Jon Marcus wrote the book on Boston secrets. No, seriously. It’s called Unknown New England, and it’s among eight titles he has authored or coauthored, most about Boston and New England. Boston born and bred (and descended from a line of small-time Boston mobsters), Marcus is the former editor of Boston magazine and writes about New England and other topics for magazines including Conde Nast Traveler, Yankee, the Boston Globe magazine and websites including concierge.com. He teaches at Boston College and Boston University.
Amadeu Tolentino was born and raised in Brookline and has a degree in graphic design from Curry College in Milton. He’s lead web designer at Watertown-based Checkbox Survey Solutions, a developer of survey software , where he has played key roles in the revamp of the website; senior web and graphic designer at BevNet in Watertown. He and Marcus met in Juliet Simmons’s spin class and started brainstorming a project they could work on together. Proving that exercise can, in fact, be harmful to your health.
Susan Farkas, who handles advertising, partnerships, and sponsorships, is a former account executive at Boston magazine, where she managed national and local print and online accounts in categories including travel and restaurants, and a onetime advertising sales assistant at Marie Claire. Another of MSB’s ridiculously huge BC alumni contingent, she also was a production associate at Entertainment Tonight and The Insider.
Natalie Iknaian was raised way out in Marlborough, so it was not until she was getting her degree in graphic design in Boston that she realized what the big(-ish) city had to offer. She can live off apples and cupcakes, likes to bowl, and her favorite secret is People’s Choice in Lynn, which serves a great roast beef three way till 2 a.m. Which is usually when she’s in the mood for a sandwich smothered in barbecue sauce and mayo. And maybe an apple.
Born and raised in Belmont, Jared Keller has written for the Weekly Dig, National Journal’s “The Hotline,” The Atlantic Wire, and Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Keller has plenty of secrets of his own: a certified archer, he's the drummer of a little-known funk-soul quartet called Barefoot Junction and an occasional photographer. His favorite Boston secret? The largest stash of kung fu movies in the city.
T.K. Skenderian was born, educated, first employed, and had his first kiss in Boston. In that order. A BC grad, he once was a concessions vendor at Fenway selling things that no one wanted, such as Classic Coke and Yankees hats. Now communications manager for the Boston Athletic Association, he has worked as a production assistant for New England Cable News and a broadcast announcer for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. A world traveler, he once mastered an ATM in Yangshuo, China, that operated only in Mandarin. This remains the life accomplishment of which he is most proud.
Ming Pimhatai Tiemchaiyapum is a Bostonian by way of Bangkok, where she worked for the English-language Thailand Outlook Channel. Her favorite hobby is hunting for things that are free—free food, free movies, free drinks, free shows—and she’s good at it, trained in this important skill as she was during her time as a poor graduate student at Emerson College.
Courtney Megliola worked with rock stars and athletes as a publicist at the FleetCenter (or TD Banknorth Garden, or TD Garden, or whatever it's being called now), and has spent the past few years doing corporate PR, event planning, and marketing. A Boston University grad, she thinks Anna’s Taqueria has the best Mexican food in Boston, and that the Village Smokehouse in Brookline Village has the best barbecue north of the Mason Dixon Line.
North Shore native Terri Ogan has worked in public relations since graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire. She's traveled the world, is a huge Harry Potter fan, loves yoga and a great slice of pizza (or two), and aspires to be a foreign correspondent.
Videographer and editor Brandon Thieme has been a producer for MTV and Men’s Health TV, NESN’s On the Hook and Port O Call, VH1’s Undiscovered Genius, NBC’s Hip Hop Nation FoxSport’s extreme-sports show Playground Earth, and many others.
Keegan Skidmore first experienced Martha’s Vineyard on a winter day when it was 20 degrees outside, so it really didn’t go that well. But he saw enough of the ocean and Ralph Lauren-type scenery to understand the place must be nuts in the summer. He was right. When he’s not on
island, Keegan, a BC grad, writes and edits the Atex Blog, which has nothing to do with Martha’s Vineyard or secrets.
One of several Natalies on the mysecretboston.com launch team, Natalie Moravek is happy to go by just her middle name of Stella, risking as she does the inevitable Streetcar Named Desire reflex. (Go ahead—you know you want to.) A Boston University graduate with a degree in journalism, Moravek loves trivia nights, is a freelance copy editor, and lives in Cambridge.
Carla Rosa has the best address of all of us: Fenway Park, where she works as an administrative assistant at ARAMARK. Trilingual (in English, Spanish, and Portuguese), she was raised in New Bedford and started visiting Boston for its clubs, lounges and museums, eventually making the big (permanent) move up Route 24. Rosa is working on her business-management degree and likes music, running, basketball, and La Verdad restaurant for its carne assada burrito.
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