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Potomac Local News
PO Box 26
Ruby, VA 22545

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Who We Are

Uriah Kiser
Founder & Publisher

Hello, I’m Uriah Kiser, an entrepreneurial journalist who worked in television and newspapers and later found a love for reporting on the web. I launched PotomacLocal.com in 2010 to cover my hometown.

We’ve since expanded and now reach nearly 150,000 readers each month through our digital platforms. We focus on local, community, can’t-get-it-anywhere-else news, information, and events. Ripe for local advertisers, we provide small businesses in our community a cost-effective, targeted advertising and marketing option for reaching a locally engaged audience.

I’ve served as a founding member, and on the Board of Directors for the national local news nonprofit LION Publishers, working to help other local independent online news publishers and entrepreneurial journalists across the U.S. and internationally find sustainable business models to ensure the future of local news.

I am also privileged to serve on the Volunteer Prince William Board of Directors, a dedicated group of people who help connect hundreds of selfless volunteers to the people who need them most in Prince William County, Virginia.

Here are some other accomplishments that make me proud:

• I married my wonderful wife in 2011 who gave me a beautiful baby girl in February 2020.
• 20 years of local journalism experience.
• Won Virginia Press Association’s 2012 1st place Government Reporting Award.
• PotomacLocal.com was named Virginia’s #1 online-only news website, as judged by its peers at the Virginia Press Association.
• Wrote for NBC 4 Washington, NBCWashington.com.
• Covered breaking news, transit issues, police, fire, and rescue at News & Messenger newspaper and its companion website Insidenova.com in Prince William County, Va.
• Covered the execution of “D.C. Sniper” John Allen Mohammed.
• Wrote, reported and produced for Mills TV, recipient of a Telly Award for outstanding feature reporting.
• Reported for News Channel 8 in Washington for 68/98 Student Stories series and worked at WVVA-TV in Bluefield, W.Va. as a studio technician.

Mary Davidson
Senior Photographer

Mary has worked with several publications including News & Messenger, Stafford County Sun, and Insidenova.com.

She has been with Potomac Local from its founding in 2010 and loves covering the Potomac communities.

When it comes to shooting news, sports, features, or anything else, she looks to capture emotion in every photo she takes.

A longtime area resident, she currently lives with her husband in Stafford County.

Olivia Aveni-Briscoe
Reporter

Olivia is a native of Manassas, Virginia, and joined Potomac Local News in 2018.

She covers the Manassas City and Manassas Park city councils, and the Prince William County Library Board of Trustees.

She hopes to learn how to improve her writing and video skills, use online publishing tools, build business skills, develop personal relationships, and work with graphic design. One of Oliva’s biggest joys as a reporter for PLN is being able to document the first draft of local history in our community.

Besides journalism, her most proud work is being a mother to her four-year-old daughter. Oliva also works as a freelancer for the Justice Foundation and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. Some of her work there has been published on The Stream and LifeSiteNews.com.

When Olivia isn’t reporting, she loves to bake desserts and write poetry. She loves acting and hopes to act one day in D.C or New York City. She has attended All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Lake Ridge.

Rick Horner
Reporter

Rick joined Potomac Local News in 2018 and covers the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and Fredricksburg City Council.

In college, he majored in journalism. He hopes to learn to improve his writing, video, and business skills, while also learning publishing tools, management, developing personal relationships, and to develop a better understanding of government.

When it comes to the work that Rick is most proud of, he picks all the work he has done for PLN so far. He believes that any work that informs the public is work to be proud of.

When he is not reporting, he is doing podcasts with friends on the topic of strange stories surrounding music. He is a big music fan of different types of genres.

He has also managed the Mental Health Association of Fredericksburg’s Facebook page.

Jillian Ellis
Reporter

Jillian joined Potomac Local News in 2019 as a freelance reporter. A native of Manassas, Virginia, Ellis covers the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

She hopes to learn how to improve writing and video skills, build professional relationships, work with graphic design and online publishing tools, and gain a better understanding of local government. Jillian is most proud of the work she has done that has shed light on what the vulnerable in the community face.

Jillian believes local journalism should be valued for its ability to lift up those who need help and spread messages of hope. Ellis hopes her biggest accomplishment upon leaving PLN will be her ability to have bridged the gap between local government and the community, especially to those underrepresented.

When she is not reporting, she loves to edit videos, photography, play lacrosse, travel, and read. She is currently a senior at George Mason University studying political communications. Jillian was also an accomplished campaign manager in the 2018 Manassas City Council Election. She interned for the Washington Examiner, and for MediaDC.

Jacob Mosser
Reporter

Jacob joined Potomac Local News as a general assignment reporter in April 2020. A native of Woodbridge, Virginia, Jacob has a passion for local government. He is most proud of his work on a recent story about the aging Lake Jackson Dam near Manassas, Virginia, because he felt it moved the community to voice their concerns about the structure.

Jacob formerly worked in local government, delivering constituent services. With PLN, he aims to improve writing and reporting skills, graphic design, and online publishing tools from PLN. His biggest goal in writing is to make a viral story that brings a new perspective to conversations.

When he has free time, Jacob loves to read, camp, and go to historical museums. He is a member of Old Bridge United Methodist Church and was a boy scout in his childhood.

He was also the student body president of his high school class. He often can be seen volunteering at area homeless shelters.

Gianna Jirak
Reporter

Gianna joined Potomac Local News in April 2020. She hopes to learn how to improve her writing, build professional relationships, learn online publishing tools, and gain a better understanding of government.

She is most proud of all the work she has been able to publish for PLN because it has been able to allow her to produce high-quality journalism that informs the community. Gianna’s biggest accomplishment upon leaving Potomac Local will be having been able to inform the public on important news that affects them personally.

When not reporting, Gianna likes to cook, crochet, attend the theatre, and read. She has seen over 15 Broadway plays.

She is the editor-in-chief of her high school newspaper, “The Watchdog,” and she has interned for Prince William Living magazine.

She has attended NYU’s Summer Pre-College Program, taking a course in Journalism. On Saturdays, Gianna volunteers at a food pantry at Holy Family Catholic Church in Dale City, Virginia.

In Fall 2020, Gianna will be a senior C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Trinity Bui
Reporter

Trinity joined Potomac Local News in April 2020. While working here at PLN, she hopes to learn how to improve her writing, develop professional relationships, online publishing tools, and graphic design.

Her most proud work is a poem she wrote that was published in her high school’s literary magazine and also in the America Library of Poetry in 2019. Before working with PLN, she was an art editor and co-editor for her high school literary magazine. Her biggest accomplishment upon leaving PLNl is getting her bachelor’s in graphic design.

When Trinity isn’t reporting, she loves to read, draw, write, and watch TV shows of any type. She is a huge fan of comics, anime, and manga. Most of her volunteer work in the community has been from her high school volunteer hour requirements, where she mostly volunteered for teaching younger children about I.T skills.

Trinity is a recent graduate of Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Meghan Dietrick
Reporter

Meghan returned to Potomac Local News in April 2020. She worked at PLN as an intern in the summer of 2019 but left shortly afterward to resume school.

Megan covers the towns of Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan, and Quantico in Virginia.

Now she has a bachelor’s degree in public and professional writing and has returned to freelance for PLN.

While working here, she wants to gain a better understanding of local government. Her biggest accomplishment is how she has gotten her degree during the coronavirus pandemic. Meghan didn’t let the virus bring down her GPA as she finished college with a 4.0 average at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Upon the event she leaves PLN, her biggest accomplishment, she states, is having most of her freelance and local government knowledge come from PLN.

When Meghan isn’t reporting, she loves to cook and take care of her assorted plants. She also loves to play with her rambunctious cat. You can find her playing in multiple Dungeons and Dragon campaigns with friends. Although her family lives in Prince William County, she is new to the area due to her family being military.

Mike Salmon
Reporter

Mike has been a journalist for over 20 years. When working at Potomac Local News, he wants to keep improving his writing skills and to improve his online publishing skills.

Mike has published thousands of articles for various publications. He freelances for Connection Papers in Fairfax and Alexandria,  Gazette News, the Washington Post, Zebra News, and area newsletters.

His biggest accomplishment upon leaving PLN was having the opportunity to freelance for more than one publication. The work he is most proud of is his impressive work on two men living alone in the woods for years that won first place in the Virginia Press Association.

When he is not reporting, he likes to ride bikes and make videos. He has made a video about his old neighborhood that was a big hit locally.