Contributing Editors
Candice Olson
Interior designer and host of HGTV’s “Divine Design” Candice Olson attended the University of Calgary, where she simultaneously worked on her B.S. degree while traveling the globe playing volleyball for the Canadian National Team. Olson soon headed for Toronto, where she attended the School of Interior Design at Ryerson University. Scouted for her remarkable talent upon graduation, she honed her skills for several years in many of Canada's top interior-design firms before establishing her own residential and commercial design practice, Candice Olson Design, in 1994. Today, as one of Canada's leading designers, her signature style incorporates creativity, practicality and timelessness to create a sophisticated but accessible design.
Contact:
www.divinedesign.tv
DOTI – San Antonio
Mary Doizé
Mary is president and owner of Designs of the Interior in San Antonio, Texas. Designs of the Interior is a franchise with 30 locations nationwide which focuses on custom interior design and furnishings. Prior to Mary's latest endeavor with Designs of the Interior, she ran businesses for major corporations in the software industry for 22 years.
Contact:
210-497-2800
sanantonio@doti.com
DOTI – Austin
Jared Story
Jared joined Urban Home Magazine in 2006 as a feature writer focused on interior design. He is the president of Designs of the Interior of Austin. They specialize in top-quality, interior-design services; the store also features furniture, flooring, accessories, rugs, art, and lighting, as well as beautiful custom-window treatments and bedding. Prior to opening this store, Jared and his wife owned a custom crystal and stone design company.
Contact:
512-374-1170
www.dotiaustin.com
Case Handyman – Austin
Ed Dudley
Ed joined Urban Homes in December 2007 as a feature writer focused on home remodeling and the multi-faceted directions a homeowner may take. He is owner of Case Handyman and Remodeling in Austin, an independently owned franchise operation with over 50 national locations. Prior to this, Ed spent 21 years in the Air Force at worldwide locations.
Contact:
512-300-2273 office
512-563-2940 cell
edudley@ casehandyman.com
Case Handyman – San Antonio
Mark MacKenzie
Mark joined Urban Home Magazine in 2008 as a feature writer focused on remodeling and home-improvement solutions. His is the owner of the Case Handyman and Remodeling franchise in San Antonio. Case is the largest full-service, remodeling organization in the nation. Prior to Case, Mark spent 20 years leading continuous improvement and process-management initiatives for a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient.
Contact:
210-342-2273
mark.mackenzie@sbcglobal.net
Writers
Jackie Benton
Jackie is a professional writer and editor with more than 17 years of experience. She has worked with a number of organizations such as 3M, the Texas Department of Agriculture, and The University of Texas at Austin. Jackie has been a part of the Urban Home Magazine writing staff since its introduction to the Austin market in 2006. Jackie is the co-founder of Jackalope Education and Media, a non-profit education organization dedicated to sharing the dynamic and diverse history of Texas with the state’s schoolchildren; she is also a middle-school teacher of Texas history in Austin. Jackie’s academic background includes a B.F.A. in playwriting from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Master’s of Education from Texas State University. She holds teaching certifications for History 8-12, English Language Arts and Reading 4-8 and 8-12, Social Studies 4-8 and 8-12, and Theatre EC -12.
Contact:
512-789-4454
tater@sbcglobal.net
Autumn Carpenter
Autumn, a freelance writer, joined the Urban Home Magazine’s staff in 2006. Her 14 years of journalism experience include developing interactive content for Motorola and Yahoo!, as well as publishing in a wide variety of lifestyle and business publications. Autumn's degree is a B.A. in journalism from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and she currently resides in Melbourne, FL.
Contact:
321-750-8090
info@autumncarpenter.net
Amy Lemen
Amy is a full-time, freelance writer specializing in home, design, real estate, health and fitness. She joined Urban Home Magazine as a contributing writer in 2005. Editorial clients include Luxury Living, Luxe Texas, Luxe Colorado, Austin American-Statesman, Texas Monthly Custom, Her Sports, San Antonio Express-News and others. Before freelancing, Amy worked for 14 years in communications as an editor, writer and public-relations consultant for public and private organizations. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington and a masters in liberal arts/English from Southern Methodist University. Amy is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, MediaBistro, and the Association for Women in Communications.
Contact:
512-996-0073 office
512-619-4595 cell
amylemen@gmail.com
Brandy Woods Snow
Brandy has been a writer with Urban Home Magazine since 2007. With more than nine years experience in marketing communications, Brandy has held key positions in international and regional corporations. As communications specialist for KEMET Electronics, Inc., she served as editor-in-chief of their global newsletter and was responsible for media relations. Brandy also worked with Elliott Davis, LLC, the largest accounting and business advisory firm headquartered in South Carolina, where she was responsible for writing and designing new business-proposal packages. She currently owns and operates her personal business, bsnow marketing & communications, llc. Brandy has a B.A. in English with a minor concentration in journalism from Clemson University.
Contact:
864-915-4407
bgsnow817@charter.net
Laura Glass
Laura earned a degree in professional writing from Bob Jones University in 2004 and went on to serve as public-relations coordinator for a national nonprofit. In 2007 she became an associate of Message Media Group (MMG), an agency that provides freelance writing and editorial services to numerous national publications. As a member of the MMG writers group, Laura has written for Urban Home Magazine since 2007 and has performed more than 50 feature article assignments for a dozen national and regional magazines, including several titles related to construction, homebuilding, and real estate.
Contact:
864-646-2633
message@messagemedia.us
Mark Ward, Sr.
Mark offers 30 years of experience as editor of six national publications, communications/publications director of four national associations/nonprofits, author of seven nonfiction books, and a freelance writer who has published 2,000 feature articles in more than 50 national trade and professional magazines, including numerous construction, homebuilding, and remodeling titles. In 2004 he formed Message Media Group (MMG) to provide, through a group of freelance writers, editorial services to a growing list of clients. In his capacity as MMG president, senior editor and client liaison, Mark has written for Urban Home Magazine since 2007. He holds a Master of Arts degree in communication with concentrations in leadership studies and professional writing, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in rhetorics, communication, and information design at Clemson University. Mark has taught at three universities and been a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at writers’ conferences nationwide. As a freelance voiceover talent, Mark has been featured on daily radio programs syndicated nationally on some 500 stations.
Contact:
864-646-2633
markward@messagemedia.us
Dana W. Todd
Dana joined Urban Home Magazine as a writer in 2007. She also writes for several national, regional, and local consumer and business magazines and is editor of a South Carolina manufacturing magazine. Dana brings a total of 16 years of experience in both the publications management and public-relations industries to Urban Home. She works with local and national editors to place her clients in stories being written in trade and business magazines, newspapers, TV and radio shows. In addition to media relations, Dana specializes in helping start-ups and declining companies who need to redefine their messages to increase sales. She formerly served as CEO of a high-tech public relations and marketing agency and has been editor of a national conservation magazine. Dana holds a B.A. in journalism and mass communications from the SC Honors College at the University of South Carolina.
Contact:
803-463-5278
dwtodd2@aol.com
