About Us

We are a hard-working crew of journalists, social media strategists and web developers who wanted a new kind of homepage for Chicago. We're always looking for new blogs and new ideas for ChicagoNow.  Got one--or five--to suggest? Email us at staff@chicagonow.com.

And here's a bit more about us.

 Bill Adee, Blog Scout

In his spare time, Bill is the Vice-President/Digital Stuff for the Chicago Tribune. Bill feels fortunate to be surrounded by such talented and dedicated people on this project. He also would like to thank Chicago's online community of bloggers, Twitterati and influencers for their ideas and support. Bill doesn't drive and he drinks way too much coffee. You can follow him via @bill80.

Clark Bender, Operations & Development

Clark's been developing web projects since the 90's and he's currently the Deputy Editor/Digital Media for the Chicago Tribune. These days he spends most of his time with ChicagoNow and he thinks it's one of the most promising and exciting projects he's had a chance to work on. Clark originally hails from Iowa and has a background in film and TV and a degree in Semiotics, whatever that is. He doesn't actually own a cowboy hat. You can follow him via @ceebeedee.

Tracy Samantha Schmidt, Editorial Director

To call Tracy a journalism geek is an understatement. As a teenager, she spent many free days outside the Tribune Tower, watching the reporters go by and reading the latest issue of the Columbia Journalism Review. She probably would still be doing that if Bill didn't hire her to help launch ChicagoNow.She also teaches journalism at DePaul University. In a former life, she was a staff reporter at Time Magazine. You can follow her via @tracysamantha.

Muhammad Saleem, Director of Social Media Strategy

Mu is the go-to guy for social media advice and strategy at ChicagoNow. He has worked with both Fortune 500 companies as well as industry-leading start-ups. When he can find time, he loves to share his thoughts regarding social media and where he thinks we're headed. Muhammad has been regularly featured in leading industry publications as well as various conferences including Web 2.0 Expo, Blog World Expo, and Startonomics. Muhammad believes ChicagoNow is the future of hyperlocal media and is excited to be a part of the team. You can follow him via @msaleem.

Fernando is looking to build the newsroom of the present with bloggers who want to break news, as well as discuss and do something about it. Before joining the team as news and opinion community manager, he was an investigative reporter at The Chicago Reporter and a daily newspaper reporter before that. He is on the board of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and @thefuturewasnow.

When Alicia got involved with social media, she had no idea what she was getting into. As an art critic, Alicia has published in newspapers and magazines including Artforum.com, Art Papers, Time Out Chicago and Newcity, but this blogging thing is changing her ideas about the future of art criticism and journalism. Join her in this brave new world--and find her tweeting about eccentric topics of interest at @aliciaeler.

Jimmy Greenfield, Sports Community Manager

Jimmy always writes in the third person. But I don't .@jcgreenx

Mallory Hoke, Life & Style Community Manager

Steph Yiu, RedEye Community Manager

Steph is a proud Singaporean-Hong Kongnese-Canadian-Chicagoan third culture kid who keeps a photoblog. Her twitter handle is @crushgear because while growing up in Singapore, she voiced the main character of the Japanese anime Crush Gear Nitro. 

Ryan Nagle, Designer

Ryan is an interactive designer. Along with Steph and Craig, he is responsible for creating a unique look for each of the Chicago Now bloggers' blogs. Ryan eats PB&J nearly everyday, doesn't drink alcohol and is a computer hardware junkie.

Yvette Quintanar, Product Analyst 

Yvette works with various vendors and developers to give ChicagoNow readers utility and interactivity to go with all the great content from our bloggers. It's an exciting role and she can't wait for Chicago to see where we take this. In other news, she follows all things pirate, bonobo, bacon and chicken.