By: Cameron Pellegrino '27
The UMass Journalism Department is launching its Journalism Alumni Series, which will consist of alumni returning to their alma mater to speak to students. The series is designed to connect graduates of the department excelling in their field to the next generation of aspiring journalists at UMass.
The first installment will feature Brian Gormley ‘95, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Gormley’s work primarily focuses on venture capital and healthcare reporting. He will be speaking to journalism students on Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. in ILC room S131. The Department of Political Science is co-sponsoring the event.
EDIT: Hilary Allard '90 and Brit Feudo '14 from The Castle Group will make up the second episode of the Journalism Alumni Series. The Castle Group is a public relations firm located in Boston that specializes in events management, marketing and social media.
Allard and Feudo will return to UMass on Dec. 1 to share their experiences in building and leading a successful PR agency. The talk will be co-sponsored by the Department of Communication and will take place at 4 p.m. in the Communication Hub, on the third floor of the ILC.
The sports concentration will be represented in the Journalism Alumni Series by New England Patriots team reporter Alexandra Francisco ‘17. Francisco spent time as a sports reporter for MassLive and a content producer for NESN prior to landing her current job with the Patriots. She works as a multimedia reporter for the NFL team, helping with social media strategy, screenwriting and serving as a host on the team’s flagship radio show, “Patriots Unfiltered.”
Tristan Smith ‘21 is the fourth confirmed member of the series. A fairly recent graduate of the department, Smith is now a news associate for CBS News. Initially, he became a news reporter for MassLive post-graduation, before enrolling in graduate school at New York University to study news and documentaries.
Smith will be screening a documentary film called “EACH,” which centers around three young men participating in a unique court program. The event will be co-sponsored by the Department of Legal Studies. The latter two speakers will be scheduled at a later date during the spring semester.