The People Behind Working World

 

Catherine Rhodes — Editor and Publisher

Catherine is one of the founding entrepreneurs of Working World. During the many years she’s run the company, Catherine has at one point or another done every job — writer, graphic designer, ad salesperson, accountant, web developer, waterer of office plants, you name it — which gives her a special degree of appreciation for the talents of her coworkers. Catherine’s job description is now full-time editor, web strategist and deadline wrangler. Given that our company publishes four magazines, two websites and hosts three job fairs each year, there are a lot of deadlines to wrangle. Away from work, Catherine can be found cooking a meal for friends, seeing live music at the Disney Hall or curled up with a book. Catherine recently climbed Mt. Whitney with two of her three teenage kids.

Randy Goldring — President

Randy joined us six years ago to help expand the company. His first idea was a great one — starting Working Nurse! Hard to believe, but there was life before Working Nurse for Randy, who worked on the 59th floor of a Downtown Los Angeles high-rise as senior vice president of institutional municipal sales for Smith Barney. Randy has a plethora of interests, from tennis to trail-running to music to discussing politics on his blog. He plays lead guitar in his own blues band, which is starting to book paid gigs. Randy is married to the director of nursing at a renowned eating disorders clinic, and they have three kids, a dog, a cat and a horse.

 
Daniel Paraszkay — Distribution Manager

When you arrive at your local Working World news rack in Los Angeles and find it stocked with the new issue, you can thank Danny. For the past nine years he has been the organizational genius who keeps the distribution train running on time, issue after issue, through rain or shine, week after week. Danny is well-liked in the office for many reasons. First, because he’s a friendly, likeable guy; and second, because he can be found giving neck massages to his coworkers. Danny is very active in the human potential movement. He and his wife have a six-year-old daughter who keeps them on the go.

Eric Field — Sales Manager

The fastest Eric ever drove a car was 145 miles per hour in a Porsche on the way back from Pahrump, NV. There was perfect visibility, he knew the road and the car, and felt confident in his ability. If you know Eric, this story isn’t surprising. He’s the kind of person who jumps in and takes the wheel. Before joining the company, Eric was in the Air Force Reserves for six years. Eric was promoted to sales manager last year and has done a stellar job managing and inspiring the team.

Dustin Ames — Production Manager and Director of IT

When not constructing either of the two magazines or acting as “office techie” or web guru, Dustin might be found DJing at a club around Los Angeles. Dustin got into music as a teenager when he and his buddies set up turntables in the corner of a supermarket parking lot, renegade-style, and played music until asked to leave. In college he started an electronic music group that eventually got funded by USC. Dustin enjoys gallery shows from up and coming artists and finds urban/industrial art and graffiti to be his cup of tea. In the office, Dustin works hard at keeping the gears at Working World well-oiled and running smoothly.

 

Ron Assaf — Account Executive

Ron is part of a large, tight-knit family from New Orleans. When we first interviewed him for a sales position, we were impressed that he had spent the prior six months in Louisiana helping his family recover from Hurricane Katrina. Being from New Orleans, Ron has an ear for live music and a taste for good cooking. One of his great adventures was a trip to Costa Rica with his brother where they rented a ranch house among a grove of apple trees. His favorite movie is Run Lola Run.

Jill park — Staff Accountant

Jill is our in-house accountant who keeps the invoices going out, the payments coming in and the books balanced. She has a degree in business administration and finance from USC. When not invoicing, charging or posting, she can be found in the great outdoors, snowboarding, hiking, biking, running or cruising around on jet skis. Interestingly, Jill was born on Feb. 29 of a leap year, which means she only has a "real" birthday every four years. We have a child prodigy in our office!

Corey conklin — Account Executive

Corey grew up in Virginia Beach, VA, where his dad owned a surf shop. As a baby he learned to paddle in the ocean before he could walk. Later in life Corey moved to Neptune Beach, FL, where he surfed, partied and played music with friends before finding his way to the Working World office. Here he discovered his true calling in ad sales. This self-admitted “badass” enjoys working out and playing basketball and softball.

 Jim Herz — Account Executive

Jim is one of the friendliest people in the company. You wouldn't know he's the newest member of the sales team, because it's as if he was born to sell for Working World. Jim is a golfing fanatic and can be found practicing his swing as often as he can sneak away to a local course. He avidly follows USC football. Jim is happily married to the marketing director of the Children’s Museum in Pasadena and has a teenage daughter from a prior marriage.

Beth Duggan — Assistant Editor

After graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in magazine journalism, Beth picked up her Midwestern roots and moved to Los Angeles in January 2006. Born and bred in St. Louis, Beth grew up watching Blues hockey and now goes to see them when they're in town to play the Kings. She holds fast to the hope that she will live to see the Blues win the Cup one day, and her love of the sport oftentimes leads to dreams of moving to Canada. Beth also enjoys cooking, and tries at least one new recipe a week.

 

 

 RUFUS AGBEDE — FREELANCE EDITORIAL DESIGNER

The beautiful covers and editorial layouts you see in our print magazines are the handiwork of a very talented man, Rufus Agbede. He has been an art director for 10 years and a graphic designer for 15 years. He prides himself in designing compelling, creative solutions on time. Check out his site as www.lastcallvisuals.com.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Working World holiday Luncheon

Instead of having a splashy Christmas party as we have in years past, we decided on a low-key staff lunch at Taylors on 8th Street, an old-time steakhouse walking distance from the office.