Laurel Thomas Gnagey, APR, executive editor

Executive Editor Laurel Thomas Gnagey, APR, began her career as a reporter and anchor for radio and television. She later worked in public relations for a small hospital and a chamber of commerce in Northern Michigan. She has held faculty positions at Central Michigan University (CMU) and Taylor University, in Indiana. Before coming to U-M she served as director of communications for Lutheran Social Services of Michigan. She earned a B.S. from Illinois State University, an M.A. from CMU and has 21 doctoral credits from Ball State. She holds universal accreditation through the Public Relations Society of America. Laurel has three college-age children: Kim, a music major at Eastern Michigan University; Kyle, a drama major in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University; and Kurt, a film student at Columbia College in Chicago.

Jillian Bogater, editor

Jillian may be a Floridian by birth, but she is a Michiganian by choice. She grew up in nearby Canton, graduating from Plymouth-Salem High School then earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism and African studies from Central Michigan University. She cut her teeth as a cub reporter at the Plymouth-Canton Community Crier, and in subsequent years worked at newspapers in Milford, Cheboygan, Pontiac and Hillsdale — some of them twice. Most recently Jillian was editor of Between the Lines and for almost six years worked as an editor of the national desk at The Detroit News. When she’s not chasing stories, Jillian likes to belt the blues. She lives in Ferndale with her two dogs, Lexie and Lili, and a cat, Pink Floyd.

Todd McKinney, production coordinator

Todd immigrated to his home state of Michigan in 1989 after 15 years making music for stage and screen in Los Angeles. He earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, both from U-M. Todd followed a Hopwood Award for Major Fiction in 1994 with several years as a radio copywriter and producer before launching imMEDIA Advertising, Inc. A two-year turn as the creative director from Hell, Michigan preceded Todd’s return to academe, though evidence of causality is slim. He lives in pastoral Livingston County with his wife Jackie, a longtime U-M RN, and two of their four children.

Kevin Brown, associate editor

Kevin spent his formative years in Dearborn, Ann Arbor and Nashville before working two years as a reporter with the daily Mining Journal in snowy Marquette. He returned to metro Detroit, working 14 years for the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers and 2-1/2 years for the Plymouth Township government in administration and communications. He also wrote a stack of freelance pieces for The Detroit News before joining the Record in 2005. Kevin also is a musician who has been nominated for four Detroit Music Awards. He lives in Dearborn with wife, Susan, and daughter, Katy.