The staff of The Herald gathered Friday night at the Waterplace Restaurant in downtown Providence to wish farewell to outgoing editors and managers and to welcome new leaders.
Outgoing Editors-in-Chief Simmi Aujla '09 and Ross Frazier '09; Executive Editors Taylor Barnes '09 and Chris Gang '09.5; Senior Editors Irene Chen '09, Lindsey Meyers '09 and Stu Woo '08.5; General Managers Dee Gill '09 and Darren Ball '09; and post- Managing Editors Rajiv Jayadevan '09 and Matt Hill '09 thanked The Herald's 240 staff members for their dedication and talent and introduced next year's leadership team.
Former Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci also made a surprise (and probably coincidental) appearance that delighted many attendees.
Steve DeLucia '10 will serve as editor-in-chief, joined on the 119th editorial board by Michael Bechek '10 and Chaz Firestone '10 as managing editors; Nandini Jayakrishna '10, Franklin Kanin '10 and Michael Skocpol '10 as associate editors; Rachel Arndt '10, Catherine Cullen '10 and Scott Lowenstein '10 as senior editors; and James Shapiro '10 as the editorial page editor.
Alexander Hughes '10 and Jon Spector '10 will serve as general managers, joined by Ellen DaSilva '10, Claire Kiely '11 and Phil Maynard '11 as sales directors and Katie Koh '11 as finance director.
Kelly McKowen '10 and Arthur Matuszewski '10 will serve as the managing editors of post- magazine, The Herald's arts and culture weekly.
A favorite son of Manchester, N.H., DeLucia will take the reins as editor-in-chief after two years as design editor. Responsible for the paper's look, he has helped improve its production process, devise a unique training regimen for budding designers and guide the transition to a new Web site. He has logged more hours at The Herald's offices than any known human being. DeLucia will be president of The Brown Daily Herald Inc.
Bechek, who hails from Needham, Mass., will be a managing editor. As a news editor, he vigorously pursued coverage of the Corporation and Brown's fundraising efforts, bringing his razor-sharp judgment to bear on the most complex topics of University governance. Bechek will be vice president of The Brown Daily Herald Inc.
Firestone, who never lacks in fun facts about his native Toronto, will work as a managing editor. As features editor, he debuted the Friday "Spotlight" series and reported heavily on the apocalypse. His eye for stories has brought coverage of subjects hard-hitting and hard to stomach - from medical research ethics to a guy who eat bugs - to The Herald's pages.
Currently a metro editor, Jayakrishna will bring her enthusiasm for journalism to the associate editor position. Depending on how you ask, she will say she is from either Providence, New Orleans or India. But wherever she's from, Jayakrishna's work as a metro editor and reporter brought relevant and incisive coverage of presidential candidates, local residents and the homeless to the newspaper.
Kanin, a happy-go-lucky Bostonian who likely sleeps in his Red Sox hat, will serve as an associate editor. As a news editor and reporter, Kanin has covered a broad range of campus news, including Brown ties to the Super Bowl, curricular and advising changes and a group of people who sing the praises of meat. He has also thrice administered The Herald poll.
Skocpol, who is from Cambridge, Mass., will serve as an associate editor. As news editor, his level-headed and analytic nature yielded incisive coverage of the University's finances. Long-winded in speech and graceful in prose, he is adept at finding the story behind stories, as seen in his coverage of a malfunctioning bell atop University Hall.
Arndt, who is from Chicago, will be a senior editor. As a metro editor, she examined Rhode Island's microbrewery industry and those who use marijuana for medicinal reasons. She has also reported on the University's growth, including protests against moving the Urban Environmental Lab, and the new Brown-RISD joint degree program. As a judo master, she is the only member of the 119th editorial board who is considered a deadly weapon while unarmed.
Cullen, ever-proud of her native Grosse Point Shores, Mich., will serve as a senior editor, following a stint as copy desk chief and reporter. In her time as copy desk chief, Cullen improved recruiting and training for The Herald's team of fact-checkers and greatly expanded the department. She has written on student entrepreneurship and is a master of punctuation.
Lowenstein, of Vestal, N.Y., will bring his passion for fun to the senior editor position. As metro editor, he guided campaign coverage and has reported extensively on the local economy, including cuts to state services and grass-roots initiatives. He has also covered Thayer Street, its comings-and-goings and its characters. At 6-foot-4, he is the new editorial board's tallest member. He enjoys friendship and flasks.
Shapiro, ever the Silver Spring, Md., gentleman, will serve as editorial page editor, managing The Herald's editorial page board and opinions content. Earning his spurs as a reporter, he has spent the last year as opinions editor, where he increased the number of columnists and emphasized local and campus issues. Shapiro, a champion of logic and good debate, enjoys gastronomic blogging.
Matuszweski, formerly a post- associate editor, is currently the magazine's features editor and will take the helm as a managing editor. Matuszweski has created a concentration all his own, "Revolution," but will take the editorship peacefully. He enjoys playing with vocabulary - both English and Polish, which he speaks fluently - and is rumored to be taking all GISPs next semester.
McKowen transferred to Brown from Boston College and quickly rose up the ranks of post- to become its off-the-Hill editor before transforming the page into "From the Hill" this past fall to focus it more on Brown culture. An Ohio native fluent in Norwegian, McKowen keeps a close eye on politics and College Hill's cultural scene.
On The Herald's business side, Hughes, from Rockville Centre, N.Y., will become general manager. Hughes helped standardize the paper's advertising sales and train its staff. He has been involved with the transition to a new Web site and will serve as secretary of The Brown Daily Herald Inc.
Spector will also serve as general manager. As finance director, his mastery of The Herald's books vastly improved its financial health. Straddled between Massachusetts and New York, let there be no doubt that this New Canaan, Conn. native is forever a Yankees fan. Spector will be treasurer of The Brown Daily Herald Inc.
DaSilva, who is from Scarsdale, N.Y., will become a sales director. As a University sales manager, she helped many student groups and departments get their messages into the newspaper. Her charisma and knowledge of the University market helped expand advertising sales.
Kiely, from San Jose, Calif., will serve as a sales director. As a national and local sales manager, she has worked tirelessly to help advertisers from Cranston to California reach out to Herald readers. Behind her big smile hides a fierce negotiator and James Bond fanatic.
Maynard, who hails from the steel forest of New York City, will also serve as a sales director. As recruiter and local sales manager, he is connected with businesses across Providence and in the labor market. His friendly nature and big-picture thinking have helped The Herald expand its advertising sales and training.
Koh, who will serve as finance director, is far more friendly and level-headed than her fellow Orange County, Calif., natives appear on television. As assistant finance director, she helped The Herald modernize its bookkeeping and build strategies for long-term growth. She has an impressive knowledge of terms like "aging" and "receivables" and enjoys eating muesli in her free time.
The arts and culture desk will benefit from the return next semester of not one but two veteran critics. Ben Hyman '11 and Hannah Levintova '09 will team up again next semester to orchestrate The Herald's coverage of all the creativity Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design have to offer. Always easy to work with and enthusiastic, the return of this duo with a semester's work together under their belts is an exciting prospect.
With a sharp mind and a broad smile, Emmy Liss '11 quickly became a compendium of information about all things ResLife during her time as campus life beat reporter. Combined with organizational skills honed orchestrating the much-loved Herald Buddies program, her reporter's instincts will come in handy as features editor next semester.
Sophia Li's '11 contagious laugh and keen news sense will serve her well at the features desk next semester. Li, who in her free time knits coffee cozies and eats fruits that begin with the letter "p," has logged plenty of hours in the Third World Center and has even alerted the Providence community to a local bed bug infestation. The Connecticut native will be joining Liss next semester as features editor.
Expanding coverage of trends at colleges and universities nationwide, Gaurie Tilak '11 and veteran Matt Varley '09 will be heading up the Higher Ed section.
Tilak, the New Jersey native, has reported on this year's budget deficits and freshman surpluses. Uncovering the Sharpe Refectory's possibly toxic cups and voyeuristic virtual software, the mock trial superstar will bring her enthusiasm to the Higher Ed section. Varley will take on a second stint in his favored section.
George Miller '11 and Joanna Wohlmuth '11 will be broadening their coverage to take in more than just the hill in their new role as metro editors.
Miller, hailing from Virginia, likes his vanilla ice cream with a platter of cheeseless pizza. Miller has tirelessly covered the workings of the University's administration, following the progress of the Task Force on Undergraduate Education, reporting on the major decisions of the Corporation last February and tracking the changeovers in leadership at both RISD and the Alpert Medical School. Ever the dedicated investigative journalist, Miller recently spent a day at a sewage treatment plant.
Students looking to enter Brown will probably have read some of Wohlmuth's articles, as the acclaimed water polo player form California has kept on top of Admission Office news. While forcing even more ejections than the office she covers, Wohlmuth has been getting her dose of courtroom drama as she follows the ongoing disciplinary procedures involving Students for a Democratic Society members in the wake of their protest of the Corporation.
Chaz Kelsh '11 and Jenna Stark '11 are no strangers to campus news and will bring their know-how as news editors to the paper.
Kelsh, the Philadelphia native who has been doubling as both senior staff writer and assistant design editor, spent his Wednesdays last spring sitting through hours-long UCS meetings. This fall he has moved on to other areas of University life, including Brown's foray into the real estate business with their $10 house offers and investigating questionable drug research by one of Brown's own.
Having refined her reporting craft dissecting faculty meetings and the finer points of traditional tenure structures, Stark will bring her formidable skills as a reporter to bear on a broader field of coverage next semester as news editor. With her work ethic and quick wits, both honed during her time on the rugby pitch, this Milwaukee, Wis., native will be key in keeping The Herald's campus news coverage fresh and timely next semester.
As Brown football earned the name "Champion" this weekend, Benjy Asher '10 and Andrew Braca '10 were given titles of their own - sports editors.
Asher, from Westchester, N.Y., has experience overseeing The Herald's back page, first as an assistant sports editor and, this semester, as a sports editor. Focusing on football but covering a variety of sports, the Alpha Epsilon Pi brother has held the line at the sports desk.
No rookie either, Braca will take the helm of the section he has served his entire Herald career. The Rhode Island redhead has shown versatility in his coverage of Brown's hockey teams, be they on ice or field.
Jessie Calihan '11 and Marlee Bruning '12, as design editors, will team up to produce The Herald's print and Web editions each day.
A native of Rochester, N.Y., Calihan has made time for layout work between early-morning crew practices and trips to the White House over the past three semesters. Bruning, a favorite daughter of Manchester, N.H., brings her keen sense for both news and design to her work as a designer. The duo will look to refresh The Herald's look and train a new crop of designers.
After a semester of comics for The Herald's page two, Stephen Lichenstein '11 will join editorial cartoon creator Chris Lee '10 as a graphics editor. Lichenstein, who visualizes and puts to paper the life at an alien news desk in his daily "Alien Weather Forecast," will oversee and organize the creative contributions on The Herald comics page. Lee, the cartoonist from Vancouver who has himself contributed time and again to the art on the editorial page, will take charge of the editorial cartoon process.
Current Copy Desk Chiefs Seth Motel '11 from Chicago and Katie Delaney '11 from Philadelphia will be staying on board in those roles to continue to keep the paper both grammatically and factually accurate. Motel, when not behind the copy desk or cheering for his Cubs, has dabbled in writing of his own as a staff writer covering both sports and campus news - recently reporting on the current high incidence of A's. The two veterans will lead the copy editors in guarding the paper from errors.
A new crop of young journalists became staff writers this semester, including Chris Duffy '09, Sydney Ember '12, Lauren Fedor '12, Nicole Friedman '12, Juliana Friend '11, Sarah Husk '11, Kelly Mallahan '11, Hannah Moser '12, Jyotsna Mullur '12 and Ben Schreckinger '12.
