Kristy Dekat has been a journalism educator for 20 years. She advises at Gardner-Edgerton High School. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor of journalism at Emporia State University and journalism adviser at Seaman High School. At Emporia State, she was responsible for the journalism education program, advised the yearbook, and coordinated the KSPA Regional Contest. Previous to Emporia State, Dekat advised the yearbook, print newspaper and online newspaper at Topeka High School. During her time in scholastic journalism, Dekat has been involved in KSPA, NSPA and JEA. She regularly judges contests for these organizations. In 2019, Dekat was the lead trainer of the JEA Partner Project at Eppler Junior High School in Utica, Michigan. That same year, her article “A response to Hazelwood: Kansas advisers helped to create legal support for students” was published in “Communication: Journalism Education Today Magazine.”