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PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS THAT MATTER 

MATTERS MAGAZINE has earned an outstanding reputation for celebrating good news in Maplewood and South Orange. We’ve been doing it since 1990 with smart, thorough, and authentic content that captures the essence of our towns and delivers what residents want to read. Our resources help them navigate how to do life here. And our unexpected glimpses into lives and events reveal the layers that make our towns endlessly interesting.

 

Direct mailed seven times a year to every household in Maplewood and South Orange, Matters Magazine offers businesses the most cost-effective way to reach our residents. Additional copies are distributed to town halls, libraries, real estate offices, retail, professional and other businesses in the towns, and surrounding communities. Additionally, all our issues are published and archived online. Check our ADVERTISE section for our rate card and publications dates.

 

We are always looking for interesting feature story ideas and selected press releases that our editors and writers can pursue. Go to our CONTRIBUTORS section to submit ideas or explore being added to our list of freelancer writers, photographers and graphic designers.

Meet the Minds over MATTERS

Ellen Donker

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Publisher and Editor in Chief

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.

Rosemary Mattson

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Associate Editor

Rosemary has been a resident of Maplewood since 2006.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Manhattan College.  She started her professional career as a Senior Project Engineer for a small Engineering firm specializing in facade restoration projects and quickly became the Director of Operations.  Along with her husband Glenn, she is raising three children here in town.  Rosemary has a passion for community service and giving back to her community. She has sat on non-for -profit boards over the years within the community, currently the Treasurer for the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills.  In her spare time she is an avid tennis player and skier as well as a fan at her children's basketball games. 

Rene Conlon

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Advertising Consultant

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 Gilman

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Advertising Representative

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. 

Amy Power

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Advertising Representative

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. 

Rachael Entine

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Social Media Manager

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 Swanson

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Copy Editor

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. 

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