Second Wave is a weekly online magazine focusing on growth, innovation and investment in Southwest Michigan. Our mission is to highlight the talent, innovation, diversity and environment that moves the region forward. As we ride the Second Wave we're looking for what's coming next in downtowns and elsewhere across the region.
Editor -- Kathy Jennings
Kathy Jennings is the local editor of Second Wave. She is a freelance writer and editor. She worked two months shy of 25 years at the Kalamazoo Gazette where she covered business, courts and entertainment. She also edited lifestyle and entertainment sections as well as regional news sections. She moved to Battle Creek, Mich., at age 12, convinced even then that life would be better having left Indiana. She sang the Kellogg's theme song all the way to Battle Creek and nearly got left at the side of the road as a result. A Central Michigan University graduate, she began her journalism career in 1978 at a community newspaper in Novi, Mich., and moved to the Gazette in 1985. She was a downtown Kalamazoo resident for 15 years and now lives just three houses outside the city limit. She lives with an Australian Shepherd who demolishes television remote controls with alarming regularity.
Photographer -- Erik Holladay
For 22 years Erik Holladay has blended documentary and fine art photography as a photojournalist. Holladay started shooting professionally at age 15 for the Advance, a weekly newspaper in Grand Rapids, MI. After earning a bachelor's degree in photography from Grand Valley State University, he worked at several Michigan newspapers including the Grand Rapids Press, The Flint Journal and The Jackson Citizen Patriot. He moved to Kalamazoo in 2009 to start a new chapter in his life by starting his own photography business. He has won numerous national and state awards, including Michigan Clip Photographer of the Year in 2002. He was honored by having his work included in the Associated Press Photographs of the Century in 1998. Holladay is also an instructor at Michigan State University, where he teaches a class in photojournalism. A sports enthusiast, he enjoys any game that requires a ball and recently discovered the challenges of yoga. A self-confessed information nerd, he spends hours doing research on the internet, as well as reading dozens of books annually.
Local Publisher -- Jeff Hill
A Michigan native of 39 years, Jeff Hill has a passion for urban redevelopment and revitalized cities. Jeff studied communications and economics as a Western Michigan University grad and worked in the real estate and construction industry in West Michigan for close to a decade, before starting with Issue Media Group. He also serves as Local Publisher for Rapid Growth Media in Grand Rapids. When not working on the publications, he blogs, helps run two online discussion boards, and is actively engaged in social media and public speaking. Jeff runs, bikes, and enjoys time with his wife, three girls and dog in his free time.
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