Save the Date for Civic Nebraska's Strengthening Democracy Awards
From our inception 10 years ago, Civic Nebraska was founded with the idea that a strong democracy does not build itself, it takes dedicated Nebraskans young and old working collaboratively in our communities to strengthen our civic institutions. This is the evening that we get to dedicate to those individuals by celebrating and recognizing community leaders and young Nebraskans who embody our mission.

Meet Our Keynote Speaker
Matt Waite is a professor of practice in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and founder of the Drone Journalism Lab. Since he joined the faculty in 2011, he and his students have used drones to report news in six countries on three continents. He regularly speaks about the legal and ethical complexities of using drones at conferences around the world and is regularly consulted by media organizations about their potential.
He also teaches courses in data journalism, web development and the intersection of storytelling and technology. From 2007-2011, he was a programmer/journalist for the St. Petersburg Times where he developed the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact. Before that, he was an award-winning investigative reporter for the Times and co-author of Paving Paradise: Florida's Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss.