About | The Daily Wilton

Alissa Smith

Alissa Smith, the reporter for The Daily Wilton, grew up in Fairfield and spent her entire life in the Fairfield public schools. After high school, she moved down to Pennsylvania to attend Ursinus College for English Literature. She has spent time volunteering in India and Morocco as well as around Fairfield County when she’s here. She got a Masters in International Journalism from City University London and got a job covering statehouse politics in Virginia and then Wisconsin. She is thrilled to be back home and to be working in Wilton. You can reach her at asmith@thedailywilton.com.

Anna Helhoski

Anna Helhoski has freelanced and interned for various news outlets covering New York state politics, human interest features and the local news for Westchester County. She is now a reporter for The Daily Greenwich. She recently graduated summa cum laude from Purchase College with a degree in journalism. Email Anna at ahelhoski@mainstreetconnect.us

Anthony Buzzeo

Born and raised in Stamford, TJ Buzzeo recently graduated from Quinnipiac University with his bachelor's degree in journalism. While at Quinnipiac TJ wrote for the school's on-line newspaper, The Quad-News. He will be writing anything and everything to get his friends and neighbor's the stories they want to read and talk about. Email TJ at tbuzzeo@mainstreetconnect.us

Art Cusano

A long-time Hudson Valley resident, Art worked for the now-defunct North County News in Yorktown as a reporter and photographer for three years before joining Main Street Connect. Art studied anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, usually between track meets and trips to the beach. He received his Master’s Degree from the Northeastern University School of Journalism in Boston in 2007. Art is an avid runner who has recently participated in the Marine Corps Marathon and the Philadelphia Half Marathon. He plans to run the Utica Boilermaker 15K and the ING New York City Marathon in the coming year.

Bob Dumas

Award-winning journalist Bob Dumas’ writing and editing career spans more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the prestigious Maggie Award for outstanding magazine writing, and has won several New York State Press Association honors for his work in community-based journalism. He was named “Who’s Who in Aquatics” by Aquatics International magazine for his for exposes on safety in the swimming pool industry. He has written for national trade magazines for one of the largest business-to-business publishers in the U.S., and most recently was the deputy editor for North County News in Yorktown. He graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego with a BA in Communication.

Bret Matthew

Bret Matthew, the reporter for The Daily Northborough, grew up in Clinton and graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Politics. Before joining Main Street Connect, he freelanced for weekly newspapers in Clinton, Bolton and Harvard. Bret can be reached at bmatthew@mainstreetconnect.us.

Casey Donahue

Originally from Pennsylvania, Casey recently graduated from Fairfield University with a major in Journalism and a minor in Political Science. He is excited to be a news reporter for the Daily Darien, his first full-time job. Email Casey at cdonahue@mainstreetconnect.us

Christine Loughran

"Before she started her work as a writer for Main Street Connect this past June, Christine Loughran was an education beat writer for Patch.com. She also completed her undergraduate study with a Mass Communication degree from State University of New York at Oneonta in May 2010. In her spare time she enjoys spending time outside, reading and with her friends and family."

Cornelia Fortier

Cornelia Fortier has been covering Fairfield County's entertainment scene for the past five years. She drives the Arts section, as well as covers news, neighbors, pets and more. Email Cornelia at cfortier@mainstreetconnect.us

Daniel Castro

Daniel Castro studied English at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he wrote for various collegiate publications before going on to work as the Education/City reporter for The Gardner News. In 2010, he received the award for Best Sports Reporting from Central Mass Soccer Coaches for his coverage of the Wachusett boys and girls soccer teams.

Danielle Kahn

Danielle Kahn, the reporter for The Daily Westborough, was born and raised in Worcester. She recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a major in Journalism and a minor in Sociology. She enjoys reading, watching the Boston Bruins and covering Westborough. Email Danielle at dkahn@mainstreetconnect.us

Eric Gendron

Sports Reporter Eric Gendron is a graduate of the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. He covered Ithaca area sports, including Cornell University, for Ithaca College Television. Before joining Main Street Connect, he interned with Sportsnet New York and NBC news' London branch. A Norwalk resident, Eric lives for all things sports. Email Eric at egendron@mainstreetconnect.us

Erin Lynch

Erin Lynch is the reporter for The Daily Easton and The Daily Weston. Erin was born and raised in Fairfield, earning her Associates Degree in Journalism from Housatonic Community College and her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Humanities from the University of Bridgeport. She has nearly a decade of community journalism experience under her belt and has written for The Fairfield Citizen-News, the Westport News and the Fairfield County Weekly. Erin is also a freelance writer for Sacred Heart University’s Public Relations Department. She can be reached at elynch@thedailyweston.com or elynch@thedailyeaston.com.

Fenella Pearson

Fenella Pearson is a transplanted Brit who has lived in Fairfield County for over 20 years, first in Wilton, where she raised four healthy and happy children, and now in South Norwalk. Fenella is our Home & Garden Editor as well as the Real Estate Editor. She is a licensed interior designer specializing in residential design. She also writes a blog called The Adventurer about her current journey with breast cancer, which you can find in our Opinion section. When she’s not working, she might be rowing on the Norwalk River or digging in her garden. Email Fenella at fpearson@mainstreetconnect.us

Greg Canuel

Greg Canuel, who grew up in Bridgeport, attended school in Fairfield for 13 years, first at Our Lady of Assumption and later at Fairfield Prep. This is his first full-time job, and he's thrilled to be covering Fairfield. Email Greg at gcanuel@mainstreetconnect.us

Jeffrey Craig

Jeff Craig was a copy editor at the New York Daily News for 17 years before joining MainStreetConnect. A lifelong resident of Westport, he was also an editor at The Record in Hackensack, N.J., for many years. His interests include reading, running and travel. Email Jeff at jcraig@mainstreetconnect.us

Jennifer Lord Paluzzi

Managing Editor Jennifer Lord Paluzzi is a Grafton resident who is seldom found without her camera. A graduate of Boston University's College of Communication, she spent most of her 25-year reporting and editing career at the MetroWest Daily News after stints at the Marlborough-Hudson Enterprise Sun, the Gardner News and the Boston Herald.

Jennifer Swift

A former Yorktown resident, Jennifer Swift is pleased to return again to her first home. Swift, who recently obtained degrees in journalism and political science from Quinnipiac University has interned for media ventures such as CNN, The Hill, The Georgetowner, and most recently, Mahopac News. She was also a managing editor of her university's independent newspaper, The Quad News and president of Quinnipiac's Society of Professional Journalists. She is excited to continue her passion for community journalism with The Daily Yorktown.

Jeremy Rice

Jeremy started his career as a reporter in high school, covering the brand new football team as a senior. He then attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a journalism major, working as a sports writer, and later sports editor, for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. After several years in the workforce, he got his start in professional journalism with CentralMassNews.com and MainStreetConnect. He now covers news in Grafton, Mass. and sports throughout the Central Massachusetts coverage area.

Jim Gerweck

Jim Gerweck's journalism career began four decades ago, writing for the local paper while he was in high school, and has continued ever since. He's written and edited for daily, weekly and monthly publications, local, regional and national, and is excited about his first venture into online journalism. When not covering sports or other stories in Fairfield County, he can often be found organizing and directing one of some two dozen running events in the area. Email Jim at jgerweck@mainstreetconnect.us

Joseph Cole

Joseph Cole has written for a variety of weekly and daily publications and served as editor for the Hamden Chronicle. Email Joe at jcole@mainstreetconnect.us

Julie Curtis

Julie Curtis has worked and lived in Fairfield County for almost twenty years. A New York City native, she is an award-winning writer whose credits range from TV (a sitcom, as well as reality television) and newspapers, to magazines and the internet. Email Julie at jcurtis@mainstreetconnect.us

Karen Tensa

Karen has lived and worked in Connecticut for more than two decades. Her professional experience includes more than a decade of work as the news editor at The Advocate in Stamford and reporting and editing stints on the staff of The Hartford Courant, among others. She is dedicated to local news, winter sports and reading nonfiction books. Email Karen at ktensa@mainstreetconnect.us

Mark Chapman

Mark Chapman brings 34 years of journalism experience to The Daily Scarsdale, including daily and weekly newspapers, radio and television. Mark, his wife – Norwalk reporter Nancy Guenther Chapman – and graphic designer/illustrator son Eric also got in on the ground floor of the move to online-only hyperlocal journalism, having started EnglewoodEdge.com in Englewood, Fla. Mark started his career on Cape Cod as a sports writer, spent 12 years at the Boston Herald as an editor, and worked for six years as bureau chief of the Englewood edition of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida.

Matt Zalaznick

Matt is currently managing editor for Southern Fairfield County. Matt was most recently the managing editor of the Vail Daily newspaper and web site in Vail, Colorado. He has been a reporter, editor, columnist and photographer at newspapers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Miami suburbs. His other claim to fame is that his guitar was hit by a car while he was hitch-hiking in Ireland, just a few days after he made about $15 singing on the street in a town called Tralee. He is a graduate of Tufts University and Miami native, but considers the New York area his ancestral home. Email Matt at mzalaznick@mainstreetconnect.us

Meaghan Morelli

Shopping and eating are two of Meaghan’s favorite things, and she enjoys writing about them almost as much. Previously, she served as the Editorial Director for Reunion magazine, and spent several years in national cable TV news. She dabbles in social media and has almost managed to truncate Shakespeare’s Complete Works down to 140 characters. Currently, she’s having a blast writing about Fashion and Food in Fairfield County and trying hard not to let the food writing impact the size of the fashions she’s wearing. Email Meaghan at mmorelli@mainstreetconnect.us

Melvin Mason

Melvin has more than a decade of journalism experience. Prior to working at The Daily New Canaan, Melvin wrote news and sports stories for the Valley Independent Sentinel. He's also worked as a beat reporter for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., and the Daily Courier-Observer in Potsdam, N.Y. Melvin is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. and a proud graduate of Syracuse University. Email Melvin at mmason@mainstreetconnect.us

Nancy Guenther Chapman

Nancy Guenther Chapman was a freelancer for the Cape Cod Times and The Boston Herald before moving to Florida and becoming a staff community reporter for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. After burnishing her skills as an editor for the Vineland Daily Journal in New Jersey and as co-owner of EnglewoodEdge.com, a hyper-local online newspaper serving Englewood, Fla., she looks forward to learning about Fairfield County as the Norwalk reporter. Email Nancy at nchapman@mainstreetconnect.us

Richard Weizel

Richard Weizel, a Connecticut and national award-winning journalist with more than two decades in the news businesses, is excited to be the regional reporter for Main Street Connect. He has covered municipal government and education in numerous Fairfield and New Haven County communities. Originally from Queens, Richard has worked as a reporter for the Connecticut Post, New Haven Register and Akron Beacon Journal, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Ohio newspaper. He wrote regularly for the New York Times Connecticut section and Boston Globe for more than a decade, and has contributed to Parenting Magazine, USA Weekend, and Connecticut Magazine. An adoptee and co-founder of Adoption Healing in Fairfield, Rich has written extensively in magazines and newspapers about the search and reunion with his birth family 21 years ago. Email Richard at rweizel@mainstreetconnect.us.

Robert Michelin

Robert is originally from Vernon, NJ and is a recent graduate of Quinnipiac University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in legal studies. While at Quinnipiac, Robert was a sports editor for The Quad News, Quinnipiac's independent online newspaper. Robert interned with HockeyBarn.com as the beat writer for Connecticut Division 1 high school ice hockey. Most recently, Robert worked with the Torrington Titans of the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League and contributed to the production of the documentary "T-Town", which captured the Titans as the first ever crowd-sourced baseball team. Email Robert at rmichelin@mainstreetconnect.us.

Sarina Trangle

Sarina Trangle left her native Minneapolis to go to New York University. She interned at the NY Daily News and Women Working magazine and has also written for Business News Daily. Email Sarina at strangle@mainstreetconnect.us

Tom Renner

No one knows local sports quite like Tom Renner, The Daily Fairfied's Sports Editor. For 22 years, he covered the field for The Stamford Advocate. He's been in Fairfield County since 1987.

Vanessa Inzitari

Before coming to work for The Daily Westport, Vanessa worked as a freelance reporter for the Valley Independent Sentinel, an online-only news site covering Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton. Prior to that, she interned at The New Haven Register as a reporter, covering a variety of news and human interest stories in New Haven County. Vanessa graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. During her tenure, she worked as a reporter and editor for the university newspaper. Email Vanessa at vinzitari@mainstreetconnect.us