Joe came to the Braintree Patch by way of editing technology websites and freelancing for Patch. He also completed stints at several newspapers through graduate and undergraduate programs at Boston University and the University of Rhode Island. He grew up in Middletown, RI and moved to Quincy in 2008. Click on his name for more about Joe.

Bret Silverberg graduated from Northeastern University's School of Journalism's graduate program in August 2010. Prior to that, Bret was the editor for the Needham Hometown Weekly Newspaper from 2006 to 2008. He took some time off from journalism to try his hand at a career in music for the next two years. After making one record and setting out for multple U.S. tours, he decided it was time to jump back into journalism. Bret freelanced heavily for the Jewish Advocate, Needham Patch (along with several other area Patches), and numerous other publications throughout 2009 and early 2010 while earning his Master's degree. Though he is fully invested in the world of journalism, he still likes to pick up a guitar from time to time. 

Becca Manning came to Patch from a small family-run publishing company on the South Shore where she was the editor of a weekly newspaper in Pembroke, MA. Before that, she worked for several years as the education and government reporter for the Piqua Daily Call in Piqua, OH, not far from her hometown. She has a bachelor's of science in journalism from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism with an environmental studies certificate. When not covering the town of Charlestown, Becca writes fiction, enjoys reading, spends time at the beach and tries not to burn down the kitchen when she cooks.

Kerri Dale lives in the greater Boston area with her husband and two children. After being a stay at home mom for 16 years she is very excited to be a part of Patch. She enjoys spending time with her family, boating and jetskiing.

Elizabeth (Beth) Meigs grew up in Brewster, MA; graduating from Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in 1978. She lives in Chatham with a big, fluffy Bernese Mountain Dog named Sammy and a fiesty but lovable Maine Coon Cat-mix named Triton.   She has two adult daughters and six grandchildren.

Beth is an avid reader, gardener and hiker.  She has worked on or around boats most her life, but she is a long-time closet novelist.  It has been her dream to write for a living ever since she was a child, pounding out stories on a cheap typewriter. 

She looks forward to creating an interesting and informative Calendar and composing the Get Out Weekend Planner columns for Patch.  (P.S. She upgraded from the cheap typewriter a long time ago.)



Catherine Doneghy, please call her Katie, grew up North of Boston in a small town known for its singing beach, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Trekking to Vermont for education (and skiing) granted her a degree in History and minor in Business from the University of Vermont. A passion for small business initiatives and cutting edge technology has brought her to start-ups in the food world and the educational travel industry where her drive for results and communication skills have made her a treasure!

Katie joined the Patch team as an Advertising Manager covering Hingham, Braintree, Canton and Plymouth to shake things up. Katie now covers many of the MetroWest Patch sites. She is a localvore - this mentality goes beyond what she puts in her pie hole. She wants to get to know YOU, come to your events, support your business and teach you how to get everything you can and want out of your Patch.

Drop her a line!

617-470-1886

catherine.doneghy@patch.com

P.S. I like raspberry jelly on my grilled cheese. My hero is Ernest Shakleton. If you don't know who he is; look him up and get inspired! I love the outdoors and getting back to nature.

Justin Medley is an Advertising Manager for Patch.com. Originally from Alabama, he graduated from Auburn University in 2006 and obtained a B.S. in Marketing. Justin comes to Patch with experience in social media marketing and digital advertising focusing on marketing and branding strategy.  Justin is dedicated to helping businesses fulfill their marketing goals.

justin.medley@patch.com

Michelle is the Regional Publisher for Massachusetts' South Shore, Cape Cod, and the Islands, where she delivers an awesome vehicle for local businesses to reach-out to their communities.  Michelle is a Milton resident, grew up in West Roxbury and graduated from Boston Latin School and Boston College.  After a brief (and interesting!) stint selling cars on Rte. 1 The Automile, Michelle spent most of her career working in magazine advertising sales in New York City at Vogue, The Conde Nast Bridal Group, The Robb Report, and More magazines. After returning home to Boston, she managed a sales team at Phoenix Media/Communications Group . Michelle enjoys skiing, hobbling through marathons, going to concerts, and  foodies-in-training dinners with friends and family.

A 2007 graduate of Springfield College, Matt Schooley took over as the local editor for Wilmington Patch at the beginning of 2011. Prior to starting with Patch, Matt was an award-winning staff writer at Neighborhood News, Inc., based in Manchester, New Hampshire. At Neighborhood News, Matt covered board meetings, high school sports and anything that was interesting in the community. With Patch, Matt looks forward to providing in-depth coverage of breaking news, features and sports. He is also excited to meet the people of Wilmington and show them why Patch is their home for everything local.

Susan has been a journalist since high school, when she was hired by the Everett-Leader Herald to cover basketball and other high school sports. She is excited to be covering the community she lives in, again.

After graduating from Boston College, Susan was an award-winning sports editor (New England Press Association (NEPA) awards) and an award-winning education reporter (named best education reporter by the Massachusetts Teachers Association). A former political, town government and investigative reporter, Susan has won several New England Press Association, Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA) and National Newspaper Association awards.

A former writer at the Brockton Enterprise and an editor at The Eagle-Tribune, Susan has worked as a freelance writer and editor since getting married and having a family. She has written for national publications like FamilyFun magazine and was editor of Bay State Parent magazine from 2004-2008. Bay State Parent won more than 100 awards while Susan was at the helm, including being named best regional parenting magazine in North America by SNA in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Susan lives in Framingham with her husband and their daughter. An active volunteer and an avid photographer, Susan is rarely seen without her camera.  

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.