Fernandina Observer

Mike Phillips is now the new editor of the Fernandina Observer. He can be reached at [email protected]

Anne H. Oman, Reporter At Large

After graduating with a B.A. in history (cum laude) from St. Lawrence University, Anne Oman joined the U.S. Foreign Service and served in Cambodia and Indonesia.  Forced to leave both countries (for political rather than personal reasons), she moved to New York and began her journalism career and a writer/editor for Senior Scholastic magazine.  She freelanced from California and Japan for several years, then joined the staff of National Geographic World.   Her articles, on everything from art to zoning, have appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Star, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, Washington Woman, Where (Paris edition), The New Leader, Family Circle, Sailing, and other publications.  She has also authored four books, including two on bicycling.  She and her husband Ralph Oman, who teaches and practices copyright law, have three grown daughters.  

 

 

Karen Thompson, Features Reporter

Karen moved to Fernandina Beach two years ago after working in Chicago as a senior public relations specialist for the Midwestern regional office of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Prior to that, she was an editor,  columnist and writer  for a chain of Chicago newspapers ,  an account executive for several Chicago public relations agencies and proprietor of her own pr/marketing business.  She grew up and earned her journalism degree in Wisconsin.

Adam Kaufman, Legal Analyst

Adam Kaufman - s Copyright Steve Leimberg - UnSeenImages.Com _U0U0724
Adam Kaufman, Legal Analyst
Photo courtesy of Stephan R. Leimberg

Adam Kaufman is a semi-retired labor mediator and attorney.  He was  born and raised in the Bronx, NY. and attended NYC public schools, including Stuyvesant High School, and graduated from Northwestern University School of Law. While in New York he served on the American Arbitration Association Labor Panel; Regional Director of New York State Public Employment Relations Board Arbitration Panel (1994-2005); New York State Education Department Teacher Dismissal Panel and various New York State local government contract grievance and discipline arbitration panels.

For twenty-two years he served as General Counsel, labor negotiator and legislative lobbyist for the Rochester City School District

Adam received high praise for his coverage of  the two day impact fee bond validation lawsuit held at the historic courthouse in Fernandina Beach.

 

Evelyn C. McDonald, Arts & Culture

evelyn-mcdonald1-150x150Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts &amp; Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on FSCJ’s Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.</em>