VPA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Secretary
- Executive Director
- Treasurer
Betsy Wells Edwards is the executive director of the Virginia Press Association. She has experience in public relations, marketing and lobbying. She served in public information roles for the Indiana Senate, the Indiana Public Service Commission, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. She also served as the development director for the ACLU of Virginia and Preservation Virginia and as the executive director of the Virginia Fair Trial Project. Edwards has lived in Virginia since 1986 and is the author of Virginia Country: Inside the Historic Homes of the Old Dominion (Simon & Schuster, 1998). She holds a degree in Political Science and Journalism from Indiana University and is from Indianapolis, Ind.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
Deana Meredith is the Communications Manager at the Virginia Press Association. She has nearly 20 years experience in newspapers having served as news editor at The Central Virginian in Louisa, Va., and was executive director of the Louisa County Chamber of Commerce for five years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
- Publisher
- Vice President
Janet Madison is the Member Services Manager at the Virginia Press Association. She started at the VPA as a part-time assistant in the clipping service in 1993 after spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mom. In 1998 she moved to a full-time role in the association and has filled many different roles over the course of her 25-year career at VPA. She is from Richmond, Va.
Jeff Wong has a deep knowledge of the newspaper industry having spent more than 45 years at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, most recently as the paper's major accounts manager. He retired from the newspaper in September and will bring the same level of dedication that he is known for to Virginia Press Association members.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
- President
- Publisher
Julia Wigginton has worked in production and graphic design for various newspapers for 32 years. She collects tearsheets for clients who run ads with the Virginia Press Association through member publications.
Job Titles:
- Sales Representative
- Sales Representative for Virginia Press Services
Landon Clark is the sales representative for Virginia Press Services. He previously worked for the Rappahannock Oyster Company as an event coordinator. He has been a musician for most of his life and has played guitar and recorded with multiple bluegrass and rock-and-roll bands. He is from White Stone, Va. in the Northern Neck.
Rachel Flaherty, Digital Services Manager at the Virginia Press Association and former digital marketing producer at Lockwood Broadcast Group, excels in social media development, website management, and campaign coordination.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Administration
Steve has more than two decades of Virginia newspaper experience, having worked as editor of the Northern Neck News and as publisher of The Central Virginian. He served on the VPA Board of Directors from 2008-2019.
Job Titles:
- Advertising Sales Director
Susan Wineland-Ii is the Advertising Sales Director at the Virginia Press Association. She joined the VPA in the fall of 2017. She has more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience and spent the majority of her career in advertising sales with Gannett Central New York Media Group representing the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Elmira Star Gazette and Ithaca Journal. She holds a bachelor's of arts from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa. and is originally from Meadville, Pa.