Meet the Team

Steve is a freelance writer and editor, father, and husband who enjoys cooking, exercise, travel, and reading. A native of Fort Thomas who spent his collegiate and early-adulthood years in Georgia, marriage brought him across the river, where he now resides in Oakley.

David Holthaus is an award-winning journalist and a Cincinnati native. When not writing or editing, he’s likely to be bicycling, hiking, reading, or watching classic movies.

Shandra Martinez is a veteran journalist and former reporter at MLive/The Grand Rapids Press who leads The Lakeshore WM and Rapid Growth, digital publications covering West Michigan, along with Second Wave regional series. Through her company, Legacina, Shandra channels her passion for storytelling helping families preserve their histories, teaching them to use digital tools to capture and share family stories before memories fade.

Patrice Watson joined Soapbox in 2016 as publisher and added the managing editor role in 2021. Her offline career includes Cincinnati Magazine publisher, 700WLW-AM account manager, consulting for small businesses, nonprofits and radio/TV stations, and GSM at country radio B105-FM. When not producing Soapbox, find her spending time with family and friends, practicing yoga and TM, walking, listening to music, gardening, cooking, reading, traveling, and working on improving her golf game.

Lorie Baker is a trauma-informed investigative journalist and contributing writer. She reports from the frontlines of conflict, custody courts, and institutional coverups — always with one hand on the archives and the other on the pulse of the silenced. She is accredited through the U.S. State Dept. and the White House Correspondents’ Assoc.

Jessica Bozsan is a content marketing strategist, writer, editor and overall passionate communicator who lives in Ft. Thomas, KY, with her hectic family of five. She’s the zany force behind a newsletter packed with tasty tidbits and inspo for creating content that clicks. When she’s not writing, she’s reading (mostly novels), walking, practicing yoga or sneaking breaks to lay on the couch.

Julie Carpenter has a background in cultural heritage tourism, museums, and nonprofit organizations. She’s the Executive Director of AIA Cincinnati.

Kate Harold is a freelance writer who lives in Oakley with her husband and three kids. If she’s not writing or mom-ing, you’ll probably find her reading, working on home projects, volunteering, or spending time outdoors.

Julie C. Mullins is a longtime writer, editor, and digital content creator and consultant. A lifelong music lover, she has been on the mastheads of The Absolute Sound, Stereophile, and Analog Planet in addition to CityBeat. She loves traveling, photography, dancing, reading, and record-collecting. Julie also programs and hosts On the Pulse, a weekly radio show Thursdays on WAIF 88.3FM.

Sydney is a communications specialist at the economic development company for Northern Kentucky, BE NKY Growth Partnership. Previously, Sydney worked as a newspaper reporter, including for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Newark Advocate and Harrison Press. Sydney graduated from Indiana University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

Tina Neyer is a freelance writer, book coach, and local historian. She’s been in the writing and consulting field for 30 plus years. Tina is deeply engaged in historic preservation in Greater Cincinnati. Read about her restoration work on her Substack blog and connect on Instagram and Linkedin.

Sean M. Peters is an Indiana farmer with a writing habit. He also co-hosts Camp Video Games, a podcast that’s made several people laugh.

Erin Pierce is a content writer, marketer, and IT specialist in the cloud software and EAM space. Having written for various publications for over a decade, she enjoys diving into the region’s innovation and growth and what makes these spaces unique. When not working, you’ll find her running, reading or hiking.

Raised in the inner city of Covington, Kentucky, Kareem A. Simpson is an author, innovator, community enthusiast, military veteran, serial entrepreneur, foodie and lover of all things creative.

Scott T. Simpson is a Cincinnati-based writer, editor, craftsman, conservator, artist and musician. In the historic preservation field, he specializes in plaster repair and wood consolidation, as well as advocacy, documentation, and cultural resource management. Simpson is a champion for both the built environment and the natural environment as an avid angler, kayaker and outdoorsman. He spent over a decade touring the U.S. in the doom-metal band he founded, Beneath Oblivion, and can frequently be seen playing local gigs in indie-punk rock band, Grief Counseling.

Annette Januzzi Wick is a writer, speaker, blogger, and memoirist. Her essays on food, writing, public interests, the Italian diaspora, and memory have appeared in local, regional and national publications. She lives in Cincinnati where she leads creative writing events and writes online at Substack.

Natalie Grilli is a Cincinnati-based portrait photographer with an MFA in photography who is guided by a lifelong love of creating meaningful images and inspired by food, travel, and life in community with her husband and daughter.

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Gary Kessler has traveled the globe photographing automobiles in distant regions of the world; military and armored vehicles in action, personality revealing portraits, and luxurious interiors. After more than 30 years, he has made practically everything happen except moving mountains to create the ideal image for his subjects and clients; however nothing happens before a morning cup of joe.

It is truly an honor to photograph with my team and clients while still appreciating a few days at home in Cincinnati. – Gary Kessler

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Angie Lipscomb has been photographing the human experience for over 20 years. Her roots are in the American midwest, which is where she grew up, got educated (UC DAAP), got married, had a family, and created a business centered on simple truth-telling through emotion and imagery.

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Joe Simon has spent the last 25 years learning the art of photography from rapidly changing technology to light, styles and composition. He has a knack for connecting to people and capturing scenes that paint Cincinnati, the city he loves, in the best possible light.

Simon has been a regular contributor to Soapbox Cincinnati, Cincy Business Magazine, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Chicago Sun Times, WCPO, Xavier University, The University of Cincinnati, Forbes Magazine and Cincinnati Refined. Over the years, he has collaborated with Robert Flischel Photography, Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati, and John Parker Museum.

Photography takes me many places and follows me everywhere. Every new assignment offers me my next creative challenge, and no two are ever the same. I’m always looking forward to where I’m going next. Photography drives me and is still a passionate adventure. – Joe Simon

Jim Talkington has lived life with a camera in his hands, spending years as an advertising and editorial photographer before transitioning into filmmaking. He enjoys helping businesses and nonprofits tell their stories with honesty and authenticity, with a focus on real people solving real challenges.