Mr. Weatherford is a graduate of VCU’s School of Mass Communications, where he worked as the founding reporter for VCU’s Capital News Service and as an editor of the Commonwealth Times and Reflections in Ink. He was named VCU’s Outstanding Mass Comm Student for 1995.
Prior to returning to VCU as director of the SMC he worked as executive editor of Style Weekly. He also has been the editor of Inside Business Richmond and the Goochland Gazette and a reporter and editor for the Associated Press, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Richmond magazine. He has been awarded a dozen Virginia Press Association awards and four Best in Show awards for writing, as well as a 2007 AltWeekly Award.
In a previous career he worked as a professional drummer. He is the father of two boys. When he’s not working or writing he plays in rock bands.
Mr. Jeffries has worked in the visual communication field for over 25 years. He has experience working with graphic design firms, advertising agencies as well as magazines and newspapers.
Prior to coming to work at the SMC he worked for eleven years as an art director for Style Weekly Magazine. He received numerous awards for his work at Style Weekly, Family Style and Home Style magazines from The Virginia Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.
In addition to his duties as production manager at the SMC he also teaches Graphics for Journalism in the Mass Comm department here at VCU.
Ms. Geerdes is a Richmond native who worked in high school as a correspondent for the Richmond Times Dispatch’s InSync section. In 2004, she earned her BA in Nonfiction Writing and Editing from George Mason University. While at Mason, Lauren dedicated most of her time to the independent student newspaper as well as the campus radio station, WGMU.
Despite her liberal arts background, Lauren began a career in Business Development with Apple Federal Credit Union in Fairfax, VA. She was later promoted to Education Specialist and dedicated her time to teaching financial literacy. In 2006, Lauren was awarded the Exemplary Employer Award by the Fairfax County Public Schools’ Business Advisory Council for her work promoting financial literacy programs at the Pulley Center, a special needs school. She and her team went on to earn the Virginia State Desjardin Award for Youth Financial Literacy and later received an Honorable Mention for the national award sponsored by the Credit Union National Administration.
In a bold attempt to follow a dream and escape Northern Virginia traffic, Lauren moved back to Richmond and managed a cafe for Barnes & Noble Booksellers Inc. In January of 2009, Lauren came to VCU as the Student Media Business Manager, granting her the opportunity to pursue her favorite things in life: business, education, and drinking lots of coffee.
Street Address
VCU Student Media Center
817 W. Broad St.
Richmond, Va
Mailing Address
VCU Student Media Center
P.O. Box 842010
Richmond, Va 23284-2010
SMC Staff Contacts
Greg Weatherford, Student Media Director
(804) 827-1975
goweatherfor@vcu.edu
Mark Jeffries, Student Media Production Manager
(804) 828-7660
mjeffriesVCU@gmail.com
Lauren Geerdes, Student Media Business Manager
(804) 827-1642
lgeerdes@vcu.edu
To contact any student media directly, visit the Web sites by following the links below:
