Melissa Sersland is a multimedia journalist. She was part of the Accelerated Master's Program and received her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern in June 2010. She focused on print journalism for her bachelor's degree and broadcast journalism for her master's degree. For her master's, she covered education in Chicago for the Medill News Service and health in Washington D.C. In D.C., she also covered President Felipe Calderon's visit to the White House and a commencement speech by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Shannon Antinori graduated from the University of St. Francis with a degree in journalism in 2002. She spent eight years as a reporter with The Enterprise newspaper in Plainfield, focusing on local government and education. Shannon lives in Romeoville with her husband, Joe, and golden retriever, Abby. She's excited to join the Patch.com family and looks forward to covering her new hometown.

Email: shannon.antinori@patch.com
Phone: 815-258-5327
Twitter: @PlainfieldPatch
Patch Welcome Video

Karen Sorensen has been a working journalist since 1983. A Joliet resident since 1997, she most recently was the editor of Plainfield Patch. Over the course of her career, she's been a reporter and/or editor for the Daily Southtown, Joliet Herald-News, Peoria Journal-Star, Freeport Journal-Standard and Libertyville Independent-Register and ran her own freelance writing/editing business, Karen Sorensen Media. Karen was born and raised on Chicago's Northwest Side and graduated from Loyola University Chicago. She spent six months in Italy at Loyola's John Felice Rome Center.

Email: karen@patch.com
Phone: 815-666-4027 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JolietPatch
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JolietPatch

I am a recent graduate of Elmhurst College (May 2011), having majored in English writing with minors in communication and art. 

For fun, I love to play tennis and go bike riding, read books (a lot of fantasy or historical fiction) and bake. My favorite animal is the elephant and I collect them almost obsessively -- my collection is just about at 120 different figurines, stuffed animals, portraits,  hangings, amongst other things.

I first discovered my love of writing back in second grade, where every two weeks my classmates and I would write and illustrate a small story. Mine were normally about my Beanie Babies or friends and I illustrated each page to the best of my young capabilities. I loved sharing what I wrote with others and being able to express myself in such a creative medium.

In eighth grade I became involved in poetry (thanks to the lovely Mrs. Johnson on Team Blue) and from there dove into fiction writing and short stories.

In college I joined the newspaper and found a niche in journalism and reporting. I love to write feature stories on accomplishments or success stories because I love to capture that emotion and story behind each person. I worked as the Arts and Entertainment Editor for my college newspaper "The Leader" for one year and remained on staff as a Senior Writer after I chose to head up the Yearbook for my last year at college.

I did a brief stint through my college's Public Affairs office with a publication called 'Chicago Hospital News' where I had several stories published on the healthcare industry.

As all English majors are prone to do, I'm still working on my hopefully one-day best-seller. Once I finish it, please look for it at a bookstore near you! 

"You have four boys? You know, there's a special place in heaven..."

I get that all the time when people see me in the grocery store with my boys trailing me. They smile and shake their heads. "Four boys."

Personally, I think there's a special place for all moms no matter how many kids they have. I'm no different from most any mom in Naperville or for that matter, anywhere. Family is my priority.

For the last decade, my husband, Pat, and I have been raising our boys – David, 13, Brennan, 11, Jason, 9, and Reese, 5 – here in Naperville. In between carpools and laundry, I've done freelance work for various newspapers and magazines. My work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald newspapers and Illinois Issues magazine among others. Before that, I was a full-time reporter for the Daily Herald.

For now, I look forward to sharing some of my experiences with you.

Oak Forest resident Chuck Ingwersen is a copy editor, cartoonist and graphic artist for Patch. Chuck was the Deputy Sports Editor of the Daily Southtown in its heyday, helping the Southtown sports section achieve national recognition, before becoming the Design Director for the Southtown and Star newspapers. As a freelance cartoonist, he has written and drawn cartoons for large greeting card companies — including Hallmark, Oatmeal Studios, Gallant Greetings and It Takes Two — as well as for magazines such as Reader's Digest, newspapers and a variety of websites.

Wayne has lived in the Joliet area for the past 25 years. During that time, he has been involved in local advertising in the Will County area with broadcast and print publications. He has worked for WJOL and WLUP radio and the Dex Yellow Pages over the past 25 years. 

Wayne is a dedicated prfofessional helping small businesses achieve their marketing goals in a cost-effective method.  

Contact Wayne by calling 815-274-8875 or emailing wayne.parratore@patch.com.

Having worked at an area weekly newspaper for more than 20 years as a reporter, opinion writer and news editor, I am excited to join Lemont Patch as guest editor.

I look forward to getting to know the community and its people, and to adding my voice to Patch's content over the coming weeks.

On that note, if you have any suggestions for story ideas or events you'd like to see covered in Lemont Patch, please email me at lindaozbolt.patch@gmail.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Michelle Mullins has worked as a full-time reporter and freelance writer for the Daily Southtown/SouthtownStar newspaper in Tinley Park since 1998, covering both hard news and feature stories. She joined the Patch team in August 2010. A lifelong resident of Chicago's southwest suburbs, she has covered Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Burbank and Homer Glen, among other municipalities. She received a bachelor's of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Chris grew up in Joliet, attended Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox and graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in May 1994 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He has covered high school sports for several newspapers since 1999, including the Daily Herald, Beacon News, Courier News, Sun Publications, St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva Republican, Wheaton Leader and Warrenville Post.

Erin Gallagher is a Will County native and a professional journalist for 20 years. While working in advertising, she wrote for clients such as the McGraw-Hill Companies, Time Warner and the Columbus Blue Jackets NHL. Now she has a marketing consulting practice while staying at home with their toddler son, Liam.

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.