I'm a little bit of everything. I'm a UGA journalism grad who "came home" from California and enjoys Suwanee's many assets. I'm a political moderate who voted for both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton (promise). I'm a sports nut who also gets into business, politics and local affairs. And as a longtime journalist, I realize that the reader is what matters most.

Deanna Allen is the local editor for the Barrow Patch. She is a native of Georgia who grew up in Jackson County, attended elementary, middle and high school locally and moved just 50 miles away for college. After graduating in 2006 from Piedmont College with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and political science, she worked as a reporter for the Barrow County News before taking a job as a copy editor and page designer with the Gwinnett Daily Post. After about a year, Deanna returned to writing as a features and lifestyles reporter for the Daily Post and then signed on in November 2008 with Patch. She lives in a quiet subdivision in Winder with her two Boxer bulldogs, Louie and Sophie. When she has free time to herself, she enjoys reading and catching up on her favorite TV shows.

Joy is the editor of Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch. Previusly, she was the editor of Snellville Patch, which she launched in December 2010.

Do you want to learn about Patch advertising? Give me a call! Phone: 770-330-7172, E-mail: les.klimek@patch.com

Scott Lacy graduated from Auburn University in 1986. After a long career in software sales, Scott got his real estate license and started working for Keller Williams Realty - Atlanta Partners in the spring of 2007. After winning Rookie of the Year at the Sugarloaf office, Scott took a leadership role by being a top producer and serving on the Agent Leadership Council in 2009 and 2010. Scott continues to focus his business in Dacula and the surrounding areas , with a special emphasis in Hamilton Mill. Scott is the acting President of a networking group, BNI of Hamilton Mill and a member of the Dacula Business Association.

Bill is the former Public Information Officer for Forsyth County Government, a veteran news reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a freelancer for Associated Press. He now owns his own political consulting firm  and is the proud grandfather of Alex, Caleb and Mason.  

Raised as an army brat until starting High School, Melanie finally placed roots down in the Atlanta area and earned her Bachelor's in Psychology from Oglethorpe University. She later went on to earn her Master's in Education. 

Melanie now resides in North Atlanta with her husband, four kids, and a Maltese-Shih Tzu named Toto. When not playing chauffeur for her kids, she enjoys reading,writing, and finding the best online deals. 

Longtime journalist Diane Loupe lives in the City of Decatur and writes news and features for Patch.

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.