Janet is a journalist who has worked in daily newspaper, radio and Internet since 1990.

Most recently she was assistant city editor for The Capital daily newspaper in Annapolis; government and education reporter for The Pittsburgh-Tribune Review; and the statehouse, government, courts and general assignments reporter for The Dominion Post in Morgantown, W.Va.

Teaches private swimming lessons at Brick Bodies, Padonia.

Kym graduated from Westminster High School in 1992. She then earned a degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1996 and a Master's in Publication Management from the University of Baltimore in 2004. She worked in nonprofit communications for almost ten years before taking a break to raise her twins (who are now in elementary school). While home with her kids, she started freelance work as both a writer and a graphic designer. She became a regular writer for several local publications including the Carroll Eagle newspaper and Carroll Magazine. In addition to freelance work, Kym also worked as an adjunct instructor at Carroll Community College and McDaniel College. 

Kirsten Dize is a native of Harford County. She grew up in Bel Air and helped to cover the town and county at The Aegis for about four years before joining Patch.

Marge grew up in eastern Baltimore County, where she fell in love with the outdoors and particularly waterfront parks. That love of nature led to a career in public recreation and parks administration. After nearly 20 years of the ball-bouncing, whistle-tooting, tree-hugging, paper-shuffling life of a recreation supervisor, she convinced a community weekly newspaper editor to hire her as a staff reporter. She spent more than eight years as a writer, photographer and associate editor for The Dundalk Eagle before moving to The Frederick News-Post in 2007. While at the FNP, Marge covered social services and then education. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, camping and spending time with her "kits," Sydney, 11, and Beijing, 3.

Alyssa is a New York native and relocated to Baltimore in July 2010. While in New York she grew up on Long Island and attended college in Ithaca, NY. She attended Ithaca College with the intentions of being an investigative journalist. However, she soon changed her focus and graduated  in 2010 with a B.A in Sociology. Currently she works for a local university and will be attending the Police Academy in January 2011. Despite the change of major and life course, writing has and will always be a passion.

Born and raised in Southern California, Kathleen moved to Maryland 12 years ago and quickly acclimated to the east coast. Her interests include traveling, photography, the theatre, wine tasting, and spending quality time with her husband, friends and family. She is actively involved in 6 chambers, NAWBO,  and various other networking groups,  and also serves as Past President of the Carroll County Children's Fund.

For the past 18 years she has worked in the marketing and advertising industry forging strong relationships with both vendors and clients. She enjoys assisting clients with cost effective marketing solutions to grow their business, and her experience spans from start-ups to Fortune 500 firms. She will be working in the Towson, Timonium/Lutherville, Hunt Valley/Cockeysville, Owings Mills/Reisterstown, Pikesville, North Baltimore, Eldersburg, and the Westminster Patch.  You may reach her directly at  443-509-3735 or at kathleen.garber@patch.com 

Jeff Seidel is a Baltimore area freelancer who contributes to multiple Patches as a recreation columnist. His work also regularly appears at MLB.com and in The Sun and other places.

Phil Meyer is Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was inducted into the North Carolina Hall of Fame in Journalism in the spring of 2008.  He joined the Journalism School in 1981 and served as Knight Chair in Journalism Professor from 1993-2008.  Prior to joining the school, he held a number of reporter and research positions at various media outlets. 

He has won numerous awards including the 2005 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Research About Journalism (with Scott Maier). He was named a Fellow of Society of Professional Journalists in 2005. In 2004, the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave him its Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award. And in 2000 he received the American Association for Public Opinion Research Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement.

Meyer is the author of several books including The Vanishing Newspaper:  Saving Journalism in the Information Age and Precision Journalism:  A Reporter’s Introduction to Social Science Methods.  Journalism Quarterly in 2000 listed this book as one of the 35 significant books of the 20th century in journalism and mass communication; and the American Association for Public Opinion Research, observing its 50th anniversary in 1996, listed it as one of 50 significant books on public opinion research.

He received his B.S. in technical journalism from Kansas State University and his M.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina.

Steven Berlin Johnson is a pioneer in the web world, as a co-founder of FEED, Plastic.com, and Outside.in, which was acquired by Patch in March of 2011. He also co-created Findings.com, which launched in late 2011. Steven was the 2009 Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence at The Journalism School at Columbia University, and served for several years as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU’s Journalism School. He is a bestselling author of seven books, and won acclaim and a Newhouse School Mirror Award for his 2010 Time Magazine cover story, "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live." 

Speaking of Steven's editorial prowess, check out this video based on Steven's book, Where Good Ideas Come From, which was named one of the best books of 2010 by The Economist.

Brian was Editor-in-Chief of Time Out New York magazine before coming to Patch. Before that he worked for a variety of publications both online and off, including Details magazine, New York Magazine, and the old, dearly departed Sidewalk.com. He has written for numerous publications, from the New York Times magazine to Harper's Bazaar. He graduated from Bowdoin College and got an MFA in creative writing at Columbia University so he could put his novel in a drawer with distinction. He lives in Manhattan with his beautiful wife, adorable son, angelic daughter and the world's most dog-like cat. He’s proud as hell of what the Patch team has built.

Ken Paulson is president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and in Washington, D.C.

Previously, Paulson served as the editor and senior vice president/news of USA Today.  He is now a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors, writing about First Amendment issues and the news media.

Throughout his career, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states.

He also is past-president of the American Society of News Editors, the nation’s largest organization of news media leaders.

Paulson also was the host of the Emmy-honored television program “Speaking Freely,” seen in more than 60 PBS markets nationwide over five seasons, and the author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show celebrating the First Amendment that continues to tour the nation's campuses.  

He was an early advocate of making newspaper content available online, launching online newspapers in both Florida and New York in 1993.

For 12 years, Paulson was a regular guest lecturer at the American Press Institute, speaking to more than 5,000 journalists about First Amendment issues. He was honored with the API Lifetime Service Award. In 2010 and 2011, he served as chair of the PBS Editorial Standards Review Committee.

In 2007, Paulson was named fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists, “the highest honor SPJ bestows upon a journalist for extraordinary contributions to the profession.” In 2008, he  received the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award for Meritorious Service in Mass Communications from the Southern Regional Press Institute. He has also been elected to the Illini Publishing Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from American University.