Raised in Franklin somewhere between Gillette Stadium and the Wrentham Premium Outlets mall, Jeff Wallace is a BC grad, a onetime scratch golfer, and a bartender who writes about music because he sucks at guitar and wants to feel like a rock star.

The first time Cheryl Fenton saw her name in print was in a magazine she created herself and sold to fellow fifth graders. She’s since traded in the crayons for a laptop. After earning a magazine degree from Syracuse, Fenton moved back to Boston, where she writes for magazines including Cooking Light and Glamour and blogs for hotmomsclub.com.

Keegan Skidmore first experienced the Boston running scene as an 18-year-old freshman at Boston College, where the marathon (and the party that accompanied it) was hard to avoid. His love for actually participating in the sport, however, didn't materialize until he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, Africa. Three years and four marathons later he isn't looking back. In addition to covering the Vineyard, Skidmore contributes to the Fitcognito blog.

Cambridge native Gavin Kleespies is director of programs at the Massachusetts Historical Society, former director of the Cambridge Historical Society, and editor of Saving Cambridge: Historic Preservation in America’s Innovation City.

Dan Forward majored in English literature and minored in pretentiousness at Boston College, before going on to Suffolk Law School to learn something practical. He has lived in and around Boston for his entire life, and his completely humorless fiction has appeared in Fogged Clarity. He was nominated for “most respected” on his favorite video-game forum, but lost in a landslide.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She hates cheese.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The mole poblano at Angela's Café

We promised not to tell anyone that: Her week is not complete without at least one trip to BerryLine for some froyo with strawberries and Oreos.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the courtyard at The Boston Public Library, an unexpected oasis right in the heart of the city

We promised not to tell anyone that: He names most of the inanimate objects in his life. He told us this on his cell phone, Alberto.

His favorite Boston secret is: people-watching on the Common

We promised not to tell anyone that: She hates the dark.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the cheap wings at the Red Hat.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She's addicted to coffee and can never resist a new coffee shop.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the view from the docks on the Esplanade, especially at night when the stars are shining

We promised not to tell anyone that: She's a Yankees fan. Yeah, we know.

Her favorite Boston secret is: People-watching in Kenmore Square on Red Sox game days

We promised not to tell anyone that: She has several invented personalities, including “Lauren,” who just started speaking English and tests her language skills in bars.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The sweet chili sauce at Sunset Grill and Sunset Cantina

We promised not to tell anyone that: She will stop anyone walking a pug in Boston and ask to pet it.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The Tahitian vanilla cupcake at Isabelle's Curly Cupcakes.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She can blow up a balloon with her nose.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The milkshakes and fries at Tasty Burger

We promised not to tell anyone that: A recent playground mishap landed her an honorable mention on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The great vintage clothing at the Garment District

We promised not to tell anyone that: He's guilty of a capital offense in Boston: He couldn't name five professional athletes if you paid him.

His favorite Boston secret is: the great deals on actual snack food at the hidden sneaker shop Bodega

We promised not to tell anyone that: He’s a closet Miley Cyrus/Jo Bro fan.

His favorite Boston secret is: If you're willing to trek to Allston, Brighton, or Cambridge, you can find live music every night of the week.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She likes to go for late-night walks (in well-lit areas), after all the heels, sneakers, and paws have moved indoors.

Her favorite Boston secret is: pretending that she went to Harvard

We promised not to tell anyone that: She’s trilingual and works for Brazilian intelligence.

Her favorite Boston secret is: It's a small town acting like a tough guy.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She would probably pick a good book and a cannoli from Modern Pastry over anything, any day.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Sneaking away to Castle Island to enjoy the breeze

We promised not to tell anyone that: She watches far too much scifi on TV. Especially if it's British.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Afternoons spent browsing the outdoor $1, $3, and $5 used-book racks at Brattle Book Shop

We promised not to tell anyone that: She auditioned to be the yellow Fantana.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Enjoying more burger than anyone could ever want at Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage

We promised not to tell anyone that: She wishes she were still in college.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Overlooking the harbor from the Whiskey Priest roof deck

We promised not to tell anyone that: She will never turn down Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream.

Her favorite Boston secret is: People watching at the local coffee shops

We promised not to tell anyone that: Even in the land of gourmet coffee shops, she will never turn down a chance to further her caffeine addiction with an iced coffee from Dunks: medium regular with skim milk and two Splendas, please!

Her favorite Boston secret is: Chowing down on a burger from the Boston Burger Company while people-watching in Davis Square

We promised not to tell anyone that: She rides the T for fun and is friends with the Citgo sign on Facebook.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The chicken tikka masala on naan at Bhindi Bazaar.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She's a chocoholic.

Her favorite Boston secret is:Relaxing on a Saturday morning at the Boston Common Coffee Company in the North End

We promised not to tell anyone that: When she gets really excited about food, she does something she calls the Happy Dance.

Her favorite Boston secret is: going to Zaftig’s for Sunday brunch and getting the fried-egg BLT with a side of silver-dollar pancakes

We promised not to tell anyone that: She orders strawberry ice cream with Gummi bears, even though she pretends to be above it.

Her favorite Boston secret is: pork tacos

We promised not to tell anyone that: She loves to gaze at the stars. Since that's hard to see in the city, she goes to the Boston University observatory.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The cupcakes at Party Favors

We promised not to tell anyone that: She’s addicted to cheese fries, especially Sunset Cantina’s.

Her favorite Boston secret is: watching the people whose paths intersect in public places, especially along the Charles

We promised not to tell anyone that: She’s been working on her fake British accent since second grade and is no longer allowed to use it around her friends.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The Rookie Melt at Roxy’s grilled-cheese food truck and restaurant.

We promised not to tell anyone that: His Saab convertible is older than he is and has even more trouble getting started in the morning.

His favorite Boston secret is: Tuesday-night sessions at the Druid

We promised not to tell anyone that: Years after graduating, she still uses her Boston University I.D. to get discounts around town.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Students get into the Institute of Contemporary Art for free.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She once ran through the Frog Pond on a $100 bet.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The Mapparium in the Mary Baker Eddy Library at the Christian Science Center

We promised not to tell anyone that: She plans to adopt a piglet someday.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Strolling through the Boston Public Garden

One of several Natalies on the testmysecretboston.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 and is a freelance copy editor.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She has a dangerous obsession with cupcakes.

Her favorite Boston secret is: that you can essentially get anywhere on foot and always find historic landmarks or a terrific place to stop for coffee and a snack

We promised not to tell anyone that: She will eat anything that's free.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The authentic and affordable Italian food at Carlo's.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She's a Guinness snob.

Her favorite Cape Cod secret is: First Encounter Beach in Eastham, where the Pilgrims and natives first met—whatever the people in Plymouth might claim.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She can speak squirrel.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The three female ushers who dance to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in right field at Fenway during the seventh-inning stretch

We promised not to tell anyone that: He has always wanted to base-jump from the Prudential tower.

His favorite Boston secret is: The Charles is really cold in January ... speaking strictly from experience.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She’s part Asian hipster and owns a pet tiger.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the Chinatown Table Tennis Club

We promised not to tell anyone that: She's a diehard Yankees fan.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Going to the SoWa Open Market.

We promised not to tell anyone that: She’s writing a sitcom based on her experience working in a shopping-mall watch kiosk.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the TD Garden on game days; on non game days, breakfast at the Crispy Crepes Café, or a bowl of clam chowder at the Warren Tavern (but not for breakfast)

We promised not to tell anyone that: She eats granola and a banana every day, but if you put a one-pound bag of M&Ms in front of her, she'd eat that, too.

Her favorite Boston secret is: The butternut squash ravioli and fresh seafood at Giacomo's in the South End

We promised not to tell anyone that: She likes to race the trolleys on the Green Line.

Her favorite Boston secret is: finding cheap, hidden gems at Urban Renewal—like the metallic musical pom-poms she got for a dollar

We promised not to tell anyone that: She's a reality-TV aficionado and devoted gossip.

Her favorite Boston secret is: running along the Esplanade or Boston Common

We promised not to tell anyone that: She’s addicted to the currant doughnuts at Clear Flour Bakery. And that she’s a New York Giants fan.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the stir-fried rice cake from May’s Café in Allston.

We promised not to tell anyone that: Her father doesn’t know about her tattoos. And probably won’t find out until he reads this.

Her favorite Boston secret is: the used-record store Looney Tunes, where she spends whole days browsing through mountains of vinyl and CDs

We promised not to tell anyone that: She is obsessed with organic green smoothies.

Her favorite Vineyard secret is: enjoying a Startini in L’Etoile’s garden after a hot day at the beach

We promised not to tell anyone that: She makes random animal noises to break awkward silences and eats the rinds of Parmesan cheese.
Her favorite Boston secret is: enjoying the smoothies and the best crepes outside France at Paris Creperie

We promised not to tell anyone that: She has an unhealthy addiction to reality TV.
Her favorite Boston secret is: the view from the halfway point on the Mass. Ave. bridge

We promised not to tell anyone that: She actually likes taking the T at rush hour for the unbeatable people-watching.

Her favorite Boston secret is: Summertime bike rides along the Charles when Memorial Drive is closed on Sundays

Photography is Susan Ogan’s third career. Trained as a social worker, Ogan, who lives in Marblehead, has worked as a family therapist. She likes to take photographs that capture the extraordinary aspects of the ordinary, and each of her careers, as she puts it, “reflects a widening of the lens.”

A New Englander born and bred, Jade Brewer spent most of her childhood roaming the beaches of Hampton, New Hampshire before moving to Boston's North Shore, where she could stay near her beloved ocean. Brewer will photograph just about anything that crosses her lens, likes to find a personality and humor in subjects usually considered mundane—and is partial to good pasta.

Cara Brostrom has had the kind of career that lends itself to photographing many different subjects. She went to Wales for her master of arts at Aberystwyth University and has worked as a videojournalist, a production assistant at a Scottish theater company, an arts instructor in Denver, and for a London-based diplomatic organization so secret we can't tell you about it. She now lives in Jamaica Plain.

Photographer Amy Garwood fell in love with Boston while traveling to the 2008 finals as assistant to the executive producer of NBA Entertainment. Captivated by the Celtic pride pulsating through the city, she has since learned that such enthusiasm is only exceeded by fanaticism for the Red Sox. Garwood has also worked as an on-location assistant for the Lonely Planet travel guide to Boston. She relishes exploring the city for the best and steamiest cup of joe.

Born and raised on Nantucket Island, Katie Kaizer photographs everything around her, whether it's a day on the high seas with her fisherman father or a destination wedding in Belize. A member of the Artist Association of Nantucket, she has worked for N Magazine, Aspen Peak, and Belize Destination Weddings.

Determined to avoid working in a cubicle, an office, or any type of box, Drew Kubica found that one box could help him escape all others: his camera. His first project was to photograph Boston doorways; he still can't pass one without checking it out. Kubica runs Stay Focused Photography, shooting portraits, bands, architecture, products, live music, weddings and other events, and more.

Growing up in San Diego, Brooke Russi knew something was missing. When she moved to New England, she discovered it was fall, winter, spring, and the Red Sox. Russi has since happily settled down on the North Shore, where, when she’s not exploring the New England landscape, spends her time as a connoisseur of chocolate. Shhh!

Trained as an engineer, Les Wood founded a management consulting firm. To satisfy his creative urges, he took up photography and, along with other award-winning photographers, started USPhotoGroup, compiling with co-founder Joe Votano the book Boston and Cape Ann…Places and Scenes to Photograph. The group has since produced several other travelogues and books.

Photographer Morgan Ione Yeager (her middle name is pronounced “eye-own,” not “I won!”) was raised in Groton and Acton before moving to the city to attend BU. After earning a degree in broadcast journalism she moved to the South End for its food and shopping secrets. An avid cook and foodie, Yeager specializes in food, editorial, and travel photography. She can make a pear look like a work of art.