About
Welcome to The Island, Alameda’s online news source and winner of the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club’s 2010 first-place award for independent news sites. This site is edited by Michele (Marcucci) Ellson. Ellson’s journalism career stretches back 18 years, with her most recent nonline gig as a staff reporter for the Bay Area News Group based in Oakland. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Bay Citizen, the San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune and the Contra Costa Times. She is the winner of several journalism awards, including a Sigma Delta Chi award for investigative reporting, Associated Press and James Madison Freedom of Information, and Alameda Magazine named her their “Best Blogger” for 2010. She was also the publisher of her own monthly ‘zine, sacred cow. Ellson has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Buffalo State College. She is also a member of the Online News Association. If you’ve got tips, pix or questions, e-mail her at michele@theislandofalameda.com.
Real estate columnist Sharon Alva became a real estate agent after first working as a writer, multimedia producer, documentary filmmaker, and nonprofit professional doing both resource development and communications. Sharon’s professional passion for helping folks find their true home is second only to her other professional passion which is researching things to within an inch of their life and then telling everyone about them. The Island is an excellent outlet for both, so she has come to call…and stay. Sharon’s real estate work is informed by her role as parent and her love of the East Bay. Her past experience in all aspects of communication makes her a force in marketing homes using both traditional and new media. Sharon’s nonprofit background has lead her to act as an advocate for her clients. Sharon has her BA in History and Journalism from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and has done MA work at Stanford in Documentary Film. You can reach Sharon at sharon@alvaproperties.com.
Ani Dimusheva is a lifelong questioner, and a rebel at heart. She came to this country from Bulgaria at a not-so-young yet malleable age, which makes her neither fish nor fowl. She has a minor degree in graphic design, and a BA in linguistics from UC Berkeley — a natural progression from images to words. She valiantly makes her living as a freelance editor and writer. Her writing has appeared in the Alameda Sun and Alameda Journal. She is excited to be a contributor to The Island. Ani has lived in Alameda for nearly 20 years and continues to be fascinated, upset, surprised and impressed by the people on this ever-changing island. When not making her opinion known to anybody who will listen, she likes to swim, read, and generate (and lose) piles of sticky notes with ideas for award-winning stories she is sure to write one day. You can reach Ani at anidimusheva@gmail.com.
Rin Kelly is a freelance writer and photographer. Her writing has appeared in publications across the country, including a host of Bay Area News Group newspapers and well-known alt-weeklies like East Bay Express, Washington City Paper and New York Press. She has written for a number of websites and magazines, including Terrain, Orion and Mr. Skin. Her photography regularly appears in Bay Area newspapers; other photo credits include NYTimes.com, L.A. RECORD and TheBaySoccer.com, where she covers women’s professional soccer.
Michael Singman-Aste is an award-winning photographer, curator, and blogging junkie. He started writing as a freelance reporter for the Daily Californian newspaper in the ’80s, while a Women’s Studies major at UC Berkeley. Originally from LA, he has been a proud Alamedan for nearly two decades. Michael enjoys gallery hopping, reading big important books, and second-guessing “The Bachelor.” You can read more of his reviews at http://www.PostdiluvianPhoto.com/blog.
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Heather Wood grew up in the Bay Area. She has an English Literature degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where she read a lot of books. In 2006, Heather graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she read many more books. After practicing law for a while, she switched gears and now works as an academic tutor for students in 6th through 12th grade. This allows her to talk about books non-stop to an impressionable (and captive!) audience. Her academic interests include the history of the Scottish Diaspora, California history, civil rights, folk music, Indian tribal sovereignty and humane education. Heather also works as a birth doula (trained childbirth support person). In her free time, she can be found writing, watering vegetables, exploring Alameda, talking to animals, and singing.
