About us

Take a look at the team behind Smart.

The editor

Name: April Trotter

Lives in: Fairview Township

Grew up in: Falls, Pa., which is in that whole Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of northeastern Pennsylvania

Loves writing about: Apartment decorating, DIY projects, organizing, gardening and upcoming York-area events

Hobbies: Searching for tasty things to put in our growler, yoga, traveling, playing kickball and trying to convince the boyfriend we should get a cat

Contact her: Email atrotter@ydr.com or follow on Twitter, @apriltrotter

More: Read posts from April here.

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/smartmagazine.

The incredibly talented graphic designer

Name: Samantha K. Dellinger

Grew up in: York County

Family:Husband, William; son, Vincent, 7; step-daughter, Britni, 18

Favorite subject: Her English bulldog, Diesel. She is obsessed. For real.

More: Read posts from Sam here.

Advertising

Name: Aimee Bigham

What she does: Media sales manager for MediaOnePA

Lives in: Gettysburg

Family: Husband, Andy; two daughters, Katie, 12; Elizabeth, 10

Hobbies: Coaches soccer, member of the York County Literacy Council and Children’s Aid Society

Favorite book: ”The Great Gatsby”

Favorite song: ”Running to Stand Still” by U2

Contact: Email her at abigham@mediaonepa.com or follow her on Twitter @alpinto.

Bloggers

Name: Leigh Zaleski

Grew up in: Scranton, Pa.

Loves writing about: Health, nutrition and fitness

Hobbies: Exercising, traveling and cooking healthy meals

Contact her: Email lzaleski@ydr.com or follow on Twitter, @leighzaleski

More: Read posts from Leigh here.

---

Name: Sarah Chain

Grew up in: Ridgefield, Conn. Went to school in Virginia & lived in Carlisle for a year, too.

Loves writing about: Green living, local foods, sustainability, frugal living

Cool fact: I was 13 when my little brother was born, so every time a mom tells a story about her kids, I relate to it and want to share the stories of my “kid” too.

Contact her: Email schain@ydr.com or follow  on Twitter, @sarahEchain

More: Read posts from Sarah here.

---

Name: Ashley May

Grew up in: New Freedom, Pa.

My job: I’m a multiplatform journalist for the York Daily Record/Sunday News. I write articles, edit audio, shoot videos and take photographs. My favorite part of the job is organizing and photographing fashion shoots for Smart Magazine.

Contact her: Email me at amay@ydr.com  or follow me on Twitter @visitashley.

---

Name: Angie Mason

Grew up in: Frostburg, Md.

Family: Husband, Matt, and Pita the cat

Job: Education reporter

Blogs about: What your kids are doing in school

Hobbies: Reading good books, watching good movies, biking on the Rail Trail

---

Name: Buffy Andrews

Grew up in: York, Pa. (YAY!)

Who am I?: I’m Assistant Managing Editor of Features and Niche Publications for the York Daily Record/Sunday News. I’m also its social media coordinator.

Loves writing about: on this blog? Everything. However, I write fiction for kids and teens, and I’m represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary. Look for news about book contracts (fingers crossed).

Blogs: Besides this blog, you can find me at Buffy’s Write Zone (my writing blog) and Buffy’s World (my social media blog)

Hobbies: Exercising, traveling and, of course, reading and writing

Cool fact: I was named after the character Buffy on the TV show “Family Affair”

Contact: Email buffy@ydr.com. You can also find me on Twitter (@Grandma_Dorothy, @Buffyandrews), Facebook, Linkedin

More: Read posts from Buffy here.

---

Name: Elizabeth Jones (Lyzz)

Who am I?: I’m an assistant sports editor for the YDR and the editor of GameTimePA.com.

Grew up in: Shrewsbury, Pa. A native of Maryland. Currently live in North Codorus Township.

Family: Husband, Brian; Son, Brendan (10); Daughter, Ava (4) and Mittens the cat

Blogs about: Having a child with food allergies, family and kid-related stuffs. Sometimes sports.

Sports teams: I am a proud member of Raider Nation. I liked the Mavericks even before they won it all last year. The Orioles (Brady Anderson!) will always have a place in my heart. I get World Cup fever every four years.

Interesting fact about me: I knew squat about journalism when I landed a job at the YDR as a sports clerk in 1998. I applied for the job because it looked ‘cool.’ I was right.

Contact: Email me at ejones@ydr.com and follow me on Twitter.

More: Read posts from Lyzz here.

---

Name: Rebecca LeFever

Grew up in: Lancaster, Pa.

Who am I?: Night cops reporter

Loves writing about: Crime, breaking news, city living and all things food

Hobbies: Cooking, eating, blogging about cooking and eating, and traveling

Contact her: Email rlefever@ydr.com, follow on Twitter @ralefever or “like” me on Facebook.

---

Name: Courtney Cashour

Grew up in: Spokane, Washington; Commox, British Columbia, Canada; Tampa, Florida; and York, PA

Family: Husband, Bill; Son, William (AKA: The Boy); Mother-In-Law, Margaret; Dog, Boo-Boo – The dog who thinks he’s a cat.

Cool Fact: She has an Eidetic memory (photographic). Shh, don’t tell anyone.

Blogs about: Her crazy life whether that involves the family, friends or random events. She is also fluent in English and sarcasm.

Contact her: On Twitter, @CourtneyCashour

More: Read posts from Courtney here.

---

Name: Joan Concilio Otto

Grew up in: York County all the way – I’ve lived in Dover Township or West Manchester Township my whole life (but I was born in New Jersey; don’t hate!)

Who am I?: Officially, the YDR online editor and blogger/columnist. Also lots and lots of other things, though!

Loves writing about: Homeschooling (especially the “unschooling” style), personal finance, life in and memories of York County

Blogs: Besides blogging here on Smart, I also write the Only in York County blog, am the editor and a staff writer for Man Vs. Debt, a personal finance blog, and most importantly to me, our family has a blog documenting our educational journey, Our School at Home.

Hobbies: Tae kwon do, reading, playing Facebook games, scrapbooking, organizing things.

Cool fact: I started working at the YDR when I was only 16, and have been here in some form ever since!

Contact: Email me at joan@ourschoolathome.com (the address I check most often), find me on Facebook, check out my Pinterest obsession and follow me on Twitter @definity.

---

Name:Emileigh Clare

Blogs about: Fashion, beauty, travel and health

Hobbies: Reading, learning to cook (one easy dish at a time), drinking wine with friends, running, traveling, watching chick flicks like “Never been kissed” and BBC’s “Pride and Prejudice” and shopping for vintage-inspired dresses

Contact her: Email eclare@ydr.com or follow on Twitter, @e__clare

More: Read posts from Emileigh here.

---

Name: Andrea Lazarus

Lives in: Spring Garden Township

Family: Husband, Sean; Cats, Fargo and Catfish (the coolest tuxedo cats York!)

Blogs about: Trying to find a balance between staying active and living healthfully while enjoying life, food, sleeping in, and everything else.

Hobbies: Running, travel, books, trying not to kill my houseplants, and exploring new things.

Contact: By email alazarus@ydr.com or on Twitter @AndreaLazarus.

More: Read posts from Andrea here.

---

Name: Kara Eberle

Grew up in: Latimore Township, Adams County

Family: Husband, Mark; daughter, Mara, 6; son, Charlie, 2

Favorite comfort meal: Home-brewed iced tea and a fried-egg sandwich with Miracle Whip

Favorite quote: “Do or do not, there is no try.” ~ Yoda

Contact her: Email keberle@ydr.com. Find her on Twitter @karaeberle. Look for her on Pinterest at pinterest.com/keberle78.

More: Check out Kara’s posts here.

---

Name: Bethany Fehlinger

Grew up in: Wilkes-Barre, Pa., also known as NEPA

Loves writing about: Green living, veganism, frugal living, local food and green events, geek things

Hobbies: Running, biking, reading comic books, eating good vegan food, traveling, watching British period pieces

Cool fact: I’m left-handed, as is my younger brother.

Contact her: Email bfehlinger@ydr.com , or follow on twitter, @Wonder_vegan