The duPont-Columbia Awards Jury
Mark Lukasiewicz, duPont Jury Chair
Mark Lukasiewicz is the Dean of The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University. Before this, he worked as a veteran producer, journalist, and media executive. In his decades-long career, he has produced numerous live and long-form programs, winning 10 Emmys, two Peabody Awards, and the Grand Prize of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards, among other journalism and international film festival awards.
Ron Allen, duPont Juror
Ron Allen teaches journalism at Fordham University, following a recent Ferris Visiting Professor Fellowship at Princeton. Prior to that, he spent decades as a national correspondent at NBC, ABC and CBS News. He has covered American politics extensively, numerous conflicts overseas, and countless breaking news events. His work has earned multiple Emmys, Peabodys, du-Ponts, Overseas Press Club, and National Association of Black Journalists awards, including Journalist of the Year.
Juan-Manuel Benitez, duPont Juror
Juan Manuel Benítez is the Philip S. Balboni professor of Local Journalism at Columbia University. For two decades, he worked as a television anchor and reporter for the local news station NY1, where he mainly covered New York City politics and climate issues. In 2022, Benítez won an NY Emmy Award for his coverage of Mayor Bill de Blasio's record on climate change and adaptation. As a journalist based in New York, Benítez has also worked as a radio host for WNYC and as a political analyst for MSNBC.
Cheryl Gould, duPont Juror
Cheryl Gould is a decades-long NBC News producer, Executive Producer, and leading manager, retiring in 2015 as a Sr. Vice President. She was the first female Executive Producer of a nightly newscast, and is known as a pioneer, role model, and mentor for women in the industry.
Gould’s awards include an Emmy, a duPont-Columbia award for Overnight, and an Edward R. Murrow award. She served as the duPont Jury Chair for several years.
Lee Kamlet, duPont Juror
Lee Kamlet is the former Dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. Prior to that, he was a producer for 21 years at ABC News and 10 years at NBC News. Over the course of his journalism career, he was awarded a duPont Silver Baton, three Emmy Awards, and a Writers Guild of America Award. He currently is a freelance writer, and lives in Fairfield, CT.
Kate O’Brian, duPont Juror
Kate O’Brian’s career in journalism spans nearly four decades, most recently as President of News, E.W. Scripps. She spent 30 years at ABC News in ascending positions including senior vice president for news where Kate oversaw newsgathering across ABC’s news bureaus worldwide. Kate became the first woman to run a 24/7 cable news organization when she was appointed president at Al Jazeera America.
O’Brian has received the Robert G. McGruder Diversity in Media Dinstinguished Leadership Award, Emmy, duPont-Columbia, and Peabody awards, among others.
Robert Smith, duPont Juror
Robert Smith is the Director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship at Columbia Journalism School. He was most recently a host for NPR's Planet Money where he told stories about how the global economy is affecting our lives. Prior to Planet Money, Smith was a national and New York City correspondent for NPR, covering a variety of breaking news stories, from Hurricane Katrina to the "Miracle on the Hudson" landing of US Airways Flight 1549.
Julianne Welby, duPont Juror
Julianne Welby is a professor at Fordham University and a multimedia journalist who has worked in public and nonprofit media as a reporter, producer, host, editor, and news manager, most recently as Senior Editor in WNYC’s newsroom. She has led training efforts at WNYC and for many other journalists across the nation, with special focuses on breaking news protocols, multimedia reporting, audience engagement, and authentic vocal delivery.
