Cincinnati Magazine

	Jay Stowe, Editor Cincinnati native Jay Stowe began his career at Smart Magazine in New York in the fall of 1990 as an associate editor. Within three months, Smart folded, and Stowe managed to land a job as an editorial assistant at Esquire, where he worked until 1993. From Esquire he went to Spin, where he edited the front of the book, music and pop culture criticism, and features. In 1995, he joined The New York Observer as a senior editor, where he wrote and reported the Off the Record media column, edited feature stories, and generally had the best time of his life as a journalist so far. (It was even better than being a soda jerk at Graeter’s, which he once was.) In 1999, he took a job with Outside Magazine, serving as features editor and then executive editor until 2004, when he left to edit Cincinnati Magazine. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in history.
	Linda Vaccariello, Executive Editor Linda Vaccariello sold her first freelance story to Cincinnati Magazine in 1983 and jumped aboard as a full-time staff writer in 1986. Back then she was, inexplicably, charged with reporting on fashion. Eventually someone actually looked at the way she was dressed and took her off the beat, a change that has allowed her to explore a colorful array of people, ideas, and events in print. She has written about politicians, pornographers, and Jerry Springer, among other subjects, and considers herself fortunate to have worked for four fine editors in her 20 years with the magazine. She didn’t grow up around here, but the first time she visited in the late 1970s, she was smitten. “I went to a Reds game, ate at a fabulous restaurant, and enjoyed the view from the Playhouse in the Park. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this could be a great place to live!’ ” she recalls. “And I was right.”
	Amanda Boyd Walters, Deputy Editor This deputy doesn’t carry a gun, but she does have a badge. As the enforcer of deadlines, style rules, and copy flow procedures, the toy deputy sheriff badge stuck on Amanda Boyd Walters’s computer is fitting. When she’s not laying down the law, she edits Cincinnati Magazine’s dining coverage, including the main reviews, the Real Estate and Escape pages in Radar, and Jack Heffron's West Side Story department. She also reports, writes, and/or edits many of Cincinnati Magazine’s reader-service stories, including those on neighborhoods, shopping, schools, doctors, and travel.
	Katherine L. Sontag, Associate Managing Editor A lot can happen in a year. In January 2005, Katherine L. Sontag was an editorial intern for Cincinnati Magazine. Shortly after graduating from the University of Cincinnati that spring, she headed to New York City, where she worked as a freelance editorial assistant (alongside former Cincinnati Magazine editor Kitty Morgan) at food lifestyle start-up Every Day with Rachael Ray. When the longing for UDF soft-serve ice cream became too great—and her shopping sprees at Bloomingdale’s and H&M too many—she moved back to town, joining the Cincinnati Magazine staff in December 2005. While editing the calendar listings, writing features and departments, overseeing the Intersection and Necessities pages, and factchecking keeps things interesting, the North Carolina native is also passionate about coffeeshop hopping, thrift store pillaging, supporting the local music scene, bird watching, and the em dash.
	Brent Donaldson, Associate Editor Brent Donaldson spent years waiting tables, schlepping books at the downtown library, and crunching numbers at a marketing firm before pushing life’s giant reset button. By 2005, he’d graduated magna cum laude from Northern Kentucky University, earning the Chair’s Award in journalism along the way. Donaldson’s magazine infancy was spent as a special sections intern for Cincinnati Magazine, and he cut his teeth freelancing for us before coming on board in January 2006. Today, Donaldson functions as editor of the magazine’s Frontlines section (which deals with art, music, business, sports, and all things pop culture), as well as dining reporter, and department and feature writer. Outside of writing, the Chicago native relishes time spent with his wife and two sons—each of whom, like their dad, play the drums like a caveman.
	Jonah Ogles, Associate Editor Jonah Ogles graduated from Hope College in 2007 with a degree in International Studies. He spent the next year freelancing, playing music, and editing for a business publisher in Beijing, China. He returned to his native Michigan in 2008 and found a newspaper job, bought a dog, and picked up the world’s most frustrating/rewarding hobby—fly-fishing. Jonah interned at Outside Magazine before coming to Cincinnati Magazine as an associate editor. He oversees the magazine’s factchecking process and manages the editorial internship program.
	Donna Covrett, Dining Editor After a childhood of journaling her family’s meals, 20 years as a pastry chef, and five years as dining editor for the alternative weekly CityBeat, Donna Covrett joined Cincinnati Magazine in 2005, where she has embraced the role as part cheerleader and part cultural anthropologist of Cincinnati’s culinary scene. Inspired by Julia Child’s quote, "Life itself is the proper binge," Donna is consumed by many passions: travel; art, design, and architecture; music; yoga; vintage cookbooks and cocktails; textiles and fashion; knives; bacon; and pie.
	Grace Saunders, Art Director The second time’s the charm for Art Director Grace Saunders. This DAAP grad’s first job, with Inspire Magazine, gave her an appreciation for print design and led her to Coho Creative, where she worked on package designs for everything from BallPark Franks to specialty brew beers. However, magazines had a hold on her, so she interviewed here at CM, but ended up at Cincinnati Gentlemen. When CG folded and was subsequently purchased by Reach Magazine, Saunders landed at Cincinnati Magazine. She and her husband, Ben, live in Northern Kentucky with their dog, Émigré. “She’s named after a type foundry,” Saunders says, “like a good designer’s dog.” Saunders oversees the design of the entire magazine as well as working on the magazine's Web site.
	Marnie Hayutin, Special Sections Editor, Home & Garden Editor After a long career as a freelance writer, Marnie Hayutin feels right at home as Home & Garden and Special Sections Editor. Originally from Denver, she and her husband, Steve, moved to Cincinnati in 1996 (yes, he works for P&G). Within a year, she added Cincinnati Magazine to her list of clients, and in 2005 she joined the staff full-time. Home & Garden writing is a true passion for Hayutin, whose memorable features over the years have included an exclusive glimpse of Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel’s home kitchen and a tour of Cincinnati’s famous stained-glass windows. Hayutin received both her B.S.J and M.S.J degrees from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and she taught journalism for six years at Northern Kentucky University. When she’s not writing about other people’s houses, she’s at home working on her own. “There are only so many articles you can write about bamboo flooring before you want it for yourself,” she says.
	Dani Johnson, Custom Publishing Art Director, Cincinnati Magazine & Creative Director, Cincinnati Wedding After receiving her graphic design degree from the University of Cincinnati, Dani Johnson started at Cincinnati Magazine in 1999 as an Art Assistant. Over the years, she’s moved up from Art Assistant to Advertising Designer, Production Associate, Special Sections Art Director, and was named to her current position as Custom Publishing Art Director in 2007. In this role, Johnson oversees design concepts and article layouts for several Custom Publishing projects each year, including the Cincinnati USA Official Visitors Guide, Destination Planning Guide, City Guide and Chamber Business Connections. She also serves as the Creative Director for Cincinnati Wedding magazine. Johnson lives in Monroe with her husband Kevin (also a graphic designer) and their two children, Bailey and Andrew, who are her “second full-time job.”
	Amy Knueven, Custom Publishing Associate Editor / Marketing Associate While finishing her Master’s degree in Literature at the University of Cincinnati, Amy Knueven had a change of heart (and a mild panic) and decided to add some more practical writing classes to her theory-burdened course load. One thing led to another and she found herself interning in Cincinnati Magazine’s Custom Publishing and Special Sections departments in 2007. After her internship, Knueven worked as a freelance writer and editor with the same departments, joining the staff full time in 2009 as Custom Publishing Associate Editor and Marketing Associate. In this dual role, she writes and edits for Custom titles such as Cincinnati Wedding and City Guide, while also assisting with magazine promotions and events. Knueven lives in Clifton, and spends her time peering through the foggy windows at Skyline.
	Katie S. Brooks, Special Sections Art Director A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Katie Brooks has developed the habit of learning a city through its local magazine. After graduating from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Visual Communications, she followed her passion for page design—specifically an unabashed love of neon Pantone colors—and took a job with Inside Columbia Magazine in Columbia, Missouri. The most recent stop on her Midwest tour is Cincinnati Magazine’s Special Sections department, where she oversees design and layouts for several titles each year. When Katie isn’t designing Home & Garden or other Special Sections projects, she spends her days searching for treasures at vintage, antique and consignment stores. Katie lives in Oakley with her husband Dave.
	Sue Goldberg, Special Sections Assistant Editor Sue Goldberg came to Cincinnati Magazine in January 2006 as a special sections intern, and eventually signed on as a contributing writer. She quickly worked her way up to Associate Editor and spends her time writing departments, features and profiles, fact-checking articles and working on Social Datebook and other Special Sections publications. Sue lives near Cincinnati with her husband Michael and is the mother of three. Sue’s passions (besides AP format, of course) are volunteerism and civic engagement.