ISSUED: 19 April 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Cecelia Mason
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Giles Snyder, newscaster for National Public Radio (NPR), and Alexis Bonnell, chief information officer and director of the Digital Capabilities Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), will address graduating Shepherd University students during the 151st Commencement on Saturday, May 4.
Snyder, who has 36 years of experience in news broadcasting, will give the graduate ceremony address. Bonnell, co-founder of the Global Development Lab of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will speak at the undergraduate ceremony.
Both speakers will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Giles Snyder
A Charleston, West Virginia, native, Snyder graduated from Marshall University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. In 2022, he was inducted into his alma mater’s School of Journalism Hall of Fame.
Before starting his NPR career in 2004, Snyder was an announcer, news reporter, program director, and news director for West Virginia Public Broadcasting for 16 years, earning numerous awards from the Associated Press. During that time, he co-created and co-hosted the popular regional radio show and podcast Inside Appalachia.
Snyder has also made a name for himself in print with his humor column in The Journal, the local newspaper for Martinsburg, West Virginia. His work was recognized twice by the West Virginia Press Association.
Currently, Snyder is writing a column titled “The Porte Crayon Applejack Society” that explores the life and work of David Hunter Strother (Porte Crayon), a Martinsburg native and popular 19th-century American magazine illustrator and journalist. “The Porte Crayon Applejack Society” is published through Substack.
Snyder is also working with a fellow West Virginia native and NPR colleague to produce “60 Days,” which covers the annual legislative session, and “The West Virginia Weakly” which covers West Virginia news. Both are published through Substack.
Snyder has several personal ties to Shepherd University, serving as an advisory board member for the communication and new media program and an advisory council member for WSHC radio. Snyder Science Hall is named for H.L. Snyder, Gile Snyder’s great-grandfather.
Alexis Bonnell
Bonnell contributed to the early stages of the digital landscape as an original employee of the Internet Trade Association. She also served as the Emerging Technology Evangelist at Google, leading the initiation of new technologies including artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing.
Bonnell co-founded the Global Development Lab, a premier innovation lab of the United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID), leveraging global allied nation partnerships in science, technology, and innovation. She also served as USAID’s chief innovation officer and was named in the 2020 Federal 100 awards for her commitment and leadership in advancing the mission of the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council.
As chief information officer and director of AFRL, Bonnell leads the strategic development of highly advanced next-generation technologies and platforms. Her work focuses on catalyzing the discovery, development, and integration of warfighting technologies for air, space, and cyberspace forces via digital capabilities, IT infrastructure, and technological innovation.
Throughout her career, Bonnell has developed more than $1 billion in humanitarian and development programming in over 25 conflict, post-conflict, and emergency countries, spanning every sector from education to stabilization.
Bonnell earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Pepperdine University, a master’s degree in direct marketing from New York University, and a Kellogg-Recanti International Executive Master of Business Administration degree. She is a Certified Fundraising Executive in nonprofit fundraising and earned an Advanced Project Management Certification from Stanford University.
With a limited number of tickets available, the graduate and baccalaureate ceremonies will be livestreamed on our commencement webpage.
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