Our Team
Sasha Paulsen
Editor
Sasha Paulsen is an award-winning journalist and novelist based in Napa Valley. A graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, she serves as a mentor to the young journalists in the Napa Valley News Group.
Kerana Todorov
Reporter
Kerana Torodov has written extensively about American Canyon and the wine industry. She regularly contributes to the Napa County Times and was previously on staff at the Napa Valley Register as a general assignment reporter covering American Canyon, criminal justice and the fire department.
Griffin Jones
Reporter
Griffin Jones is a general assignment reporter covering American Canyon. She joined the AC Current in September 2025 as a fellow with UC Berkeley’s California Local News Fellowship. She grew up in San Francisco.
Xavey Bzdek
Contributor
Xavey Bzdek is a reporter studying journalism at UC Berkeley. Born and raised in Washington D.C., his number one motivation for journalism is to learn and to meet new people. At the Napa Valley News Group, he gets to do that every day.
Fiona Ulrich
Contributor
Fiona Ulrich is a budding journalist originally from Marin County. During her time at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, she discovered her passion for real-world story telling. At the Napa Valley News Group, she covers stories in American Canyon and has been following how new federal policy is affecting life on a local level across Napa County.
Lisa Adams Walter
Yountville Sun Editor
Lisa Adams Walter is a journalist whose work has been published in media outlets locally and nationally. Napa is her hometown, she brings insight to an array of wine, food, arts, entertainment, lifestyle and travel stories. She contributes to the Napa Valley News Group media outlets, and is editor of the Yountville Sun.
Mariela Gomez
Conéctate Editor
Mariela Gomez is a bilingual journalist covering public policy, local politics and culture across California. She is the editor of Conéctate, one of Napa’s first and only Spanish-language news sources dedicated entirely to Latine stories. Gomez is a graduate of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
Paul Franson
Contributor
Paul Franson is a veteran journalist who wrote about the tech industry before moving to Napa Valley 35 years ago and turning his focus on the wine industry. In 2005 he launched NapaLife, a weekly newsletter covering food, wine, the arts and business throughout the county.
Danielle Wilde
Calistoga Tribune Editor
Danielle Wilde grew up in Los Gatos, California, and studied journalism in Iowa before returning to California. She works for the Napa Valley News Group as a reporter on many issues, as well as the editor of the Calistoga Tribune.