The Board of Directors of the Magazine Association of the Southeast is a group of individuals in the industry who volunteer their time and serve specific functions for the organization. We'd like to introduce you to our board!

Stephanie Davis recently got engaged and then three months later ironically accepted the Executive Editor role at Get Married Magazine, a new bridal magazine with a 300,000 circulation started by Get Married TV on Lifetime Television and GetMarried.comm. She is also a new contributing writer on the masthead at PINK Magazine's Little Pink Book, a women in business daily email. Prior to that she was the Editor-in-Chief of skirt! Magazine in Atlanta, GA (a unique, quirky women’s magazine that is currently in 20 markets across the U.S.). She will continue to publish her personal essays in skirt! and her musings on her blog atskirtatl.com. A writer and editor who was formerly on staff at GQ and SELF magazines, she has also written for Gourmet, Domino, Details, Allure, Brides, Pink, Vitals Woman and msn.com.

Matt Bolch is an Atlanta-based free-lance writer who regularly contributes to nearly two dozen consumer and trade magazines on a wide range of topics from technology and general business issues to health care and education. He also edits two b2b magazines in the health care and benefits arenas.

Matt, a 1987 journalism graduate from Middle Tennessee State University, spent many years in daily newspapers, including nearly nine years as an editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he worked before going free-lance in 2002. His wife (who doubles as Matt’s in-house editor) is an English professor at Georgia State University. They live in Candler Park with their two children.

Carolyn is the advertising manager of Georgia Trend magazine. She started there in 1991 and prior to that was with ADWEEK/Southeast for eight years.

MAGS recruited Carolyn in 1999 to head up the Advertising Sales sessions for the annual conference. She served as the advertising track co-chair until 2004, the conference co-chair for 2005, and as president of MAGS from January 2006 until June 2007. Now, as immediate past president, Carolyn will also oversee the GAMMA Awards competition in 2008.

Carolyn says, “You never know everything there is to know about publishing. Each year MAGS helps educate us and creates a network of wonderful colleagues to call upon for advice.”

Carolyn graduated from Georgia State University, School of Business with a BBA in Marketing.

Patrick Hood is a sales representative with Quad/Graphics. He joined Quad/Graphics in January 2001. He worked for two years at the corporate headquarters in Wisconsin in a variety of roles - including Estimating, Scheduling, and Customer Service.

In 2003, Patrick moved out to our Boston sales office where he remained until May 2005.

In May of 2005, Patrick relocated to our Atlanta sales office, and He has been here ever since.

Patrick livex in Smyrna, GA - and he graduated from the University of Georgia in 2000 with degrees in Spanish and International Business.

Rachel Cardina graduated magna cum laude from Samford University with a fine arts degree and a concentration in graphic design. Eager to work in publication design, she interned at Cooking Light magazine where she gained valuable experience early on in her career.

After graduation, Rachel continued to pursue her passion for design by accepting a position at a local, but nationally known award-winning graphic design firm, Metaleap Design. While a part of the team at Metaleap, she designed for Paste magazine and byFaith magazine while playing an active role in other web, identity and branding projects.

Rachel is currently the Art Director at Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine, where she oversees idea generation, designs editorial content, produces photo shoots and helps to define the creative vision of the magazine.

Alison Embrey Medina is the executive editor of DDI magazine, a monthly trade publication serving the retail design industry. Through the pages of DDI, she covers and comments on store design, visual merchandising, architecture, marketing and branding, with a vast contact base of in-house retail and contract design professionals. In her seven years with The Nielsen Company (formerly VNU), she has held multiple editorial positions with DDI, as well as a senior writer position for New York-based Convenience Store News. She attended The University of Georgia, where she received a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism.

Ramsey Harris Nix is the editor-in-chief of Lake Oconee Living, a quarterly magazine that mirrors the lifestyle of residents of the Lake Oconee area and beyond. Through her writing and editing, Nix endeavors to uncover the soul of the classic South. In her five years with Main Street Communications, she has also contributed to the company’s newspaper, The Morgan County Citizen, named Georgia’s “Best Weekly” by the Georgia Press Association.

Nix graduated from The University of Georgia with a master’s degree in journalism. Her studies took her all the way to Turkey, where the prime minister requested a copy of her master’s thesis. Prior to her jump into journalism, Nix was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia, an experience that continues to inform her life’s journey.

Suzanne Oliver is a contributing editor for Atlanta Magazine, where she primarily writes about interior design, retail, and real estate. Previously, she was senior editor for Atlanta Magazine's Home and managing editor for Points North Magazine. She also interned at YM for a summer in New York City before graduating from The University of Georgia in 2001 with a degree in magazine journalism. She currently lives in Roswell with her husband Craig and her two fat cats.

Cathy Pierce is the Director of Membership Development for Conway Data/Industrial Asset Management Council. She began her career in association management in 1989 and in 1996 joined the staff of Conway Data. Cathy has been a member of the Georgia Society of Association Executives since 1990; she has served on numerous committees over the years; she is past Vice Chair of the Leadership Task Group and is currently serving as Vice Chair of GSAE’s Community Project. Cathy was chosen as one of the “90 Movers and Shakers” of GSAE.

Cathy has two children, Kevin and Kimberly and three grandchildren, Brittany, Jaclyn and Marcus.

Gary Powell is the Sales and Marketing Director for Oz Publishing, Inc. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1988, and was a practicing litigation attorney in Atlanta, GA until 1993. Deciding that practicing law was more strife than life, Gary hung up his meat cleavers and joined wife Tia Powell and Oz Publishing.

Oz Publishing is dedicated to producing high quality publications for and about the visual communication industry, including Oz Magazine, The Creative Index, and The Georgia Film & Video SourceBook.

Don Sadler, the MAGS Immediate Past President, is a full-time freelance writer specializing in business and finance. He has spent his career primarily as an editor and writer in the custom publishing field, first as a Vice President with First Marketing Company in Pompano Beach, FL. In 1997 he moved to Atlanta to work as a Vice President and Editorial Director for Media 3 Publications. Media 3 was acquired by McMurry in 2005 and Don was named Senior Editor, Financial. In January 2009, Don struck out on his own as a full-time freelancer, writing for business and financial magazines, newsletters, newspapers and various other media.

Lisa Sparer has more than 10 years of experience in magazine design, working with such publishers as Southern Progress/Time Inc., Cond_Nast, and the Sunday magazine of The New York Daily News. She was instrumental in redesigning The Daily News Magazine and Health Magazine at Southern Progress. She is an editorial designer who enjoys packaging articles, images and ideas by working collaboratively with editors, photographers and illustrators. She has designed a wide range of magazines covering topics such as health, lifestyle, food, travel, beauty and entertainment.