Meet the Founding Team

Charlie has been a resident of Weston since 1990, where he and his wife Allyssa raised their two kids, Jessamyn and Nick, and where he has raised bushels of produce as an avid member of Weston Community Gardens. He was Director of Finance and Administration at The Conversation, an online nonprofit media organization until his retirement in 2021. Prior to The Conversation, he ran several technology businesses. He has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Yale, where he was managing editor of the Yale Daily News. He has served on several nonprofit boards, including Buddy Dog Humane Society, HBS Alumni Association of Boston’s Community Action Partners, Vital Village Networks, and The Conversation US.

Joan, a long-time resident, moved to Weston in 1996 where she and her husband raised two daughters who attended the Weston Public Schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Previously, she practiced law at Sullivan and Worcester in Boston. Since moving to Weston, Joan has served in many volunteer and leadership roles including board positions with the Weston PTO, Weston Education and Enrichment Fund Committee (WEEFC) (Chair), and the Board of the Weston Council on Aging where she is currently Chair. Outside of Weston, she also volunteered for REACH Beyond Domestic Violence for many years. Joan has been involved with the news initiative since its inception in the fall of 2023.

Living in Weston since 1995, Marion and her husband, John, raised three boys here. Marion has served in many leadership and volunteer roles in Weston, including on the boards of the Weston PTO, WEEFC, Friends of the Weston Public Library, Country Garden Club, WCCA and Weston Wing Preschool, and as a member of the Weston Community League Scholarship Committee. She also served on the Weston 300 Celebration Leadership Team. A graduate of the Columbia University Business School, Marion worked as VP of market research at Fidelity Investments until 1999 and then continued as a part-time contract project consultant. She originally joined the Weston News effort in October 2023 to help design a community-wide survey assessing resident interest and preferences regarding a Weston news outlet.

Katie, another long-term Weston resident, has lived in town with her husband, Chris, and two daughters since 2001. Her experience at Fidelity Investments in product development and project management has been invaluable to the current effort to develop the Weston Observer. Since retiring from Fidelity, Katie has held volunteer and leadership roles on the boards of various Weston organizations, including the Weston PTO,  Weston Garden Club, and the Weston Community League (Scholarship Chair). In the fall of 2023, her passion for local news and for taking ideas from conception to launch led her to join others in starting the Weston local news initiative.

Tim and Wendy have lived in Weston since 1978. Their children attended Meadowbrook School and the Weston middle and high schools and now have families of their own in Cambridge and Portland, Ore. Tim was founding CEO of Cure Alzheimer’s Fund and sits on its board of directors. Tim served as executive director of the JASON Foundation for Education, advancing middle school students’ science and math motivation and performance. Tim’s earlier career included start-up and executive roles in business as well as external relations and fundraising for his alma maters, Harvard Business School and Amherst College. Tim works with nonprofits including the Weston Historical Society, YaYa Foundation for 4h Leukodystrophy, Emily Dickinson Museum, and nuclear weapons abolition advocate Back from the Brink. Tim also enjoys singing in two choral groups.

Dorothy lives in Natick, Massachusetts. She is a native of Massachusetts and lived in the Boston area while attending college and law school. Following graduation from law school, she worked in various legal positions, including as an associate in a Boston law firm and as a corporate lawyer at a major Hartford, Connecticut, insurance company. She returned to the Boston area in late 1980 to work in a legal capacity in the investment management area. She retired in 2015 and devoted time to representing pro bono clients. Her knowledge and care bring indispensable legal and business insights to this newspaper startup.

Ali has called Weston home for more than 25 years, raising three lively Wildcats (K–12) and two sweet pups along the way. She’s passionate about building community, supporting the arts, and spending time outdoors. You may know her from volunteering with the WCCA, PTO, or the AIC, where she’s been an active board member. She’s also a big fan of Weston’s trail system, which she enjoys daily.

A lifelong public media enthusiast, Ali has built her career in producing and marketing educational media. She created award-winning digital content for Reading Rainbow and helped strengthen GBH favorites, including Masterpiece, Frontline, NOVA, Antiques Roadshow, and Arthur. Today, she leads partnership initiatives at Emerson College’s WERS. In fall 2024, she joined the news initiative and is excited to bring her brand expertise and community spirit to supporting the Observer’s local journalism.

Paul is a newer resident of Weston having moved here in 2018. Paul has been involved with the news project since its inception in the fall of 2023. He worked as a Boston-based professional photographer for many decades, mainly shooting for editorial clients, corporations, and institutions. Additionally, he has produced many pro bono projects for a variety of nonprofit organizations and served on the Board of The Art Connection in Boston’s South End. In addition to his volunteer work for Weston News, Inc., Paul is also a member of the Board of the Weston Council on Aging.

Joel has served on numerous boards and committees in Weston, including the Library Trustees, Weston Art and Innovation Center, Weston Media Center, and Weston Forest and Trail Association. The common thread in his volunteer work is his commitment to building an active, engaged, and healthy community for all. In 2023, he became particularly interested in bringing a trustworthy source of news to Weston. He firmly believes that a shared source of independent news is necessary for building much-needed common ground. Before retiring in 2015, Joel spent 36 years in telecommunications research and development at AT&T and Verizon. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in cognition and communications.

Sandy’s career has spanned writing and editorial fields from educational publishing to trade magazines, consumer-facing websites to organizational marketing and communications. She currently works as editorial director for a major regional foundation. Sandy grew up in rival Wayland, but family ties to Weston go back to the 19th century. She has lived in town since 1985, where she’s raised five dogs and one child, the latter enjoying a full K–12 career in Weston Public Schools. A former volunteer youth basketball coach and Wayland-Weston Crew booster, she has served on the town’s Sustainability Committee since 2018. She joined the local news initiative in late 2023, believing the decline of local news goes hand in hand with division and incivility. She’s a fan of civility.

Alanna has lived in Weston forever. She has been with Weston Media Center since 2010. Alanna is a member of the Weston Historical Society board. Through her affiliation with WMC she has been fortunate to make connections with numerous Westonians from both the past and present!

Chris Paquin is a retired broadcast media executive and business owner. He and his wife Candace and their three kids have lived in Weston for more than 30 years.

Tom combines a passion for local journalism with deep experience in technology and product leadership. As the founding technologist of The Belmont Voice, his hometown’s nonprofit newspaper, he built its publishing platform and continues to support other community newsrooms exploring ways to use technology and AI in their work. He brings more than 25 years of experience in leadership positions in technology organizations such as CarGurus, Microsoft, and several media startups.

Jonathan is a web developer who has worked on website projects for several nonprofits and small businesses around town, including the Weston Historical Society, Weston Forest & Trail Association, Weston Media Center, and the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern. He has served on the board of the Weston Historical Society since 2018 and recently joined the Weston Public Library’s Arts and Exhibitions Committee. He and his wife Marga have lived in Weston since 2015.

Marga grew up in Weston, as did both of her parents. She and her husband Jonathan moved back to Weston in 2015 and live next to her parents in a house that was formerly owned by her paternal grandparents. In addition to the Weston Observer, Marga works with the Weston Forest and Trail Association and the Weston Media Center. She currently volunteers on the town’s Unified Plan Committee as the liaison to the Planning Board.