Editor-in-chief
McKenna Johnson (she/her)
Johnson is the Editor-in-Chief for issue 3 of Byline Magazine, is a senior journalism student at UM also studying French and dance. She has interned for the Mackinac Island Town Crier in Michigan and for Worldcrunch in Paris, France. She served as art director for the last issue of Byline in 2021, design editor for the 2023 Native News project, and has also worked for the Montana Kaimin since 2020 where she is now a design editor. Born a midwestern cheesehead, McKenna now calls Boise, Idaho homebase and enjoys writing, reading (mostly vampire novels), hiking, writing postcards and performing.
Managing Editor of Editorial
Kai Williams (they/them)
Williams, from Bozeman, MT, is a non-traditional senior at the University of Montana’s journalism school. They are serving as the managing editor of editorial for Byline Magazine issue three. They are most often found paddle boarding or exploring pockets of Montana with their dog and loved ones. Kai brings to Byline the belief that storytelling is one of the most important aspects of learning and living the human experience.
Managing Editor of Production
Max W. Bartley (they/he)
Bartley, a dedicated journalism student raised in Hamilton, Montana, brings a unique perspective to their work as an individual on the autism spectrum. Max’s unwavering passion for journalism has fueled their pursuit of excellence in the field from a young age. Raised by a hardworking father and mother actively engaged in newspaper publishing, Max has long aspired to establish a distinguished presence in journalism. Fueled by their dedication to audio and print media, Max is determined to make a meaningful impact and revitalize the field of journalism.
Art Director and Writer
Mackenna Gleave (she/her)
Gleave is this year’s Art Director for Byline magazine and is a sophomore double major in journalism and wildlife biology from Meridian, Idaho. She is the current design editor for the university’s newspaper, the Montana Kaimin, and worked for Idaho Fish and Game over the summer. Mackenna spends her free time enjoying the outdoors in its many forms and traveling with her family.
Photo Editor
Kennedy Delap (she/her)
Delap, missed photo day so the website designer decided to use one of her images from her photo story instead. Delap is the Photo Editor for issue three of Byline Magazine, is a first-year environmental journalism graduate student at the University of Montana. She interned for the UM marketing department in her undergraduate studies and worked for the Montana Kaimin before going to Nottingham, England, to study photography for a semester. Kennedy is from the heart of North Dakota and enjoys spending time in National Parks looking for wildlife to photograph, traveling, camping, and riding horses in her free time.
Assistant Photo Editor
Ava Rosvold (she/her)
Rosvold, an assistant photo editor for Byline Magazine, is a senior at the University of Montana’s journalism school focusing on photojournalism. Last summer Ava interned for the Bozeman Chronicle in Bozeman, Montana, where she practiced photography. Ava attended the Photographic Center Northwest throughout highschool and worked as a freelance photographer between her classes. Ava has worked for the Montana Kaimin since the beginning of her senior year and is now a co-photo editor. Ava was born and raised in the small town of Wenatchee, Washington and now lives in Missoula, Montana where she loves getting coffee with friends and going on adventures.
Copy Chief
Emily Tschetter (she/her)
Tschetter, the copy chief and a writer for issue 3 of Byline Magazine, is a senior journalism and political science student at the University of Montana. She is the editor-in-chief of the Montana Kaimin, UM’s independent student-led newspaper, where she previously served as the news editor and a news reporter. She has previously interned at the Daily Montanan. From Billings, Emily is an avid vinyl collector and loves traveling, finding new movies and quality food.
Digital Editor, Writer and Photographer
Nance Beston (they/them)
Nance Beston is a senior in the journalism school. They are from Great Falls, Montana. Nance is the online editor, writer and photographer for Byline magazine. They have previously worked for Native News, the Montana Kaimin, Media Training Center and ASUM. They are redesigning the Byline Magazine website and running the social media with the help of two lovely assistants. They have a dog named Thumper who supports them by laying on their lap, he is not a lap dog, while they try to fix the website. They are also excited for people to read their co-written article in this issue and enjoy their photos.
Writer
Hayden Blackford (he/him)
Blackford is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Montana. He plans to draw upon his experiences to write about, report on and contribute to journalism in the west. In his freetime, he maintains a hand-full of hobbies that often involve creating things or being outside. Hayden has worked as a journalist in southern, western and northwestern Montana, and for Byline magazine he will be writing a story focused on the intersection of mental health and the professional guiding community.
Writer
Christine Compton (she/her)
Compton is a senior journalism student at the University of Montana and a feature reporter for Byline Magazine. She cut her teeth in journalism interning with the Billings Gazette and worked for UM’s student newspaper, the Montana Kaimin, as a news reporter and features editor. She quickly found beauty in the contradictory nature of people, and she jokes that being a military child and living in places as different as Japan helped her see how similar people can really be. When convinced to drop the keyboard, Christine loves to draw fantastic characters, play trombone and dominate card games.
Writer and Digital Creator
Meghan Elaine (she/her)
Elaine is a senior studying Journalism at the University of Montana. She is a reporter and digital creator for the third edition of Byline Magazine. Her experience extends as an intern reporter for KBZK and an Anchor for Amherst Wire TV at the University of Massachusetts. Her love for the big sky country runs deep as she is a sixth-generation Montanan. When you’re not seeing Meghan doing homework, you can find her reading melodramatic romantic comedy books or participating as an avid foodie hunting down the best roll of sushi landlocked Montana has to offer.
Writer
Ella Hall (she/her)
Hall grew up in the foothills of the North Cascades in Washington before venturing east for college. She graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in environmental studies and then moved to France where she spent two years teaching English at a public university. While living in Europe she started working as a journalist for a small online publication, which sparked an enthusiasm for writing and reporting, eventually leading her to Missoula to pursue environmental journalism at UM. Ella enjoys peanut-butter cookies, trail running and curling up with a good book.
Writer and Digital Creator
Trey Lawrence (he/him)
Lawrence, a writer, digital and graphics creator for the 3rd issue of Byline, is a senior journalism student at UM who is also studying history. He recently interned for the Badlands Big Sticks, a Summer Collegiate Baseball team, where he was the Public Address announcer and On-Field emcee. Lawrence was born and raised in Snohomish, Washington, and still calls the Pacific Northwest home. You can usually find him on the nearest basketball or pickleball court when Trey is not editing graphics and creating posts for Byline. His other hobbies include watching football, hiking, and coaching.
Writer
Maura Lynch (she/her)
Lynch, a reporter and copy editor for this semester’s issue of Byline Magazine, is a senior studying journalism and marketing at UM this year. She is currently interning with Montana Public Radio as an editorial assistant, where she helps the digital editor get stories published on MTPR’s website. Maura comes from a military family, so she is from many different places, but her family now calls Spokane, Washington, their homeland. In her free time, Maura enjoys reading, hiking, going on road trips, and spending time with her friends and family.
Writer
Aislin Tweedy (she/her)
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Aislin, an enrolled member of the Nakoda from Fort Belknap Reservation is a senior at the University of Montana school of Journalism and a reporter for this year’s Byline edition. She was formally interned by the Daily Montanan and an alumni member for Indigenous Journalism Association (IJA), where she attended the conference this summer in Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. Aislin has a focus in investigative reporting- and enjoys working on long term projects. When she isn’t writing, you will find her on a trail run, driving around or hunkered down somewhere watching the sunset with her closest friends.
Writer
Allie Wagner (she/her)
Wagner is in her fourth year as a journalism major at UM. She moved to Missoula from Miles City, Montana in 2020 to start school. Allie worked on her high school newspaper and wrote a few pieces for her local paper before moving to Missoula. When she is not working or doing school work Allie enjoys reading, creative writing and binge watching TV shows on streaming services with her cat, Bex, by her side.
Photographer
Fox Croasmunchristensen (he/him)
Croasmunchristensen is an art and journalism major at the University of Montana from Oakley, Utah. Fox focuses his work on the intersection of humanity and nature, with an emphasis on monochromatic documentary photography. He has previously assisted with the creation of a style guide for the 2023 Native News project. In his free time, Fox can be found hiking with a large format film camera in the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah or in the Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana.
Photographer
Brooklyn Grubbs (she/her)
Grubbs is a senior journalism student at UM who is also studying sociology. She is a participant in both the pre-law program and the Global Leadership Initiative. Her time at UM has fostered her love for photography, so she can often be found taking photos of her dogs, and any other animal she comes across. Brooklyn is originally from Oregon and spends most of her free time snowboarding, reading, and playing guitar.
Photographer
Jake LaHaie (he/him)
LaHaie, one of the photographers for issue three of Byline Magazine, is a senior journalism student at the University of Montana. He has been developing his photography skills for the past three years with a significant interest in wildland/outdoor photography. Born in Washington and now calling Missoula home (for now), Jake likes to hunt and fish and wants to continue shooting outdoor photography after graduation!professional guiding community.
Designer
Rally Belcher (they/them)
Belcher is a jack-of-all-trades multimedia journalist primarily covering arts and culture in Missoula, Montana. Rally specializes in print journalism, photography, and video journalism. Rally is a contributing writer and designer for the local Record Scratch zine covering the Missoula music scene and a contributing writer, photographer, and designer for the University of Montana’s Byline Magazine.
Designer
Liz Dempsey (she/her)
Liz Dempsey was born in Ronan and raised across Montana. Her work primarily centers around native communities, and she currently serves as a reporter for Char-Koosta, the tribal newspaper located on the Flathead Reservation. She represents a diverse heritage, with ancestry from Salish, Kootenai, Shoshone, and Lakota Sioux peoples.
Liz possesses a deep passion for storytelling and an unwavering commitment to illuminating the experiences of underrepresented communities. As a mixed-blood Native American, she dedicates her journalism skills to not only deepen her understanding of native communities but also to share their perspectives with a broader audience.
Designer
Cathleen Doisher (she/her)
Doisher, a reporter and member of the design team for the third issue of Byline Magazine, is a senior journalism student at UM with a double major in business and marketing. She has interned for NonStop Local News in Missoula and was awarded the Professor Andrew Cogswell journalism award. She has worked in social media for the Griz Cheer Team and the Mental Health Allies student run organization. Born in Texas, she now calls Montana home. She enjoys writing, sports, cheering for the Griz, and taking her dog on hikes.
