Ron Epstein
With more than 25 years’ experience in the publishing and media industries, Ron is the publisher of L.A. Parent and president of Epstein Custom Media. He is the proud father of two daughters, and counts the beach and Dodger Stadium (he’s pictured there in this photo) among his favorite places to go with his family. Ron is a past president of the Parenting Media Association and the Western Publishing Association.
ron.epstein@laparent.com
Elena Epstein
Elena is L.A. Parent’s Creative Director, overseeing content and design for our digital and print publications. She believes in the power of stories to inspire, to connect and to build community. She has her BA in Journalism from Cal State University, Northridge and her MBA from Pepperdine University. She’s a former soccer and softball mom, spent many years as a room mom and loves exploring LA with her family. Strolling through the vegetable and fruit stalls of her local farmers’ market has been a Saturday morning tradition for almost two decades.
elena.epstein@laparent.com
Cassandra Lane
Cassandra Lane is Editor in Chief of L.A. Parent and author of “We Are Bridges: A Memoir,” published by Feminist Press. Born and raised in Louisiana, Cassandra made the transition from La. to L.A. in 2001. Before joining L.A. Parent in 2017, she was community relations manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and she has also served as a newspaper reporter, high school English and journalism teacher, college application advisor and senior writer for a nonprofit committed to improving the quality of early care and education for L.A. County children. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, L.A. Times and a variety of other newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She has a BA in journalism and an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University and lives with her husband and teen son in South L.A.
Nina Harada
Nina Harada is L.A. Parent’s Digital Community Editor. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nina’s passion for L.A. runs deep. She loves the beaches, the art scene, the food and, as a new mom, she loves to explore the many family-friendly adventures L.A. has to offer. Nina has worked in education for over 8 years throughout Southern California and she has worked as a freelance writer for over 10 years. She has her BA in English from UC Berkeley and her MA in English Literature and Film from Claremont Graduate University. When she’s not spending quality time with her husband and daughter, she’s working on her art and writing.
nina.harada@laparent.com
Chelsea Parrish
Chelsea is an Account Executive, working with our clients, large and small, throughout the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and Conejo Valley to help connect them with parents in our community. Chelsea has a BA in Communications from UC Davis and spent her senior year studying abroad in Argentina and traveling the world. She now resides with her loving husband and two amazing daughters in the San Fernando Valley, where she was born and raised. She has worked in sales for the past 10 years and loves connecting with people. In her spare time she enjoys doing arts and crafts, baking with her daughters, and doing yoga.
chelsea.parrish@laparent.com
Meaghan McCarthy
Meaghan is an Account Executive with a focus on clients in West LA, Mid City and the South Bay. She’s also our resident East Coast transplant, although she has lived in Southern California almost as long as she did growing up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Meaghan has a BA in Communications and Film Studies from UMass Amherst and has spent the majority of her career working in the entertainment industry here in Los Angeles. Also a former small business owner, she is dialed into the parenting market in SoCal and excited to connect clients with other parents just like her in our community. When she’s not at home spending time with her daughters, husband and rescue pup, you’ll find her at the beach, the farmers market and discovering fun new places to go and things to do with her family.
meaghan.mccarthy@laparent.com
Cindy Hadash
Cindy is our Operations Manager, and her ever-present smile is the glue that holds our team together. Most readers and clients speak with Cindy when they call – and Cindy loves it. Her favorite place is her aunt and uncle’s ranch in Northern California, where she can smell the hay, breathe the fresh air and take care of the horses – all while surrounded by beautiful mountains. She is the proud mom of one beautiful daughter.
cindy.hadash@LAParent.com
Edwin Alpanian
Edwin is our art director and co-founder of Alpanian Design Group, an L.A.-based design studio. He has worked in publishing and marketing for the past 23 years and served as the creative director for Hot Rod magazine for 14 years. Aside from being a designer, Edwin is also a musician and guitar player in his hard rock band Alpanian, which performs throughout the Los Angeles club circuit and live music venues.
Chiwan Choi
Our copy editor, Chiwan Choi is the author of four books, “The Flood,” Daughter Trilogy—”Abductions,” “The Yellow House” and the upcoming “My Name is Wolf.” He wrote, presented and destroyed the novel “Ghostmaker” throughout the course of 2015. Chiwan is a partner at Writ Large Press. He is also the host of the podcast “Are You There, Ghost? It’s Me, Chiwan.”
