Our Team

Posted on September 20, 2006

(Top row, left to right): Jeremy Paz, Phil Sweet. (Second row): Heidi Hansen-Young, Andrea Yankowski, Jordan Mackay, Molly Hartle, Chance Baumgold, Caitlin Donovan, Lisa Park, Jennifer Appel. (Third row): Nicole Beckley, Philip Beers, Robin Rinaldi, Melissa Goldstein, Nicholas Brawley, Susie McCormick, Nerissa Pacio, Kait Muhlfelder. (Fourth row): Timothy Wudarski, Benjamin Hardiman, Stacy Dale, Nina Weiss, Ali Grosslight, Don Lewis, Leilani Labong. (Fifth row): Jessica Battilana, John Verduzco, Sara Deseran, Christine Ryan, Ann Marie Harrison, Julie Suppelsa. (Sixth row): Hayley Kaufman, Aubrie Pick, Stanley, Lucy, Heather Luplow Hartle, Tom Hartle, Salty, Andrés Barreto. (Seventh row): Carolyn Smith, Elliott, Sara Christian, Stefanie Michejda, Bella.

Tom Hartle | Owner | President | Publisher

Owner and Publisher Tom Hartle grew up in the publishing business; his father was a publishing executive with LOOK magazine. Tom got his start as sales manager for the Detroit offices of Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal and Smithsonian. Using mostly credit cards, he founded HOUR Detroit magazine in 1995. HOUR became one of the nation’s most-recognized and -awarded regional magazines. Tom sold out of HOUR in the spring of 2000. Tom and Heather Hartle founded Hartle Media–San Francisco in the fall of 2000; along with publishing 7x7 and California Home + Design magazines, the company became a partner in early 2006 in the ownership of Spin Media LLC, publishers of the national music magazine Spin.

Heather Hartle | Owner | Editorial + Creative Director

Owner/ Editorial + Creative Director Heather Luplow Hartle cofounded Hartle Media in 2001 after relocating to San Francisco from Detroit, where she was a member of the founding team of HOUR Media LLC, publishers of the award-winning HOUR Detroit magazine. Before entering the publishing field in 1996, Heather was in promotions and marketing for the film industry, with clients that included Paramount, Disney, New Line and MGM. Heather is involved with numerous charitable organizations throughout San Francisco; in 2004, she was awarded the title of Woman of the Year by the San Francisco chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Nion McEvoy

Nion McEvoy is the Chairman & CEO of Chronicle Books LLC, an independent publishing company based in San Francisco. Chronicle Books is known for its excellence in design and production, and the strong popular appeal of its titles, which include such best-sellers as The Beatles Anthology, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and Weber’s Art of the Grill. In addition, Chronicle Books creates note cards, calendars and stationery products featuring anything from the works of William Wegman and the menus of Chez Panisse to Goth ‘tween icon Emily the Strange. Mr. McEvoy joined Chronicle Books in 1986, and served as the editor in chief of the adult trade division until the acquisition of the company by the McEvoy Group in February 2000. Previously, he worked in the business affairs departments of the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills and of Wescom Productions; he is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz and Hastings College of the Law. He currently serves on the boards of SFJAZZ, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. He has three children, and plays drums in the elusive rock band Rough Draft.

EDITORIAL

Christine Ryan | Executive Editor

After spending more than 10 years working as an editor in New York for such magazines as European Travel & Life and Gourmet, in 2001 Christine Ryan convinced her then-employer, Travel Holiday, to move her to San Francisco to be its West Coast–based senior editor. (Though, for some reason, she continued to cover the Europe beat.) Now the Executive Editor of 7x7, Chris lives in Bernal Heights and doesn’t miss traveling (much).

Sara Deseran | Senior Editor/Eat + Drink

One of the founding editors of 7x7, Senior Editor Sara Deseran previously worked as the food editor of Williams-Sonoma Taste Magazine as well as San Francisco Magazine. She’s written for Gourmet, Saveur and Food & Wine. Her writing from 7x7 has been included in two anthologies of the Best Food Writing (2004 and 2006). Sara is the author of Asian Vegetables and Picnics and the coauthor of Sake: A Modern Guide, all published by Chronicle Books. Sara lives in Bernal Heights.

Robin Rinaldi | Senior Editor

Senior Editor Robin Rinaldi, who moved to SF fresh off a two-year stint as Philadelphia Weekly’s restaurant columnist, spent several years as a regular freelance contributor for national magazines such as First and Runner’s World. She has been a newspaper features and copy editor, and was part of the small editorial team that launched Organic Style magazine in 2001. A former dance teacher, Robin is also the author of two books, Ballet and European Dance (Chelsea House).

Melissa Goldstein | Arts + Culture Editor

Originally from Los Angeles, Arts + Culture Editor Melissa Goldstein did time in Boston before landing at 7x7 more than three years ago. Her work has been featured in One magazine, Boston magazine, DIW, Lucky magazine and Black Book’s San Francisco guide. She is a frequent contributor to Spin.com and spends most of her time outside the office inside musical venues of every variety.

Nerissa Pacio | Associate Editor

A graduate of UCLA, Associate Editor Nerissa Pacio moved to San Francisco to attend UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied under Clay Felker. Before coming to 7x7, she spent five years at the San Jose Mercury News, where she juggled a variety of beats, from city politics and late-breaking news to pop-culture trends and (her true love) fashion. In her spare time, Nerissa can be found running on Ocean Beach in her beloved—and, in her opinion, underrated—Outer Sunset neighborhood.

Jessica Battilana | Associate Editor/Eat + Drink

Assistant Editor Jessica Battilana is a Vermont native who came to San Francisco to escape the snow. When she's not out looking for the best eats in the city, she can be found snuggling at home with her sweet-as-pie pit bull in the Mission. Her work has appeared in Sunset Magazine, Edible San Francisco and Gastronomica.

Leilani Labong | Research Editor

After a four-year stint wandering around Asia, Leilani Labong made a beeline for San Francisco to complete her MFA in writing at USF. Since graduating in 2004, the Honolulu native has launched her magazine career as the Research Editor for both 7x7 and California Home + Design magazines; she’s has also had essays published in the nonfiction anthologies Best of Travelers’ Tales 2005 and Best of Women’s Travelers’ Tales 2005.

Jordan Mackay | Wine + Spirits Editor

Jordan Mackay has written about wine and spirits for many publications, including Wine & Spirits, Decanter, Angeleno, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Caitlin Donovan | Assistant to the Creative Director

Caitlin Donovan graduated from Fordham University in the Bronx in 2004 with a degree in journalism.  Before joining 7x7 in June 2006 as the Assistant to Creative Director, she interned for Jane and Interview magazines and NBC and assisted on the feature film Dedication. She enjoys sarcasm, Perez Hilton and lots and lots of coffee.

ONLINE

Andrés Barreto | Interactive Art Director

Before joining 7x7sf.com, Andrés Barreto designed award-winning interactive media on various projects for LucasArts, Walmart.com, Greenpeace and Vespa. As a citizen of the world (he's lived in eight countries), Andrés is able to call on a deep and broad knowledge base when tackling conceptual design and experiential Flash Web solutions. He enjoys life, his three-year-old son and riding his Vespa (helmet required).

Hayley Elisabeth Kaufman | Assistant Editor

Assistant Editor Hayley Elisabeth Kaufman believes in astrology and The Stooges. Her all-time proudest moments are dancing on stage with Prince at Madison Square Garden and buying Bill Murray a flower after serendipitously meeting him in a New York City restaurant. When she's not rubbing elbows with celebrities, the UC Berkeley graduate also writes for the SF Bay Guardian and Relix, SOMA and Harp magazines.

Matthew Knudsen | Designer

A designer, photographer, musician and painter, Matthew Knudsen, who joined 7x7 in June of 2007, loves the world of art. Since graduating from The Art Institute of California in December 2005, he has worked as a junior art director at Euro RSCG, travelled the country, made many new friends and ridden many miles on his 1983 Trek bike. His interests include marine biology, Jeopardy, Ross Dress for Less and birds.

Ert O'Hara | Online Producer

Online producer Ert O'Hara grew up in the lush Pacific Northwest and moved to San Francisco in 1994. She got hooked on web publishing in 1997, while doing production work for the pioneering online music magazine Addicted to Noise. She later contributed photos and a regular column to Fecal Face Dot Com, then served as web editor for Juxtapoz magazine. She now divides her time between working on the quarterly art magazine Hi-Fructose and building content for 7x7.com. She likes to bike around SF, eat adventurously and make art with her friends.

Margo Hays | Web Product Development Consultant

Margo Hays took on the hefty job of coordinating the September 2006 relaunch of 7x7sf.com. Prior to working with Hartle Media, Margo worked with Walmart.com, Verizon, Electronic Arts, Glam Media and several other high-tech companies in the areas of interaction design, product development and customer experience design. She lives with her husband and Vizsla puppy Daisy on Liberty Hill.

ART

Benjamin Hardiman | Design Director

After studying at Parsons School of Design, Design Director and former New Yorker Benjamin Hardiman served as an art director to a variety of publications, including Celebrity Style, Teen Celebrity and SHAPE’s Fit Hollywood, before coming to SF to work for 7x7. His Web-design clients have included MTV Networks and Ingredients.com. He has also done illustrations for Psychology Today.

Nicholas Brawley | Designer

Before coming to 7x7 in early May of 2007, Designer Nicholas Brawley had worked at Seattle Weekly and Bitch Magazine. He enjoys coffee, vacuuming, dogs and putting off writing his bio. He does not enjoy hangovers, Yoplait yogurt commercials or waiting in lines of any sort. Born and raised in Seattle, the two things Nicholas misses are hot summers and sidewalks sans garbage.

Stefanie Michejda | Photo Editor

Photo Editor Stefanie Michejda moved to the Bay Area after launching her career in Aspen, CO, working as photo editor at the Aspen Daily News. Stefanie’s images have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, People, Playboy, Spin and on MTV; they have also been picked up by Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press and Getty Images. She lives in the Outer Richmond and is the owner of one of 7x7’s beloved mascots, a golden retriever named Bella.

Kathryn Roach | Photo Associate

It was seven years ago that Photo Associate Kathryn Roach, who grew up in Westchester County, NY, made the move to SF. Thousands of photographs later, she graduated from the Academy of Art University with a BFA in photography. Until she joined 7x7 in 2007, she had been freelancing as a photo assistant and digital retoucher for a number of photographers, as well as at ReadyMade magazine. She can be found frequenting Dolores Park on the weekends and dreams of having a pet pig named Pork Chop.

PRODUCTION

Timothy Wudarski | Production Director

Timothy Wudarski started his publishing career early, serving as Editor and Publisher of the critically acclaimed Monthly Comet in the third grade in Detroit. He went on to help the Detroit News and Free Press along their way to a pure digital workflow and serve as production manager at HOUR Detroit, working on several independent magazine ventures along the way. Tim moved to San Francisco to work for Hartle Media in 2003, bringing to 7x7 another beloved mascot, a guinea pig named Jazz. He now also serves as Production/IT Director for Spin magazine.

Megan Grosberg | Production Designer

A St. Louis native, Production Designer Megan Grosberg fell in love with California at a young age. A year after graduating from design school in Chicago, she decided to test the waters in SF—she joined 7x7 in the summer of 2007.

Dana Baker | Production Designer

After spending six years living it up in the Pacific Northwest, Production Designer Dana Baker returned to her theoretically sunny California homeland. She has worked for Dog Nose News in Portland and the SF Bay Guardian. She lives in the Mission with her domestic partner (her cow-print cat Chi-Chi), where she spends most of her spare time redecorating with found objects and rejected paint colors from the corner store. She loves all things feline, healthy living and pondering the impact of social services and cacti.

Don Lewis | Digital Image Specialist

After wasting his youth on wine, women and song, Don Lewis began his career in various art departments in the Emerald City (Seattle, not Oz). Don further honed his skills freelancing at ad agencies here in San Francisco. Now at Hartle Media, Don uses the magic of digital imagery to make people look even more beautiful and food even more delicious. Don is also the Production Department’s resident movie and music know-it-all.

PUBLISHING

Susie McCormick | Executive Publisher

Executive Publisher Susie McCormick has had a long, successful career as a publisher launching magazines in San Francisco. A former publisher of San Francisco Focus, Susie also launched and served as the publisher of WHERE San Francisco.

Julie Suppelsa | Associate Publisher

Associate Publisher Julie Suppelsa oversees advertising sales and marketing for 7x7. Prior to joining Hartle Media, Julie—another Michigan native—sold national advertising for The Wall Street Journal.

Ali Grosslight | Account Manager

Account Manager Ali Grosslight handles national fashion and beauty accounts for 7x7. Originally from Southern California, Ali graduated from the University of San Diego and moved to San Francisco nearly four years ago. Before coming to 7x7, she worked for PaperCity and Time magazines here in San Francisco.

Lisa Ballon/Account Manager

Lisa Ballon, the magazine’s Account Manager for restaurants and local businesses, joins 7x7 with media experience in both Bay Area newsprint and online advertising. Originally from the Peninsula, Lisa graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a major in economics. In her free time, you can catch her exercising outdoors or tasting wine in Napa.

Megan Graham | Business Development and Online Advertising Manager

A Marin native, Megan Graham studied literature at UC Santa Cruz, but then went on to discover the wonders of the online industry—initially as a planner, then as a campaign manager with Atom Entertainment. She lives in Alameda with her boyfriend and their two cats; in her free time she explores new hiking trails, tries new recipes and reads voraciously like the book nerd she truly is.

Molly Hartle | Marketing Designer + Copywriter

Marketing Designer and Copywriter Molly Hartle had worked in newspapers as a writer, designer and editor for 10 years before joining her brother’s media company three years ago. Her work as lead designer for the Foster Daily Democrat’s Korean War Supplement earned the coveted Dennis Coos Memorial Award—the highest in New Hampshire journalism—as well as a first-place Associated Press award for Special Coverage Design.

Andrea Yankowski | Circulation Coordinator

Andrea Yankowski has been a Bay Area resident since 1993. She joined Hartle Media as a part-time employee in June 2002, while working on her master’s degree in anthropology.  With her degree in hand, she now manages Hartle Media’s Circulation and Research and is “almost” a full-time employee.

John Verduzco | Chief Financial Officer

Over the last 20 years, John Verduzco has held senior management positions in various industries, including banking, production and post-production for film, television and music videos, as well as marketing, advertising and public relations. John joined Hartle Media in 2005, after having served three years as Controller for MOD/Michael Osborne Design, and 10 years as Senior Vice President & General Manager for Bill Lanese Advertising.

Philip Beers | Accounts Payable Specialist

Accounts Payable Specialist Philip Beers moved to San Francisco from Aspen, Colorado in 2001. After spending several years in the banking industry, with experience in everything from credit unions to high-end private banking, Philip came to Hartle Media in August 2006, hoping to increase his knowledge of publishing and to find a new exciting office environment away from those boring bankers.

Jeremy Paz | Operations Manager

Operations Manager Jeremy Paz came to 7x7 after living the life of Riley for two years in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Before coming to Hartle Media, he was the office manager at BeneFit Cosmetics corporate headquarters here in San Francisco; he also owned and operated a successful silk-screen operation. Shortly after his arrival at 7x7 he was awarded Best “Okay, I know a guy who can do that….” Jeremy is a veteran of the United States Navy and an aspiring novelist. He loves Maker’s Mark bourbon and often quotes W.C. Fields: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house unless they have a well-stocked bar.”

MARKETING

Lindsey Shook | Marketing Director

Born and bred in North Carolina, 7x7’s Marketing Director, Lindsey Shook, studied art history and international relations at UNC Wilmington. Her move out west, however, led her to jobs in fashion, interior design and, finally, marketing. She can usually be found pining after anything Ann Demeulemeester or toasting a glass of champagne in the Mission. She dreams of one day singing with André 3000 while dressed entirely in couture.

Hayley Badinovus | Marketing Manager

Born in Seattle, WA, Hayley Badovinus traveled extensively throughout the world with her family as a child. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in English literature; before coming to 7x7, Hayley worked at Bebe as a marketing consultant, creating and implementing national marketing programs for the Bebe Sport stores. On most weekends, she can be found basking in the sun at the Boulange de Polk with a latté.

HARTLE MEDIA

Glenn Newman | Executive Publisher, California Home + Design

After graduating from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with a degree in advertising and communications, Glenn Newman headed west and has worked in the publishing business in the Bay Area ever since. From 1993 to 2004, he was Associate Publisher at 18 Media, Inc., whose titles included Gentry and California Home + Design magazines. In 2004, after Hartle Media bought California Home + Design, Glenn was brought over as Executive Publisher to help in the transition and in the re-creation of CH+D. Although he loves his work, his real joy comes from his three children and his three grandchildren.

Marc Yasuda | Associate Publisher, California Home + Design

Associate Publisher Marc Yasuda oversees advertising sales and marketing for California Home + Design and California Escapes. Prior to joining Hartle Media, Marc sold national advertising for The New Yorker and Business 2.0, and was a brand manager at PowerBar.