Pete Copeland, Publisher

Pete M. Copeland has been in Northern Nevada for 23 years living in Sparks for 20 of those years. Moving to Nevada to attend College he found out what many people moving here have, he loved this place. After college, Pete met his wife Christi, whom he has been with for over 16 years. Pete and Christi have two children, Alec 11 and Kayley 7. Kayley was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 15 months. Kayley is the inspiration for NNBW's support of JDRF as well as many other non-profit organizations in Northern Nevada.

As Publisher of Northern Nevada Business Weekly since its inception, Pete is most proud of the involvement in community. He says it has been the most rewarding aspect of the position. When not working, Pete most enjoys spending time with his family.

John Seelmeyer, Managing Editor

John Seelmeyer is the editor of Northern Nevada Business Weekly, a position he has held since the publication was founded in August 2002.

He has worked fulltime as a newspaper and magazine writer and editor since 1973. He has won numerous national awards for business reporting. He previously worked for newspapers in Colorado and California and spent five years as a freelance writer for national business publications. He also has taught university-level courses in writing and editing.

Inga Smith, Office Manager

Inga Smith, the office manager of Northern Nevada Business Weekly, joined the newspaper in 2007. Previously, she worked more than 20 years as a business manager in the health-care industry, where she worked both in assisted-living and skilled-nursing facilities.

Inga moved from Bavaria in Germany to Santa Monica, Calif., as a youngster and enjoyed the beaches, sunshine and outdoor activities of Southern California while she attended school. She worked for Mercedes Benz in Santa Monica for 11 years before she moved to Reno in 1983 to be closer to the mountains and to enjoy the region's four seasons.

With her teen-aged daughter, Inga enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, roller-skating and running with their Black Lab. Inga also enjoys gardening ‹ and spends time helping her daughter with her homework.

Duane Johnson, Reporter

Duane Johnson grew up in Casper, Wyo., and Grand Junction, Colo.

After graduating from Central High School in Grand Junction, Duane attended Western Wyoming Community College where he received an Associates degree in English. While at WWCC, Duane wrote for the students newspaper, serving as sport editor. From there, Duane attended Northern Arizona University before transferring to the University of Nevada, Reno. While at NAU, Duane worked in the student newspaper sports department and also at the Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns training camps in Flagstaff.

Duane is a charter member of the NNBW staff and is pursuing his bachelor’s degree from UNR.

Rob Sabo, Special Projects Editor

Rob’s family moved to Reno in 1977. He graduated from Sparks High School in 1988, and in 1997 he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism/English from California State University-Sacramento.

After a decade of covering sports in Northern California and Nevada, Rob found his niche producing special sections for NNBW. “I enjoy the diversity of the various magazines we produce,” he says. “Gathering information moves me through so many different circles.”

Chris Dondero, Advertising Sales Supervisor

I was born in Las Vegas back in the 70’s and then moved to Penn Valley, California where I spent my younger years chasing chickens and cows. I then moved to Carson City in 1988, where I spent my teen years and then graduated from Carson High School in 1995. I was a Wildland Firefighter for 6 years for the Bureau of Land Management where I got to travel all over the United States. I then graduated from UNR in 2001 with a B/A in Journalism/Advertising and a Minor in Art/Photography. I have lived in Reno since 1995 and enjoy the outdoors, music, photography, my dog, my truck, my girlfriend, playing sports, traveling and hanging out with friends and family.

I have worked at the Northern Nevada Business Weekly since April of 2003 and I currently hold the position of Advertising Sales Supervisor.

Patricia Bouweraerts, Graphic Designer

Patricia started out life in Rockford, strumming the guitar, writing music and creating artwork during summer vacations. After high school, she received a Bachelors of Music Education from Northern Illinois University and Masters of Music-Voice Performance from DePaul. But her true passion was the West, so she made her way to California, and then to Reno. Along the way came two daughters, Melody and Lorraine.

After nine years teaching music for the Washoe County School District, Patricia decided to change her career direction and completed her A.A.S. in Graphic Communications from TMCC. She worked as a Graphic Designer at a local business printer for just under four years. Her experience and skills have lead to her current position at Northern Nevada Business Weekly. Away from work Patricia loves hiking, camping, world music and traveling the West with her husband, Dan.

Tim McGrath, Marketing Specialist - NNBW/Reno.com

Tim was born and raised in Reno and spent most of his summers in Oregon, Washington, and Southern California. He graduated from Galena High School in 1995. He then moved to Palm Springs, CA to attend the College of the Desert. After about a year in Palm Springs he felt the mountains and snow of the high desert drawing him back to Reno. He repeated this pattern over and over while working as a Store Manager for Sam Goody music stores. Tim lived in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Stockton, CA. He even lived in Connecticut for a year. Each time arriving back in Reno with more appreciation for what Northern Nevada has to offer. He has been living in Sparks for the past five years and enjoys the outdoors, music, movies, golf, basketball and making people laugh.

Tim is a Marketing Specialist for The Orange Book. He chose to work for NNBW because of the positive work environment and their strong ties to the community.