The Pivot: Career transitions outside of journalism 

Karen Addis, APR, has more than 30 years of PR and crisis communications experience. Karen spent the early part of her career as a writer, editor, and columnist for a monthly trade magazine before transitioning back into PR.

Five years ago, Karen founded her own firm, Addis Communications, where she specializes in health, science and technology. Prior to that, she held senior-level management positions with several PR agencies, including Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide as well as mid-sized and boutique firms.

Karen currently serves on several boards, including the National Press Club’s Board of Governors; CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity; ScholarCHIPS, a local nonprofit that provides college scholarships and mentoring to young adults who have a parent who is incarcerated; and the University of Maryland Department of Communications Alumni Advisory Board.

Karen received her APR certification from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She has a Master’s Certificate in publications from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations from the University of Maryland, College Park.

John Henry serves as the media relations manager for Children's Defense Fund in Washington, DC. He worked as a journalist for 12 years, in several cities, prior to his work at that non-profit organization. His most recent job in journalism was at CBS affiliate, WUSA-TV, in Washington, DC. He worked in that role for seven years. He is a graduate of the University Of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. 

Jerry Zremski became a lecturer at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism in July 2022, when he was brought in as director of the college's new Local News Network, which aims to bolster local news coverage throughout the state of Maryland.

At Merrill College, Zremski also serves as lead instructor of the mid-level reporting class and as faculty adviser to the college chapter of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists. Zremski has also been named a “faculty champion” by the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont for his proposal to explore development of a “Maryland Commons,” an effort to collect state data to make it easier to use for journalists across the state.

Zremski had been Washington bureau chief of The Buffalo News since January 2007 and upon being hired at Merrill, became a part-time enterprise reporter at the publication. A professional journalist since 1982, Zremski joined The Buffalo News in 1984 as a business reporter and has been a Washington reporter for the News since 1989. He focuses his coverage on federal issues that are particularly important to readers in Buffalo, as well as the Western New York House delegation and New York’s two senators.

On top of his reporting duties, Zremski was an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Maryland for 10 years before joining the full-time faculty. He also previously taught at The George Washington University.

Zremski served as president of the National Press Club in 2007. He chaired its Speakers Committee in 2014 and 2015. He served as president of the Regional Reporters Association in 1997.

A native of Elkland, Pennsylvania, and current resident of Washington, D.C., Zremski earned a bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism from Syracuse University in 1982. He also holds a master’s degree in political science from American University. Zremski spent the 1999-2000 academic year as a Nieman fellow at Harvard University, where he studied economics and politics.