2021 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.

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.

SIMON CONSTABLE is a fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health and the Study of Business Enterprise. His first book, “The WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators That Really Matter, which he coauthored with Robert E. Wright, was an economics category winner in the 2012 Small Business Book Awards at Small Business Trends. You’ll find his work in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, MarketWatch.com, TheStreet.com, the New York Post, the New York Sun, and the South China Morning Post.

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.

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.

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.

JEFF SIEGEL, the Wine Curmudgeon, is a wine writer and wine critic who specializes in inexpensive wine – the wine, he says, that most of us drink. His most recent book is The Wine Curmudgeon’s Guide to Cheap Wine (Vintage Noir Media) and he oversees the award-winning Wine Curmudgeon website (winecurmudgeon.com). He has taught wine, spirits, and beer at El Centro College and the Cordon Bleu in Dallas.

Bio and photo coming soon

JENN VANDEZANDE is an experienced writer, editor, and content strategist, and is the Editor in Chief of The Future of Customer Engagement & Experience, an industry award-winning site.

She’s a contributor to some of the biggest names, including Forbes, and Inc., as well as a TEDxMoorgate host. She’s also a Circklo Business Configurator Academy mentor, where she takes incubator candidates on a journey to demonstrate to them the power of words, relevant content, and how intelligent, targeted, and purposeful thought leadership analysis can elevate the credibility, reputation, and long-term success of any start-up.

She’s worked with brands to provide strategic planning, thought leadership, SEO guidance, copy and marketing content, technical writing, corporate communications, and grant writing. She donates her time to several non-profits, assisting with their leadership and strategic planning, messaging, social, and branding efforts.

Savas Abadsidis is the founder, editor and publisher at #GayNrd. Prior to founding #GayNrd, he served as editor-in-chief and executive editor at a vast variety of outlets, including Antenna Magazine, B Magazine, Complex Magazine, Paper Magazine and Tally Ho! Magazine. A graduate of Hobart College, he also worked at Warner Bros. and Wizard Publications, and was behind the early success of Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly.

MARI EDLIN, a graduate of Stanford University, 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.

Bio and photo coming soon

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 the briefing, Human Capital. In addition, she contributes to 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.

JIM GAINES is a business reporter for the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel, covering regional economic development, Sevier County tourism, TVA, and Oak Ridge National Labs. Since 2000, he has worked as a reporter or editor at alt-weeklies and daily newspapers – seven publications in five states. He holds bachelor’s degrees in print journalism and history & government from Western Kentucky University.

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

J. MONEY is an award winning blogger, consultant, experimenter, and daddy. With over nine years building communities online, Jay’s projects have reached 25 million views and are routinely featured in the media. He is best known for the personal finance blog, BudgetsAreSexy.com, as well as his curation site – RockstarFinance.com. He loves coffee, hip-hop, and collecting coins, and is on a mission to make personal finance fun.

Bio and photo coming soon

Miya Jones is a passionate journalist who serves as the founder, editor-in-chief and executive producer of the groundbreaking media outlet Shades of Long Island. This news website and television show highlights stories related to minorities, millennials and Generation Z in Nassau and Suffolk County. Shades of Long Island also hosts Long Island’s largest business directory for entrepreneurs of color. Both websites have amassed over 100,000 views since inception in January 2019.

She has written for Essence.com, Newsday and The Long Islander and is also on the board of the Long Island Software & Technology Network known as LISTnet and Young Hip Professionals. She graduated from Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Jeff Burlingame is an NAACP Image Award-winning author and editor in chief of two regional monthly business magazines in Washington state, South Sound Business and 425 Business. In 2014, he helped lead the launch of 425 Business, which the following year was awarded a Best in Business national finalist for general excellence by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. The winner of a prestigious national Sigma Delta Chi writing award from the Society of Professional Journalists, he also has founded and operated both a nonprofit and an indie public relations firm, and has appeared on MTV, A&E, and he has spoken at the Washington State Capitol. His work has even been the answer to a question on the TV show Jeopardy! – twice – and he recently was honored with a star on his hometown’s Walk of Fame.

CHRISTOPHER NULL is an award-winning journalist who has been covering business and technology for 20 years. A veteran of PC Computing, Yahoo! Tech, and New Architect and the founding editor in chief of Mobile PC Magazine, there is no segment of the high-tech universe he hasn’t covered. Today he continues to cover business and technology topics for Wired and TechHive, among other publications, while running his own custom blogging company, Null Media, which provides turnkey editorial services to corporate clients.

A ceaseless appreciation for interactive entertainment is what drives ROBERT ALLEN, Tech-Gaming.com’s editor and podcasting personality. Having written over two thousand reviews, and interviewed a wide swath of the industries’ luminaries, Robert aspires to share his appreciation for the medium with an ever-growing audience interested the intersection of technology, gaming, and culture. When a controller isn’t in hand, he can usually be found clutching a dry-erase marker- instructing classes in writing, communication, and technology at two Southern California colleges.

JOSEPH S. PETE covers steel mills, unions, ports, oil refineries, auto plants, start-ups, craft breweries, banks, supermarkets, restaurants, and other beats for The Times of Northwest Indiana just outside Chicago, where he works as a Business Reporter. He also writes for The Times Media Co.’s IN Business Magazine, prattles as a panelist on the That’s So Region Podcast, appears frequently on Lakeshore Public Radio and serves as a board member on the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Pete has won numerous journalism awards, including several Lisagors from the Chicago Headline Club and honors from the Hoosier State Press Association, the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists, the Inland Press Association, the Associated Press Media Editors and the National Federation of Press Women. He has appeared on Lakeshore Public Television and WGN Radio in Chicago. He’s also an infantry veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

ERICA LAMBERG is a business and travel writer. She has been 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 named a lifestyle and travel expert for USA Today’s 10 Best platform. Erica also currently writes for NBC News, Ladders and Reader’s Digest. Erica’s writing credits also include Oprah Magazine, Business Insider, Goalcast, US News & World Report, Fodor’s Travel and Cruise Critic. Erica is also a former education and travel correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 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.