VIDEO: Betabrand

Chris Schodt built a running motor before turning 10. By 26, he pivoted — just slightly — from a career in science to writing about it as a journalist. The St. Paul, Minn., transplant hopes to uncover the “upstarts and weirdos” of the Mission’s burgeoning tech/science scene.

Soon after Dorothy M. Atkins moved to the Bay Area, she met an artist painting a heroin-themed scene in one of the Mission’s mural alleys. The artist explained that despite the city’s high number of drug users, it lacks an effective needle exchange program. Dorothy hopes to explore the complexity of such policies and their impact on the Mission through her political reporting.

Guisel Contreras credits her keen sense of smell for her love of food. Her super-sniffer led her off the street and into Dandelion Chocolate, where the “Madagascar” won her heart. “I’m excited to go beyond the typical [restaurant] review.” Follow her nose on Mission Local.

He once tried to sell homemade sauerkraut. Now, Mark Kurlyandchik, a lifelong foodie from a Russian family of small business owners, writes about the business of food. He’s excited to explore how immigrant entrepreneurs influence the experience of eating in the Mission.