Walt discovered his love of design, gardening, and the outdoors growing up on his family’s Pennsylvania farm. Since then, Walt earned his Bachelors in Landscape Architecture and a MS in Horticulture. Walt has designed residential landscapes for Southern Living magazine, has been a guest designer on HGTV’s Ground Breakers and has won awards for his designs of downtown revitalization plans, parks and residential gardens. In 2004 Walt founded Outdoor Studio, a design/build firm that specializes in bold, unique, no-lawn designs for in-town properties. His experimental nature, dramatic design aesthetic and eco-friendly solutions have won Walt a loyal client base. In 2005, Walt initiated Park Pride’s Park Visioning Program where he helps communities develop master plans for their neighborhood parks. Since launching his program only five years ago, fundraising efforts have netted nearly $9 million to implement Walt’s Visioning Plans. In 2008, Walt co-founded Kanga Properties which specializes in purchasing, renovating, and renting historic houses. While these houses typically come to Walt as distressed properties, they always become amazing, stylish homes. These pursuits are culminating in the publishing of Design Is magazine. Years of designing, critical thinking, working with little or no budgets, and making plenty of mistakes along the way have taught Walt valuable lessons in design that readers of Design Is will inevitably love reading about. Visit designismagazine.com often to enjoy Walt’s witty charm, brutal honesty and bold design aesthetic. Contact Walt Ray at 404.432.9320 or at walt@DesignIsMagazine.com

Stephanie earned both a Landscape Architecture degree and Political Science degree in her native Canada. Always a creative individual, her design world really broadened after she was exposed to the various art and design programs at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, which she attended during a study abroad program. After taking a silversmithing class there, she knew that she simply wouldn’t be content if she had to relegate herself to only one design field. Stephanie has worked for over 10 years in multidisciplinary design firms in Toronto, Atlanta, and Houston. She also established S. Maola Design Services which focuses on freelance architectural illustration, landscape design and interior design. She has always been a hands-on person who felt there was no need to buy something when you could make it yourself. With that in mind, she started Grey Cat Studio as an outlet for her creative endeavors and numerous fashion obsessions. The company sells everything from her own one-of-a-kind pet portraits, mixed media paintings and photography to imported pashmina scarves and accessories. Being a self-proclaimed textile hoarder, her next creative venture will be textile design. Known for being a savvy shopper with a knack for sourcing amazing deals, Stephanie will be a great resource for readers who want high style on a small budget. Contact Stephanie Maola at steph@DesignIsMagazine.com

A 12-year advertising and marketing veteran, Jane has worked with clients and agencies spanning the healthcare, consulting and retail industries. A creative- type-account-project-manager may seem like a contradiction of terms but Jane has always loved the extremes of the business. Combining her marketing and copywriting skills she hopes to add some expertise to Design Is Magazine’s special events, promotions and charity outreach. She is a terrible cook, killer of plants as well as color-challenged but loves the aesthetics of all types of design. She’s hoping to learn a trick or two from this new adventure into the online magazine world. Contact Jane Chance at jane@DesignIsMagazine.com

With over 15 years of online marketing and advertising experience this is Dana's first foray into the magazine and design world. Originally hailing from New York, she spent plenty of time at agencies on Madison Avenue, but 4 years ago came down to consult with 22squared. She ended up loving Atlanta, convinced her then boyfriend, now husband Steve to move down with their two dogs - PorkChop & AppleSauce to Grant Park. Helping more traditional companies and agencies make the leap into the digital, social media and mobile world is her specialty. She's worked with companies like BBDO, Monumental and MaxMedia to fine-tune their digital prowess. She's now happy to help Design Is Magazine become the leader in the online publishing world - keep an eye out for all the fun things ahead. You can already find Design Is Magazine on Facebook and we'll be tweeting soon! Contact Dana Xavier Dojnik at dana@DesignIsMagazine.com