2023-24 Executive Committee

Kim Fox is a professor of practice at The American University in Cairo (AUC) in Egypt. Her primary areas of interest are radio, audio and podcasting. She uniquely produces, teaches and conducts academic research on podcasts. In 2022, her Ehky Ya Masr Podcast made history at the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) Festival of Media Arts by being the first to win two Best of Festival (BoF) awards in the same year. The BoF is BEA’s highest creative recognition. She is the current chair of BEA’s Radio & Audio Media division (RAM) and has been involved with BEA since 2003. 

Dr. Glenda Balas is Vice President for Academic Relations. She has previously served as member of the Publications Committee and member and Chair of the Research Committee. She completed two terms as District Representative for District 5 and was the 2022-23 BEA Secretary-Treasurer. 

Dr. Balas is Professor of Communication and former Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Interim Provost at the University of North Texas Dallas. Prior to joining UNT Dallas, Dr. Balas was Professor and Department Chair of the Communication and Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico and served as Department Chair of Mass Communication at Sam Houston State University. She began her academic career as a tenure-earning faculty member at DePauw University. Dr. Balas holds an M.B.A. degree from Eastern New Mexico University (1989) and a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa (1999). Her background includes university teaching and administration, as well as 18 years of professional experience in public broadcasting, public relations, nonprofit development, and marketing.  

Dr. Balas has academic interests in international and indigenous media, pedagogy, and U.S. public broadcasting. Her research efforts frequently center on the analysis and critique of public media institutions. Dr. Balas is a two-time Fulbright Scholar (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2009; and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, 2022), conducting comparative research on public service broadcasting in Canada and the U.S. Dr. Balas is also an award-winning teacher who has been recognized for her work with freshman learning communities, experiential learning, and international service learning. She is active in the Fulbright community, serving on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Fulbright Association and working with international travel projects in Thailand and Iceland.  

Christine Merritt is President of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters (OAB). The OAB is the statewide trade association representing the interests of local radio and television stations in Ohio. Founded in 1937, the OAB is one of the oldest state broadcast associations in the country.As OAB President, Christine advocates on behalf of Ohio’s commercial and non-commercial radio and television stations at the state and federal levels, and is responsible for all activities of the association. She also manages the Ohio Broadcasters Foundation, the OAB’s educational foundation.

Christine serves as the broadcast industry representative on the Ohio AMBER Alert Advisory Committee, the State Emergency Communications Committee, and the Ohio Committee on Severe Weather Awareness. She is an executive committee member for the Ohio Debate Commission, and is a board member for the Ohio Capitol Square Foundation and the Ohio United Way. She was previously appointed by the Speaker of Ohio House as a member of the state Broadcast Educational Media Commission.

At the national level, Christine currently serves on the executive committee for the Broadcast Education Association. She is a past president of the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations, a former member of the Board for the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) and has served as a judge for AWM Foundation’s Gracies Awards competition, recognizing exemplary content and programming created by, for and about women.

Dr. Jennifer Meadows is a Professor of Media Arts and the KCSC radio faculty advisor in the Media Arts, Design, and Technology department at California State University, Chico (Chico State).  Her teaching and research integrate practical and theoretical concerns related to video and audio production, the relationships between media and users, and the changing landscape of the new media marketplace.  She is the co-editor of Communication Technology Update & Fundamentals, now in its 18th edition.  She has been involved with BEA since 1995, when she first presented a paper in the Research Division.  Jen has been the chair of the Gender and Sexuality division, is the chair of the BEA Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and was the District 6 representative. 

Dr. Stacey O. Irwin is a professor of media arts production at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. She attended her first conference as a graduate student and has been an active member of BEA for 23 years. She is currently past president after 8 years of service on the board of directors. Her research interests include media philosophy, media history and media curricula and pedagogy. She authored Digital Media: Human-Technology Connection and co-edited Postphenomenology and Media: Essays on Human-Media-World Relations through Lexington Books and is currently working on a Survey of Media Textbook with Taylor and Francis.