Lynette Clemetson
Director of Wallace House
Lynette Clemetson is the Charles R. Eisendrath Director of Wallace House, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists at the University of Michigan. She is a 2010 Knight-Wallace alum and came to the university from National Public Radio where she was Senior Director of Strategy and Content Initiatives, developing and guiding projects across broadcast, digital and events. Her career in journalism spans newspapers, magazines and audio across a range of platforms. As a reporter, she was a Washington-based correspondent for The New York Times and Newsweek, writing about politics, social issues and demographic change. Prior to her domestic correspondent work, she was an international correspondent for Newsweek based in Hong Kong, where she covered the former British colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997. She moved into digital strategy and leadership in 2008 as the founding managing editor of the website TheRoot.com, launched for The Washington Post Company with Henry Louis Gates Jr.. She is also the former Director of Content Strategy at Pew Center on the States.
Lynette has a passionate interest in press freedom issues. She serves on the board of Forbidden Stories, an award-winning news organization dedicated to publishing the work of journalists who have been threatened, jailed or killed. Additionally, she is a member of the steering committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. She serves on the advisory boards for PBS FRONTLINE and the Robin Toner Prizes for Political Reporting at Syracuse University and on the education committee of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
[email protected] | @lclemetson
Ashley Bates
Associate Director
Ashley Bates is the Associate Director of Wallace House. In her role, she manages the daily operations of Wallace House and the Knight-Wallace Fellowship activities and supports the director in strategically executing all organizational programs and initiatives– including alumni engagement, outreach activities across the journalism industry, and recruitment for the Knight-Wallace Fellowships. Ashley previously served as the Program Manager for the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program and managed graduate student recruitment and career mentorship initiatives for the University of Michigan’s International Institute. She has worked as an investigative journalist in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and the United States, producing videos and long-form features for The Nation, Haaretz, Mother Jones, Huffington Post, Tikkun, Jerusalem Post Magazine, GlobalPost, and Columbia Journalism Review. Fluent in Arabic, she served for eight years as the Program Director and then the Executive Director of an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and social justice advocacy organization called Hands of Peace. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Amherst College and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School.
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Melissa Riley
Assistant Director for Marketing, Events and Engagement
Melissa Riley is Assistant Director for Marketing, Events and Engagement. She leads the marketing and communications for all of the Wallace House programs, oversees the Wallace House Presents event series, and manages all aspects of the Livingston Awards. Melissa began her career in marketing and advertising for Trans World Airlines. She worked as a production coordinator on commercial films and television advertisements and was a producer at "Saturday Night Live." She founded the television production department for the BBDO advertising agency in Moscow, Russia, which grew to be the most award-winning creative agency in Russia. A native of California, Melissa graduated from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University. After living overseas, in Russia, Israel and Malaysia, Melissa is happy to call Ann Arbor her home.
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Jayson Rose
Senior Development Officer
Jayson Rose is the Senior Development Officer for Wallace House. He is responsible for developing and managing annual giving, major gifts and institutional support needed to advance the mission and programs of Wallace House. Jayson comes to Wallace House with deep development experience. He recently oversaw fundraising efforts for three divisions within Duke University's academic medicine fundraising entity, Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs. Before joining Duke, he spent more than three years at his alma mater, Western Michigan University, as the Director of Major Gifts. In that role, he helped raise five, six and seven-figure gifts for various entities across the campus. His previous experience also includes time at Iowa State University, helping to lead efforts at their business school. Jayson was also Associate Director of Development for Student Life at the University of Michigan and points to that experience as a turning point in his professional career. Before his career in fundraising, he worked for Phoenix Media in Chicago and was a professional DJ lending his services to corporations and world-famous athletes and celebrities, including Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, and Michael Bublé. Jayson earned his B.A. from Western Michigan University with a concentration in Economics.
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Jennifer Halseth
Financial Administrator
Jennifer Halseth manages Wallace House's finances and has more than 25 years of experience in accounting and finance. She began her career in the manufacturing industry and transitioned to higher education in 2010. Before joining Wallace House in May 2024, she was the business manager at Western Michigan University College of Aviation and the disbursement assistant manager for Western Michigan University's Office of Business and Finance. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Davenport University.
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Alexis Currie
Marketing, Communications and Events Associate
Alexis Currie is the Marketing, Communications and Events Associate for Wallace House. As part of her role, she provides support for Wallace House programs and events, engages supporters and audiences, and creates collaborative communications and marketing campaigns. Prior to arriving at Wallace House, Alexis was the Business Manager at the Lanthorn Newspaper at Grand Valley State University. In addition, Alexis also worked as an Inpatient Rehab Scheduler at Michigan Medicine. Alexis holds a M.S. in marketing from the University of Michigan.
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Kate Fazioli
Office and Staff Assistant
Kate Fazioli serves as the Office and Staff Assistant, supporting the staff and guests, aiding Wallace House programs and events, and maintaining Wallace House upkeep. A recent graduate, she earned a B.A. in philosophy and linguistics from the University of Michigan and spent a portion of her higher education attending the University of Iowa. She hopes to grow within the professional sphere of journalism and promote ethical means of storytelling. [email protected]