Contact Tiverton-Little Compton Patch Local Editor Erin Tiernan at 401-835-4105 or email her at erin.tiernan@patch.com.

Susan has been involved with newspapers for the past 15 years, starting out as an obituary writer and working her way up the ladder. She's been a reporter, copy editor and newspaper editor for local dailies and weeklies. Selling her soul, she left the news behind as her full-time job for a few years to pursue public relations. However, she couldn't abandon her passion for community journalism, so she was lured to Patch as a regional editor by an old buddy and doesn't plan to look back!

She is also very involved as an alumna of Mount Holyoke College, writing for the alum magazine and serving as an admissions rep and president of the local alum club. She lives in Worcester, Mass., with her wife and their 3 black cats and 1 chocolate Lab puppy, Hazel, with another, Violet, on the way! To reach Susan, e-mail susan.manning@patch.com or follow her on Facebook (facebook.com/Patch.MetroWest) and Twitter (@Patch_MetroWest).

A lifelong Rhode Islander, Samantha has called North Kingstown home since she was three years old. Her reporting career began when she was a sophomore at North Kingstown High School, writing for the school's newspaper, The Current Wave. Samantha graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island in 2010 with degrees in journalism and political science. During her time at URI, she interned at the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, WRNI, and Rhode Island Monthly as well as served as a reporter and ads manager for URI's newspaper, The Good 5 Cent Cigar.

Contact Samantha at samantha.turner@patch.com.

After a six-year stint in South Florida, Patrick Luce returned to his home state of Rhode Island in 2007. Patrick comes to Patch as Associate Regional Editor after spending much of his career in newspapers, most recently as Editorial Page Editor of The Herald News in Fall River, Mass.

My name is Chris Winston, and I am a 36-year-old journalist who has been working for newspapers and online news organizations since I was 15.

Currently, I am the South Carolina Regional Editor for Patch.com, an AOL-owned news organization that has launched more than 850 local news sites across the country in the past two years. In my role, I oversee 12 journalists in South Carolina who run 11 local news sites. We launched our first sites in May.

Previously, I served as New River Valley Bureau Chief, business editor and assistant bureau chief for The Roanoke Times in Southwest Virginia, as well as general manager (or "provost") of a college-focused news and social media website called BigLickU.com (now defunct). I earlier worked in Spartanburg, S.C., for nine years at the Herald-Journal, where I was business editor, night city editor, healthcare reporter and sports reporter.

I am married to recovering journalist Bridget Bradburn Winston (an award-winning education reporter in W.Va. and S.C.) and father to Charlie (6) and Jackson (4). I enjoy reading, sports, loads of TV, work and (yes) long walks on Edisto Island's beach south of Charleston.

Phone: (401) 207-7811

E-mail: Sandy@Patch.com

Sandy McGee has worked in community journalism for more than eight years, developing stories, editing and creating a voice for the towns she covers.

In her spare time, she enjoys photography, traveling and doing anything outdoors, especially cycling and mountain biking.

Kristin Silveira lives in Little Compton with her husband Adam, and their 4 children- Alyssa 12, Megan 11, Jami 9 and Jonathan 7. She is a hospice nurse for Visiting Nurse Services of Newport and Bristol Counties. She and her family have just started on an exciting journey by founding Sakonnet Farm in Tiverton's Four Corners where they are raising chickens and goats, growing produce and providing farm stays.  Her favorite topics are living local & eco-friendly, food and farming/gardening. 

Sara Bagwell is a native Bristolian. She graduated from Roger Williams University with a bachelor's degree in communications with a concentration in journalism and double minors in environmental science and psychology. Before her position with Patch, she was a freelance writer and photographer for East Bay Newspapers and other Patch sites.

Jonathan Pickering is a 27-year-old freelance writer living in Medford, MA. Jon was born and raised in Winchester and attended Emerson College where he got his BFA in writing, literature in publishing in 2007. Jon is excited about being able to cover his home town and expand his writing career. Jon has come to enjoy cats. For more on Jon, along with more of his writing, please visit his blog.

Erin, a lifelong resident of South County, has been passionate about writing and photography since her days at North Kingstown High School's studen newspaper, "The Current Wave."

She recently graduated from the University of Rhode Island with bachelor's degrees in both journalism and public relations. She has written and contributed to several local magazines and newspapers including The Jamestown Press, The North East Independent and South County Living Magazine, among others. Over the years her writing has focused on topics ranging from fashion trends to State House politics.

You can contact Erin Tiernan via e-mail at erinvtiernan@gmail.com or by phone at 401-835-4105.

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.