Meet ASBPE’s 2019 Young Leader Scholars

For more than a decade, ASBPE has recognized future leaders in the B2B press with the Young Leader Scholarship (YLS). Scholarship winners must be 30 years old or younger, worked for at least two years as an editor at a business magazine or associated Web publication, be sponsored by their chief editor, and plan to continue in the business press as a career.

The judges selected the winners based on their résumés, clips, recommendation letters from their chief editors, and their essays on how they became involved in the business press, their biggest challenges as business-to-business editors, and their future career goals.

In addition to the opportunity for mentorship by experienced B2B editors, the scholarship covers a two-night hotel stay and the registration for YLS winners to attend GenerationB2B, ASBPE’s 2019 National Conference. This year’s conference was held from May 9-10 at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The winners of the 2019 scholarship are as follows:

Dan Kubacki

Dan Kubacki is the production editor at Hotel News Now (hotelnewsnow.com), based in Lakewood, Ohio. He joined HNN in November 2015 as associate copy editor and was promoted in June 2018. He edits daily copy submissions from both HNN staff and contributors, uploads articles to HotelNewsNow.com and builds HNN’s Daily Update newsletter.

His first job was as a government and crime reporter at the Ashland Times-Gazette community newspaper in Ashland, Ohio. Dan is a Cleveland native and a graduate of Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English.

Stephanie Ricca, editor in chief of Hotel News Now and a past Young Leader Scholar recipient, says she knows firsthand the benefits that exposure to ASBPE can have for a young journalist. She says from the start, Dan’s commitment to excellence in copyediting made him a valuable addition to the news-driven Hotel News Now team. “He proved willing and able to take on new responsibilities early on in his tenure,” she says. “Dan has become a leader in the newsroom and a go-to resource for our entire team, including upper management. I am always proud to see Dan stretch as a journalist, taking on new and different roles and projects.”

Taryn Oesch

Taryn Oesch is the award­-winning managing editor of digital content at Training Industry, where she co-hosts “The Business of Learning” podcast. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Meredith College and speaks at local and national conferences on inclusion and women’s leadership. Taryn co-wrote a chapter for a book on women and leadership (Cambridge Scholars, 2019).

Taryn is a contributing writer at FemCatholic.com; board secretary and communications chair for The Power of the Dream, a nonprofit dedicated to creating jobs for adults with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities; and a head coach for The Miracle League of the Triangle.

Michelle Eggleston Schwartz, editorial director for Training Industry, Inc., says for the past three years, Taryn has proved herself to be a self-starter, highly dependable and talented member of her editorial team. “She has an eye for detail and a good story angle, and continues to define her voice in the training industry through our company’s various media channels,” she says. “She always strives to ensure that we publish the most relevant and reliable content to meet the needs of our audience. I envision a bright future for her in B2B media.”

About ASBPE

Founded in 1964 as the American Society of Business Press Editors, ASBPE is the professional association for full-time and freelance editors, writers, art directors, and designers employed in the business, trade, and specialty press. The official name was changed to the American Society of Business Publication Editors in 1997, and to ASBPE in 2012. ASBPE has chapters in cities nationwide, including Chicago, Boston, New York, Kansas City, Cleveland and Washington, D.C.