Soapbox tells the new Cincinnati story - a narrative of creative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play. The website and weekly online magazine are published Tuesdays. Get Soapbox free in your inbox each week by
signing up here. We want to hear your thoughts and ideas for Soapbox. Share them via e-mail
here.A brief history of the The Soapbox crew:
Publisher: Dacia Snider
Dacia Snider is unabashedly proud to call Cincinnati home. This northeastern Ohio native's passion for the city was cultivated during her four years at
Downtown Cincinnati Inc. Drawing on her background in economic development, she understood the important role media played in setting the narrative for a community and seized the opportunity to launch a new online publication about the city she loved. In February 2008, Soapbox was born (as was her daughter three days later). Named an
Emanuel Community Center 2009 Woman of Over-the-Rhine honoree, Dacia is also proud to be recognized as a 2007 YWCA Rising Star and a member of the 2006 Forty Under 40 class by the Cincinnati Business Courier. In her spare time, Dacia is active on the
Cincinnati Parks Foundation Board and Executive Committee, co-chairs the Agenda 360 Communications Team and is a member of the Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. On a never-ending quest to achieve that elusive work/life balance, Dacia and her husband are raising their two children to appreciate all this great city has to offer and can frequently be found at
Findlay Market on Saturday mornings (usually per her son's early morning request).
Managing Editor:
Elissa Yancey (Sonnenberg) learned
early that telling true stories offers great chances to learn, grow and
advocate for change. She teaches in and serves as assistant director of
the journalism program at the University of Cincinnati. At UC, many of
her classes focus on community partnerships that immerse her students in
some of the region's most critical issues, including education and the
environment. A native of Norwood, Ohio, Elissa grew up amid her Urban
Appalachian kin. After studying English at UC as an undergrad, she moved
to Chicago and received her Master's degree from Northwestern
University. A veteran of many national and regional publications,
including Family Circle and Preservation, Elissa spent six years as an
editor at Cincinnati Magazine before taking a teaching post at her alma
mater. While she's busy raising two great Cincinnati Public School kids
from her home base in Northside, Elissa looks forward to inspiring
Soapbox readers "For Good. "
Managing Photographer: Scott Beseler
Scott, an award-winning photographer, resides on the rivers' edge just south of the Roebling Bridge in Covington, Ky, in what he describes is his New York style dream loft, minus New York. In 2001, he graduated from Indiana University of Bloomington with a Bachelor's of Arts in Journalism. As a freelance photographer for most of his career, Mr. Beseler considers his photographic influence to be that of the photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and writer Hunter S. Thompson. This style comparable to the Gonzo style of journalism, combines Scott's own captured vision of exaggeration, subjectiveness and heightened perception of reality, while capturing the moment without interrupting it. Pure joy for Scott is any opportunity to photograph friends, music, art, and global culture. Scott is thankful for his humble and notable roots in Cincinnati. Contributors of his professional portfolio include City Beat, The Cincinnati Opera, Jean Robert de Cavel Restaurant Group, The Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Art Museum and The Academy Award Show of 2005. To see more work from the days and nights of Scott, go to TakeTheDay.com.
Associate Editor: Evan Wallis
Evan Wallis knows his way around Cincinnati and its 'burbs. He's lived in towns from Milford to Avondale to Clifton to Northside. A graduate
of the University of Cincinnati's journalism program, he is an
award-winning writer who has had his work published in Cincinnati Magazine and CityBeat. The second-born in a family of 19 children, 14 of which are adopted from around the globe, Evan has an
inborn wanderlust that always has him searching for the next great
story. The best kind of story for Evan? One where the subject is passionate about what they do, as he works well off the energy of others. When he's not writing for Soapbox, you'll find him immersed in
the local music scene, from helping create events to enjoying local shows and aspires to be an editor at a music-based publication.
Got a great idea? Email him.
Soapdish Columnist: Casey Coston
Inveterate Cincinnati kool-aid drinker and resident Soapdish scribbler Casey Coston is a man about town. Prior to moving to Cincinnati, Casey was with the Detroit office of Pepper Hamilton LLP, a Philadelphia based firm, and was also a regular contributor to the Metro Times, a popular weekly newspaper in metropolitan Detroit. During that time, he had the unlikely position of feeding Detroit's desire for nightlife and assorted gossip, covering everything from underground concerts and artsy parties in abandoned buildings to society balls in museums. He also launched the popular Rubble Rouser series, in which he raised the profile of Detroit's architectural gems while addressing issues related to urban renewal and historic preservation, business development and just about anything else that popped into his head at the moment. A native of Michigan, Casey can also be found DJ-ing around town and modeling his vintage fez collection on rare occasions. His primary goal in life is to eliminate the words "Mapplethorpe" and "chili" from the vocabulary of any out-of-town friends who have never been to Cincinnati.
Chief Advocate & Instigator: Eric Avner
During the day, Eric oversees community development grantmaking for the Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation. Prior to that, he was Associate Director of the Cincinnati Business Committee, that venerable group of CEOs representing Cincinnati's 30 largest employers. And prior to that, while guiding Newport's downtown revitalization, he led the effort to create the Purple People Bridge. Most importantly, Eric spent 16 months meeting, discussing, planning, and plotting to get Soapbox launched back in 2008. Now, when he and his bowtie aren't out instigating for some way to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Eric keeps busy serving on boards for the Cincinnati Development Fund, Artworks, and Vision 2015. A boomerang Cincinnatian (he lived here in the late '70s, left, and returned to town in 1996), Eric also takes pride in his dual US/Canadian citizenship...eh. Eric and his wife reside in bucolic Walnut Hills after several years in a downtown loft.
Soapbox is published by Detroit-based Issue Media Group.
Operations and Media Contact: Deepa Ramsinghani
Web Site and E-Newsletter Technology: Matt Lehman and Mark Walz, Fluent Consulting
Web Site Design:
Son Tran, Pitch Black Media
Also check out Issue Media Group's other fine publications: