NBC News Correspondent Kerry Sanders, who regularly appears on NBC Nightly News, Today, and MSNBC, is the keynote speaker for the inaugural Donald and Lorena Meier Wildlife Photo and Video Symposium at Colorado State University.
The free public symposium — Thursday, Oct. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lory Student Center — features talks from nationally recognized wildlife photographers, video storytellers and professors whose creative work and research promote the sustainability of human-wildlife coexistence.
Sanders will present “Send Me There and I’ll Tell the Story” at 1:15 p.m. in the LSC Theater. His presentation will be focused on the many wildlife stories he covers in between natural disasters, wars, and other timely news stories. While covering breaking news and feature stories, Sanders has more than 30 years of experience providing in-the-field reports during hurricanes. He was a member of the NBC Nightly News reporting team that was awarded a Peabody and the Edward R. Murrow Award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
He also was one of NBC’s embedded reporters during the Iraq War, traveling with the U.S. Marine Corps. He reported on various battles, including the harsh 11-day conflict in Nasariyah. In addition, Sanders has extensively covered the war on terror in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
Schedule of events
The symposium is a joint effort of Journalism and Media Communication’s Center for Science Communication, the College of Liberal Arts, the Broadcast Education Association, the National Press Photographers Association, International Programs and the Lory Student Center.
9:30 a.m. | Introduction to the purpose of the symposium, LSC Theater
10 a.m. | Wildlife Photography as Art, Passion, and Sustainability, LSC Theater
- Michael Madrid USA Today Sports, Independent Wildlife Photography.
- Dawn Wilson, Independent Photographer.
- Victoria Raphaela, Independent Photographer.
- Peter Ismert, Independent Conservation Photographer.
11:15 a.m. | Video Storytelling: Unique Stories for the USA, LSC Theater
- Anne Herbst, Director of Visual Journalism, KUSA-TV Denver.
- Boyd Huppert, KARE-TV, Minneapolis.
Chad Nelson, Director of Photography, KARE-TV, Minneapolis. - Tomas Hoppough, E.W. Scripps National Correspondent.
1:15 p.m. | Keynote Speaker, Kerry Sanders, NBC News: Send Me There and I’ll Tell the Story, LSC Theater
2:45 p.m. | Research Panel: Unique Communication Approaches for Wildlife Sustainability, LSC Theater
- Katie Abrams, Colorado State University, Wildlife/Human Interaction studies in National parks.
- Kyle Horton, Colorado State University, Migratory Patterns of Birds and Bats.
- Joe Brown and Katia Nikitina, University of Denver: Involving Students in Wildlife Documentaries.
4:30 p.m. | Reception, West Ballroom, Lory Student Center
Donald and Lorena Meier Wildlife Photo and Video Symposium
Donald Meier created the television Zoom Parade and Wild Kingdom. Along with his wife Lorena, and with the on-camera work of Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler, he produced these programs from the early 1950s to the 1980s. This symposium honors his work and contributions to television, the importance of images and film for people who don’t have access to travel and exploration, wildlife, the environment, and sustainability of human/wildlife interactions.
