Jonathan Gaston-Falk, Student Press Law Center
Jonathan Gaston-Falk is an Education Law attorney with broad experience spanning almost a decade representing both school district and student clients. Jonathan was a high school student journalist for the inaugural class of contributors for the York High School newspaper The Talon in Yorktown, Virginia. He subsequently earned a Bachelor’s from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor and Master of Urban Planning from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Jonathan joined SPLC in March 2022 following a five year tenure with the Legal Aid Society of Rochester, New York as Program Director of the Education Law Unit, during which time he advocated for the free speech rights of students before countless boards of education and the Commissioner of Education in Albany.
Penny J. Wika
Penny J. Wika earned her undergraduate degree from Kearney State College where she was editor of the yearbook for two years. Her Master of Arts degree in Journalism is from Texas Tech. She has been employed as a professional journalist working primarily at daily and weekly newspapers and as a professional educator, teaching journalism and serving as the publications adviser at four high schools and two junior colleges. During her 17 years at Manhattan High School, Wika’s students retired two KSPA 6A traveling trophies for winning sweepstakes three consecutive years. Wika has won numerous writing awards herself from the Kansas Press Association and the Kansas Professional Communicators, including one sweepstakes award. Her proudest accomplishment was being named to the KSPA Journalism Teachers Hall of Fame.