Don Egle serves as the director of public affairs and university spokesperson for James Madison University. He is responsible for leading the organization’s public affairs efforts, which include media relations, crisis communications, community relations, issues management and advertising.

Before joining JMU, Don served as the director of university relations for Liberty University. There, he was responsible for media relations, web communications and creative services.

Don’s management and communication experience spans multiple industries including corporate, non-profit and higher education. He has worked with many global media organizations, including the New York Times, BBC, Associated Press, CNN, Newsweek, USA Today and Fox News.

Don attended Liberty University, where he received his bachelor's degree in public relations and his master’s degree in business administration. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Don serves as the professional advisor for the Public Relations Student Society of America chapters at Liberty University and James Madison University.

Don is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) by the Universal Accreditation Board and serves on the accreditation committee for the Blue Ridge PRSA Chapter.

As the media relations manager for James Madison University, Bill Wyatt coordinates the university’s interaction with print, broadcast and online journalists.

Prior to his tenure with JMU, Bill served as the director of media relations for the National Conference of State Legislatures, where he helped position the organization as the preeminent news source for information on state and local public policy. In addition to working with members of the statehouse press corps in all 50 states, Bill interacted with national news outlets such as the Associated Press, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times on a regular basis. Bill’s broadcast appearances include NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight, among others.

Bill received his bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University in western Maryland. He and his wife, Carey, have five children.

As the community affairs manager for JMU, Rachael Walters works to advance the university’s brand through community relations, university advertising and issues management.

Rachael comes to JMU from Lord Fairfax Community College in Middletown, Va., where she worked as the college’s public relations and marketing coordinator. Prior to that, she served as the advertising manager at the Rappahannock Record, a weekly newspaper in Kilmarnock, Va. While at the Rappahannock Record, Rachael received 24 awards from the Virginia Press Association for excellence in advertising and design.

Rachael graduated cum laude from West Virginia University’s Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism with a bachelor’s degree.

Elizabeth is a 1984 graduate of JMU with a B.A. in English. Prior to joining the Public Affairs Office in September 2008, the Harrisonburg native worked as a commercial insurance agent, a local newspaper reporter, and in various administrative capacities. Elizabeth and her husband Forrest, who also works at JMU in Computing Support/Lab Services, have a son and live in Penn Laird.

An alumna of James Madison University, Janet has worked in JMU's media relations office since 1986. After graduating in 1981 as a member of the first "all JMU" class—the student body that enrolled in fall 1977 immediately following the school's name change from Madison College—the Woodstock, Va., native worked as a newspaper reporter in Lexington, Va. She is a member of the Public Relations Council of the Shenandoah Valley and the College Communicators Association of Virginia and the District of Columbia and serves on the board of directors of the Shenandoah Valley chapter of Industrial and Commercial Ministries. Janet and her husband, Steve, have a son, and live in Dayton.

Eric graduated from JMU in 1986 with a bachelor of science degree in communications and in 2009 with a master of science degree technical and scientific communication. Eric joined the Office of Public Affairs in March 2005. Previously, Eric worked for four years in public relations with the Virginia Department of Transportion, nearly two years as a Web content developer for a private company in Harrisonburg and for 12 years as a newspaper reporter and editor in Harrisonburg. Eric and his wife, Linda, also a 1986 JMU alum who works in JMU's Office of Admissions, live in Harrisonburg and have two sons.

Dan joined the Public Affairs team in September 2008. Previously, he worked as a reporter for a newspaper near his hometown of Carlinville, Ill. Dan has a bachelor's degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, where as an editor of the student newspaper he earned state honors for writing. During school, he also worked for a local newspaper, the media relations department of a large insurance company and the university's communications office. He is engaged to his fiancée, Sarah, and is a die-hard fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Brent coordinates the office's interactive media efforts online.

With over a decade of experience in the film and media industries, Brent has been a radio DJ, a filmmaker, and an online news reporter, as well as a film critic at two different newspapers. Prior to joining JMU, he started a popular local news blog in Harrisonburg. Brent also produced and directed a number of studio TV shows and documentaries at a local PBS station. His investigative project, Gang Signs, won the 2006 Virginia Association of Broadcasters award for Best Documentary. His fourth film, The Latino Underground, aired on select PBS stations across the country in 2007 and 2008.

Brent is a graduate of the University of Texas film program in Austin, Texas.