Karin Connelly Rice enjoys telling people's stories, whether it's a promising startup or a life's passion. Over the past 20 years she has reported on the local business community for publications such as Inside Business and Cleveland Magazine. She was editor of the Rocky River/Lakewood edition of In the Neighborhood and was a reporter and photographer for the Amherst News-Times. At Fresh Water she enjoys telling the stories of Clevelanders who are shaping and embracing the business and research climate in Cleveland.

Bob is managing photographer with FreshWater as well as a Cleveland freelance photographer. His photographic approach is rooted in the art of storytelling. Whether freezing the energy of an event, encapsulating the magic of a performance, or astutely anticipating the decisive moments, his work displays an innate ability to distill the essence of any scene or subject into a single frame or series of work.

In addition, Bob is the official photographer for LAND studio and Holden Forest and Gardens and has worked with various Cleveland organizations. In 2019 he published a book of his photos Rust Belt Burlesque. He's had work published in other books like LGBTQ Cleveland by Ken Schneck, Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology, Rust Belt Chic: The Pittsburgh Anthology and Moon Cleveland by Douglas Trattner. Previously he was co-founder/art director for Balanced Living Magazine. You can view his versatile portfolio of work, which includes news coverage, portraiture, architectural and fine art at Perkoski Photography.

Originally from Conneaut, Ohio, Perkoski now lives close to the city in Parma. He has been Fresh Water's Managing Photographer since the publication's September 2010 inception.

Douglas J. Guth is a Cleveland Heights-based freelance writer and journalist. In addition to being senior contributing editor at FreshWater, his work has been published by Crain’s Cleveland Business, Ideastream, and Middle Market Growth. At FreshWater, he contributes regularly to the news and features departments, as well as works on regular sponsored series features.
 

Jess Starr joins the Freshwater Cleveland team with nearly two decades of experience working in the media and communications fields, and a passion for telling good news stories.

Starr spent years in Erie, Pennsylvania as senior news reporter for the television stations ABC affiliate JET24 and FOX66. She covered general assignment news and beat reporting for Millcreek Township, turning up to six stories daily.

Prior to reporting, Starr spent six years at WKYC-TV3 in Cleveland, working in both production and news. While at Channel 3, she was the supervising floor director and a fill-in producer. She was in charge of the studio while on-air, and also field produced for many of Channel 3's specials.

Most recently, Starr proudly spent the past eight years as director of communications at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), an advocacy and social services nonprofit in Cleveland, where she led the external communications for the agency.

A native Clevelander, she attended college at Kent State University and has a BA in public communication with a focus in mass media.

Starr lives in North Ridgeville with her husband Dan, and three-year-old daughter, Layla.

Katie McMenamin has written across a range of platforms, from broadcast news and published novels to promotional brochures and back cover blurbs. With her sister, she created a home organization business that transformed into a blog, a website, and then the book, "Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality." With her dad, she has published three historical thrillers, most recently "The Prussian Memorandum". She is a proud Cleveland native who returned home after 25 years and is now happily ensconced back in The Land of Champions.

Rebecca Cahill is a freelance writer who is thrilled to contribute to FreshWater Cleveland, sharing the stories of the people and places that make our fine Forest City flourish and grow. Rebecca enjoys hiking CVNP, Playhouse Square’s pretzels, and the Cleveland Browns. She lives in Ohio City with her husband and three dogs.

Grant Segall is a national-prizewinning journalist who spent 44 years at daily papers, mostly The Plain Dealer. He has freelanced for The Washington Post, Oxford University Press, Time, The Daily Beast, and many other outlets.