Professional Staff

Cherie Speller
Director of Student Media & TEC Adviser
spellerch16@ecu.edu
252.328.9238

Cherie Evans Speller was a newspaper journalist for 30 years before joining the staff in the summer of 2016 as the Adviser for The East Carolinian. In the fall of 2020, Cherie was appointed the Interim Director of Student Media. In the summer of 2022, she formally assumed the role of Director. She has served as the readership and community news editor and then associate and senior associate editor at The Daily Reflector in Greenville. She edited the newspaper’s community news section, managed reporters, assigned and edited stories and wrote columns. She also served on the Reflector’s editorial board.

Cherie has also worked as a reporter, features editor and promotions manager at the Reflector, when she marketed the newspaper and its niche products through other media, sponsorships and events. She also has managed the newspaper’s marketing surveys and coordinated employee training and volunteer efforts. Cherie has worked as a news copy editor at The Fayetteville Observer and as a reporter for the Greensboro News & Record. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a concentration in public relations. She also has extensive training in leadership and customer service.

As The East Carolinian’s Adviser, Cherie serves as a resource to TEC’s news team, providing input about journalism, the news and the community. She also assists in organizing and conducting candidate classes, helps in recruiting candidates and serves as the overall TEC office manager. Cherie also serves as an adviser to the Lambda Mu chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a registered Greek Life student organization.

As Student Media’s Director, Cherie holds an administrative role that oversees the organization’s budget management, educational programs and professional staff.

Shayna Jones
WZMB 91.3 FM Adviser
jonesshay17@ecu.edu
252.328.4751

Shayna Jones, known by the students as ShayJo, is a former WZMB 91.3 FM radio station manager now a member of the Student Media Professional Staff, serving in the position of Broadcast Adviser of the college radio station.

ShayJo began her professional career in her current role in 2017. She serves as a resource to the student staff, providing students with input about on-air software, techniques, and current radio trends. ShayJo has also represented Student Media at national College Broadcasters Inc. conventions

Her foremost responsibility, however, is to coordinate and conducts a semester-long training program called Zombie Radio Corp for students wishing to become DJs and members of the WZMB staff.

The Zombie Radio Corps is an eight-week program that includes informational sessions and practicum experience. The informational sessions cover topics such as FCC rules and guidelines, the law of slander, building an on-air personality, preparing a show, radio ethics, interviewing guests, gathering news, announcing and production. Practicum experience include learning and voice tracking, Adobe Audition demonstrations, PSAs, board work and hands on training for DJs to learn to run their own show.

She interned with the #1 hip hop & R&B station in Eastern North Carolina, KISS 101.9, where she worked as an on-air personality and hosted the daily trending topics with Jay Blaze and Clarke Jones. Shayna also completed an internship as a personal assistant for talent manager Antonio Reid Jr. in Atlanta, GA.

A May 2017 graduate of ECU, she was a four-year member of the radio station. Beginning her freshman year and for the next four years, ShayJo handled the roles of disc jockey, music director and, finally, radio station manager. She was 2013-14 DJ of the Semester Award winner, and in 2017 she earned the Student Media Manager of the Year Award. That year her staff won the inaugural Yvonne Moye Outstanding Media Award.

ShayJo, the valedictorian of her senior class in high school, graduated from ECU with a BS in Public Relations. She is an aspiring painter and children’s book author.

Annah Schwartz Howell
Multimedia & Production Adviser
schwartza18@ecu.edu
252.328.9236

Annah Howell currently serves as Multimedia & Production Adviser for East Carolina University’s Student Media, a versatile role placing her at the core of the organization. She provides guidance in design and multimedia for all media divisions, spearheading projects such as launching division websites, establishing a production division and creating a monthly internal newsletter.

Before joining the professional staff, Annah served as a student staff member for The East Carolinian. Starting as a freshman designer, she contributed to various sections and became head designer for the “72” weekender publication, earning recognition as Designer of the Semester. She later served as Production Manager, Arts & Entertainment Editor and News Chief, receiving the Editor of the Semester award in fall 2016.

In her junior year as Multimedia Manager, Annah redesigned and launched a new look for theeastcarolinian.com website, which won best website from the North Carolina College Media Association. As a senior, Annah rose to the highest level at The East Carolinian, having been appointed Editor-in-Chief of an organization that took home awards for best print newspaper and website from the North Carolina College Media Association that year. She was also winner of the 2018 Student Media Manager of the Year Award and the division was presented with the Yvonne Moye Division of the Year award.

Beyond media, Annah worked as a marketing assistant for University Park, establishing social media accounts and collaborating on a rebranding campaign that increased revenue by $497,000 in one year.

Annah holds a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in media studies from East Carolina University (2018). She also earned graduate certificates in Student Affairs in Higher Education and Marketing, and in 2024, completed a master’s degree in Media, Technology, and Learning Design from Appalachian State University.

Candy Griffin
Administrative Support Associate
griffinca22@ecu.edu
252.328.9235

Candy provides oversight to daily business and finance operations for all areas of Pirate Media 1. She offers financial recommendations regarding the use and distribution of funds and develops operational systems that streamline and centralize all administrative functions. Additionally, she assists the director of Student Media with invoicing, monthly reporting and execution of contractual agreements/grants with vendors, including all sales agreements. She works closely with and provides support to the Advertising & Marketing Agency, including the advertising adviser. She serves as the media accountant handling the billing and collections for advertising. She is the Student Media Board Secretary as well.

While in high school, Candy worked part-time at a privately-owned grocery store where she wore many hats and eventually learned the accounting functions that ignited her love for accounting, leading to more than 35 years of experience in the business world through a variety of industries.

In 1987, she moved on from grocery and worked for Heilig-Meyers Furniture. A year later, she began working in the retail industry at Brody’s where she eventually took on the role of buyer’s secretary where she oversaw clothing orders and inventory control.

After 10 years at Brody’s, the company was sold and Candy was introduced to working in media through her new position with “The Daily Reflector.” There she held many positions, starting with accounting. She was later promoted to circulation customer care manager, then circulation information systems manager where she was responsible for maintaining the circulation system and ultimately assisting with the implementation of the paper’s new circulation system, Brainworks.

In 2015, she accepted a job at Hyster-Yale as an accounts payable clerk and was promoted a year later to accounts payable help desk, where she processed payment runs, set up new vendors and assisted with the testing of new implementations among many other duties.

She is married, has two children, three stepchildren and five grandchildren. Her hobbies include shooting pool, fishing, horseback riding, swimming and spending time with her family and friends.