CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS!

PPAGLA members join me in congratulating our new board members for the next two years:  Jim Caccavo, Louis Gabriele, Nancy Newman, Jim Ober, Kirk McKoy, Diandra Jay and Ringo Chiu (alternate).  They will be joining our current board members David Fernandez, Paul Buck, Jim Ruebsamen, Jason Wittman, Gerard Burkhart and Bob Bessolo.

Jim Caccavo is a Los Angeles based photographer-writer.  He brings many years of field experience.  He worked for the L.A. Times, Newsweek and Time/Life.  He also brings to the table teaching experience with several schools.  His photography has won awards with NPPA and ASMP.  He is a four time past president of the Los Angeles chapter of American Society of Media Photographers.

Louis Gabriele is a returning board member.  He has over 35 years of film and television news experience in the news industry.  33 of those years have been with NBC news.  During his career he was awarded several times for his work in news and documentaries.  He is also a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as well as the UCLA Alumni Association.  Gabriele has also represented NABET-CWA members in many capacities.

Nancy Newman served on the PPAGLA Board of Directors from 1991 – 1997 and again from 2004 – 2007.  She also served 3 years as President and 2 years as Vice-President.  After the Princess Diana tragedy, Newman initiated and created a team to create the organizations Code of Ethics.  This document was written by her and still stands today.  Newman was a staff photographer for the Pasadena Star-News, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. She currently runs her own photography business.

Jim Ober is a past president (1984) and current treasurer of the PPAGLA.  He started his career at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner while he attended Pepperdine College in Los Angeles.  After 11 years at the L.A. Herald Examiner, as a staff photographer, he branched out to do his own business, Trackside Photo, which he still owns and operates.

Kirk McKoy joined the Los Angeles Times as a staff photographer in 1987.  From 2001 to 2010, Kirk was the Senior Photo Editor for the Feature sections for the L.A. Times.  Kirk graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Graphic Design and Photography and attended grad school at Georgetown University. Kirk has won several awards from Pictures of the Year International, the National Press Photographers Assn., the Society of News Design and World Press. McKoy had the led images of The Times’ Pulitzer-winning coverage of the Los Angeles riots and was part of the Northridge earthquake’s winning entry.

Diandra Jay is a 12-year veteran photojournalist and Secretary with PPAGLA.  For 11-years, Jay worked her way up the ladder with the Long Beach Press-Telegram.  She started her career as a part-time lab tech and eventually became an award winning full-time photographer.  Today, Jay is a staff photographer for Los Angeles County Public Works.  Recently, Jay graduated from the Orange County Fire Authority Reserve Academy where she will serve as a volunteer firefighter for her community of Silverado Canyon. 

Ringo Chiu (Alternate Board Member) Ringo Chiu currently works as a chief photographer for the Los Angeles Business Journal. He also works as a freelance photographer for Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and Xinhua News Agency.

He has been a professional photographer for more than 20 years.  In 2001, he drove straight to New York City to cover the 911 attacks.

All of these board members bring a lot of experience to our association and should be congratulated on their achievements.