Staff

David Anderson

Advertising, Sponsor & Partner Development

An import from Minnesota, David joined High Country News in March 2009. With 20 years of experience in marketing and sales and an upbeat personality, he helps keep our advertising pages filled. He enjoys a good game of golf, live music, and spending time with his family, including his wife Stevi and young son Skylar.

email: davida at hcn.org

Angela Caldwell

Circulation Assistant

Angela helps keep track of new subscriptions and renewals here in HCN's Circulation Department. A resident of the North Fork Valley since 1998, Angela doesn't miss the hustle of her hometown, Aurora, CO.  In her "spare time", she's completing an associate's degree in business at Colorado Mesa University, and spends time with her husband and young daughter.

email: angelac at hcn.org

Cally Carswell

Assistant Editor

Cally, a 2009 editorial intern, returns to HCN as a full-time staff reporter. She heads up our multimedia work, and also writes news stories.

email: callyc at hcn.org

Craig Childs

Contributing Editor

Craig Childs is an Arizona native now living off the grid in Western Colorado with his wife and two boys.  He has published several highly acclaimed books and frequently hauls his work to the High Country News office where he sets up a desk and has been seen begging for chocolate.

email:  waterpocket at gmail.com

Sierra Crane-Murdoch

Correspondent

email: sierra.murdoch at gmail.com

Andrew Cullen

Associate Designer

Andrew designs and photographs for the magazine. He previously worked as a newspaper reporter in Maine and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bangladesh and Mongolia, where he also launched a freelance photojournalism career. Outside the office, he can be found exploring by camera, bicycle, skateboard, or foot.

email: andrewc at hcn.org

Valarie Dickson

Development Assistant

Though born in the Northeast, Valarie has lived in Colorado longer than anywhere else (27yrs).  Although she is new to the western slope she considers Colorado her home. She enjoys living the country life in the nearby town of Delta with her husband Jim and three spunky cats. Valarie enjoys spending her spare time outdoors, camping in the spring and fall and gardening in the summer. Small town life equals a slower pace, and that is a welcome change.

email: valaried at hcn.org

Paul Gibb

Financial Advisor

Paul escaped Austin's corporate life for western Colorado in 2000.  Since then, he has been helping small businesses & non-profits with their finances while enjoying the rural lifestyle of Paonia.  Paul has consulted with more than a dozen organizations of varying size and at different stages in their evolution.  Paul signed on as High Country News' Financial Advisor in 2002.  When not crunching #’s, Paul chases around his twin sons and provides free labor to his wife’s organic farming operation.

email: pgibb at hcn.org

Sarah Gilman

Associate Editor

Sarah, a former High Country News intern, now edits and writes short news, profiles, infographics and features for the magazine. She also manages the HCN intern program. Before working for HCN, she bounced around the Rockies, studying white-crowned sparrows, reporting at a daily newspaper and working on a trail crew. Sarah enjoys weaving, hiking, running and painting. Her favorite tool—from her days carving out trails on the slopes of Mount Massive—is the double jack. These days, she's also especially partial to her 8-lb. maul.

email: sarah at hcn.org

Emily Guerin

Editorial Fellow

Emily Guerin comes to Paonia from Maine, where most recently she was a reporter at a weekly newspaper in greater Portland. Previously, she worked as a freelance radio reporter, waitress, wilderness trip leader and environmental educator. She also worked as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School. When not computer-bound, Emily enjoys hanging off cliff faces, chasing after frisbees, and making impulsive decisions to buy fruit from roadside stands.

email: emilyg at hcn.org

Kati Johnson

Circulation Assistant

Since November 2011, our new circulation assistant, Kati Johnson, has been helping to fill the caverns of HCN’s databases with information. She’s also one of the friendly voices you may hear when you call our headquarters. The comforts of family and fast food from her hometown of Omaha, Neb., tug at her heartstrings from time to time, but as a Paonia resident since 2004, she loves the small-town convenience of living close to everything she needs. On a typical weekend, she’s playing cards and dice with her two teenage boys, Jonas and Noah, humiliating her husband, Ryan, at cribbage or reading a book.

email: katij at hcn.org

JoAnn Kalenak

Special Projects Marketer

JoAnn is in charge of syndicating HCN's work to other publications in both print and online.  She works with editors throughout the West - and beyond - to get our stories reprinted in the hopes of introducing new readers to HCN and to help fulfill our mission to "inform and inspire."  When she was young, her brothers would call her “Jo-Annie Oakley,” and she still considers herself a die-hard Westerner. In her free time, she is on the board of directors for a local animal rescue organization and hangs out with her husband, two cats, four dogs, three goats, and six geese.

email: joann at hcn.org

Sarah Keller

Editorial Intern

Sarah Keller may be new to Paonia, but she's no stranger to the territory. After growing up in rural Maryland, she made a leap to the West nine years ago for an undergraduate summer research program at nearby Crested Butte. She then earned a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in earth science. In her quest to connect science more directly with society, she's shifted to journalism, and last year obtained a science communication graduate certificate.  At HCN, Sarah looks forward to writing about a range of topics including energy, water and agricultural issues. In addition to covering stories in her familiar haunts of New Mexico, Colorado and Montana, she's eager to learn about other parts of the West. Sarah is also a skilled and enthusiastic telemark skier.

email: sarahk at hcn.org

Stephanie Kyle

Circulation Assistant

Though born in the Mid-West, Stephanie has lived in Colorado longer than anywhere else (29yrs) and considers Colorado her home. She is living the country life in the nearby town of Crawford with her husband Larry, youngest daughter Shelby and all their critters. Stephanie enjoys her work at HCN and in her spare time spends time with Larry doing whatever ranch work that needs to be done. Life is very good in rural Colorado.

email: stephaniek at hcn.org

Paul Larmer

Executive Director/Publisher

After completing his internship in 1984, Paul went on to hold almost every possible position at High Country News. He is now responsible for working with the board of directors, drumming up funding and generally making sure the magazine is sailing in the right direction. He holds a Master’s Degree in Natural Resource Policy and worked for years at the Sierra Club. Every summer he plants a few crops on his small ranch in Western Colorado and pretends to be a farmer.

email: plarmer at hcn.org

Betsy Marston

Writers on the Range Editor

She may have edited High Country News for 19 years – longer than anyone else in the history of the publication – but Betsy insists the experience did not make her crazy. She currently edits Writers on the Range and writes the column “Heard Around the West.” She also delights in collecting quirky photos from readers and sharing them on the back page of the magazine. She describes herself as a “volunteeraholic,” and in no particular order, loves Paonia, biking back roads, reading the Sunday New York Times, and her grandchildren Maude and Bruno.

email: betsym at hcn.org

Kathy Martinez

Circulation Analyst

Since 1995 Kathy has worked her way up the ranks of the HCN Circulation Department from part-time office staff (applying labels to the newspaper when it was mailed from our Paonia office) to  Circulation Manager.  Kathy now concentrates on the various ways to crunch numbers needed to support HCNs' many endeavors. When not at HCN you can find her fishing and camping in the great outdoors or staying close to home gardening, cooking and being  a grandma.

email: kathy at hcn.org

Denise Massart-Isaacson & Michelle Riley

Business Managers

Denise & Michelle are responsible for payroll, human resources, accounts payable and receivable, and general office management.  Michelle also provides staff IT support.

email: denise at hcn.org, riley at hcn.org

Mike Maxwell

Director of Operations

In August 2009, Mike Maxwell became our new Web and IT manager. Mike maintains the HCN Web site, analyzes web traffic data, and advises the managers on online marketing strategy. Mike, who has a B.A. in political science from the University of Colorado at Denver, has been in Paonia for three years now with his partner, Thea Deley. Originally from Fort Collins, Colo., he's also lived in New Mexico and California, where he worked at an Internet start-up company. In his spare time, Mike enjoys really good wine, making Mexican food and pretending that he is an actual fly fisherman.

email: mikem at hcn.org

Judith Lewis Mernit

Contributing Editor

email:

Michelle Nijhuis

Contributing Editor

Michelle began her journalism career in 1998, as a High Country News intern, and has written for High Country News ever since. Michelle has also written for Smithsonian, National Geographic and Audubon, and won several national honors including an AAAS Science Journalism Award and inclusion in the anthology Best American Science Writing. A lapsed biologist, Michelle was once paid to chase tortoises through the Sonoran Desert; the tortoises usually won. www.michellenijhuis.com

email: michelle at hcn.org

Jodi Peterson

Managing Editor

In 2004, after 16 years as a technical writer, Jodi leapt out of the corporate world to intern with High Country News. A year later, she joined HCN as News Editor; she's now the Managing Editor, which means she oversees Web and magazine content, keeps an eye on budgets and schedules, and generally steers the editorial ship.  When she's not in the office, she refuses to get within 50 feet of a computer. Instead, Jodi spends her free time backpacking, biking, gardening, reading, or rambling with her dog.

email: jodi at hcn.org

Alyssa Pinkerton

Development Associate

For the first time in years, Alyssa is sitting behind a desk. Before coming to the magazine, she bounced around the country working at dude ranches and summer camps, where she did everything from leading creek walks to orchestrating tie-dye extravaganzas. Her duties now include working with the High Country News Board and administering the “Sustainers’ Club” monthly giving program. In her scant free time, she enjoys hanging out with her two kids, painting on oil and silk, and spending time outside.

email: alyssap at hcn.org

Nathan Rice

Correspondent

Nathan recently returned to the wet side of the Cascades after a stint at HCN headquarters. A past intern and editorial fellow, he expects the rain to be more conducive to typing than all that Rocky Mountain sunshine.

email: ricenc at gmail.com

Ray Ring

Senior Editor

Ray has been writing about the West since 1979. He started freelancing for High Country News in 1985, did a stint as an editor in Paonia from 1994-1995, and has been back on staff since 2001, covering the Northern Rockies from his home base in Bozeman. He has won numerous awards, including the Sidney Hillman Foundation Journalism Award for his 2007 High Country News cover story “Death in the Energy Fields.” His favorite Western places include the Grand Canyon, Butte, Montana, Wyoming and any Mexican café.

email: rayring at hcn.org

Eric Strebel

Website Developer

Eric Strebel, our soft-spoken new Web developer, joined the HCN team Dec. 1. He’s been working with computers since 1978, when he got his first personal computer. Eric eventually developed his programming hobby into a livelihood. Prior to joining us, he freelanced and operated Mountain West Communication’s website for about a decade. Eric enjoys fishing, hiking in the mountains and perfecting his salsa recipe. He lives in nearby Hotchkiss, Colo., with Barbara, his wife of 32 years.

email: erics at hcn.org

Marshall Swearingen

Editorial Intern

Marshall Swearingen packed a toolbox and a bounty of locally grown produce for his move to Paonia. He's been subsidizing his writing habit with carpentry projects that occasionally pay in vegetables.  After studying engineering, Marshall built houses and became interested in "how buildings relate to place." He then earned a master's degree in sustainable design.  Marshall discovered journalism when a friend asked him to write for an alternative news website. Over the years, HCN helped nurture Marshall's curiosity about the politics, geography and history of the West. As an intern, he looks forward to writing about the connections between people and the places they live. He also plans to explore the snowy mountains until spring, when he'll ride around the valley on his orange 1980s road bike.

email: marshalls at hcn.org

Diane Sylvain

Copy Editor

Diane splits her time between painting – she’s an accomplished artist who sells her art all over Western Colorado – and making our prose sparkle. She sometimes draws illustrations for the magazine, too. She’s worked at High Country News since 1990. Her dad and brother have followed her to Paonia, where she lives in a century-old house with her exceptionally large cat, Gumbo.

email: diane at hcn.org

Doris Teel

Fulfillment Worker

Doris helps distribute direct mailings and issues of the magazine.

Jonathan Thompson

Senior  Editor

Jonathan Thompson is a native Westerner with deep roots in southwestern Colorado. He owned and edited the Silverton Standard & the Miner newspaper in the tiny town of Silverton, Colo., and was the editor-in-chief of High Country News from 2007 to 2010.  Jonathan and his wife and two daughters recently lived in Berlin, Germany for a couple of years. Most recently, Jonathan was a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder .

email: jonathanthompson70 at gmail.com

Cindy Wehling

Art Director

Cindy has been responsible for making the magazine look its best since 1990. She works with photographers and artists, and designs and produces most of the magazine. Cindy and her husband also work on the family farm, and are continuing to improve their Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house.

email: cindy at hcn.org

Tammy York

Circulation Manager

Tammy grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, but set off for the West shortly after graduating from college. She's never looked back. She spent ten years in nearby Ridgeway, CO – where she says the wildlife is just incredible – before moving to Paonia in 2007.  Tammy now ensures the safe delivery of the magazine to mailboxes everywhere.  She manages our in-house circulation staff who provide friendly support to our subscribers, and works to keep them coming back. In her free time, she enjoys biking, playing the piano, baking sweets, and hanging out with her husband and kids.

email: tammyyork at hcn.org