2017 judging panel

MICHAEL COHN, editor-in-chief of AccountingToday.com, has been covering business and technology for a variety of publications since 1985. Prior to joining Accounting Today and WebCPA, he worked for Red Herring, Internet World, Beyond Computing, Accounting Technology and PC Magazine, and freelanced for a variety of other business publications. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English, he studied accounting at the Wharton School of Business, and currently lives in New York City.

ANGELA NATIVIDAD is the author of Generation Creation, an AdVerve Media production. She covers European advertising for AdWeek, and co-founded Hurrah.fr, the premier creative agency for the esports market. She lives in Paris. Follow her on Twitter at @luckthelady.

A former marketing professional in both Toronto and Chicago, KIM COOK has spent the last ten years as a freelance journalist based in New York, covering international and national design, décor and lifestyle stories for several print and digital entities. Her regular “Right at Home” columns for the Associated Press focus on trends and topics across the Home categories. She writes about design directions, and profiles industry professionals, for both the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Innovation + Inspiration magazine and the American Association of Interior Designers NY Metro magazine. Kim was also part of the judging panel for NY Now’s Best New Products awards this summer.

KAMILLE D. WHITTAKER is the associate editor for Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, Atlanta’s authority on business, economics and politics. Jamaica-nurtured, California-reared and now Atlanta-grounded, she has spent more than a decade primarily researching, reporting on and curating editorial coverage on the community and economic development of her multiple sites of “home” and the communities that comprise them. Whittaker began editing and proofing manuscripts for The Journal of Education for Business and The Journal of Economic Education at the D.C.-based Heldref Publications, an academic publisher. Since, she has worked with The Washington Post in conjunction with Newsweek magazine (formerly WPNI), and as a national correspondent for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, and its more than 200 member publications. Whittaker also served as co-editor of The Liberator Magazine with her fellow Howard University alumni, and happily mothers two teenage daughters — Kamani and Kennedi.

ALISON DOYLE is the job search expert for The Balance, providing job search, career, and employment advice. She’s also the CEO of CareerToolBelt.com, which features free apps for job seekers and career changers. Alison has been writing about job search and careers since 1998. Previously, she was associate director of Career Services at Skidmore College. Alison has been quoted extensively in major publications including The New York Times, BBC News, CNN.com, Forbes, CBS MoneyWatch.com, and The Wall Street Journal. Alison has been recognized as a top person to follow on LinkedIn by LinkUp, Lifehack, and on Twitter by The Guardian, YouTern, FlexJobs, LinkUp and Mashable. She has authored three books on job searching. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDoyle and find her on LinkedIn.

KAT BRYANT is a copy editor at the Bismarck Tribune. Previously, she held numerous editorial positions at the Phoenix Business Journal and the Silicon Valley Business Journal from 1989 to 2015, earning several industry awards for editing, headline writing and design. She also does freelance editing and proofreading for various forms of media. She attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she worked full time for four years on the student daily newspaper and discovered her true calling.

NICOLE FALLON is the managing editor of Business News Daily, a resource for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. She has been covering business and career trends since 2010, when she started out as a freelancer for BND. Prior to joining the staff full-time, she spent a year as the editor of a cooking and nutrition website. Nicole holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University.

Currently a contributing editor for Chip Design Magazine, DAVE BURSKY has over 40 years experience working as an engineer and editor. Dave is president and founder of PRN Engineering Services, a technical writing and market consulting company and from 2006 through early 2011 was the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products. Prior to Maxim, Dave had over 33 years of experience as an editor, writing for publications such as Electronic Design and EE Times. In 2005 he was inducted into the Communications Society Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement at the City College of New York. Additionally, in 1988 he was described by an article in the San Jose Mercury News as one of the 100 most influential people in Silicon Valley. Dave has served on the program committees of numerous IEEE and commercial conferences, and has authored six books on topics ranging from personal computers to semiconductor memories. Dave holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the City College of the City University of New York.

NAOMI EIDE is the editor for CIO Dive, responsible for covering the enterprise tech industry, from the rise of the cloud to Big Data in business. Prior to joining CIO Dive, she spent time covering federal contracting and Maryland state news. Naomi holds a B.A. from Providence College and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Bio and photo coming soon

MARK HUFFMAN is a reporter for ConsumerAffairs.com. Since 2004 he has covered issues ranging from consumer product defects to developments in consumer technology. In 2007 he served on a Federal Trade Commission workshop panel examining negative option marketing practices. He has been a correspondent for Marketwatch.com, Westwood One Radio Networks and Associated Press Radio. He has also been a science and technology writer for United Press International and written about technology for Reuters New Media. He has been interviewed as a source on stories for NBC News, Forbes, Smart Money, and The Wall Street Journal. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Kentucky.

JACK M. GERMAIN has been writing about computer technology since the early days of the Apple II and the IBM PC. Over the past four decades, Jack has worked on both sides of the editorial desk for numerous organizations as writer and editor. His feature articles, technology blogs, and specialty columns are published by ECT News Network in TechNewsWorld, The E-Commerce Times, and LinuxInsider. Jack’s blogs on cloud computing technology are published on Linode Cube.

Bio and photo coming soon

FRANK J. OHLHORST is an award winning technology journalist and professional speaker with over 25 years of experience in the technology arena. Frank has written for several leading technology publications, including ComputerWorld, TechTarget, PCWorld, ExtremeTech and Toms Hardware. Frank has also contributed to business publications, including Entrepreneur and BNET, and to multiple technology books, and has written several white papers, case studies, reviewers’ guides and channel guides for leading technology vendors.

HUGH MCINTYRE is a freelance journalist who covers all things related to the music industry, primarily for Forbes. He has also written for several dozen other publications, including Billboard, Mashable, The Huffington Post, MTV, Mic, and Noisey, to name just a few.

KAREN ASP is a leading journalist who covers fitness, health, nutrition, pets and travel for major print and online publications. A former contributing editor for Woman’s Day, she writes regularly for dozens of publications, including Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking Light, Cosmo, Delta Sky, Diabetic Living, Eating Well, Family Circle, Forks Over Knives, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Martha Stewart Living, O, Oxygen, Prevention, Real Simple, Redbook, SELF, Shape, USA Today, WebMD, Weight Watchers and Yoga Journal. In addition, she’s the co-author of Understanding Your Food Allergies and Intolerances with two Harvard physicians. Karen is also a certified personal trainer, health advocate (who uses a height-adjustable desk in her office and is certified in plant-based nutrition), and a plant-powered athlete with six Nordic walking world records to her name. Follow her on Twitter at @karenaspwriter or visit her web site at www.karenasp.com.

KEVIN CASEY writes about technology and business for a wide variety of publications and companies. He won an Azbee Award, given by the American Society of Business Publication Editors, for his InformationWeek.com story, “Are You Too Old For IT?”. He’s a former community choice honoree in the Small Business Influencer Awards. Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

ERICA LAMBERG is a business and travel writer who is a contributor to U.S. News & World Report. In addition, she has worked as a correspondent for Gannett for over 15 years, writing business features, book profiles, special section features and travel articles. Under Gannett’s news umbrella, Erica was recently named a lifestyle and travel expert for USA Today’s 10 Best platform. Erica’s writing credits also include Bankrate.com, Fodor’s Travel and Cruise Critic. Erica is also a former education and travel correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer. In addition, Erica is a sought-after author of health content and writes several monthly features for the digital platform of Reader’s Digest. She is also a writing consultant and is retained by corporations in the real estate, higher education and healthcare industries. Married and the mother of a daughter and a son, Erica is based in suburban Philadelphia. Erica is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park. Follow Erica on Twitter.

KEITH SHAW has been a fan of computers, technology and video games for more than four decades, and his obsession with technology, large and small, has never waned. With a 30+ year career in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, he’s always on the lookout for “the next big thing”, whether it’s a smartphone, gadget or power adapter. He wrote the Cool Tools personal technology column for Network World for more than 15 years, and created the company’s annual “Cool Yule Tools” holiday gift guide. His gadget empire extended into the video world, where he created several videos for the IDG Enterprise brand (including Computerworld, CIO.com and CSOonline.com). He is the co-creator of the snack food blog Taquitos.net, as well as the geek parenting blog “Mom & Dad are Geeks”. He continues to write product reviews at www.cooltools-reviews.com.

HEATHER CLANCY is an award-winning business journalist in the New York area with more than 20 years of experience covering technology’s role in transforming business and culture. She is the Editorial Director for GreenBiz.com and was the launch editor for Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology, Data Sheet. Her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. Prior to becoming a full-time commentator, speaker and technology messaging specialist, Heather was editor at Computer Reseller News.

ALISON BEARD is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review, focusing on leadership and “managing yourself” content across its platforms and overseeing the Experience section of the magazine. She previously worked for the Financial Times, as a reporter in the New York bureau, then as its London-based House & Home editor.

MARI EDLIN is editor of Population Health News, Healthcare Innovation News and Accountable Care News. A graduate of Stanford University, she has more than 25 years of experience in journalism and has been a freelance writer since 1988. She has specialized in healthcare since 1993, writing regularly for Managed Healthcare Executive, to which she contributes a monthly article on pharmacy issues, Drug Topics and other national healthcare and pharmaceutical trade publications. She also works closely with many companies and organizations, helping to develop issue briefs, white papers and reports. She serves on numerous media panels and has taught a variety of communications workshops at Stanford University.

DOUG CANTOR is a senior editor at Inc.com. Over his career, he has served as an editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Science, and Esquire, and written for publications including Men’s Journal, ESPN The Magazine, Departures, BlackBook, Time Out New York, Mental Floss, and many others. Doug holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a master¹s degree from Northwestern University¹s Medill School of Journalism.

MELANIE WADDELL is the Washington Bureau Chief for Investment Advisor magazine and ThinkAdvisor.com, part of ALM Media LLC. She has been a columnist for Investment Advisor since 2002, has served as New York Bureau Chief for the magazine, and has been a financial journalist/editor since 1994. Her column, The Playing Field, appears in Investment Advisor Magazine and on ThinkAdvisor.com, and she also writes for ALM’s National Law Journal and Law.com. Early in her career, Melanie covered financial issues at American Banker in Washington. Since 1997, she has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior level editorial positions at American Banker/Thomson Media/Thomson Financial in both Washington and New York. After seven years at Thomson, now Reuters, Melanie joined Investment Advisor. Melanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University; while at Towson, she interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.

PAUL MILLER, executive editor, manages the daily operations of the newsroom and SentinelSource.com, the paper’s online version, and is responsible for the direction, standards and policies of the news operation, as well as their implementation. He has worked for The Sentinel, the nation’s fourth-oldest continuously published newspaper, for more than three decades. He enjoys hiking, exercising, good times with good friends, the ocean and traveling. His occasional “Out in Public” column focuses on the people, places and politics of the region.

DALE DAUTEN has been researching achievers and innovation since his days at Arizona State and at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. His early work prompted a government publication to call him a “guru” to White House staffers, and during the past four decades, his six books have been published in a dozen languages and have developed a large following worldwide. Dale writes newspaper columns nationally syndicated by King Features. For many years, he wrote “The Corporate Curmudgeon,” and he continues to write “JT and Dale Talk Jobs” with employment expert, Jeanine “JT” O’Donnell. Their work appears weekly in dozens of newspapers, including The Denver Post, Arizona Republic and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

ANNLEE ELLINGSON is a staff writer at L.A. Biz, Los Angeles’ digital bureau at American City Business Journals, where she covers entertainment and technology. Other chapters of her life include a decade all-told in various editorial positions at BoxOffice Magazine, a trade publication for the motion-picture exhibition industry. She’s also written about film for the Los Angeles Times, PasteMagazine.com, Moving Pictures magazine, and Los Angeles Weekly. A Midwest transplant to Los Angeles, she holds a Master of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California.

JONATHAN ROUBINI is editor in chief and technical director of LabReviews.com, bringing to the site more than three decades of hands-on experience. Previously, Jonathan was lead analyst of the mobile category at PC Magazine, quickly gaining recognition in the wireless industry thanks to his extensive knowledge of PDAs, cell phones and their accessories. Prior to that, Jonathan was software project leader at PC Magazine Labs, where he pioneered several new testing techniques for always-evolving software packages. Jonathan graduated with a B.S. in Information and Decision Systems from Carnegie Mellon University.

Bio and photo coming soon

LAURIE SULLIVAN is the search editor of Search Marketing Daily, a MediaPost publication, and serves as the chairperson for the Search Insider Summit, a twice yearly think-tank search conference . A technology and marketing geek since 1985, Sullivan also writes about the electronics supply chain for EBNOnline.com, a UBM publication. She has contributed to Advertising Age, BNet, and wrote full-time for Red Herring, InformationWeek, and EBN, among other media publishers and university publications. Prior to becoming a journalist in 2000, Sullivan wrote copy, produced content, and published marketing material for clients like Microsoft and Computer Associates while working for 10 years in the in-house advertising and marketing agency at computer distributor Ingram Micro. She holds a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Chapman University. You can follow her on Twitter at @LaurieSullivan.