Rich Heidorn Jr., CEO and Executive Editor

Rich Heidorn Jr. is a former reporter and editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer and a survivor of the dot-com and Enron crashes.

Rich covered politics, government and business at The Inquirer, doing both spot news and enterprise and investigative reporting. Rich joined The Inquirer during its golden era under editor Gene Roberts, during which the paper won 18 Pulitzers in the 17 years.

By the late 1990s, however, The Inquirer was facing increasing competition for advertising and the newsroom resources, once boundless, were growing more limited. Rich decided he wanted to help the editorial staff become more business-savvy. He began working with the newspaper’s new business development unit while also attending graduate business school.

After earning an MBA, Rich left The Inquirer in 1999 for an Internet start up with five former Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal executives. At Internet Publishing Group, Inc., Rich helped launch several business-oriented websites, including Commercial Real Estate Direct, which provides intelligence on the Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities market. Rich also served as general manager of IPG’s TradersNews Energy, which provided real-time news and market data for electric power and natural gas traders. The business was sold to Energy Argus Inc. in 2002.

In 2003, Rich co-founded a Spanish-language publishing company, InterMedia Publishing, which syndicates a weekly Q&A column on immigration issues in newspapers and on MSN Latino.

B.A. journalism, Penn State University; MBA, Temple University

Meredith Jones Eisner, Chief Marketing Officer

Merry Eisner is a marketing and advertising professional who has run two successful marketing firms. As President of Strategic Insights Inc., she designed customer databases, performed marketing analyses and developed relationship marketing programs for clients such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine, Carnation Foods, Heinz Foods, Mobil Oil and Western Union. As co-founder and Senior Vice President of the MicroMarket Strategies division of Earle Palmer Brown, Merry was one of the pioneers in the use of databases for targeting advertising to prospective customers. Clients included US Airways, US West, WaWa Food Markets, R.R. Donnelley & Sons and Claritas. Earlier she worked in billboard and consumer products advertising for clients including Procter & Gamble, Anheuser Busch, Roy Rogers, Quality Inns and USA Today. She began her career doing audience development marketing for theater companies in Chicago, including Goodman Theatre Company and Steppenwolf Theatre.

B.A., non-profit marketing, University of Pennsylvania

Camilla Carr

Camilla Carr is an award-winning journalist, media consultant and media trainer. Her clients have included the International Olympic Committee, the World Bank, Discovery Communications and the Veterans Administration. Camilla is a former reporter and anchor for CBS and ABC affiliates in Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and New Haven. Camilla received her undergraduate degree from Mt. Holyoke College and a Masters in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Minnesota. She has also studied at Dartmouth College and the Institute for Strategic Communications at American University. Camilla is fluent in French and German and has knowledge of Spanish.

Ben Heidorn

Ben Heidorn is Richard Heidorn's son and technical support. He currently attends Penn State University for an undergraduate degree in physics and develops web applications for a small Redmond-based company. His expertise is in PHP and MySQL web development, and his experience ranges among client-side scripting, WordPress, Zen Cart, C++, Java, Photoshop, and Flash. He tries very hard not to think too highly of himself.

In Progress, B.S., physics, minor mathematics, Penn State University

Brandon Maddox

Brandon Maddox is the Web Administrator for the National Association of Social Workers, a Washington, D.C.-based organization representing 150,000 professionals. He is an experienced and dynamic teacher for the Graduate School, USDA, with expertise in WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Dreamweaver, Flash, Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop.

B.F.A., graphic design and Illustration, Alfred University, New York.

Ed Scuderi

Ed is an instructional designer and project manager for the Graduate School, USDA, Washington, D.C. He is also an aspiring screenwriter.

B.A., philosophy, University of Maryland

Paul Zingone

Paul Zingone is a videographer with experience in linear and non-linear editing systems and studio control room engineering. He's also an artist, a musician and a former Eagle Scout.

B.A., telecommunications, minor business, Penn State University