Meet the Times Staff

Patrice V. Culligan, Publisher

Patrice worked in medical publishing for 18 years. After working with the International Medical News Group, Patrice moved to New York City as the publisher of Physician’s Weekly. After five years as publisher and the successful sale of the publication, she started an independent rep firm and two years later joined a larger firm representing numerous medical associations and medical publishers. She followed her husband, Tom, to Washington. They have six children and six grandchildren spread across the United States.

David Sachs, Editor-in-Chief

dsachs@alextimes.com

Dave was raised in Alexandria and saw the city as one of its sons before seeing it from the perspective of a newspaper editor. He took a break from the DC area when he attended the University of Vermont and lived in Burlington, where locals claimed he was a southerner. There, he majored in English, history, snowboarding and live music. He also cut his teeth as managing editor of the Vermont Cynic, UVM’s student-run newspaper. Dave’s been at the Times since 2007. When he’s not held up in his office, he can be found biking the pavement and dirt trails of the region or fanatically cheering for the Caps over a dark beer.

Denise Dunbar, Editorial Page Editor

ddunbar@alextimes.com

Denise is a southern girl by birth and temperament, and though she loves Alexandria dearly, does not consider it truly southern. Born in Atlanta, educated in Denton, Texas, and Athens, Georgia, and married in Charlotte, Denise and her husband moved to Alexandria in 1986. She has worked for the Charlotte Observer, the CIA and the Virginia Department of Social Services. She passionately loves baseball and is a political junkie well-suited to life inside the Beltway. She and her husband have three children.

Derrick Perkins, Reporter, Sports Editor & Photographer

dperkins@alextimes.com

Derrick spent the first 25 years of his life in New England, growing up in Massachusetts’ South Shore before moving inland to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history, and an informal education in journalism at the university’s independent, student-run newspaper, The Daily Collegian, he moved north to take a reporting job with the New Hampshire Union Leader. For nearly two years, he covered local municipal news, crime, politics, business and the occasional football game before pulling up stakes and moving to Northern Virginia where he actively roots for the Sox, Pats, C’s and B’s from afar.

Cat VanVliet, Artistic Director & Graphic Designer

cvanvliet@alextimes.com

The daughter of a United States Navy Officer, Cat spent her early years living all around the country and overseas in Guam. She attended the University of South Florida, where she graduated in 2007 with psychology degree. Her life-long passion for art eventually led her to the field of graphic design, where she flourished in the newspaper industry. Cat also enjoys doing large-scale abstract paintings, playing the bass guitar, practicing yoga and spending time with her loving family and friends at her home in southern Maryland.

Keith Staples, Account Executive

kstaples@alextimes.com

Born in Washington, D.C., Keith is a longtime resident of Alexandria — easily long enough to remember the Steven Windsor clothing chain, where he worked until it closed in the ’90s. Since then he has been in advertising, going back to the old Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages. He resides in Del Ray, where he’s lived for 20 years, with his wife and two kids. One attends T.C. Williams High School and the other is at Virginia Commonwealth University. When he’s not helping businesses promote their services in the Times, Keith operates the scoreboard at Nationals Park.

Pat Booth, Classifieds & Office Manager

pbooth@alextimes.com

Pat is from Ogden, Utah, but came to Alexandria in 1989 to serve at the Pentagon until she retired in 1995. In 2000 she graduated with a degree in sociology from George Washington University. Afterward she worked at Old Town’s Bombay Co. until they closed and began her employment with the Alexandria Times in March 2008. She’s been happier than a clam ever since.

Evan Campbell, Copyeditor & Proofreader

ecampbell@alextimes.com

Evan grew up in southern Indiana, across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from Hanover College with a bachelor’s degree in communications and then took a job as copy editor at The Tribune in his hometown of New Albany. After close to a year at the paper, he decided to move down under to Manly, Australia, where, when he wasn’t surfing, he sold newspapers at a family-owned shop. He returned to the United States and relocated to Southern California before eventually ending up in the D.C. area. He loves to write, run and play video games.

Karen Niedzielski, Sales Associate

kniedzielski@alextimes.com

Looking for a lifestyle change, Karen moved to Old Town in the summer of 2010. Prior to residing in Alexandria, Karen lived for many years in New York City and worked for more than 15 years as a salesperson for several Conde Nast and Hearst titles, including The New Yorker, Town & Country, Vogue and House Beautiful. Her passions include a love of art and culture, as well as fashion and home décor. She enjoys writing, travel and baking sweets for friends.

Margaret Stevens, Sales Associate

mstevens@alextimes.com

Margaret Stevens, Account Executive, has been with the Alexandria Times for three years. Her interests outside of advertising include freelance writing and painting. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature.

Marty DeVine, Sales Associate

mdevine@alextimes.com

Marty has a BA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, an MA in Religion from Yale Divinity School, an MA in Theology from Durham University (England) and a JD from the University of Detroit (Michigan & England). She is married, has two sons and resides in Alexandria.

Steve Artley, Cartoonist

sartley@alextimes.com

Steve Artley’s editorial cartoons are syndicated throughout the United States and Canada, appearing in publications such as Newsweek, the Washington Post and New York Times, and in numerous online editorial cartoon reviews, including Time and NPR’s “Double Take.” His work has taken top honors multiple times in both the Minnesota and Virginia press association annual journalism awards. His cartoons have been used in school text books, trade books and magazines, congressional publications, and cartoon anthologies. Steve has also taught classes in cartooning and theatre at a private Minnesota arts school. Currently, Steve works as a freelance cartoonist in Alexandria. His cartoons are distributed by ARTIZANS, and are a regular feature in The Alexandria Times.

Isabel Alvarez, Pet Columnist

ialvarez@alextimes.com

A life-long animal lover and full-time professional pet sitter for four years, Isabel writes a monthly column for the Alexandria Times entitled Pet Matters. Isabel is the proud owner of The Wag Pack Professional Pet Services, which provides dog walking and pet sitting services in Northern Virginia. Recipient of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters 2012 Business of the Year Award, Isabel takes pet care very seriously. She’s a passionate animal advocate and is also involved with various local and national rescue organizations in the effort to help homeless and needy animals.