We are proud of our team of staff and freelance contributors who are dedicated to providing independent, high-quality journalism for Door County. Read more about our team below, and click on a team member’s name to learn more about their work.
Also, learn more about our Board of Directors.
Who we are
Andrew Phillips
Executive Director / Editor-in-Chief
Andrew Phillips is a longtime journalist and Door County native whose work has appeared in multiple Door County publications, as well as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Milwaukee Business Journal and The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, IA. He is an alumnus of Gibraltar High School and graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in philosophy and journalism from Marquette University.
Alys Brooks
Copy Editor
Alys Brooks is a writer, editor and tutor based in Madison. Her writing has appeared in the Capital Times, Rewire News Group and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. She is a member of the Trans Journalists Association. Previously, she worked as a technical writer and a software developer. She grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin and earned a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University.
Heidi Hodges
Editor / Photographer
Heidi Hodges grew up in Kenosha and vacationed in Door County throughout her youth. She received a BA in technical communication from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, focusing on photography, journalism, and history. To complete her major, she interned at the Door County Advocate in 1987. She remained at the Advocate for 13 years after the internship, covering the community she loves. She served as editor of the Door County Magazine from 2013-2019 and editor of the Washington Island Observer from 2019-2022. Since 2001, she has run her photography business, Heidi Hodges Photography.
Simon Kopischke
Data Journalist
Simon Kopischke is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pursuing a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics. He is an alumnus of Gibraltar High School and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. Simon enjoys data analysis and is currently pursuing an actuary certification.
Taylor Schultz
Creative Director / Audience & Membership
Taylor Schultz is a visual designer and alumnus of Gibraltar High School now residing in Carlsbad, CA. He received a BFA in design and photography from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2013. He was a founding member of Gibraltar’s Viking Voice and has worked with several online publishing outlets throughout his professional career.
Emily Small
Report for America Corps Member / Reporter
Emily Small served as assistant editor of the Washington Island Observer from 2019-2023, and has lived on the island with her family for 13 years. She grew up in and around Milwaukee, and has a B.A. in English from Carthage College.
Lily Sweeney
Reporter / Publishing Assistant
Lily Sweeney is an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She studies English with a focus on rhetoric and professional writing and is in the university’s Honors College. She attended Gibraltar High School until 2020 before transferring to Wisconsin Virtual Academy. Throughout high school, Lily wrote for the Gibraltar school newspaper, The Viking Voice. As a junior, she was elected editor-in-chief. She has also briefly worked on projects with Write On, Door County and the Peninsula Pulse. At UWM, Lily is a member of Artifacts of Us, an annual publication that promotes empathy and understanding through storytelling in Wisconsin.
Contributors
Winifred Bird
Contributing Editor
Winifred Bird is a writer, editor, and translator. Her reporting on science and the environment has appeared in the Washington Island Observer, Yale Environment 360, NPR.org, Science, the Japan Times, Environmental Health Perspectives, and elsewhere.
Peter Devlin
Reporter Emeritus
Peter Devlin has been involved in disseminating local news – radio, TV and print – since 1965 in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and (since 1972) in Wisconsin. He is a Vietnam combat veteran and a widower. He has three children and three adult grandchildren.
Gordon Hodges
Photographer
Gordon Hodges is a Door County native and graduate of Madison College with a degree in commercial photography. Being raised by a journalist and photographer, he was exposed to the craft from a young age. He’s worked as a sailing instructor with the Sail Training Foundation in Sturgeon Bay and as a kayak tour guide for the past four summers at Peninsula Kayak Company in Jacksonport. He currently does freelance commercial, event, and journalism photography work.