Our Team

Marc Hand is the chairman of the board of the Napa Valley News Group. A Yountville resident, he is the founder of the Public Media Venture Group and co-founder of the National Trust for Local News. 

Mariela Gomez is a journalist covering public policy, local politics and culture across California. Gomez is a graduate of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. 

Lisa Adams Walter is a journalist whose work has been published in media outlets locally and nationally. Napa is her hometown, she brings insight to an array of wine, food, arts, entertainment, lifestyle and travel stories. She contributes to the Napa Valley News Group media outlets, and is editor of the Yountville Sun.

Paul Franson is a veteran journalist who wrote about the tech industry before moving to Napa Valley 35 years ago and turning his focus on the wine industry. In 2005 he launched NapaLife, a weekly newsletter covering food, wine, the arts and business throughout the county.

Xavey Bzdek is a reporter studying journalism at UC Berkeley. Born and raised in Washington D.C., his number one motivation for journalism is to learn and to meet new people. At the Napa Valley News Group, he gets to do that every day.

Fiona Ulrich is a budding journalist originally from Marin County. During her time at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, she discovered her passion for real-world story telling. At the Napa Valley News Group, she covers stories in American Canyon and has been following how new federal policy is affecting life on a local level across Napa County.

Kerana Torodov is a veteran reporter who has written extensively about American Canyon and the wine industry. 

Danielle Wilde grew up in Los Gatos, California, and studied journalism in Iowa before returning to California. She works for the Napa Valley News Group as a reporter on many issues, as well as the editor of the Calistoga Tribune.