Israel Balderas, an assistant professor of journalism at Elon University, has been appointed to the Society of Professional Journalists board.
Previously, he taught at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
An experiential learning project with students, which involved filming a documentary on Syrian refugees, won numerous awards, including an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Science Suncoast Chapter, the Gold Award from the Telly Awards, and first place in Public Affairs from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists.
In the news business, Balderas worked as an anchor/reporter at TV stations in West Palm Beach, Charlotte and El Paso. He was also a producer at Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and Special Report with Brit Hume.
He has also worked at The Associated Press Latin America and Reuters.
Balderas has been nominated for four Emmy awards, winning one for Best Continuing Coverage within 24 hours.
