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Faculty bios

Dr. David Burns is a visiting associate professor in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. At Maryland, he co-directs the University of Maryland’s Capital News Service Television bureau and the Maryland Newsline news program. Burns has worked for CNN and NBC News, in both permanent and freelance capacities, as a videotape editor and field camera operator in the United States and abroad. While living outside the U.S., he worked as a technology correspondent for the IDG Wire Service and for a Polish business and finance weekly newspaper. He has taught journalism courses to students and professional broadcast workshops to reporters in the United States, Poland, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Afghanistan.

Lucinda Fleeson inaugurated the international reporting class at the Merrill School in 2007, taking a graduate class to Mexico to report on immigration issues. The second year a multimedia class traveled to Vietnam to produce a website of broadcast, web and graphic stories. She is director of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at Maryland, which brings about a dozen foreign journalists and other media professionals to campus for an academic year. A journalist all her life, most of her experience was at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

After working as a former assistant trader in the investment services industry for six years, Kim changed career paths to pursue her love for writing. She is currently a graduate student at the Philip Merrill College Of Journalism with a focus in online media. While in school, she has written for local papers including The Prince George's Sentinel and the campus paper, The Diamondback and has interned at Express, a publication of The Washington Post.

This March, Kim will be joining 11 other students on an international reporting trip to Iceland where she will report on the country's economic collapse.

Ian Sbalcio is a senior broadcast journalism student at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Born and raised in Southern New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia, Ian has always been fascinated with travel and culture. Ian is also an alumni of the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria and worked as a freelance writer for the Record Breeze. Previously, Ian worked as a production assistant with Kwokman Productions for an ESPN broadcast and is currently an intern at ESPN 980, the voice of the Redskins. When Ian is not working, he enjoys playing hockey and, as an amateur photographer, he enjoys traveling with one eye peering through a lens.

Aleksandra Robinson is a graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, Philip Merrill College of Journalism. She has held internships at U-Wire, a CBS wire service for college newspapers, and The Baltimore Examiner. She was The Examiner's first-ever opinion page fellow, a position she held until the paper's close in February. She now works at USA WEEKEND as the magazine's first copy desk intern. When she is not working or studying, Robinson works as a member of the professional crew of The S/V Pintita charter boat and as the head outreach sailing instructor of the nonprofit Downtown Sailing Center in Baltimore.

Arelis Rocio Hernandez, 21, is a Latina multimedia journalism student at the University of Maryland with a minor in U.S. Latina/o studies. She was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, where she developed an acute sense of awareness and an obsessive need to know what was going on in the world. Now a journalism student, Arelis has interned for the Baltimore Sun, the Orlando Sentinel, washingtonpost.com, and the Wilmington Star-News in North Carolina. She also worked for the online news bureau of Capital News Service at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism. This summer, she will be reporting for the Associated Press in their Houston Bureau. Arelis hopes to be on the cutting edge of innovation, mastering digital media and serving underrepresented groups through journalism. For more information, you can reach her at americua21@comcast.net.

Erika Woodward, 26, is a graduate student at the University of Maryland who covers social services and education for the Annapolis bureau of Capital News Service. She received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She interned at Style magazine and The Baltimore Times. She also freelanced for The Prince George's Sentinel. She has more than 14 years of classical ballet training and was formerly a professional dancer for The Dance Theatre of Harlem. She can be reached at erikaaw@umd.edu.

Andrew Smith is a recent graduate from the Philip Merrill School of Journalism. He is a production assistant at WUSA-TV, a CBS affiliate in Washington DC, and has been a producer for UMTV, UMD’s cable TV network. He has also served as an intern with the washingtonpost.com. In addition to these activities, he worked as an outdoor trip leader and challenge course facilitator for UMD’s Outdoor Recreation Center. Andrew is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Samantha Grieder is a senior broadcast journalism student from Anaheim, California. She has worked as a producer for Maryland Newsline and Terrapin Time Out at UMTV. Samantha has interned with the investigative unit of NBC News in Los Angeles and works as an Associate Producer for Sirius XM Satellite Radio's MLB Home Plate Channel. She has been deeply involved with the Student Government Association and the Society of Professional Journalists since her freshman year. In her free time she enjoys food, travel, art, music and sports.

Jonathan Berlin is a senior journalism major with a minor in environmental science. Last summer he interned for the Maryland Sea Grant College and wrote about the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This spring break, he traveled to Iceland to report on the effects of global warming on agriculture. After graduation in May 2010, he plans to attend graduate school in environmental science.

Megan Miller is a Washington correspondent for the Capital News Service and a graduate student in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, graduating in May 2009. Prior to her move to D.C. she lived in Pittsburgh, and has an undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Megan grew up on a small farm in rural western Pennsylvania.

MacKenzie Cotters is a senior print journalism major at the University of Maryland with a concentration in environmental science. She has written for many on campus publications and is a section editor for Unwind! Magazine. During her time at Maryland MacKenzie has interned with USA WEEKEND, National Geographic Magazine and currently with the American Journalism Review.