Skip to content

About Us

The Piedmont Exedra is a hyperlocal, independent news site created by a group of Piedmont residents and launched in November 2018. 

Mission
Just as Piedmont’s lovely Exedra Plaza defines the center of our town, Piedmont Exedra seeks to serve as an online gathering place for citizens, where you can find news and information relevant to your lives. We have always enjoyed a great spirit of community here in Piedmont, and as traditional media sources have faded, we were compelled to respond to the chorus of voices looking for local, independent, online journalism. We hope you’ll enjoy the Exedra News, rely on it, contribute to it and share it with your families and neighbors.

About Us
The Exedra was created by a group of Piedmont residents with backgrounds in journalism, business, and civic leadership. News will be reported in accordance with high journalistic standards, and community members are invited to contribute their own announcements, photographs, opinions, and more. Startup costs for this community project have been donated by benefactors, the 30+ families and individuals who have championed this cause and given generously of time, talent and treasure. We are dedicated Piedmont volunteers, who have been active in the community over many decades. Our aim is to produce an online news source that Piedmont can be proud of. The Exedra is a Social Purpose Corporation (SPC) and dedicated to the good of the community, not profit.

News
We promise to offer fair, balanced and transparent reporting, and to admit and correct our mistakes. We strive to cover everyone in the community and to present diverse voices on civic issues and local news.

In addition to our own reporting, we use local freelancers to cover news around town. The Exedra also features relevant stories from around the Bay Area and California via Bay City News, CalMatters, and EdSource.

Reader-Submitted Content
We welcome article and event submissions from current and former Piedmont residents in our Around Town section (per our submission guidelines). Piedmont Exedra will allow readers to comment on articles and blog posts. Readers may submit event information via our Event Calendar form.

Revenue Sources
Piedmont Exedra is a social purpose corporation whose revenues come from ad sales, sponsored content, reader contributions and benefactors who have donated the startup costs. Although not a nonprofit, we are nonetheless a social enterprise dedicated to the good of the community and our readers.

Founders: Eric Sullivan, Holly Hanke, Mary Ireland
Piedmont Exedra SPC (Social Purpose Corporation): Chairman: Eric Sullivan; CEO: Mary Ireland; Treasurer: Nick Levinson; Secretary: Holly Hanke

Board of Directors: Michael Connors, Cathie Geddeis, Holly Hanke, Mary Ireland, Nick Levinson, Eric Sullivan, David Thigpen

Staff

  • Around Town & Lifestyle Consultant: Barbara Love
  • Regional Editor: Brigid Gaffikin
  • Photographer: Julie Reichle
  •  Reporters:
    • Around Town and Lifestyle: Chris Treadway, Lou Fancher, Exedra Staff
    • Reporters-at-large: PHS Highlander News Staff, assorted freelancers
    • Affiliates: TPH, Bay City News, CalMatters, Kaiser Health News, Local News Matters, EdSource, Piedmont Athletics, The Piedmont Portal, LION Publishers
    • Contributors (to date): Rodney Dean Adams, Jeff Bleich, Kevin Breen, Shanti Brien, Rod Brown, Michael Connors, Kelly Corrigan, Margaret Heafey, Katie Korotzer, Nick Levinson, Joe Linhares, Pam McBain, Susan Miller-Davis, Deb Obendorf, Kathryn Pritchett, Lisa Settlemier, Brynne Staley
  • Membership/Subscriptions: Exedra Staff
  • Database Management: Exedra Staff
  • Digital/Branding Consultant: Steve Humphries
  • Social Media: Exedra staff
  • Accounts/Billing: Lisa Peters
  • Website Designer: Frank Mina
  • Tech Support: Gino Bossetto (StellarIT)

Advisory Board: Simon Bax (Archant, Chairman), Beth Black (PHS Journalism Faculty), Karen Ellis (civic volunteer), Julie Rubin (Associated Press, Editor), John Shrewsberry (Wells Fargo, CFO), Cameron Wolfe (civic volunteer, legal advisor)

Consultants: Kat Rowlands (Bay City News), Wendy Cohen (formerly Berkeleyside), Jamie Barrett (BarrettSF), Ellen Lee (journalist/editor), Allen Matthews, Stephen Miller