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Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

What We Cover

Area Covered: Tewksbury, Mass.

Population: 30,597

Local Government: Town Manager, Board of Selectmen

High Schools: Tewksbury Memorial High School, Shawsheen Tech

Meet Your Local Patch Team

Andrew Sylvia

Andrew Sylvia, Editor

 

Andrew Sylvia is the local editor of the Westford and Chelmsford Patch.

He has written at least one piece for every Patch in Massachusetts north of Boston and has had bylines in more than a dozen newspapers in Vermont and New Hampshire, including The Telegraph of Nashua, the Milford Cabinet, Bedford Journal, the Hollis-Brookline Journal, the Keene Sentinel, the Pelham-Windham News, and the New Hampshire Union Leader. He also has contributed to various websites such as NHReporter.com, Ehow and the New Hampshire Sports Report after receiving  a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Keene State College in 2004.

Phone:

978-905-9022

E-mail address:

andrew.sylvia@patch.com

Bill Gilman

Bill Gilman, Community Editor

Bill is 45 years old, married with two teen sons. Bill has been in journalism 23 years at various daily and weekly publications in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He got his start in sports journalism, but his heart is in hometown community coverage.

Christopher Gambon, Contributor, Editor

Danielle Masterson

Danielle Masterson, Community Editor

Danielle Masterson is the Community Editor for several Patch sites in Massachusetts, including Woburn. Between 2010 and 2012, she served as the Woburn Patch Local Editor.

Danielle graduated from Boston University's broadcast journalism program in 1999, then joined the Stoneham Sun as a full-time reporter. After five years with the Sun, as both reporter and editor, she left journalism to teach elementary school. Danielle obtained her master's degree from the University of Massachusetts – Boston while teaching in Malden. She also taught sixth grade in Marblehead, before jumping back into community journalism with Patch. 

Danielle Masterson

Danielle Masterson, Contributor

Since graduating from Boston University, Danielle has had two successful careers in news writing and teaching at the elementary school level. She loves to listen to music, crochet and read. She lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and their two dogs, Jake and Chloe. 

Anne Wakeman - Senior Advertising Manager

Anne Wakeman - Senior Advertising Manager, Contributor, Sales

I live in the North Shore with my husband and dog and we couldn't be happier!  We enjoy exploring all the towns around us on our motorcycle and finding new local places to eat, drink and shop!

My hobbies include cooking and developing my gardening skills so any good tips send them my way!  Anne.Wakeman@Patch.com

Jeff Pappert, Sales

William Laforme

William Laforme, Contributor, Editor

Bill has worked in journalism since 1995 in various capacities. He started as an online political reporter for the former evote.com and after eight years, went on to become a news editor for the Laconia Citizen in New Hampshire. He has also spent time working in public relations and search engine optimization writing.

Matt Schooley

Matt Schooley, Editor

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.

Jay Oza

Jay Oza, Contributor, Copyeditor

Jay has been a Patch writer since September, 2010.

He's also a high school English and Journalism teacher in Lawrence, MA.

Jay earned his Master's degree at Northeastern University and his Bachelor's at UMass-Dartmouth. 

Christine Berry MacKenzie

Christine Berry MacKenzie, Contributor

A lifelong Wilmington resident, Christine Berry MacKenzie, graduated from Wilmington High School in 1984.  She went on to study English and Written Communications at Salem State College and spent twelve years in the business world before becoming a full time mom.

You might remember her work from the years she spent covering the town of Wilmington for Town Crossings, an Andover Townsman publication.   

These days, when Christine isn't covering a story for Patch, you are most likely to find her at an athletic field or court watching her son, Connor, play baseball, basketball or football for the Wilmington Wildcats.

Her interests include working out at the gym, kickboxing, spinning, rollerblading, reading, and spending time with family. 

 

Brendan Lewis

Brendan Lewis, Contributor, Editor

Long before becoming the editor of Andover Patch, Brendan grew up in the suburbs of North Tewksbury and attended private schools all his life. During his elementary years, he attended Notre Dame Academy and attended high school at St. John's Preparatory School. He later studied business at Quinnipiac University, achieving my B.S. in Business Management in 2005. However, during second semester senior year at Quinnipiac Brendan discovered a love for journalism and immediately began writing for the school newspaper. He worked in circulation at the Lowell Sun after graduating from Quinnipiac and eventually convinced editorial managers to allow him to freelance at the Lowell Sun. From there he eventually worked as a fulltime reporter in various towns in Middlesex County and Essex County for over four years at Community Newspaper Company. He has been an avid drummer/percussionist since adolescence and enjoys hiking and outdoor activities. He also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 2001.


About Us

What is Patch?

Simply put, Patch is an innovative way to find out about, and participate in, what's going on near you.

We're a community-specific news, information and engagement platform driven by passionate and experienced new media professionals. Patch is revolutionizing the way neighbors connect with each other, their communities, and the national conversation.

We want to be the most trusted, comprehensive, and relevant news and information resource in your community. What can you do on Patch?

  • Keep up with news and events
  • Check out photos and videos from around town
  • Learn more about local businesses and the people behind them
  • Participate in discussions
  • Share your perspectives via our Local Voices blogging platform
  • Submit your own announcements, photos, and reviews

Who's Behind Patch?

Patch is run by professional editors, photographers, videographers, and salespeople who live in the regions they serve, and is supported by a great team in our New York City headquarters. Patch also gets advice from our Advisory Board and from many members of the community.

We look forward to meeting you and hearing your stories. If you see us around town, don't be afraid to say hi and tell us what you want to see on Patch!

Where You Come In

We hope that our sites will strengthen communities and improve the lives of their residents, but we can't do it without you. We've built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. So get to it! And if you're a business owner who wants to be listed, just let us know.

Giving Back

You can't truly serve a community unless you provide the help it needs most, which is why giving back is so important to us. We do it as part of our coverage — in a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other — and with a program called "Give 5," through which we donate advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers. Want to know more? Email us at give5@patch.com.


Advisory Board

Phil Meyer

Phil Meyer

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

Steven Berlin Johnson

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 Farnham

Brian Farnham, Founding Editor-in-Chief

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

Ken Paulson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the First Amendment Center

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.