-up: Greenwood Rising History Center
Drop-off: Community Event at Circle Cinema 
    10 S. Lewis Ave
9 PM | Pick-up: Circle Cinema 
Drop-off: Hotel Indigo
    121 S. Elgin Ave
Note: If you plan to attend the optional Networking Wind Down after the Community Event at Circle Cinema, you will be responsible for your own transportation to and from the Retro Grill & Bar.
Saturday, April 13:
7:30 AM | Pick-up: Hotel Indigo
      Drop-off: TCC McKeon Center for Creativity
10:30 AM  | Pick-up: TCC McKeon Center for Creativity
        Drop-off: Greenwood Cultural Center
322 N. Greenwood Ave.
12:30 PM | Pick-up: Greenwood Cultural Center
        Drop-off: TCC McKeon Center for Creativity 
4:45 PM | Pick-up: TCC McKeon Center for Creativity
      Drop-off: Hotel Indigo
Note: If you plan to attend the NABJ-Tulsa Chapter Party after the Conference Ma’at Awards, you are responsible for your transportation to and from the event.
Schedule-at-a-Glance: Subject to Change
Friday, April 12, 2024

 

8 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Registration Check-In
Location: Hotel Indigo, Barley Meeting Room
Noon – 4 p.m. – Opening Career Luncheon & Job Fair
Location: Tulsa Community College • Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity – Event Hall • 910 S. Boston Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119
Recruiters Include: Report for America & The Oklahoma Eagle
Vendors Include: Texas Metro News & Fulton Street Books & Coffee
    • Emcee: Eva D. Coleman, NABJ Region III Director & Lifestyle & Culture Editor, I Messenger Media LLC (I Messenger / Texas Metro News / Garland Journal) 
    • Greetings: Oklahoma State Representative Regina Goodwin 
    • Greetings:  Ken Lemon, President, NABJ &  Reporter, WSOC-TV
    • Greetings: Dr. Eunice Tarver, Vice President of Student Success & Equity, Tulsa Community College
    • Keynote Speaker: ReShonda Tate, Award-Winning Journalist, Author, Filmmaker & Managing Editor, The Houston Defender

 

5 p.m. – Greenwood Rising History Center Tour 
Location: Greenwood Rising • 23 N. Greenwood Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74120
    • Led by NABJ-Tulsa Parliamentarian Mary L. Williams
6:30 p.m. – Terence Crutcher Foundation Community Event
Location: Circle Cinema • 10 S. Lewis Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104

 

9 p.m. – Networking Wind Down
Location: Retro Grill & Bar • 800 N. Peoria Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74106

 

Saturday, April 13, 2024
8 a.m. – Noon – Registration Check-In 
Location: Hotel Indigo, Barley Meeting Room
8 a.m. – Healthy NABJ Meditation Sound Bath | Powered by Leah Heals  
(Breakfast will be served.)
Location: Tulsa Community College • Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity – Event Hall • 910 S. Boston Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119
A therapeutic and meditative experience where attendees will be “bathed” in sound waves.
    • Moderator: Dr. Kortni Alston Lemon, Co-Chair, NABJ Wellness Task Force 
    • Meditation Leader: Leah Frazier, Founder, Leah Heals

 

9 – 10:30 a.m. – General Session: Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University School of Law
Location: Tulsa Community College • Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity – Event Hall • 910 S. Boston Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119
Since 2009, members of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) at Northeastern University School of Law have investigated more than 1,000 cases of homicidal racial violence that took place in the Jim Crow South, culminating in the launch of the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive. It is one of the most comprehensive digital records of racial homicides collected to date and an invaluable resource for examining the extensive scale of killings in former confederate states, from 1930 to 1954. The archive offers users the opportunity to learn how violence affected people’s lives, defined legal rights, and shaped politics during this era. It is distinctive in the field because of the ability to access and compile documents made available to researchers and journalists.
Gina Nortonsmith, CRRJ’s Project Archivist, and Catherine McGloin, Communications Manager, will present the archive and discuss the ways journalists can use its unprecedented documentation and hitherto untold histories to enrich reporting on both historical and contemporary racial injustices.
    • Presenter: Catherine McGloin, Communications Specialist, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University School of Law 
    • Presenter: Gina Nortonsmith, Archivist for African American History at Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University School of Law

 

10:30 a.m. – Noon – Historic Black Wall Street Tour | Powered by Justice for Greenwood
Departing from Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity – Event Hall

 

Noon – 12:30 p.m. – Grab N Go Lunch | Powered by Justice for Greenwood 
Immediately following the tour.

 

1 – 2:30 p.m. – Session Breakouts I
  • Journalism Jumpstart: College Strategies for a Thriving Media Career
Location: Tulsa Community College • Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity – Event Hall • 910 S. Boston Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119
Young professionals and seasoned veterans share what it takes to be on the frontlines of reporting today’s news in today’s environment. This session will also identify how journalists and non-journalists can avoid the trap of getting caught up in the convenience of using technology to accomplish assignments.
    • Moderator: Autumn Bracey, NABJ-Tulsa President & Anchor/Reporter, KOTV News on 6 
    • Panelist: Ashley Jones, Producer, KOTV News on 6 & NABJ-Tulsa Secretary
    • Panelist: Marie Torres, Managing Editor, Spectrum News 1 
    • Panelist: Tyrik Wynn, Anchor, iHeartRadio Black Information Network
    • Panelist: Alexis Yancey, President & CEO, Prayer Works! TV

 

  • Newsfeed Navigator: Mastering Social Media as a Journalist
Location: Tulsa Community College • Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity – 2nd Floor Patio • 910 S. Boston Avenue • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119
This session will provide hands-on learning and exploration of a variety of social media platforms, covering best practices and the pitfalls to avoid.
    • Presenter: Kayla Brock, Associate Social Media Manager, Condé Nast Traveler
    • Presenter: Tierra Smith, Social Media Editor, Black Enterprise Magazine

 

3 – 4:30 p.m. – Session Breakouts II
  • A.I. — Threat or Tool?

Location: Tulsa Community College • Main Academic Building – Alfred M. Philips Auditorium • 900 S. Boston Avenue (Entrance on East 9th Street) • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119

This session will identify how artificial intelligence, A.I., can be a tool and an ally and not a deterrent and detractor from getting journalism assignments completed.
    • Moderator: Dr. Jerry Goodwin, Assistant Professor, Digital Media, Mass Communication and Journalism, Tulsa Community College & NABJ-Tulsa Treasurer 
    • Panelist: Raschanda Hall, Media-Related Representative, NABJ & CEO/Founder, Social Pearls
    • Panelist: Ken Lemon, President, NABJ &  Reporter, WSOC-TV
    • Panelist: Dr. Sharon Honoré, Associate Professor, Communication Unit, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix, USVI 

 

  • Building and Sustaining Your Own Business
Location: Tulsa Community College • Main Academic Building – Student Commons SC 234 • 900 S. Boston Avenue (Entrance on East 9th Street) • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119
This interactive session in the historic city that experienced Black-owned businesses burned to the ground will teach attendees how to create, build and sustain their own media enterprises.
    • Moderator: Russell LaCour, Freelance Journalist, NABJ JSHOP Founder & NABJ-Tulsa VP-Print
    • Panelist: Jasmine Ball, Founder & Financial Advisor, Bamboo Financial Partners 
    • Panelist: Ross Johnson, Founder, Willoughby Avenue & Creative Director, The Oklahoma Eagle 
    • Panelist: Cheryl Smith, Publisher, I Messenger Media LLC (I Messenger/Texas Metro News/Garland Journal) 

 

7 – 9 p.m. – Conference Ma’at Awards
Location: Hotel Indigo – Avery Room
    • Emcee: MaKayla Glenn, Multimedia Journalist, KOTV News on 6 & NABJ-Tulsa VP-Social Media 
    • Keynote Speaker: Gary Lee, Award-Winning Foreign Policy, Travel and Environmental Journalist & Managing Editor, The Oklahoma Eagle 
    • Awards Presentation: Eva D. Coleman, NABJ Region III Director & Lifestyle & Culture Editor, I Messenger Media LLC (I Messenger/Texas Metro News/Garland Journal) 

 

9 p.m. – Midnight – NABJ-Tulsa Chapter Party
Location: The Mayo Hotel, 115 West 5th Street, Tulsa, OK 74103
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