Tracey Tong is an award-winning journalist with over 15 years in newspapers and communications. She is a former managing editor at Metro News and has contributed stories on business, politics, technology, science, health care and the arts to dozens of publications across North America. The Burlington native makes her home in Ottawa with her husband, their one-year-old daughter and their Chihuahua.
Samantha Ball has written for Ottawa Parenting Times Magazine since 2012. Her family consists of her husband, daughter, and a middle-aged cat, Oreo, who recently had a midlife crisis and ran away – only to decide life on the streets wasn’t for him.
Sheryl Bennett-Wilson has worked in Ottawa media for over 40 years. Her background includes radio, television, script writing, public relations, event management and web content creation. She also writes articles for a number of local publications.
Kelly Roesler is a writer and print/digital editor, raising her three beautiful children — including a toddler, tween and teen — in Ottawa. She studied and taught journalism at Algonquin College, and is passionate about storytelling, current affairs and musical theatre. She also enjoys poetry, punk rock and almost any type of sweets.
“The hardest thing about being a parent?” says local journalist and first-time father Chris Hunt.
“All that time spent being awake … and sober.” An award-winning feature writer, Chris’s work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across Canada. Recently, he has developed a sincere intolerance towards floor lamps. And house cleaning. But mostly floor lamps.
Joe Banks is the coordinator/professor of the Journalism program at Algonquin College. He is a former rural affairs columnist for the Ottawa Citizen and worked as a reporter/photographer, editor and publisher in the Ontario community newspaper industry from 1978 to 2000. Most importantly, he is the father of two adult daughters who absolutely adore him and his wife Diane because they were superbly raised as children. (That last part is entirely true and devoid of bias).
Leslie Foster is a mom, wife, marketer, writer, and entrepreneur. She is the creator of Funatorium Explorium, a family entertainment company, and Funatorium Explorium in Schools, a week-long gym class program that travels from school to school in the Ottawa area. Leslie believes in giving back to the community and volunteers for many organizations.
Kerry MacGregor is an Ottawa journalist who now writes from Nice, France, where she lives with her husband and her son. Her blog about parenting and living in the South of France, is at www.kerrymacgregor.com.
When she’s not elbow-deep in crafts or reading Harry Potter books with her two daughters, ages nine and six, Sonia Mendes can usually be found working on a feature article. Her writing has appeared in publications such as the Ottawa Citizen and Today’s Parent magazine, and she holds a journalism degree from Carleton University. You can also read Sonia’s musings about life with two kids – and a sports-obsessed husband – on her blog, www.themotherofadventure.com.
Megan Wright is a Certified Life Coach and Professor of Early Childhood Education. She has worked with children and families for over 15 years in a variety of child care settings. Reach Meghan at www.theprofessormom.com, her blog, www.theprofessormom.blogspot.ca or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProfessorMom.