Ellen is a lifelong New Jerseyan with the exception of four years when she attended Wheaton College, outside of Chicago. Although she majored in economics, she has spent her professional life in marketing, working at various corporations, nonprofits as well as her own advertising agency. Ellen has lived in Maplewood since 1996 and is married to Rob Depue. They keep busy raising their three children who happen to be triplets. She loves being involved in the communities of Maplewood and South Orange, and spends her time reading and gardening and looking for the next best Matters story.

Anne Mandell is originally from Massachusetts but is a long-time resident of Maplewood. She lives in Maplewood with her husband, two boys (well, one’s in college and one’s almost in college) and adorable dog Fonzie who better not go to college. Anne’s career was spent in the advertising industry in the account management role. That is until 2023 when many changes happened and she opened her own business called Cereal Dreams and started working with the wonderful crew at Matters Magazine. 

Since 1994 Rene has been part of the Matters family and has worn many hats. With a degree in economics from Rutgers University, her career path has taken her from retail management to continuing education, and ultimately, to Matters Magazine. Her children have literally grown up in the Matters office. Her husband Paul and both children (PJ & Mackenzie) are graduates of Columbia High School. Rene's ties to Maplewood and South Orange run deep. A 30-year Maplewood resident, she served as the Executive Director of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce for 20 years and also worked closely with several local non-profits. A “compulsive” volunteer, Rene ranks her years coaching softball as the highlight.

Leslie started with Matters Magazine in 2002, often bringing her toddler to meetings or on sales calls. Now, if not found posting cute photos of her pets or doing her college-aged son's laundry on his rare visits home, she's probably watching opera and ballet at Lincoln Center or Broadway, SOPAC or NJPAC, or ogling local celebrities. She can also be spotted around SOMA shopping, dining, chatting or having her nails done. A local resident since the mid 80s, Leslie grew up in Brooklyn, NY (and like the city that never sleeps, neither does she), attended the High School of Performing Arts as a dance major and graduated with a B.A. in Theatre from Brooklyn College, all of which totally prepared her for her job at Matters Magazine. She and her husband, Rick, married in 1983, both agree their favorite production is son, Jared, currently enrolled at NYU-Tisch. 

Ryan is a NJ native and has been a Maplewood resident for 10 years. After graduating with a degree in Economics from Villanova University, Ryan worked on Wall Street in trading and banking. Post corporate life, Ryan has embraced entrepreneurship and began building businesses in real estate, technology, and advertising. Ryan joins Matters Magazine as a local resident who is eager to help small businesses here grow. In his free time, Ryan can be found coaching Maplewood lacrosse and Our Lady of Sorrows School basketball, watching hockey, playing platform tennis at Orange Lawn, and enjoying time spent with his cherished wife and children.

While officially becoming a resident in 2018, Amy has considered Maplewood a second home since she was very young.  With close family living here, Amy has great memories of playing at Orchard Park, watching movies in the village, and grabbing a slice at Roman Gourmet. A single mom with two teen daughters, two dogs and two cats, Amy is enjoying watching her kids thrive in this community.  When not attending her kids' volleyball games or musical theater performances, you can find Amy at the beach, planning a trip to Disney World, teaching meditation and spending time with her closely knit family who also live in the area.  As an advertising representative, Amy has reignited her career in Magazine Advertising Sales that she honed at Ladies' Home Journal and later put on hold to raise her daughters. Amy received a B.A. from the School of Communications, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers University and her certification as a Certified Professional Coach from iPEC. 

Before taking a hiatus to raise her three children, Rachael spent 14 years at advertising agencies in New York City leading account management teams on key agency clients in the fashion/retail and hotel/resort industries. As primary client liaison, she managed strategic direction, brand development, execution and implementation of marketing materials for print, radio and digital efforts. Rachael is founder of Regarding Divorce, a coaching business dedicated to helping individuals through the divorce process. She has three school-age children:  daughter Ryan and twin boys Benjamin and Michael.

Tia grew up in the woods of Pennsylvania and came unwillingly to New Jersey after marrying a native. But a few years into the marriage, they fell in love with an old, moldering Victorian in South Orange and she’s never looked back. She and her husband are now on their second fixer-upper; they are caretakers there for four children, a dog, a cat and two goldfish. In a previous life, she got a master’s degree in English literature, lived in England and Japan and worked in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as a reporter, columnist and editor for daily newspapers. 

Tia grew up in the woods of Pennsylvania and came unwillingly to New Jersey after marrying a native. But a few years into the marriage, they fell in love with an old, moldering Victorian in South Orange and she’s never looked back. She and her husband are now on their second fixer-upper; they are caretakers there for four children, a dog, a cat and two goldfish. In a previous life, she got a master’s degree in English literature, lived in England and Japan and worked in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as a reporter, columnist and editor for daily newspapers.