William (Bill) Rupp has spent most of his career as a community newspaper editor and reporter in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, including stints as managing editor and news editor at the Woonsocket Call and the Pawtucket Times and editor of the weekly Warren Times-Gazette. He has been the recipient of and has led editorial staffs that have been honored with awards from press associations in Rhode Island, New England, and Pennsylvania and the Suburban Newspapers of America. He holds M.A. and B.A. degrees in journalism from Pennsylvania State University and has studied holistic counseling at Salve Regina University. He and his wife, Cyndy, have a blended family with three grown daughters and two grown sons. Reading thriller and mystery books, writing, home renovation projects, and personal fitness take up most of his spare time.

Phone: (401) 207-7811

E-mail: Sandy@Patch.com

Sandy McGee has worked in community journalism for more than eight years, developing stories, editing and creating a voice for the towns she covers.

In her spare time, she enjoys photography, traveling and doing anything outdoors, especially cycling and mountain biking.

A lifelong Rhode Islander, Samantha has called North Kingstown home since she was three years old. Her reporting career began when she was a sophomore at North Kingstown High School, writing for the school's newspaper, The Current Wave. Samantha graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island in 2010 with degrees in journalism and political science. During her time at URI, she interned at the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, WRNI, and Rhode Island Monthly as well as served as a reporter and ads manager for URI's newspaper, The Good 5 Cent Cigar.

Contact Samantha at samantha.turner@patch.com or 401.862.9881.

Joe grew up in Johnston, and graduated from Johnston High School. After high school, he attended Rhode Island College and earned a bachelor's degree in English, then went into professional journalism with the Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick. After stints in Hopkinton and East Greenwich, Joe served as Editor of The Cranston Herald.

In later employment, Joe worked in nonprofit administration, youth programs, and education, before returning to journalism with JohnstonPatch in December, 2010.

Joe headed up the launch of SmithfieldPatch in September, 2012, and works as Editor for both sites.

I've been reporting online on East Greenwich for more than three years and I love it. I live in EG and have been writing and editing my whole career. I'm thrilled to be the Local Editor for my town – I've learned so much!

Lauren is a Coventry native and graduate of the University of Rhode Island's Journalism program. Her love for journalism began when she was a sophomore at Coventry High School where she wrote for and edited the school's student paper; The Entry. She was also a disc jockey and music director at the school's FM radio station, 91.5 WCVY, for four years.  

During her time at URI, Lauren took many different types of journalism courses, but focused mainly on print journalism. She spent the summer of 2010 interning at the Warwick Beacon as a reporter covering everything from budget cuts to high school events to the local cow farm.

Lauren is more than excited to be returning to her hometown as the editor of Coventry Patch and having the opportunity to cover news in Coventry the way it deserves to be covered!

Contact: lauren.costa@patch.com or 401.369.1676

Mark is an award-winning journalist with a background in community journalism. He has been working as a professional journalist most of his adult life. Before joining Patch, he wrote for the South County Independent, covering the seaside town of Narragansett, R.I., since 2004. Before that, he wrote for the University of Rhode Island's campus daily, the Good Five Cent Cigar and was the editor of The Rebellion, South Kingstown High School's paper. He graduated from SK in 1996.

Mark has been recognized by both the Rhode Island and New England Press Associations for outstanding reporting. He has won numerous awards, including first-place prizes for feature writing, investigative reporting, and business and economic reporting. While covering Narragansett, he established a reputation of trustworthiness and fairness, earning the respect of both his readers and the people he covered.

Mark is a devoted husband and father and lives next door to Cranston in Warwick, R.I. with his wife Naomi and daughter Olive. 

After a six-year stint in South Florida, Patrick Luce returned to his home state of Rhode Island in 2007. Patrick comes to Patch as Associate Regional Editor after spending much of his career in newspapers, most recently as Editorial Page Editor of The Herald News in Fall River, Mass.

Contact Tiverton-Little Compton Patch Local Editor Erin Tiernan at 401-835-4105 or email her at erin.tiernan@patch.com.

Renee's roots are in the Great Lakes of Michigan.  This is also where she met her husband and started a family which now includes two children.   She then had the opportunity to explore the United States literally living in one end to the other. From Michigan it was off (or they went to) to sunny California, then to the south in Virginia and most recently to the east coast, Rhode Island.   Renee and her family love the New England coast and small town charm.  Renee has become very good at getting her family acclimated quickly in new communities.  Her bouncing around the United States is one of the reasons she found Patch's "one-stop-shopping" approach to community news and information so exciting.  Prior to her "bouncing", Renee worked in the health care field as an Occupational Therapist.  Her interests include photography, scrapbooking, reading, and horseback riding.

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.

An Advertising and Marketing Consultant based in Cranston, Suzanne has over 15 years of media planning experience with an expertise in promoting and supporting local small business plans and strategies. Media experience inlcudes WJAR, The Boston Phoenix, Boston Magazine and cable networks including MTV, ESPN and NESN. Available to meet with businesses to drive sales utilizing our awesome Patch site. You're Local, We're Local, I'm Local- perfect! suzanne.oshea@patch.com Call to schedule a visit 401-374-2403

A Brockton, Mass. native who graduated from Bridgewater State College with a degree in Biology, Russ was inspired to make the transition from teaching to writing after chronicling the opening of Epcot Center in 1980. Reporting primarily about sports for a quarter-century,  including stints at the Providence Journal, for MaxPreps and other publications, Russ has branched out to contribute to dozens of other publications on everything from business to community affairs. In 1999, as the Community College of Rhode Island Sports Information Director, he wrote and edited a NJCAA national and award-winning Winter Sports Guide. He also received awards for his coverage of mentally-challenged individuals from the J. Arthur Trudeau Center in Warwick, RI and the RI Special Olympics. He also is a writer for Attleboro.Patch.com. 

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.