Beth serves as chief lobbyist for the WNA and oversees all association functions, including finances, staffing, member resources and member programming. She also serves as executive director of the WNA’s for-profit media tracking subsidiary, News Tracker, and its 501(c)3 charitable organization, the WNA Foundation.
Beth has a bachelor’s degree in history from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., and a master’s degree in political studies from the University of Illinois. Her family published four newspapers in central Illinois, resulting in her being personally and professionally involved in the newspaper industry. Prior to joining the WNA in 2010, she served as the Illinois Press Association’s Director of Government Relations, legislative liaison to the Illinois General Assembly Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, and as a staff member of the Illinois Speaker of the House.
Julia directs communications, educational programming and fundraising efforts for the WNA and its nonprofit, the WNA Foundation. She also manages membership and program development.
Julia earned her bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind., where she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Shield. She went on to work in a variety of capacities—from watchdog reporter to news editor—at newspapers including the Kentucky New Era in Hopkinsville, Ky., the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., and the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Ill. Prior to joining the WNA in 2014, she worked as the deputy clerk and communications manager for the City of New Berlin, Wis.
Denise manages the WNA newspaper archive, WisconsinPublicNotices.org and its media monitoring service, News Tracker.
Denise graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in journalism and mass communications and earned a master’s degree in sports administration from the University of Kansas. Before joining the WNA in 2010, she worked as the director of technology for the Illinois Press Association, where she was responsible for website maintenance, the association’s member database, office computer systems and audio/visual needs. Prior to her work with IPA, Guttery served as an advertising representative and editorial assistant with Illinois Country Living magazine.
Daryl has been the WNA’s office administrator since October 2015 and began working part-time as a search technician for News Tracker in 2014. Prior to joining the WNA staff, Blumer spent 19 years working in niche publication distribution for Capital Newspapers in Madison. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1991.
Amy LaPlante, who worked as an independent contractor with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association since 2022, joined the staff full time in January 2024 as executive administrative associate.
A native of Blanchardville, Wisconsin, LaPlante has a bachelor’s degree in art from UW-Madison and 26 years of hands-on experience working in graphic design and marketing. She works directly with WNA Executive Director Beth Bennett and provides support to executives Denise Guttery and Julia Hunter.
