The Montclair Local is a nonprofit news organization, dedicated to empowering the residents of Montclair by keeping them well-informed.
Our staff includes:
Editorial
Carla Baranauckas – Editor-in-Chief
Carla is a journalist and educator with four decades of experience at news organizations, including small local newspapers and large multimedia operations. She spent 21 years as an editor at The New York Times, where she was involved in sports, metro, national and New Jersey news, among others. She was also part of the team that helped merge the print and digital newsrooms. She is most proud of her contributions to “Portraits of Grief,” the biographies of victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Carla began her career at a small newspaper in the Panhandle of Texas, the Pampa News. This is where she first learned about the importance of local news while covering the County Board, the courts and football. She has also worked at the Texarkana Gazette, the Edwardsville (IL) Intelligencer, the Grand Forks (ND) Herald, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Record/NorthJersey.com. She taught part time for 15 years at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is teaching a new course at Montclair State University. She has a master's degree from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. When not chasing news stories, she enjoys spending time with her rescue dog, Emmy Beans.
Email: carla@montclairlocal.news
Phone: 201-864-4426
Talia Wiener – Reporter
Talia (she/her) is the education reporter for Montclair Local and is always looking for ways to view stories through a solutions journalism lens. She has spent time in newsrooms of all sizes and scopes. From National Public Radio in Washington D.C. to Transitions Online in Prague, Talia has written around the world and across topic areas. She has written stories about indigenous language revitalization in Alaska, social justice marches on Washington, and land use in Charlottesville, VA. Most recently, she worked for Public Herald, a nonprofit investigative news organization covering fracking in the United States. An investigation from 2019 with the organization resulted in public outcry, served as a piece of evidence in an Attorney General investigation, and led a State Congresswoman to draft a bill addressing the issues covered in the piece.
Email: wiener@montclairlocal.news
Phone: 434-996-6222
Joe Dziublenski – Copy Editor
Joe worked for more than 35 years as an editor for The Bergen Record. He held a variety of supervisory positions, overseeing teams of writers who covered municipal, regional and specialty beats. He was a member of editing teams that supervised an investigative series, feature stories and special sections that won national, state and regional awards. He has a special interest in working with young journalists and was associated for many years with the state’s high school press association. He was co-founder and coordinator of The Record’s Journalism Day program, through which more than 2,750 high school newspaper staffers visited the paper for tours and seminars between 1991 and 2017.
Email: dziublenski@montclairlocal.news
Andrea Bondy — Paginator
Andrea has worked for many years in the graphics field, beginning her career at a large New Jersey advertising agency. Responsibilities there included meeting with clients, and managing the production schedule and the production staff. From there, with a partner, she founded a graphic design studio, featuring production of print and web design projects for a variety of clients that included companies in the fashion, photographic, music, newspaper and charity fields. In 2006 she accepted a part-time position for North Jersey Media Group, doing pagination for the Essex County weekly newspapers. Upon leaving Gannett, she was invited to join the staff of Montclair Local, doing pagination for the then-newly founded newspaper. Keeping busy and following her five grandsons’ activities are her passions
Email: bondy@montclairlocal.news
Sales and Operations
Jack Marflak – Operation and Sales Director
Jack has over 30 years experience in sales and management and has worked for numerous media companies in New Jersey, including The Star-Ledger, NJ Advance Media, Worall Publications, and North Jersey Media Group. He boasts extensive experience in both print and digital advertising, and he has also been the owner of his own marketing company for over 10 years, serving Montclair and greater suburban Essex County.
Email: marflak@montclairlocal.news
Phone: 201-663-2219
Scott Drukker – Advertising Account Executive
A longtime Montclair resident, Scott has been a newspaper sales representative in this area for nearly four decades, developing deep community ties and strong business relationships throughout Essex County. Prior to Montclair Local, he worked for the Montclair Times and North Jersey Media Group from 2000-2017. He is also founder of both the Verona and Cedar Grove chambers of commerce, and the proprietor of the Great Scott! Magic Show.
Email: drukker@montclairlocal.news
Phone: 973-747-5441
Fundraising
David Katowitz – Director of Fundraising
David Katowitz is the Director of Fundraising for Montclair Local, a position he has held since August 2021. He oversees all fundraising, membership and community engagement activities. He has provided guidance to nonprofit organizations and faith-based groups on developing annual campaigns, comprehensive capital/endowment campaigns, and planned giving initiatives. He has extensive experience working with organizational leadership on their strategic planning and campaign efforts. He has helped organizations raise millions of dollars throughout his career. David received a B.A. in political science from The George Washington University and an M.S. from the Columbia University School of Social Work. He and his wife, Linda, are the proud parents of Zack and Dani who both went through the Montclair schools. They have lived in Montclair for more than 30 years.
Email: katowitz@montclairlocal.news