The Student Press Law Center is proud to welcome two new members to its Board of Directors to strengthen its mission to support, promote and defend the First Amendment rights of student journalists and their advisers at the high school and college levels.
- David Baumgarten, General Counsel of The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC
- Wendy Wallace, Director of Foundation Relations for Poynter
“I am grateful that David and Wendy have volunteered to serve on SPLC’s board. I know they’ll help us expand our impact for student journalists and strengthen the organization for its next chapter,” said Gary Green, SPLC’s executive director.
“Wendy’s extensive experience working with student journalists while directing Poynter’s high school reporting program aligns perfectly with our mission,” Green said. “Her fundraising and work with foundations will prove invaluable as we look to build capacity to address the growing threats against student press freedoms.”
SPLC’s Board of Directors consists of up to 15 volunteers from across the fields of journalism, education, law, philanthropy and nonprofit management.
“We are fortunate to have an attorney with David’s credentials join our board,” Green said. “Between his work with The Atlantic and the Daily Princetonian, David clearly understands the issues affecting students and professionals alike. His experience and insight will strengthen our support for student journalists and their advisers at a time of unprecedented need.”
Board members serve for three-year terms, which are renewable for one additional term. The new board members are:
David Baumgarten
David Baumgarten is the General Counsel of The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC, where his responsibilities include counseling The Atlantic‘s journalists. He is also currently the Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Daily Princetonian, the independent student newspaper at Princeton University, and works closely with the paper’s student leaders and staff on editorial and operational issues.
David previously served as the General Counsel of Atlantic Media (the former parent company of The Atlantic, National Journal, Government Executive, and Quartz); practiced law at Williams & Connolly LLP; taught at the University of Virginia School of Law as an Adjunct Lecturer; worked as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group; worked as a research assistant for the journalist and author David Maraniss; and interned at the Center for Public Integrity. He is a 2006 graduate of Princeton University and a 2010 graduate of Harvard Law School.
Wendy Wallace
Wendy Wallace is the primary grant writer for Poynter and focuses on the stewardship of the foundations and individuals who support our work. She was editor of her high school and college newspapers and worked as a reporter or copy editor at The Washington Post, Milwaukee Journal and St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times). At the Times, she covered general assignment, police, schools and business, then worked in circulation marketing, finance and eventually as internal services director, similar to marketing director.
Wendy became the high school program director at Poynter in 2004, organizing workshops for high school students and teaching at high school journalism conventions across the country. She helped launch Poynter’s revitalized journalism entrepreneurship program in 2010 and in 2015-16 was project manager for reimagining News University (www.NewsU.org), Poynter’s e-learning division. Through that work, she became deeply involved in implementing Salesforce at Poynter as a way to deepen the institute’s engagement with all of its customers.
Since 1974, the Student Press Law Center has worked to promote, support and defend the First Amendment and freedom of expression rights of student journalists at the high school and college level, and the advisers who support them. Working at the intersection of law, journalism and education, SPLC operates a free, confidential legal hotline as well as public resources. SPLC also provides training, educational resources and support to the grassroots non-partisan New Voices movement, seeking state-based legislative support for student press freedom. The SPLC is an independent, non-profit 501c(3) organization based in Washington, D.C.