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Vanessa@patch.com 650.201.1238 <--Best @MenloParkPatch @RedwoodCPatch Originally from: Austin, Texas Birthday: November 12 Bio: Hi! I'm your Local Patch Editor who cultivates stories about life in Redwood City, Menlo Park, Woodside, and Atherton. One of the many reasons I joined the Patch family was to embrace the ways that media is adapting with technological innovation, so I can bring people together in dynamic and intuitive ways. I've worked at radio, television, and online news networks in Texas, both on and off the air, as well as a few technology firms.  Fun fact: I was dubbbed "The Tenacious Twitterer" by one Silicon Valley CMO in early 2010 when I used social media to report on mergers and acquisitions in Redwood City. Yes, I've come to terms with my geekiness. My research interests while I earned my MA in Communication at Stanford University included cultural influences of news perception. Prior to that, I attended U.T. Austin where I earned my bachelor's degree in broadcast news journalism.   Beliefs: At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible and human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal certain key beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for our editors to inject these beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will force us to be ever mindful to write, report, and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you, the user, ever think you see evidence that we failed in this mission, we wholeheartedly invite you to let us know. Politics How would you describe your political beliefs? I'm an independent who assesses the situation before forming any opinions.  Religion How religious would you say you are? While it is not in my lifestyle to attend religious servies, or worship a perticular deity, I respect those who do. The freedom to worship as you please is a basic human right. Local Hot Button Issues What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? I could say things like closing the achievement gap in Menlo Park schools, developing the High Speed Rail Project through town with acceptable specifications, or the inability to find parking downtown. But, you tell me. News is a conversation that you can start. Ping me and let's get it going. Where do you stand on each of these issues? Let's see what those issues are, and what the data is surrounding them, prior to forming positions on them, shall we?