Contributors: February 2018

Hour Detroit, February 2018
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Trevor Bach

Trevor Bach is a journalist based in Hamtramck. His coverage of politics, culture, and general news has recently appeared in Vice, the Christian Science Monitor, and Belt Magazine. See his story on page 56 about how the current U.S. immigration policy has impacted a local family. Bach was previously a staff writer for Miami New Times, where his investigation into a spate of boating deaths was named best general news story by the Florida Press Association. He last wrote for Hour Detroit about the mayoral campaign of Coleman Young II.

Michele Oberholtzer

Michele Oberholtzer spends most of her time trying to keep Detroit families in their homes. She leads the Tax Foreclosure Prevention Project for United Community Housing Coalition and is the founder of The Tricycle Collective. She has a degree in mechanical engineering, which helped when putting together her commentary on the steamy side of Detroit’s streets (page 44). She also has a passion for singing and biking and is currently a candidate for State Representative in Michigan’s 4th House District.

Scott Atkinson

Scott Atkinson’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and several other publications. An avid practitioner and teacher of Brazilian jiu jitsu, he was excited at the opportunity to sit with Ryan Fiorenzi, Michigan’s first BJJ black belt, and pick his brain about health and wellness — and to hear Ryan’s strange path to his own wellness (page 42). “I’ve known Ryan for some time,” Atkinson says, “but this was a great opportunity to just sit and listen to his story.” When not writing, or getting choked by his opponents, Atkinson teaches writing at the University of Michigan-Flint.

Ray Serafin

Ray Serafin is an award-winning journalist who previously worked with the Royal Oak Daily Tribune and served as Detroit bureau chief for Advertising Age. He also has extensive experience in executive communications. “A few years ago, as I walked our dog, I would sometimes go past this house where a guy would be sitting on the front porch with a laptop,” Serafin says. “That was Josh [Malerman], working on one or another of his manuscripts.” See his story about the author/songwriter on page 31. Serafin is also the co-author of Ara’s Knights, an insider’s account of renowned Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian, as seen through the eyes of former Fighting Irish captain Frank Pomarico.