Deborah Moreno is an award-winning journalist and writer with more than 30 years of experience in media, academia, and business. Her work has been published locally, regionally, and nationally.
She began her journalism career in the newsroom of The Register-Mail and later worked as a freelance writer and reporter for Tri-States Public Radio News. In addition to her reporting work, she has taught writing, literature, and journalism at Knox College and Carl Sandburg College.
From 2016 to 2018, Deborah led the Galesburg on Track / Heart & Soul initiative, a community revitalization project designed to strengthen local identity and civic engagement.
Originally from Evanston, Illinois, she came to Galesburg to attend Knox College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She also holds graduate degrees from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University and Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Deborah and her husband, Alex, have called Galesburg home for more than 30 years. Together, they run their family business, Moreno Tile & Stone, and have raised five children in the community they love.
David Amor is an instructor emeritus of journalism at Knox College, where he co-founded and co-chaired the journalism program from 2005 until his retirement in 2013.
He previously served as Knox’s director of college communication and was a regular contributor to the Register-Mail’s Community Roundtable from 2009 until it ended in 2022.
He holds a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin.
Dave Schulz is senior counsel in the media and entertainment law group at Ballard Spahr LLP and director of the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School.
The Yale clinic provides pro bono representation to journalists and researchers to support robust investigative journalism.
Schulz’s private practice focuses on media law, First Amendment, and intellectual property litigation. He currently serves as a general trustee of Knox College.
Tom Martin has worked in journalism for 35 years, including 32 as the chief editor at five different publications. His longest tenure was 18 years as editor of The Register-Mail in Galesburg. During that time, the paper was named the best small or mid-sized daily newspaper in Illinois eight times.
While in Galesburg, Martin taught journalism at Knox College and served as the award-winning student newspaper adviser for 11 years.
He recently earned a master’s degree in digital audience strategies from Arizona State University.
Chris Etheridge Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas.
He previously worked as a reporter for The Register-Mail. His research focuses on community information exchange and local news, with an emphasis on how media organizations contribute to community problem-solving.
His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Mass Communication and Society, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Howard Journal of Communications, and Science Communication.
Note: Penn served as a founding member from 2023-2024.
Michael Penn is a journalist and scholar, currently a visiting journalist in residence at Knox College. He founded an independent video and internet news agency in Tokyo and served as the first vice president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Japan.
Penn has appeared as a reporter and analyst on BBC World, CBS News, and France 24. His work has appeared in Al Jazeera English, Foreign Policy, and Japan Times. For five years, he wrote a monthly column for Shukan Kinyobi, a Japanese-language current affairs magazine.
