Meet the Staff
Editorial Team
Web Team
Communications and Development Team
Kids editor Danaca Booth relocated to Minneapolis after getting a bachelor of science degree from Iowa State University, where she studied English, technical communication, and political science. She ranks the champions of education, children, and human rights in the top tier of her list of heroes, so she naturally jumped at the chance to work with Rainbow Rumpus. Having left a piece of her heart in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota at age 18, she tries to get back every so often for the family, the friends, and the endless hiking possibilities. Continually impressed by all that the Twin Cities and Minnesota have to offer, she’s happy to call it home, even if the winters are a bit frigid. A technical writer by day, in her free time she enjoys books and writing, local food and cooking, politics and conversing. Her love of music tends to border on the obsessive.
Kids editor Deborah Carver is a Minnesota transplant after living in Delaware, New York, and South Carolina. A freelance writer and editor, she enjoys cooking, running, pop music, and progressive activism, in addition to a nearly obsessive interest with the workings of online news. She is a former editor of history books and has taught reading and writing to all levels—from second grade to undergraduate—and is excited to return to working for kids!
Proofreader Zan Ceeley works in the book publishing world and loves to ride bicycles, play with her son, and read books, not in that order. She lives in Minneapolis with her partner, Laura, and their son, Spence, and two goofy dogs, Scout and Sasha, and one resilient cat, Max.
Assistant Kids section editor Hannah Crawford graduated from Carleton College with a major in English and a concentration in Latin American Studies. Apart from reading, her great love is theater, which is one of the many reasons she is very excited to have recently moved to Minneapolis. She also enjoys watching baseball and hiking with her family, playing piano (badly), and creating new combinations of food out of the limited supplies in her kitchen.
Web team member Michael French has lived in 10 percent of the states in America but currently resides in Minnesota. He splits his time between reading books and selling books, and hopes someday to own all the books in the world. Michael also enjoys photography, tinkering, and being an evil genius.
Staff writer Erin Hagen is a justice and peace and an English major at the University of St. Thomas. She loves to be outside biking, hiking, and canoeing. She also enjoys reading, writing, and music, and discussing all of these passions over coffee with a friend. Erin hopes do some traveling and join the Peace Corps after college.
Web team member Jake MacDonald, lives in uptown, works in downtown, and spends most of his time somewhere in between. Whether it’s in the library at school, having dinner with his wife, or going to a concert with friends, he finds ways to keep himself good and busy. Jake has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Coe College, is about to finish an associate of applied science degree in software development, and is looking forward to continued studies in electronic publishing and web development. His hobbies include reading, running, golf, and anything having to do with music.
Copy editor Allison Hawley March is a self-professed Book Nerd who lives in Saint Paul with her partner, Justin. She recently completed her master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota, where she studied sexuality and Alzheimer’s disease, and sex education for teens with disabilities. Now that she’s finished, she is thrilled to have more time to give her library card a workout! When not reading, Allison enjoys hiking and cooking with Justin, blogging, Taizé worship, and cross-stitch. Allison also volunteers for a tenant advocacy organization, which she feels is a very therapeutic way to avenge her fellow mistreated tenants.
Publisher Laura Matanah loves books, biking, board games, and being with her family: her wife, Sarah, and their two children, Da’Jon and Tajah. She edited Muse, the Macalester College feminist journal; worked at a collectively run newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin; and then taught elementary school for twelve years before taking a leave of absence to begin Rainbow Rumpus.
Aja McCullough, the Parents, Teachers, and Friends section editor, has always loved writing and photography, and she is constantly working on books, blogs, and portfolios. She graduated from Macalester College in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and hopes to continue promoting a culture of acceptance and social justice. Having grown up in a single-parent family, she is excited to help Rainbow Rumpus show that loving families come in all shapes and sizes.
Database manager Charles Miller is a native New Yorker who is retired and currently living in sunny Arizona. He spent 32 years with AT&T and 39 years in the Air Force Reserves. He volunteers at a senior center in Phoenix providing assistance with electronics and computers. He enjoys his grandchildren and doing database support work for Rainbow Rumpus.
Web data entry volunteer Jerry Musgravegrew up in Seattle and has lived in Minneapolis for 15 years. He graduated from the University of Washington. His hobbies include bicycling, reading, following politics, and working on personal databases.
Cari Olsen, teacher resource developer, lives in Minneapolis. She graduated from Beloit College with a bachelor’s degree in science for elementary education and completed her student teaching in New Zealand. Since then, Cari has held a variety of educational positions, including two stints as a farm educator in California and Minnesota. As a result of those jobs, Cari gained an appreciation of all aspects of food, from production to cooking to eating. In her spare time she enjoys baking, biking, dancing, and working on various art projects.
Cari has dreams of having some chickens and goats of her own some day, and also a large garden to play in. She looks forward to helping Rainbow Rumpus connect with teachers.
Young Adult editor Al Onkka lives in Minneapolis and spends his time between work and sleep creating projects to stay busy. Past projects have included building thumb pianos, learning to unicycle, creating a kitchen sauna, doing home recordings, and making a lamp out of an ice cream bucket. He has a degree in English literature from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and enjoys reading novels, doing journalism, and listening to the radio.
Staff writer Anne Reeder will graduate from Macalester College in May 2009 with a degree in history and a focus in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Originally from the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon, Anne loves to hike and camp. Her favorite children’s book is The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. In her spare time, Anne enjoys reading, baking, and thinking outside the box. Anne’s previous advocacy work in Oregon and Northern Ireland prompted her to take up an internship at Rainbow Rumpus.
Staff writer Elayna Rice coordinates the Facebook group “Rainbow Rumpus: Young Adults FTW.” She is 22 and has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and screenwriting from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. She is an only child and grew up in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. When she was 13, her dad told her he was gay. Since then, she says, “I have been figuring out where I stand, what that means, what I fight for, and who I am. I’ve been looking for a community of queerspawn like myself and am glad that I found this one.”
Peter S. Scholtes, kids music and video reviewer, is a writer, teacher, and uncle based in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He received a 2003 Communications Excellence Award from Arc Hennepin-Carver for “Love Unlimited” (City Pages, February 13, 2024), and a 2008 AAN AltWeekly Award “Twin Cities Rock Atlas” (City Pages, December 19, 2023). His articles have received honorable mentions in the Da Capo Best Music Writing books of 2001, 2007, and 2008. He blogs at complicatedfun.com, likes to dance, and is writing a book about Minnesota hip hop.
Web team member Karl R. Smith is a Liberian. He has been in the field of information communication and technology (ICT) for approximately six years. He has a comprehensive work experience in various areas of ICT in today’s market.
He’s currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in information system management. He holds an associate degree in information system management, an advance diploma in web Design and administration, along with several ICT diplomas and certificates.
Karl enjoys playing with kids and connecting with neglected parts of society, and he gives high attention to people with disabilities. In his leisure time he listens to tribal songs and roams the internet, helping students with case studies in the area of ICT. Most importantly, he cherishes people who are of his kind.
Staff writer Jena Stinar is a graduating (fingers crossed) senior at the University of St. Thomas, where she is majoring in English with a writing emphasis and in justice and peace studies. She loves to read anything she can get her hands on and will write anything that crosses her mind. She also loves to ride her motorcycle, a ’76 kz 400 that she named Pearl, around the countryside and hopes to one day make a transcontinental trip on a bike. She is a crazy cat lady and no doubt mollycoddles her cat, Frankie, far more than he deserves.
Pa Chia “Patch” Thao really enjoys learning, especially interesting little tidbits like activities that involve novelty, environmental enrichment, and exercise and promote brain growth. She loves traveling to new (and old) places, exploring different interests through reading and experiencing, and playing ultimate frisbee—so, theoretically, she should be getting a better brain soon. Patch is constantly, and usually unexpectedly, discovering new things about herself and is always trying to decide what to do with her life. Although she may never figure that out, she is happy that the process has thus far been filled with memorable adventures, crazy-amazing people, and a few special opportunities to support positive change in the lives of others. At the very least, Patch would love to spend good chunks of time volunteering abroad some day.
Copy editor Emily Therneau grew up in rural southeastern Minnesota. Having a librarian for a mother, she was taught at an early age to appreciate books. This appreciation continued into adulthood, as she worked in libraries, bookstores, and most recently book publishing. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in English (literature and language—not writing or teaching, mind you) from Winona State and promptly relocated to the Twin Cities, where she discovered a preference for big(ish) city life. Emily is a self-proclaimed bibliophile and also an avid runner who can frequently be found circling the lakes of Minneapolis or making valiant attempts at running local races. She lives in Uptown with her best friend and partner, Dave, and their beloved hamster (the only furry animal allowed in their apartment), GusGus.
Editor in chief Beth Wallace has been acquiring and developing nonfiction and children’s fiction for more than ten years. She is a freelance writer and editor and a coach trained by the Coaches Training Institute in California. Originally from Vermont, she now lives in Minneapolis, where she sings, plays fiddle, and gardens, although not all at the same time.
Managing editor and copy editor Beth Wright is co-owner of Trio Bookworks (triobookworks.com). In addition to having an obsession with proper punctuation, she is an avid fan of women’s ice hockey. Her volunteer experience includes grassroots organizing in bisexual communities and service on the board of an LGBT foundation. She lives in Minneapolis with her partner, Anne, and three troublesome but lovable cats.
Projects volunteer Brian Young resides in Tulsa, where he works for the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. His professional expertise lies in the realm of program management, fundraising, prospect research, and marketing. Brian enjoys writing, reading, feeding ducks at his neighborhood pond, and spending time with his family and friends. He is a member of Fellowship Congregational Church UCC, the Gay Christian Network, and the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement.
Brian holds an associate of arts degree and two professional certifications in marketing and business management. He has a strong interest in the humanities and is currently completing his BA in liberal studies and humanities at the University of Oklahoma. He plans to pursue a career in academia after completing his postgraduate studies.
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