Board of Directors

Samir Husni, aka "Mr. Magazine"™, is the director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi, School of Journalism. He is also Professor and Hederman Lecturer at the School of Journalism. Dr. Husni is the author of the annual Samir Husni's Guide to New Magazines, which is now in its 24th year. He is also the author of Magazine Publishing in the 21st Century, published by Kendall Hunt, Launch Your Own Magazine: A Guide for Succeeding in Today's Marketplace published by Hamblett House, Inc. and Selling Content: The Step-by-Step Art of Packaging Your Own Magazine, published by Kendall Hunt. He is also the editor of The Future of Magazines. Dr. Husni is the President and CEO of Magazine Consulting & Research, a firm specializing in new magazine launches, repositioning of established magazines, and packaging publications for better sales and presentations. Dr. Husni holds a doctorate in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's degree in journalism from the University of North Texas.

Garreth Blackwell is the associate director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism. He is also an instructor and teaches courses in layout and design, photojournalism and magazine management. He is the co-author of Design Your Own Magazine published by Kendall Hunt and the editor and art director of the annual Samir Husni's Guide to New Magazines, which is now in its 25th year. Blackwell is also the founder of Wide Open Air, a consulting and design firm specializing in new brands and magazine redesigns. Blackwell holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi.

SCOTT JONES is a nationally recognized food and wine expert, and the former Executive Food Editor of Southern Living (1999 to 2010). Scott is currently President of JONES IS HUNGRY, a culinary media company focused on custom culinary content, TV production, brand representation, and culinary education.

Scott’s been featured on dozens of television shows, from Cooking With Paula Deen to Food Network Challenge.

He left a career in Hollywood to pursue his love of food and wine. In doing so, Scott completed a Culinary Arts degree at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where he graduated with honors.

In addition, Scott holds a degree in Service Journalism from the University of Mississippi, and is the author of the Southern Living Wine Guide and Journal.

He lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife and their two daughters.

Clinton Smith is an award-winning journalist and the editorial director of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. For a decade, Smith has covered the fields of style, design and travel. Under his leadership, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including a Gold GAMMA for Best Design from the Magazine Association of the Southeast. In 2006, he was personally awarded the Media Award from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Georgia Chapter. Smith is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Department of Journalism at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), his alma mater. He is on the board of directors of the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and is a member of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America, as well as the Atlanta Press Club.

Amy Lyles Wilson is a writer, editor, and workshop leader in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a graduate of Millsaps College (B.A., 1983), the University of Mississippi (M.A. 1986), and Vanderbilt University Divinity School (M.T.S., 2007). In 2003, she served as the writing fellow at the Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker seminary in Richmond, Indiana. Her essay "The Guts to Keep Going" was featured on National Public Radio's "This I Believe" and appears in This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies from Remarkable Men and Women (Henry Holt, 2008). She writes the "Her Spirit column and blog for Her Nashville magazine, and works in acquisitions and author relations for Upper Room Books. Amy Lyles is a trained affiliate of Amherst Writers and Artists. You can learn more at www.amylyleswilson.com.