Fact Sheet

Who’s Behind uwishunu.com?
The Current Contributors And Steering Committee

Contributors
uwishunu.com is a group blog, with varied contributors who have a shared sense of joy in revealing Philadelphia’s unconventional side. “In-the-know” Philadelphia residents are invited to share their insider knowledge by becoming a contributor to uwishunu.com. On the blog, they can share their pictures, videos and thoughts using their own preferred mobile or computer device.

Blogging on uwishunu.com

Photo courtesy of uwishunu.com

Here are the bloggers (to date) who are bringing the most underground, most creative, most fashionable, most intriguing of Philadelphia to the world:

Sean Agnew: Sean Agnew was listed by the Philadelphia Daily News as one of their “21 Philadelphians to watch in 2005.” He’s the owner/operator of R5 Productions.
Allison Silver Adelman: Allison is a traveler, nerd and epicure. She lives in West Philly, and she is not a morning person.
Gina Alison: Gina is of two worlds, and like many of us, of two minds, always. Her interests are outdoor activities, stylish things that aren’t too fancy and small gestures she can share with friends.
Carla Anderson: A GPTMC consultant, Carla loves all-things outdoors, including environmental education, sporting activities and urban parks.
Tom Bubul: Tom has been keeping himself busy around Philly for the past six years with long stints at R5 Productions and the Beautiful World Syndicate record store. These days, he makes millions and lives in a giant mansion in the sky, where he regularly self-publishes art zines and gets halfway through crossword puzzles. His current side gigs include touring with his heavy weird rock band, Ospreys, and learning the Tarot under the tutelage of a real New England witch.
Caroline Bean: Caroline lives in a 350-square-foot Rittenhouse studio, where she tap dances on hardwood floors much to her neighbors’ dismay. She also enjoys Thai coconut soup and works at GPTMC.
Beth Blofson: Beth Blofson is a lovely lady of many talents. Diorama maker and enchanting cyclist, her spirit flies high, but not so high that an evening by the riverside won’t inspire the slightly vagrant possibility of camping out someplace you’re probably not supposed to.
Enrico Campitelli: Enrico writes the popular Philly sports blog, The 700 Level, and is the Eagles blogger for AOL’s Fanhouse. He’s a bit of a McNabb apologist but believes Utley, Howard and Hamels are Philly’s best chance to save us from misery.
Libby Carswell: Libby, a classically trained musician, just celebrated her 10-year anniversary of being a Philadelphian. She lives in Fairmount and works at GPTMC.
Andi Coyle: Despite taking up figure skating late in life, Andi competes nationally with a synchronized skating team and will, with little encouragement, bore everyone with tales of her team’s exploits. She is a freelance writer who lives in Center City, where as a dedicated non-cook she almost single-handedly keeps the restaurant community afloat.
Ryan Creed: Hands down, Ryan Creed knows more pop culture minutia than anyone else we know. More impressive is how many obscure cultural references this guy can pull out from nowhere. And like a seasoned know-it-all, he uses this information for the power of good not evil, meaning he won’t make you feel like a jerk for not remembering that episode of My So Called Life where Juliana Hatfield played the angel of some girl who froze to death.
Ben Dickey: On more than one occasion Ben Dickey has told a city visitor that the building housing the Philadelphia Museum of Art is really the home of former Philadelphia 76er Allen Iverson. One poor French guy left the states believing it. In addition to propagating tall tales of urban legend, Dickey plays music with Drew Mills in a band called Blood Feathers.
Julie Gerstein: Julie has written all over Philly and for national magazines about these: our life and times. She’s a DJ, she’s cute, she’s fun and she has really good ideas. She didn’t write this herself, so let’s just gush a minute. We’re proud Julie’s here with us, and pay attention, dudes, she’s got something to say.
Annie Heckenberger: Annie Heckenberger is a committed Eagles fan who may actually be committed if the Eagles do not win a Super Bowl soon. She also works at GPTMC.
Keren Ini: Keren loves listening to music, watching movies and playing with animals more than anything else in the world – except, of course, for sipping nice cold cocktails while basking in the sun. She works at GPTMC.
Susy Jones: Susy Jones knows the names of every breed of dog and can identify them all from a glance at a distance. She is a nutrition educator with the Food Trust and a Jonathan Swift in a world of Oscar Wildes.
Elisa Ludwig: Elisa Ludwig is a freelance writer based in Philly. Her restaurant reviews appear regularly in Philadelphia City Paper and in her blog, http://www.ediblecomplex.blogspot.com/.
Brennen Lukas: Brennen lives in Fishtown, where he writes poetry and meticulously cleans his pampered road bike. He works at GPTMC and can often be seen racing down Spring Garden on his sparkling bicycle.
Alison Macrina: Alison Macrina lives in North-ish Philadelphia. She recently graduated from college and has since been doing odd jobs, watching VH1 and trying to open up her chakras. She hangs out with a bunch of rappers and is a groupie at Space 1026.
Chris McKenna: An avid cyclist and former skateboarder, this GPTMC staffer thinks that Frank’s Black Cherry Wishniak is the greatest beverage in the history of man.
Cathy McVey: Cathy is a Port Richmond native, a Northeast Philly transplant and an aspiring resident of Fairmount. Employed at GPTMC, Cathy is the author of The Not-So-Typical Guide To Philadelphia, a brilliant but unpublished guide to the city that helped earn her that ever-useful master’s degree. She puts her not-so-typical knowledge of Philly to work for GPTMC.
Ted Passon: Keeping busy with his Small Change Screening Series, which showcases experimental and under-exposed video artists, and his Padlock Gallery (yea, the one in his living room), it’s most likely that if you can catch up with Ted you’ll find him either behind a video camera or behind a projector. He’s vegan, which means a good meal is one well planned for, so pay close attention. This boy doesn’t mess around.
Carrie Powell: Carrie Powell spins plates. Currently her days are spent building community; connecting artists to patrons, art to the urban environments; and keeping art dust-free. You can find her at Honeymilk, the Philadelphia Museum of Art or in her neighborhood, creating.
Daniel Ralston: Daniel Ralston is a community activist and musician. He can be found wandering the streets of Kensington scouting affordable housing locations, playing with his brother in the band Our Kid and watching everything Ricky Gervais has ever done. He also hates writing about himself in the third person.
Paula Rosenberg: Paula Rosenberg was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she resides in the University City neighborhood. She loves her dogs: an insane black lab and a goofy, but sweet corgi.
Matthew Rumain: Matthew Rumain is a loving father, husband, drummer and motorcycle enthusiast, in that order. He is very fond of “off-the-beaten-path” types of experiences and places and can frequently be found on 45th and Baltimore, 18th and Mifflin or Passyunk and Dickinson Streets, in that order.
Scoats: Scoats lives in lower Northeast Philly. He works at The Grey Lodge Pub as Lodgemaster. He’s also an artist specializing in mosaics: http://www.scoats.com/.
Ashlie Sembrot: Ashlie wishes her name was spelled A-S-H-L-E-Y because no one ever gets it right the first time. She loves scary movies, antibiotics and Maria Callas. She is married to Christopher, a photographer, and adores her neurotic rescue mutt, Sadie Grace. She lives around the corner from the best pizza place in the world, Tacconelli’s. Oh, and she works at GPTMC.
John Sterling: John Sterling lives in Philly, and his debut album, “You Shall Not Be Missed” will be released by Abnormous Records this Spring. You can find his upcoming shows at myspace.com/johnsterlingmusic. (Thank you for the shameless plug, John.)
Troy Taylor: Troy Taylor is a music producer, freelance writer and hip hop historian. Formerly a music engineer with Sony Studios (New York) and Sigma Sound Studios and an Artist Development Representative for EMI/Capital Records, Troy is the co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of a Philadelphia-based independent music label and multimedia company, and a partner in a Camden, New Jersey-based music production company.
Sarah Van Aken: Sarah is trained in fine art and fashion design and has been making her own clothes since she was 16. Sarah worked in garment production in Manhattan after college for a few years before moving to Philadelphia. Last year, she launched her award-winning first label, Van Aken, which is a line of men’s and women’s custom-tailored dress shirts. Most recently, Sarah launched SA VA, a women’s ready-to-wear label.
Veronica Wentz: Veronica works at GPTMC too. She loves living in Bella Vista, but really misses the tall oak trees that still tower over her hometown neighborhood, East Oak Lane. There, she grew up next to an oak tree taller than the top of Billy Penn’s hat. The view was so good that it inspired the addition of an observation deck from which she had a clear view of Center City as a child. She’s been keeping an eye on the city ever since. Veronica rides her bike all over the city—it’s the blue one with the plastic flowers in the basket.
James Zale: James, who also works at GPTMC, lives in Center City, likes food trucks (in theory), wishes Billy Penn would get over the whole Liberty Place thing and cannot wait to bowl again.

Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is a diverse group of advisors who work with GPTMC to bounce around ideas for the uwishunu initiative. Committee members include:

Peggy Amsterdam, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Joel Avery, public relations consultant
Luz Cardenas, Cardenas Grant Communications
Danielle Cohn, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Kendra Gaeta, movetophilly.com
Ed Grose, Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association
Alison Grove
Tanya Hall, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Jon Herrmann, Campus Philly
Avram Hornik, Four Corner’s Management
Maori Karmael Holmes, executive director of the steering committee for Black Lily Film and Music Festival
Rosalyn McPherson, The Roz Group
William Moore, Independence Visitor Center
Tom Muldoon, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Stephanie Naidoff, City of Philadelphia
Amy Needle, Once Upon A Nation
Carolyn Schlecker, Philadelphia Fringe Festival
Fritz Smith, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Ed Tettemer
Patricia Wilson-Aden, Universal Companies

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

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CONTACT:

Jeff Guaracino
(215) 599-2291, jeff@gptmc.com
Anthony Malerba
(215) 599-2291, anthony@gptmc.com

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