Judges

Our panel of judges comes from diverse backgrounds across the media world, including writers, filmmakers, engineers, and media educators. Together, they offer a rich mix of perspectives, skills, and experience.

Tony Sabato

Tony graduated from Ithaca college with a degree in TV, Radio, and Video Production. He has worked as a broadcast new videographer for 19 years and currently works for NBC 10 Boston. He won a new England Emmy for his drone videography in 2023.

Melissa Brayall

Melissa Brayall is currently the Digital Learning Specialist at Londonderry High School, but she spent 13 years teaching video production at Manchester West HS, MST, and Windham HS. She got her degree in TV Production from Ithaca College and also spent some time working at WMUR and in the multimedia department at the National Baseball Hall of Fame!

Peter Johnson

Pete Johnson started out in community media while still in High School, volunteering with the local Public Access cable station in his home town of Oil City, PA. Following graduation from Clarion University of PA with a degree in Communications, he became Executive Director of that same local non-profit organization. Following a move to New Hampshire in 2001, Pete advocated for additional community channels for the city of Nashua, which at the time was only covering local City meetings with a single camera. He is currently the Administrator for the City of Nashua’s educational television channel, Nashua ETV.

Elyza Davis

Elyza Davis graduated from New England School of Communications with a degree in video production. Her first industry job was at Little Bay Broadcast in Dover, NH. There she outfitted TV production trucks before taking a job at WMUR as a production assistant, operating equipment for live newscasts and helping maintain and update equipment and set pieces. Elyza is also a Murrow Award winner from her time working for WMUR.com. After 10 years in news and two First in the Nation NH election cycles, she left to focus on her family and growing her small business, Scorpio Moon Rising.

Steve Shannon

Steve is an Emmy and Murrow Award winning photographer and editor, who has spent the last 15 years covering news in New England. He currently works for NBC Boston. He has worked in documentary filmmaking, and co-created the Out Of Sync Film Podcast.

Mary-Paige Provost

Mary-Paige is the Senior Executive Producer of New Hampshire Chronicle, a nightly magazine program that airs on WMUR-TV and features people, places, and things to do in the State of New Hampshire. NH Chronicle features long-form storytellers, and bring viewers all around the state digging up moving human interest stories and hidden gems. She is a NH native and has been working in television since 2004, with NH Chronicle since 2011.

Michael Harnois

Mike is the senior editor and producer for The Troupe Productions in Windham, New Hampshire.

Anna Sabato

Anna is a communications and social media director in Manchester. She is a former executive news producer for WMUR-TV and worked in broadcast news for 16 years. She graduated from New Mexico in 2012 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She has been nominated for three New England Emmys.

David Faulkner

David Faulkner started his career with the United States Marine Corps & received training as a Motion Picture and Video Photographer and Editor - MOS 4671 & completed DINFOS training. David has a long career with various positions including camera operator, editor, producer, writer, engineer, drone operator. He has held multiple positions over the year for various known names such as Ken Burns, ESPN 2, X-Games, WPRI in Rhode Island, WMUR-TV in Manchester, NH.

Elyse Ruback

Elyse is the Content Director at EVR Advertising, a full-service ad agency in Manchester, NH, where she brings a strategic approach to content creation. Her career spans diverse experiences, including working at ABC Television in Los Angeles, teaching media production at the Jacob Burns Film Center in New York, and developing commercials for Southern New Hampshire University. Elyse now serves on the board of directors for Media Power Youth, a youth-development organization that provides media education opportunities for young people across New Hampshire.

Julio Del Sesto

Professor Julio Del Sesto is Professor and Chair of Journalism at Keene State College, where he has taught since 2008. He teaches courses in multimedia production, livestreaming, and photojournalism. His professional work includes productions for NHPBS, video production, and podcast production. He is a recipient of the Keene State College Alumni Association Distinguished Teacher Award.

Shreya Rejesh

Shreya is a member of the New Hampshire Governor's Youth Advisory Council on Substance Misuse and Prevention and a rising junior at the Academy for Science and Design. She also volunteers as a project assistant with Media Power Youth, a youth-development organization that provides media education opportunities for children and teens. Shreya enjoys exploring new ideas as co-captain of her robotics team, creating content for social impact as a marketing intern, and developing STEM programs for kids. In her free time, she loves reading, writing, designing websites, and finding creative ways to help her community.

Andy DeMeo

Andy is the creator of Granite Goodness, a media brand sharing stories of optimism, progress, and problem-solving across New England. A lifelong Granite Stater, Andy's work has attracted regional recognition including Stay Work Play New Hampshire’s Young Person of the Year (2025), UNH’s Alumni Sustainability Award (2025), Catapult Seacoast’s 10 to Watch (2025), and co-hosting TEDx Portsmouth 2025. When he’s not talking with optimists across New England, Andy can be found homesteading with his wife, two dogs, and nine chickens in New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Valley.

Tyler Pare

Tyler Pare is a history teacher for the Hollis Brookline Cooperative School District, where he is dedicated to helping students develop strong historical thinking and civic awareness. He also serves as a track and field coach at Hollis Brookline High School, mentoring student-athletes both on and off the track. In addition to his work in education, Tyler writes a commentary column for the New Hampshire Bulletin, offering insights on education, history, and public issues. He is also a member of the Teacher Advisory Council for Media Power Youth, contributing his expertise to promote media literacy and positive digital habits.

Melanie Plenda

Melanie Plenda is the executive director of The Granite State News Collaborative, an award winning collective of more than 20 local media, educational and community organizations across the state of New Hampshire. Melanie has more than 20 years of journalism experience. Her work has been published by the Associated Press, The Atlantic, The New Republic and numerous local and regional publications.

Dr. Nancy Pearson

Dr. Nancy Pearson is on a mission to show young people that they have the power to change their communities- and she has the receipts to prove it. As an educator, community leader, and elected official with a PhD, she developed the Civic Empowerment Pyramid, a research-backed framework that challenges people to get radically curious about where they live. Her award-winning children's book, "Smalltown City and the Spirit of City Hall" takes kids on a wild field trip during a storm, proving that civic power isn't just for adults. Whether you're 8 or 18, Dr. Nancy believes you already have what it takes to influence local leaders and transform where you live.

Cathleen Toomey

Cathleen Toomey is an award-winning podcaster, marketer and writer; host of the new NHPBTV show Seniority Authority, and the Seniority authority podcast. She has spent her career building brands such as Timberland, Stonyfield Farm, UNH, Babson College, among others. Most recently, she spent 18 years at RiverWoods, leading the organization’s sales and marketing. An Exeter resident, she is a graduate of Fairfield University and Fordham University.

Stephen White

Stephen White is a writer-director and game developer working across film and interactive media. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, his work spans film, television, radio, and video games. He is the founder and creative director of Fractory Studios.

Susan White

Susan White is a film and television producer whose live broadcast experience spans the country, from local stations in Oregon and Florida to major national events from the Academy Awards red carpet in Los Angeles to U.S. presidential campaign coverage in New Hampshire. She is a Senior Producer at WMUR and a Producer at Fractory Studios.

Dan Young

Dan Young is the Creative Coordinator for Nashua Community Media, where he develops new programming and expands existing content across the Education and Government channels. With over a decade of experience in community television, Dan began his media career after transitioning from commercial photography. He initially volunteered at Access Nashua, where he helped create locally-focused programming, and later joined the staff to support broader media initiatives in the city. He brings a strong passion for storytelling and community engagement to his work across local media.

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