Since moving to Forest Hills seven years ago, I'd dreamed of starting a Web site for JP. I have 15 years of experience at newspapers as an editor and reporter. I live on Weld Hill Street with my wife, Jane, our dog, Molly, and two cats: Sophie and Carlos.

Sue has lived in JP for nearly twenty years and has been an advocate for its vibrancy and diversity. She has graduate degrees from Northeastern University and Simmons College in community mental health counseling and health care administration. She has had a rich career that has woven together health care, journalism and community organizing. In October, she will be co-facilitating the JP Community Dialogues sponsored by the YWCA.

Melanie Graham started at Patch after a a few stints at community newspapers in Massachusetts including the Newburyport Daily News and Milford Daily News. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and has bachelors degrees in Music Performance and English/Journalism. She lives in Brighton with some fellow music geeks and enjoys listening to records, playing piano, hearing stories and writing them down.

David Ertischek was most recently the editor of the West Roxbury and Roslindale Transcripts for about a year before launching West Roxbury Patch. Prior to that he was the editor of local paper in Watertown for a year, and was a reporter/assistant editor/sports editor for the Transcripts for several years before his Watertown gig. 

Cate is the editor of Back Bay Patch, and has worked as a reporter at newspapers in Vermont, Western Mass and most recently covering Beverly for the Salem News. She graduated from Saint Michael's College with a degree in journalism and minor in Spanish, and lives in South Boston.

Kim has worked as a journalist for daily and weekly papers both in the U.S. and abroad.  She started as a local editor at The Recorder in Greenfield, Mass., then went on to work as a staff writer at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, in Northampton, and at The Prague Post, in the Czech Republic.  She returned to editing at Czech Business Weekly.  Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, New Statesman, and The Patriot Ledger and The New York Times.  She has worked as a freelancer for the Associated Press for several years.  Kim lives in Jamaica Plain. Read her full bio here.

Jesika graduated from the University of Maryland University College with a degree in Communications/Journalism and has worked freelance for the Milford Daily News and as a proofreader.  Born in Seattle, Wash., she grew up in Holliston, Mass., and currently lives in Shrewsbury.

Her other main occupation besides being a Calendar Editor for Patch is being Mom to eight-year-old Jaiden, three-year-old Adrianna, two-year-old Alyssandra, and the newest additon to her family, Keira, who was born in July.  In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her family and take day trips.

Originally from Rhode Island, she went to Assumption college in Worcester, then moved to Boston 7 years ago to work in print advertising, including a number of years at Boston Magazine. Kristen had an opportunity to work in professional soccer in 2008 (she is a passionate soccer fan, player and coach in JP Youth Soccer), yet recently left the New England Revolution when the opportunity came to work for Patch.

Since moving to Jamaica Plain in 2009, she has been enamored with the neighborhood since moving to the Boston area. She believes the diversity, culture, arts, food, and location make for a fabulous experience whether a resident or visitor!

Patrick is the Regional Publisher for Patch in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  He is a Weston High School alum and a Boston College graduate.  Patrick spent most of his career in the newspaper industry prior to joining Patch.  He has managed sales teams for The New York Post, Boston Herald and Community Newspaper Company.  

I grew up in Hanover, N.H., and lived in New York and Colorado before moving to Massachusetts in 2006. I have a master's degree in print journalism from Boston University, and a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Syracuse University. I've been a journalist for more than eight years, working as a reporter or editor for newspapers and magazines. I was Lexington Patch editor from May 2010 to April 2011, and am now an associate regional editor. 

Adam Vaccaro began his time at West Roxbury Patch as a sports reporter, covering the neighborhoods athletics from Catholic Memorial football games to Saturdays at youth sports league events. Since, he has taken on a number of duties and has reported on events and news all over the neighborhood. He particularly enjoys reporting on education issues and new businesses. Adam has served as West Roxbury Patch's guest editor and occasionally writes for other Patch sites as well.

You can reach Adam at (508) 274-0734, or by e-mail at adamtvaccaro@gmail.com.

Email: amanda.kersey@patch.com

Amanda Kersey has been a reporter and photographer for Somerville Patch and other nearby town sites since January, 2011. She began producing news from the communities in October of that year. 

She graduated from New York University last January with a B.A. in Spanish literature and journalism. Kersey covered campus and city news as a staff writer for NYU’s student-run daily newspaper, The Washington Square News. She also interned at The L Magazine, a small magazine in Brooklyn.

Her last internship before entering the workforce was at Gotham Gazette, a politics and public policy Web site based in Manhattan. At the Gazette, Kersey covered a Brooklyn state Assembly election and reported on New York’s initiatives to make locally grown food available to all New Yorkers.

Besides writing for Patch, Kersey spends her time cooking, shopping at the Somerville Winter Farmers’ Market and reading at the Cambridge Public Library. 

I'm really excited that Patch has started up in Jamaica Plain, and I'm looking forward to contributing to the site.  In a previous incarnation, I wrote for Worldwide Books, Thomson Research, and Northern Light Technology.  I have BA's in English and Art History, and a Masters in Library and Information Science.  For the past four years, I worked at the Boston Public Library's Jamaica Plain Branch where I had the pleasure of getting to know so many of the community's talented and interesting people.  I've lived in Boston for over twenty years, and in JP for the past eight.   I love JP's diversity, counterculture, progressive politics, greenspaces, proximity to downtown, and its active arts scene. Vivo en el otro lado de JP cerca de la Calle Washington. During my free time, I enjoy reading, movies, music, biking, and travelling.  For the past few years, I've been fortunate to have visited Ecuador on numerous occasions, a country I now regard as my second home. 

Karla joined Patch in mid-2010 as a Boston-area regional editor, making the leap into hyperlocal news after  years of focus on the national and international news fronts at The Christian Science Monitor, CNN and CNN International -- doing online news since 1998. She has lived in a neighborhood she loves, Jamaica Plain, for a total of 18 years, with a stint in lovely Atlanta sandwiched in the middle. Beyond the news, she is, among other things, a (fair-weather) biker, a rabid Celtic music fan and an unabashed church nerd.

Stephen Walsh is a life long resident of Brookline and the son of a retired Brookline Firefighter. His mother still works for the Brookline Public Schools after serving over four decades. Stephen got hooked on photography at about age 13, when his parents gave him a Pentax K1000 35-millimeter camera after he graduated from the Dexter School in Brookline. Stephen graduated from St. Sebastian's CDS in Needham in 1984 and, although he has worked in many fields, photojournalism has always been his passion. Today he makes it his full-time profession.

Stephen has been published in the TAB newspapers, Firehouse Magazine, the Boston Herald and many websites. He is also a Senior Correspondent/Photographer for 1st Responder Newspaper covering Eastern Massachusetts. He currently serves as the photographer for the Brookline Fire Fighters Association Local 950 and has been recognized 12 times for his work in spot news by an international photojournalism group.

Ed Symkus has been writing personality profiles for daily and weekly newspapers since 1987. Interviews have ranged from people working in the arts and sports to business owners and politicians. He and his wife, Lisa, have lived in West Roxbury for 22 years and are avid fans of travel. Ed is currently a freelance film and music critic (favorite film: "And Now My Love," favorite band: the Beatles), and has fond memories of attending Woodstock.

My background is in writing, editing and the culinary arts. I'm a freelance writer and editor, culinarian, avid traveler, community volunteer and amateur art collector. 

I love being a part of the amazing JP community—the people, the history, the natural beauty, and, of course, the small but inspired and progressive dining scene. I hate the term "foodie" but I know I am one. My roast chicken will bring you to tears. 

Former ESL teacher from New York, longtime urban gardener.  When we came to Boston we looked for a neighborhood with diversity, good public transportation, and libraries, markets, and coffee within walking distance. We got community gardens, the Pond, and the Arboretum in the bargain!

Vanessa, a born and raised Canton native, joined Patch in November as a freelance writer and photographer.  Currently a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) to two energetic toddlers, Vanessa enjoys exploring her hometown and finding fun things to do with her family.



Hello! I’m Benjamin Cooper, hailing from Barkhamsted, Connecticut. A Boston area freelance reporter, I study Journalism and International Relations at Boston University, giving special attention to accuracy in reporting on foreign cultures and the communities that make up Boston.

Currently interning at GlobalPost and JP Patch, I aspire to write, photograph, and better understand ethnic conflict and identity abroad. My writing and photography can be found on my wordpress, benjacobjourno

In my spare time I enjoy backpacking, photography and friends. I am a connoisseur of fine chocolate chip cookies, and I always appreciate a few good puns and some antics.

Lesley moved to JP about a year ago and is so enamored with the neighborhood that she tries to convince everyone she meets to move here. After working in the newspaper business for more than 10 years as a reporter and editor, she now works as a writer/editor in higher education. In addition to writing for various freelance publications, she's working on a collection of short stories. 

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.

Jeff Jarvis is the associate professor and director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York’s new Graduate School of Journalism.  He also blogs about media and news at Buzzmachine.com; is consulting editor of Daylife; writes a media column for the Guardian, and consults for media companies.

Prior to his current responsibilities, Jarvis held positions including president and creative director of Advance.net; creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly; Sunday editor and associated publisher of the New York Daily News; TV critic for TV Guide and People; a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner; assistant city editor and reporter for the Chicago Tribune and reporter for Chicago Today.

Jarvis is the author of What Would Google Do?

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.