Sharon McGowan, editor and project director of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, is a reporter, writer, editor and teacher. She has a master’s degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and started her career as an investigative reporter and managing editor of The Chicago Reporter, a monthly publication covering race relations and poverty issues. She later was managing editor/assistant news director at all-news WBBM-AM, and then assignment manager for WBBM-TV, both CBS stations in Chicago.

McGowan and her husband, Jim, founded Complete Communications, Inc. in 1986. She also directed the graduate Introduction to Journalism program at Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University and was an adjunct lecturer for more than 20 years. She has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television News Directors Association, Women in Communications and others.

The McGowans have two adult children. Their daughter, Jennifer, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, works for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on health care reform. Their son, Joshua, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (his mother’s alma mater) and works for a campaign consulting firm in Washington, D.C.

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Dwayne Burtin is a web coordinator at the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and manager of the NNS Lindsay Heights Community Page. A native Milwaukeean, he began his career in online communication in 2001 as web designer/ creative director at Homeboyz Interactive, and has a wealth of experience in online journalism and social media, as well as other interactive and digital media.

Burtin participated in the 2012 Fight for Air Climb at the U.S. Bank Center on March 17, climbing 47 floors, or 1,034 steps, to benefit the American Lung Association.

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Adam Carr is a web coordinator at the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, as well as a freelance media producer. A proud product of Milwaukee Public Schools, he worked between 2008-2011 at 88Nine RadioMilwaukee as the community initiative producer, producing nearly 1,000 short-form audio stories on different facets of the Milwaukee community.

His work has received numerous local broadcasting awards, including the Milwaukee Press Club and Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards for Excellence.

He continues to find new directions for his passion for and love of Milwaukee.

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Kenya C. Evans is a beat reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, covering the Lindsay Heights neighborhood. Evans has a work history in marketing communications, with 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She worked with the Johnsons Park Neighborhood Association in Lindsay Heights as Healthy Neighborhoods Coordinator. She also has a freelance copywriting business, Kenya.WriteNow, which services small businesses and non-profits.

Evans earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has been published in several print publications, including the Shepherd Express and Milwaukee Magazine, and was a Community Columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2006-2007. She has a passion for traveling, and has been to five countries, including Spain, Morocco and Ghana.

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Edgar Mendez is a beat reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, covering Clarke Square, the neighborhood in which he lives. Prior to joining the team at NNS he was a feature writer for El Conquistador Newspaper in Milwaukee, and a web writer/reporter for Scene262.com in Racine.

Mendez, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, graduated from UW-Milwaukee, with a double major in Journalism and Media Communications and Sociology. In 2008, he won a Society of Professional Journalists’ regional award for social columns dealing with diverse issues such as poverty, homelessness and racism.

His interests include scholastic research, social networking and the Green Bay Packers.

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Amanda Diedrich is an administrative assistant at the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. She is a senior at Marquette University getting her B.A. in political science and a minor in public relations. She has worked for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s office as a staff assistant. Her interests are politics, traveling and the Minnesota Twins.

Originally from Minneapolis, Diedrich is a member of Lambda Pi Eta, a communication honor society, and Pi Sigma Alpha, a political science honor society. She will be attending law school next year in Minneapolis and hopes to work for the federal government.

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Tessa Fox, a second-year journalism major at Marquette University, is a Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service intern. Fox is currently the editorial writer at the Marquette Tribune.

Originally from Bristol, Wis., Fox is interested in reporting on social issues related to gender, race, politics and international development. Her long-term aspiration is to become an international reporter.

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Jennifer Janviere is a multimedia specialist and instructor for the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University.  Janviere holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (B.F.A.) in graphic design and the Savannah College of Art and Design (M.F.A.) in sequential art.

Janviere enjoys travel and editorial photography, and seizes every opportunity to grab her camera and capture life as it unfolds. She loves connecting and interacting with the people that she meets through photographic assignments, whether they’re from her hometown of Milwaukee or across the globe. In December 2010, she traveled to Havana to learn about the everyday lives of people in Cuba, which she documented in an exhibition titled “A Portrait of Cuba.” She is currently working on several projects related to the topics of identity, culture and nationality.

In her spare time, Janviere blogs about exploring the world through the camera lens at http://shutterspeedoflight.wordpress.com.

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Matthew Ong is a volunteer at the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a full-time senior undergraduate student at Marquette University, majoring in psychology, journalism and women’s and gender studies.

Ong worked as editor-in-chief of Malaysia’s Nilai University College’s corporate newsletter and student-run campus magazine. He was also chief photographer while interning at Nilai UC’s Department of Corporate and Marketing Communications and was in charge of Marquette Magazine’s weekly web exclusives at Marquette University’s Office of Marketing and Communication. Ong recently interned at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as education reporter.

Ong aspires to be a clinical and counseling psychologist and has a passion for interdisciplinary research, particularly on the social interplay of race, gender, sexuality and media representation. Outside of work, he is a choir director, singer and pianist. He also is an amateur sound engineer and loves photography, film and bicycles.

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Heather Ronaldson, a third-year journalism student at Marquette University, is an intern for the Neighborhood News Service. She enjoys writing, learning about people and telling their stories. As an intern, Ronaldson produces urban news, special reports and human-interest pieces through audio slideshows, video packages and print stories. Ronaldson is an editor for the Marquette Journal, reporter for the Marquette Tribune, tutor for the Marquette University Writing Center and freelance writer for Extant Magazine. She has interned with Reader’s Digest Association and the Milwaukee Admirals.

Ronaldson is from Wheaton, Ill., where she enjoys the company of close friends and family over homemade Italian food, outdoor activities and her favorite activity—board games.

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John Sterr volunteers as a photographer for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is the marketing manager for the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Art Museums. He is a graduate of Cardinal Stritch University, where he received a B.A. in Broad Field Social Studies (major in history; minors in political science and geography). He worked for 10 years in airline operations management, primarily in Indianapolis. Sterr started his studies at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Film School and has remained interested in photography.

Sterr enjoys volunteering in the neighborhoods he lives and works in. As a resident of an urban, diverse neighborhood in Indianapolis, he helped draft a conservation district plan with the city, led an effort to certify the neighborhood with the National Wildlife Federation, and volunteered for community events and beautification projects.

Sterr has also undertaken a number of photographic projects, melding his interests in history, travel and neighborhoods. His work has been exhibited in Indianapolis and New York City.

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Sara Torres is an intern with the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a senior in the Marquette University Diederich College of Communication studying journalism and writing intensive English.

Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Torres enjoys being in the sun and spending time with family and friends.

She is a member of Lambda Pi Beta, the National Communication Association’s official honor society. In the future, she hopes to pursue her passion for writing and giving a voice to those who too often are unheard.

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Sue Vliet is a volunteer photographer for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. She attended Beloit College and UW-Madison, where she earned a B.A. in art history.

Vliet works as a freelance photographer specializing in portraits, especially of children and families, locations and art. She owns a small art card business featuring her photos of Milwaukee scenes, which are sold in area stores.

Vliet volunteers for a number of local organizations including Arts@Large; Riveredge Nature Center; MPS; Penfield Children’s Center; Schlitz Audubon Nature Center; and Extreme Moms Milwaukee.

Vliet has a 23-year-old daughter, Sally, who graduated from Lawrence University and is pursuing graduate studies in education. Her 19-year-old son, Connor, is a freshman at Lawrence. Vliet is an avid gardener, reader, runner, cook and baker and also enjoys travel and her pets. She loves and is fascinated by the city of Milwaukee and is committed to working to support it.

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Andrea Waxman is a volunteer reporter at the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. A professional writer, she is completing a graduate certificate in Digital Storytelling at Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication. Previously, she worked as a reporter and editor for a community newspaper and taught English and Japanese in several area middle and high schools.

Waxman has lived in Milwaukee since 1981, but spent most of her early years living in Tokyo, where her father was stationed at the American embassy. She returned to Japan in 1986 and again in 1993 when her husband was there as a Fulbright scholar.

In her free time, Waxman enjoys theater, movies, music, ethnic food, cities, travel, reading — especially the news of the day — and all kinds of people. She is interested in working for social justice and contributing to the vitality of the city.