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Editorial board members

Ann LoLordo

Everybody has an opinion about something, but in my view, the best opinion is an informed one. When I joined The Sun's editorial board nearly six years ago, I came with 20-plus years as a reporter and editor, covering everything from Baltimore's police districts to the Middle East. And I return to those skills now in commenting on matters as diverse as juvenile justice, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Baltimore's downtown development. As the Opinion editor, I rely on my colleagues on the editorial board for a frank and full discussion on issues of the day so that we can serve up smart, lively, persuasive arguments on subjects that matter to Marylanders.

In my parents' home on Long Island, I was encouraged to say what I thought. My siblings and I just had to compete with a gregarious, loving, opinionated dad to get a word in. The Jesuits at Georgetown University helped me refine my opinions, and then I spent most of my years in journalism, disregarding them. Now, I'm in a job where my experiences in life and skills as a journalist shape and inform the editorials I write every day.

In my other life, I've been known to write a poem or two and am quite good at cooking up my mother's shrimp scampi. And when I'm not at 501 N. Calvert St., I'm usually home with my husband and 5-year-old son, both of whom have a few strong opinions of their own.

Larry E. Williams

An engineer by training, I stumbled into journalism by accident, working for a small daily newspaper in South Jersey to support myself and my family while finishing school. That decision led to a remarkable 40-year adventure that continues today and my position as The Sun's deputy Opinion editor.

Along the way, I've covered government, politics, labor and workplace issues, science, technology and economics while working in a range of jobs from a reporter in Philadelphia to managing editor of a newspaper in Akron, Ohio, and now as an editorial writer. Since joining The Sun eight years ago, I've been Howard County bureau chief, business editor, Perspective/Ideas editor and book editor.

I am married to a journalist and have two grown daughters and one grandson, all of whom encourage and inspire me. When not writing or editing, I love to read, play bridge and walk our dog.

These are challenging times for newspaper journalists, but for as long as I have been one, there has been something new to learn.

Diane Camper

I've spent most of my journalistic career as either a reporter or an editorial writer, with a couple of detours in between. As a Washington bureau correspondent for Newsweek, I reported on the Watergate cover-up trial and the John Hinckley trial, among numerous other events. My interest in legal issues led me to a one-year fellowship for journalists at Yale Law School, and my decision not to abandon journalism for the law was rewarded by an offer to join the editorial board of The New York Times in the 1980s.

For more than a decade, I offered judgments on local schools and national education policy, child welfare, health and poverty -- many of the same issues that I've been covering at The Sun for the past three years. In between, I worked as a communications specialist at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Whatever communications hat I've worn over the years, I've tried to make a difference.

I've never worked abroad as a journalist, but I love to travel for pleasure and have visited many countries. When I'm not at home in Baltimore, I can often be found hanging out with family and friends in Washington, D.C., or on the Eastern Shore.

Todd Windsor

I was born in Baltimore and grew up in Bel Air. My family has lived in Maryland as far back as any of us can tell, mostly on the Eastern Shore (my grandfather was a waterman). I love the Ravens, steamed crabs and weekends in Ocean City, and appreciate them even more after being out of state for a while.

I came to The Sun in 2000 after nine years with the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, where I was a page designer and editor.

As production editor in the editorial department, I have two roles. I design the pages, seeking out photos or illustrations that reflect the ideas expressed in words and arranging all the elements in a way that's visually appealing and sensible. I also copy edit the editorials, letters and Commentary features, writing headlines and captions and correcting errors. So if you see a reference to "Cal Ripkin," you know who to blame. Oops, make that "whom."

Peter Jensen

I've always been drawn to editorials that challenge conventional beliefs. It's easy to be against taxes, trial lawyers or rabid dogs. It's much harder to convince an audience (be it a group of senior citizens or a class of 6-year-olds) that a dose of strong but perhaps unpleasant medicine is in order. As such, I'll admit to this pronounced bias: As a famous journalist once concluded, it's a newspaper's job to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

Most of my two decades at this newspaper have been spent as a reporter covering a range of beats from the Eastern Shore and the state legislature to family and parenting issues. Since December 2003, I've been an editorial writer focusing on state politics and government, Baltimore County, transportation, the environment and issues affecting the more rural parts of the state.

As someone born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Montgomery County, I like to think I can see matters from a variety of perspectives -- Washingtonian and Baltimorean, urbanite and rural dweller, fan of both the Ravens and Redskins (although this last one tends to get me in trouble with my colleagues). Still, if ever I presume to have the world figured out, my wife and two children are always there to afflict me, too.

Mike Cross-Barnet

As the editor of the Commentary page, I have to be a bit of an expert in almost everything. It's what makes this job fun. It can also be a big challenge. When I open my e-mail inbox in the morning, I might find a note from a former ambassador offering a new idea to end the war in Iraq, or it could just as easily be from a homemaker with a plan to ease school overcrowding in the suburbs, or a community worker with a riveting tale of desperation and hope on Baltimore's mean streets.

Each day, I strive to select and edit intriguing proposals, the best arguments and most compelling stories I can find, and present them in a way that's attractive, enjoyable and thought-provoking. As a member of the editorial board, I also occasionally write editorials on issues that include immigration, religion, and social and cultural trends.

A native of New York City, I joined The Sun in 2004 after working at the Los Angeles Times for five years. In my 18-year career in journalism, I've also been a copy editor, a reporter and the editor of a small daily newspaper. I live in Baltimore with my wife, a sociologist, and our three children, two dogs, three cats, a rabbit and a goldfish.

Franz Schneiderman

For almost as long as I can remember, I've been passionate about politics and public life. As editor of The Sun's letters page, I have a unique opportunity to see what stirs the passions of our readers by perusing the scores of letters we receive every day. In this job, I've read through tens of thousands of letters, and every week, I find some letters that move me and cause me to think in new ways.

My goal for the letters page is to provide a lively and diverse forum for a discussion of the critical issues of the day and of concern to readers. I act as a kind of referee in that forum and try to keep the discussion inclusive, tactful and factually accurate and offer readers a sampling of as many voices as possible.

That keeps me very busy, but it also gives me a satisfying sense that I'm part of the public life of this quirky, charming city I've come to view as my home.

Makeda Crane

I am a native New Yorker who, after living in Baltimore for the past 10 years, has gladly claimed the city as my "real" home. I have always used my writing as a magnifying glass to explore my inner self and the world around me.

I grew up in a house of readers and talkers, and politics was always a topic for discussion. That makes my job as the executive assistant in the editorial department the right fit. During the course of the day, I may address the concerns of readers who call in, conduct research for the editorial staff, videotape editorial board meetings and occasionally write a commentary piece.

A graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, I plan to pursue a master's degree in international and legal studies. My desire is to develop my writing so I can make an impact in the topsy-turvy world where politics and language meet.

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