Rachel is self-taught in all aspects of the photography business, and became a food photographer about eight years ago, right when Sacramento’s food scene was starting to catch fire. She specializes in editorial food and event photography, and portraiture. Her first book was recently released, called Inside Sacramento, which she co-contributed photos for along with one other local photographer. Rachel was raised in the Roseville/Rocklin area, and now lives in Citrus Heights. For more, visit www.rachelvalley.com.

Jeremy Maron is an Independent Wine Consultant, beer/wine/spirits enthusiast and long-time Sacramento resident. Contact him through www.jeremymaron.com.

Seth Scholar is a portfolio manager with U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management in Sacramento and San Francisco.

Jessica Dumont is a freelance writer, editor and content specialist with a background in corporate public relations. A born-and-raised Placer County resident, she currently lives in Roseville with her husband and two young daughters following stints in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.jessicadumont.com.

Daniel Barnes is a freelance writer, film critic, beer enthusiast and member of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle.  His work has appeared in the Sacramento Bee, Sacramento News & Review, East Bay Express, Philadelphia Weekly, Sacramento Magazine, San Antonio Current and many other fine print and online publications across the country.

Scott Alvord is a Roseville resident, CEO of Advanced Development Concepts and the author of the new book, “Locking the Cookie Jar – How to Protect Against Embezzlement, Identity Theft, and Hackers.” Scott teaches employees a password technique that is uncrackable, unique for every account and can be safely written down He holds an MBA-MCA from Sacramento State and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pacific Union College. For more information, visit LockingTheCookieJar.com.

Ryan is a freelance photographer specializing in editorial and portraiture. With over 14 years experience in photography, his work has been published in Comstock’s, Sacramento Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Ryan also serves as an adjunct instructor for the photo department at Sacramento City College. He specializes in lifestyle, commercial, travel and documentary-style portraiture. Born in the Philippines, Ryan grew up in Texas and moved to Sacramento in 2004. For more, visit www.ryanangelstudio.com.

Tiffany Duong is a freelance journalist and environmental advocate, writing about conservation, green technology and sustainability, and eco-travel. Her work draws on experiences in the field, observations about business and culture, and research on novel approaches to tackle environmental concerns. She earned her B.A. in International Development from UCLA and her J.D. from U.

Allen Pierleoni is a freelance writer in Sacramento. He worked for the Sacramento Bee as a writer and editor in the features department for 30 years. He contributes to a number of  publications, including the  Southern California News Group and the San Jose Mercury News. 

Charles Vincent McDonald was born in Spokane, Washington, and later moved with his family to Arlington, Virginia. Like many others, Charles first began photographing with an 35mm film camera for his high school newspaper and yearbook publications. After high school, Charles enlisted in the U.S.