GEV Magazine Correspondents

Mark Goldberger

Food & Wine Correspondent

Having spent the past decade working as a sommelier, a wine buyer, a wine educator, and a wine distributor, Mark is a proud veteran of the wine industry. He has been recognized by Boston Magazine and The Boston Globe as one of New England’s top wine professionals, and he himself has written numerous articles on the subject of wine. In 2009, he founded Vinformative, a cloud-based wine information management company. He is a graduate of Brandeis University’s International Business School. You can learn more about Mark at www.vinformative.com

Denice Sy

Food & Fashion Correspondent

Denice has just recently been immersed in photography. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the Haas School of Business in UC Berkeley. Denice gives great importance to maintaining a holistic approach to life. Aside from doing well in her academics, she also makes it a point that enough time is allotted to further improve her talents in the arts and photography. Denice takes photographs of almost anything for various occasions. She has done mall promotional tours, debuts, bridal showers, beach sceneries, book signing events, etc., but where she finds herself most passionate is in capturing the life, beauty, and zest that she believes is present and existent in every food shot. You can follow her on Twitter at @DeniceDaily

Kimberley Lovato

Food and Travel Correspondent

Kimberley is a freelance writer and award-winning author whose travel and lifestyle articles have appeared in national and international publications and websites including National Geographic Traveler, AFAR, American Way, Executive Travel, Easy Jet Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller, Ryan Air, Virgin Voyeur, leitesculinaria.com, frommers.com and many more.

Her culinary travel book, Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves, about the Dordogne region of France won the 2012 Gold Lowell Thomas Award from the Society of American Travel Writers and her essay, Lost and Liberated, won a Bronze, and was published in Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 8. She is also the author of a Michelin Guide to Brussels, where she lived for six years.

When she’s not satiating her wanderlust by planning a new trip or her annual pilgrimage to France, she resides in San Francisco where she is a BBC Passport Blog correspondent, a student in Stanford’s Creative Writing Certificate Program, a founder of Weekday Wanderlust, a local travel writer reading series, a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto, a wife, and a brave mother of a teenaged girl.

Read more about her work at www.kimberleylovato.com

Awnalee Morr

Food and Fashion Correspondent

Premiere Stylist for GEV who is also with Red Haute and Co. http://redhauteandco.com/community.html

Awnalee Morr is passionate about sustainability and design. Her goal is to wed fashion and environmentalism together. She is inspired by Mother Nature and our world and hopes to make the fashion industry sustainable in all facets.

“My personal style is a mix of Bohemian and modern”, she loves to play with color and texture. She believes “style comes from within and no matter how the gown fits, it will only look as good as you feel”.

Alex Baguio

Food, Fashion and Travel Photojournalist

Alex travels extensively, looking to fill his lens with images of new and different cultures in their architectural and natural surroundings. He waits for the photographer’s perfect moment when the sun creates new stories in the shadows and combines with simple lines and curves of his subject. His greatest joy is in capturing the song of color from people in their native garb or in the perfect rush that comes when he shoots the pure texture of a breeze through a valley of nature. Alex studied at New School and International Center of Photography in New York and has been recognized and awarded both in the local and global arenas for his superb work in fashion and portraiture photography. His photos have been published in the BBC News, Sky News, and New York Times Fall in Europe edition. Recently Alex has been honored by Canon for his photography “In the Parks”. He’s been the consistent 1st Place winner at the Pictorial Photographers of America since 2011. You can check out Alex’ weekly GEV Magazine blog column at Alexified Urban Glam

Erin Eckert

Fashion and Lifestyle Correspondent

Southern California native Erin Eckert has built her reputation on the elite social scene & has made amazing friends and business contacts within the fashion & lifestyle communities. Erin is the owner of her own accessory collection & her entrepreneurial spirit has helped her grow businesses in both fashion and real estate. She started in the entertainment world as a child actress and professional model who enjoyed musical theater and appeared in national television commercials. To fulfill her creative passion, Erin earned her degree in Graphic Communications and went on to enjoy working for advertising and clothing companies designing logos, merchandise & marketing/promotional materials.

Erin then resumed her career as a popular runway & informal model for companies such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., Salvatore Ferragamo, Cartier, Macy’s and Nordstrom. This ultimately led her to become Fashion Coordinator for a well-known retail chain. Switching gears for a while, Erin became Assistant to a top-producing Realtor and decided that with her connections it made more sense to utilize her skills to become a successful agent in her own right.

Erin was drawn back to the fashion world and began working closely with Red Haute and Co. as their Fashion & Corporate Event Coordinator. She is astute, with a keen eye for detail and has the ability to translate fashion into helping produce innovative events. Her exceptional organizational & communication skills make her an absolute asset in this fast-paced business. Most recently she was in charge of producing Fashion’s Night Out 2012 for the City of El Segundo. Erin is always on the VIP lists for chic events, product launches and restaurant openings. Her large social network makes her a sought after guest when it comes to spreading the word about the hippest hot spots and places to be seen! You can learn more about Erin at redhauterocknroll.com

Annabelle Marceno Pericin

Food and Lifestyle Correspondent

Annabelle was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was thirteen years old.  She considers herself a California native transplant; She’s been in the Bay Area since 1978.

She’s a Journalism graduate from San Diego State University (SDSU) with an emphasis in Media and Advertising with a minor in Graphic Design. Annabelle worked in the Fashion & Beauty industry for over 10 years including Monet Jewelry, Lancome, Alfred Sung, and Bath & Body Works. She also went on to work in Silicon Valley for a high tech industry doing marketing and PR before starting a family.

She has always loved food and became a bonified foodie after having her first child. “I truly love looking for the latest kitchen gadget to use with new and innovative recipes or watching the newest and tastiest ways to cook a dish on the Cooking Channel and the Food Network. I enjoy cooking for my family and friends. Creating and presenting delicious foods for them to enjoy is my motivation” she adds. Annabelle currently lives in Loomis, a suburb of the Sac/Roseville area with her husband Mark and two sons, Dominic and Dante. “I’m currently discovering all the great food and wine experiences the Sacramento area has to offer and couldn’t be more than happy to take on this role for GEV!”

Karie Zarsky Bennett

Beauty and Fashion Correspondent

Karie Bennett likes to stay busy. Actually, that’s an understatement. She recently celebrated her 30th year as a hairdresser and her 15th as a multi-location salon owner by diving into a second career–as a writer, and a third, as a salon business consultant and keynote speaker. Her salons, Atelier Salonspa and Atelier Studio, both located at Santana Row, (www.ateliersalon.com) are constantly winning top honors from industry organizations, including the prestigious NAHA Salon Master of Business Award in 2011. A favorite of the fashion show and photo shoot circuit, she is often found leading beauty teams behind the scenes, and her styling work has been featured on the covers of Gentry, South Bay Accent, Scene magazine, Salon Today magazine, and GEV, as well as on the fashion runways for Santana Row, Valley Fair, multiple charity organizations and Vitamin Water’s Fashion Challenge in partnership with Red Haute and Co., and HMM Models.

She is working her way through Stanford’s Writer’s Studio program, is a contributing writer for Salon Today magazine, and is also the Small Business examiner for San Jose’s examiner.com, in addition to being one of GEV’s Correspondents. Contact Karie at karie@kariebennett.com.

Visit her salon website
http://www.ateliersalon.com

Herbert Herrera

Food and Fashion Photojournalist

Your quintessential “Renaissance Man”, Herbert has found his passion for photography during a trip in Europe.  His eye for art and random human interaction makes his work classic, relatable with a penchant for humor. A degree in Medicine brought him and his family to LA then to New York but his heart yearned for the quiet and unassuming life in the south.  He lives in Alabama now and though his day job remains in the medical field…photography, travel, food and golf are his true passions (not necessarily in the order of importance).

Check his website www.herbertherrera.com to know more about his work.

Carl Simpson

Food and Fashion Photojournalist

Carl is a San Francisco Bay Area based photographer and a native Californian.

While in high school, he developed a passion for photography while assisting his big brother on photojournalist assignments. After working in the computer industry for a few years, he started dabbling in landscape and freelance action sports photography as a creative outlet. He later discovered that location fashion and swimwear photography is more enjoyable since it enables him to interact and collaborate with creative people on a regular basis. This has lead to a number of opportunities to work with upcoming L.A. and S.F. Bay Area models and designers. His style is continually changing as he’s always pushing himself to incorporate different photographic and Photoshop techniques to produce unique images for his clients. You can check out his work at te links below.

Visit his Facebook page at Carl Simpson Facebook Fan Page and website at www.carl-simpson.com for updates on his current work and projects.

Vicente Corona / VCrown

Food and Fashion Photojournalist

VCrown is a photographer specializing in Lifestyle Photography traveling between Palo Alto, CA, USA, and Spain. When shooting, he looks for a certain presence and appeal; moments of intensity and passion in the subject’s gesture. He loves capturing personalities on film and has a fondness for food and fashion. His extensive world travelling paved the way for him to pick up his camera and augment his professional eye for photography.

Past projects include documenting Gastronomy: the Best of San Pellegrino Lists Chefs and Michelin Stars like Ferran Adría, Joan Roca and their dishes; Backstage Fashion and Street Fashion for Max Mara Spain and designers like Oday Shakar and Beverly Feldman Shoes. Flamenco Dancers; Chelsea Flower Show in London; Private Gardens of Europe and Botanical Photography at they Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid. He is currently exploring Social Design Photography and Human Cartography. He is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Fashion Network.

VCrown is an a renowned street photographer born in spain that just moved to California. His specialties include: action & fashion, portrait, editorial, luxury lifestyle, high-end restaurant photos, street style, street photography, product photography and events.

Visit his blog vcrown.com/blog

Jay Huffman

Food & Travel Correspondent

A San Diego native, Jay spent the last eight years cultivating his affinity for fine food and tech-haus music in San Francisco. After a brief stint writing for a creative audio storytelling agency in Portland, he jumped across the pond to delve deeper into the minimalistic music scene and gritty foodie culture of Berlin; he promises to avoid jokes about traditional German dishes (they’re the wurst).

Follow him on twitter @JayHuffmanLIVE

Kaleo Ferreira

Fashion Correspondent

Kaleo Ferreira better known as Prince Kaleo is a San Francisco and Bay Area based wardrobe stylist & owner of The Armoire Closet, a vintage & modern high-end designer clothing boutique located in Fremont, CA which specializes in bringing you a unique yet classic collection. Most of their pieces comprise of select and hard to find pieces which is great for people in search of “fun one-of-a-kind classic couture”. Art is also something he has always had a love for – whether it be visual, graphic, design, the list definitely goes on. His main passions though are music, photography & fashion. Kaleo has traveled to New York, Los Angeles and performed as a recording artist with a band named Vocal Point. He works purely because he loves what he does. Kaleo wants to uplift fellow artists and would love to inspire other people with similar dreams to continue to pursue them through the way he embraces his craft.

You can follow him and his life journey via: facebook.com/princekaleo

Rely Pio Roda

Food and Wine Correspondent

A native of Napa for over 22 years, Rely Pio Roda has established a name for himself locally because of his auction business experience and a combined 35 years of auctioneering service experience. Rely and his team have successfully raised funds for organizations like Napa Valley Opera House, Napa High School, Yountville Elementary School, Napa Emergency Women’s Services, Napa Valley Education Foundation, Napa Grape Growers Association, Queen ofthe Valley Hospital and Napa Humane Society to name a few. He is also a Director of the Benicia Chamber of Commerce and a Member of: National Auctioneers Association, Public Fleet Supervisors’ Association, Investment Recovery Association and San Francisco Mayor’s Sister City Committee for International Commerce and Cultural Exchange.

Visit his website at www.pioroda.net/auctions

Kanoa Utler

Food & Fashion Photojournalist

Kanoa took photography in high school in hopes to strengthen his cinematography skills for film and was hooked. Since then Kanoa has photographed for the largest fashion show in the west coast, traveled and photojournaled his humanitarian work in Haiti, worked with a handful of local and international designers, captured numerous amounts of amazing moments for weddings, photographed hundreds of portraits of babies, families, and couples, as well as have his work posted in magazines, blogs, and other articles. With only two years of professional experience and already so many milestones that have been surpassed it’s a wonder what is in store for him.

His style is continually evolving as his knowledge of photography grows and his skills are being fine-tuned. “visual poetry” is what he has heard his work called as he combines the beauty of life and the artistry unparalleled and distinction creating a fusion of harmony and mood to his images. He continues to post articles that will inform and inspire other artists as well as inform potential clients, as well as bring out the best in every client as he creates and captures dynamic and alluring photographs. Not just capturing but creating moments that will hopefully been seen as timeless. You can check out Kanoa’s work at www.kanoautler.com

Dawn Armstrong

Food and Lifestyle Correspondent

Dawn is an inspirational author and entrepreneur with a penchant for sacred times, places, and spaces. As a native Californian with a deep appreciation for the strong quality of the human spirit, her books remind us of the everlasting Universal Truths we long to encompass in our daily lives. A charitable blog correspondent, Dawn wanders the world in search of time travel, danger, eternal love, all of which contribute to the scenes and content of her inspirational books and novels. Dawn’s first book SENSATIONS: A Little Book of Love…spreads hope around the globe. Don’t miss her exciting new paranormal romance Knower premiering Summer 2013 or her short story The Christmas Visitor in Harlequin’s Christmas Anthology December 2013.

Visit her websites:

Humanity on the brink of an immortal race and eternal love…Meet the Knowers!
theknower.wordpress.com

Follow Dawn’s Little Book of Love… as it Spreads Hope Around the Globe at:
littlebookoflove.net

Learn how to Deliciously Demystify Social Media Marketing and Platform at:
dawningday.wordpress.com

Regard Tang

Food & Fashion Correspondent

Regard is a Los Angeles based makeup artist who was born in Hong Kong and raised in San Francisco. Beyond makeup, she is a pure food lover and food is a major motivation for her every day. Regard got her Advertising degree after working in marketing for few years, and then she deemphasized her major and chased after her dream of becoming a makeup artist. Within two short years, her work was published in WPPI and a few different local magazines, as well as Cosmo Bride China and Elle Wedding Hong Kong. Doing wedding makeup is part of her career journey, and her real passion is fashion and commercial makeup. In her free time, Regard could spend hours and hours searching for inspiration for her artistry.  Creating beautiful images is her life. You can check out Regard’s work at www.regardingmakeup.com

Kevin Osmond Man

Food & Fashion Photojournalist

Food has been a passion of Kevin since he was young. He was born in Indonesia, moved to Hong Kong and eventually made his way to America at the age of 11. Being diverse in the origins of his culinary taste may have been a gift – a byproduct, really, of being relocated to and from Asian and American cuisine and culture when he was young. Kevin was a spontaneous boy with many creative obsessions ranging from culinary art to illustration and movies. At the age of 17 his life took a turn when he was deciding between colleges and career paths; was it culinary arts or illustration? Ultimately he chose the graphic arts, and after 2 1/2 Yrs of Illustration coursework at the Academy of Arts in San Francisco, destiny took its course when he decided to study photography. Little did he know this one particular course group would lead him to many opportunities and ultimately a career that he loved. With his new chosen path, Kevin is now a full time fashion photographer. Not only has he found his true passion in photography, he also has been given the opportunity to study his love of food through the lens of his camera. Kevin is now residing in Los Angeles continuing his dream of ruling the world, or so he says. You can check out Kevin’s work at www.osmondstudio.com

Anthony Rogers

Fashion Photojournalist

Anthony is a Fashion and Lifestyle photographer based in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Anthony is originally from the small farm town of Tri-Cities, Washington. Anthony’s cliental list is vast and continuing to grow at such a young age, he has shot lookbooks for local SF Designers/brands, worked with the most premiere agencies in SF, LA, Seattle, and New York, to assisting backstage at Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Neiman Marcus. Anthony’s aspirations hope to take him to the far east, Asia is the destination of his dreams. Anthony is inspired by many aspects of art that make up his personal fashion work, it could be simply from a chorus in a song to a specific hairstyle or wardrobe piece! You could characterize his style as organic and fluid, a breath of fresh air some say. In his spare time, Anthony likes to retouch for SF and LA clothing brands. He also enjoys collecting magazines from all parts of the world! Anthony’s work can be seen on his website: www.neovisualismphoto.com

Rachel Anne Calabia

Food Correspondent

Rachel started writing and editing before she completed her bachelor’s degree in Asian and Third World Literature. She was involved with the research and production of several books on Philippine arts, including the Sanghaya Yearbook series which was funded by the National Commission of Culture and the Arts. Aside from an enduring interest in Asian arts and popular culture, Rachel has worked for non-profit organizations that deal economic and environmental issues in developing nations. During a brief break from writing, she went to a couple of culinary schools. She spent a few years baking professionally. Recently she packed up her favorite novels and cook books and moved to Oakland, California, where she is now based. You can check out her personal blog at luckyparkinggirl.com

Jackie Du

Food & Wine Correspondent

Jackie is GEV Magazine’s Pacific Northwest Food and Wine Correspondent. She is a UW Graduate and has worked in the Health and Beauty industry for over 17 years. Food is where her heart lies; its history, how to cook it, where to find the best of it and the how to get people to enjoy it! It’s not uncommon to find her wandering the isles of her favorite local kitchen shop searching for her next cooking gadget. At home she can often be found unmolding a coconut caramel flan or reading up on the next great Food & Wine event around town. She lives in Lynnwood Washington with her husband Michael and their two dacshunds Cinnamon and Trooper. Her motto everyday. “Life if so good..go out and get some of it!”

Dr. Katerina Rozakis

Food & Health Correspondent

Dr. Katerina Rozakis, Ph.D, LCSW, DAPA, BCIM “Think, Move and Eat Beautiful to Be Beautiful” Dr. Katerina Rozakis is a passionate psychotherapist, natural health educator, coach, speaker and writer who makes everything she does an occasion for joy and an opportunity to make positive changes in the physical and emotional lifestyle of others.

In her integrative dance of life, she’s had roles in the beauty and fashion industry, was a teen model, a restaurant owner, inventor and e-tail owner and has a private practice in the Tri-Valley. With over 20 years experience working with people in distress as well as making house calls to homebound people, she knows how precious life is and the challenges that people face. Her mission is to teach others to regain their self-worth. A foodie and health-diva at heart, she also blogs on how to eat beautiful to be beautiful, and how to integrate alternative concepts for wellness. She loves to inspire women to live mindful, healthy, creative, spiritual and successful lives so that they can strut fearlessly down the runway of life.

Visit www.insightservices.webs.com to learn more about her practice and www.lovingbabyinc.com for info on her US Patent Swaddle Blanket.

She is presently creating workshops for women to help them release their goddess, you can visit her new Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ReleaseYourGoddess.

To form a workshop, book a speaking engagement or reserve coaching, contact Dr. Rozakis at: katerinarozakis@gmail.com

Roderick Macabenta (A.K.A. Sardonic Style)

Fashion Correspondent

Derick is a San Francisco based wardrobe stylist and fashion show producer. His passion is truly for creating breathtaking and innovative imagery by marrying the things that inspire him creatively: music, art, theatre, dance, and (of course) fashion. He studied fashion merchandising and fashion styling at City College of San Francisco after taking a year of photography and colour theory classes at Academy of Art University. In his free time he enjoys being part of a hip hop and jazz dance company collaborating with local artists on promoting art and creativity in the Bay Area, and updating his personal blog and portfolio site. You can read more about his fabulous life at www.sardonicstyle.com

Matthew Brandalise

Food & Fashion Photojournalist

Matthew is a corporate attorney specializing in mergers & acquisitions and commercial transactions for a technology company in Silicon Valley. When he is not working, he is typically photographing things or spending time with his wife and three wonderful boys. He loves to travel and explore unfamiliar things… and ultimately photograph them. A lover of good food, great music, Matthew has a deep admiration for artists & musicians. He’s loved photography since he was nine, when he found an old twin reflex camera in a box of things in his father’s garage. Since then, he’s always seemed to have a camera with him. He’s played and experimented with film and digital photography consistently over the years, but things really went to the next level once he had kids. He spent many years photographing all sorts of sporting events and activities for them. Matthew found it to be a great vehicle for improving his skills as a photographer and ultimately giving him the confidence to branch out into other areas of photography. You can check out Kevin’s work at www.brandalisephoto.com

Ramon Orlanes  

Food & Fashion Photojournalist

Ramon only got serious with photography last year. Since then, he has traipsed the streets of New York to cover numerous events as well as engagement photo shoots. He has also collaborated with other people in the industry for runway and editorial fashion spreads. The one thing that has really sustained his love for photography is the passion to try and capture priceless moments. Ramon also currently works as Director of IT of a software company headquartered in NY with presence in major cities in the world, Toronto, Vancouver, Tokyo, London, Paris, Brisbane, Mumbai, and others. You can check out his work at www.sessionsny.com

Nicole Cook

Food & Fashion Photojournalist

Nicole  is a Sacramento-area photographer who loves to mix her love of fashion with nature. She enjoys the subtleties of natural light and the outdoors to give her images a soft and organic feel. Over the past couple of years she’s been focused on editorials and commercial assignments, and her work has been published in numerous magazines and clothing catalogs. Her favorite part about putting together fashion shoots is seeing the outcome of her team’s creative contribution to the overall look and feel of an image. She enjoys every step of the process – from location scouting and planning, to putting together the team and models, to styling and photography. One of the best perks of her job is the lasting friendships she’s made along the way, and she’s hopeful that the coming year will bring even more interesting connections and opportunities. When not shooting, Nicole enjoys spending time with her husband and spunky preschooler, skiing, and traveling any chance they get.

You can check out her work at www.nicolecookphotography.com or find her at www.facebook.com/nicolecookphotography