GSPA’s Advisory Council provides direction and advice for the organization from scholastic media advisers' perspectives. Members on the Council serve a minimum of one calendar year but, at their choosing, are welcome to serve a total of two consecutive calendar years with the option to rejoin again in the future. Members of the Advisory Council represent a range of publication types from public and private schools around the state. Reach out to gspa@uga.edu if you have an interest in participating on GSPA’s Advisory Council in the future.
2025 Advisory Council members include:
Pierce Bauer, Druid Hills High School
Pierce Bauer is the adviser of The Spotlight newspaper at Druid Hills High School. Bauer was recognized with GSPA’s First Year Adviser award in 2023, and that same year The Spotlight received the Turnaround Award. Bauer earned a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching from Georgia State University.
Marc Ginsberg, Cedar Shoals High School
Marc Ginsberg has taught at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, GA since 2006, advising student publications since 2015 including BluePrints Magazine, WJAG-TV broadcast, the yearbook and the Little Blue Book literary magazine. He was the 2023 GSPA Adviser of the Year.
Colleen Johnson, J.C. Booth Middle School
Colleen Johnson is a teacher and adviser of the Warrior News. She has been at JC Booth in Peachtree City since 2010. She has taught English, Geography, and currently, is the Broadcasting and Communications, SLED instructor.
Andrea Lyons, Marietta High School
Andrea Lyons, CJE, earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of West Georgia in 1999, Masters of Secondary Education at Kennesaw State University in 2020 and Certified Journalism Educator status in 2023. She is proud to have earned the honor of GSPA Adviser of the Year in 2024. She began her teaching career at Carrollton High School from 2000-2009. For the last 16 years, she has taught English and advised The Pitchfork newspaper at Marietta High. With the help of her students and support of her school and community, Andrea has expanded the journalism program by adding an additional journalism class, a website, and a literary magazine, Persephone.
Ethan Pender, Darlington School
Ethan Pender, CJE, has advised the Jabberwokk Yearbook, Darlingtonian Student News and Inkslinger literary magazine at Darlington School in Rome, Georgia since 2022. His passion for scholastic journalism began as a Darlington student, where as editor-in-chief of all three publications, Pender led his staff to the yearbook’s first All-Georgia, Crown and Pacemaker distinctions. As an adviser, his students have earned back-to-back All-Georgia distinctions for the yearbook, as well as All-American and Gold Medalist critiques, and the 2024 Jabberwokk was named a Pacemaker finalist by the NSPA.
Adam Throne, North Springs High School
Adam Throne teaches 10th Grade Honors Literature, advises the North Springs High School student literary journal and news website, The Oracle, and is developing a school-wide podcasting program. Prior to teaching, he worked in New York as a journalist, promotional writer, and content manager, and has written for numerous pop culture and communications publications.
Shanon Woolf, McIntosh High School
Shanon Woolf, CJE, advises the McIntosh Trail Online News Site and the Legend yearbook at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, Ga. Woolf was the Georgia Scholastic Press Association’s Adviser of the Year in 2022 and was named a Journalism Education Association Rising Star in 2020. She adjudicates publications for several state scholastic press associations and has written for JEA's Communicator: Journalism Education Today magazine. Additionally, she has presented at the National Scholastic Press Association fall conventions and at multiple state-level conventions and workshops. Woolf also serves as a member of JEA's Scholastic Journalism Week Committee.