Meet the team
John Boit, Publisher and Editor
John Boit grew up in Penobscot and started his journalism career in local Maine media. He has worked in media and communications throughout his career, including as a foreign correspondent and media development expert in Europe and Asia. Boit co-founded a public relations firm in Washington, DC, where he was a partner for 18 years. He returned to Maine in 2022, and now lives year round in the same farm house where he was raised in Penobscot.
To read stories by John, click here.
Bethany Violette, Advertising, Marketing and Development Manager
Bethany Violette brings nearly 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, branding, and marketing to The Rising Tide. As a founding member and Brand Manager of a craft brewery in Vietnam, she wore many hats—developing creative campaigns, building community, and helping shape a fast-growing business from the ground up. Now rooted in Blue Hill, Bethany is channeling her passion for local storytelling and design into The Rising Tide, while building an off-grid home with her family and working on her first fantasy novel.
Emily Baer, Associate Editor
Emily Baer was born in New Mexico. Her family traveled extensively and lived overseas before settling in southern Maine. She graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington and received an MFA from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast writing program. She brings 15 years of experience in writing, public relations and communications, and her reporting for The Rising Tide focuses primarily on Bucksport and Castine. She lives in Bucksport.
To read stories by Emily, click here.
Tricia Thomas, freelance reporter
Tricia Thomas is an award-winning journalist who covers news, people and events of interest for The Rising Tide from throughout the Blue Hill Peninsula and Downeast Maine. She has more than 40 years of experience in journalism, technical writing, public relations and communications. A lifelong writer and interviewer, Tricia is committed to spotlighting and sharing the unique stories of Maine’s people and places. She lives in Blue Hill.
To read stories by Tricia, click here.
John Epstein, freelance reporter
John Epstein is a retired lawyer who handled trials and litigation for the State and City of New York. In addition, he has worked as a freelance reporter for Pacifica Radio, National Public Radio, The Village Voice, and several weekly newspapers. He lives in Brooksville along the Bagaduce River with his wife, Joanna Hefferen, their peppy corgi, Lucy, and their tuxedo cat, Trixie. He also enjoys singing bass in The Bagaduce Chorale.
To read stories by John, click here.
Steele Hays, freelance reporter
Steele Hays is a freelance journalist and year-round Blue Hill resident. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, advertising manager and marketing executive. When he is not researching and writing, he is likely to be found on a sailboat, working in the garden or hiking a local trail.
To read stories by Steele, click here.
Jessica Hardy, freelance reporter
Jessica “Jessi” McVay Hardy grew up in Sedgwick and has always had a passion for writing. She recently completed her MFA in English-Creative Writing and is working on two crime thriller novels. Hardy has worked as a teacher and at local restaurants on the Blue Hill Peninsula while raising her family. She resides with her husband, daughters, and critters in Sedgwick. When she isn’t at a computer writing, Hardy can be found outside in her gardens, playing with her chickens or cheering for the Celtics and Patriots.
To read stories by Jessi, click here.
Joey Jett, freelance reporter
Joey Jett is a writer, artist, musician, filmmaker, tinkerer, Army veteran, and proud first-time homeowner from Bucksport, Maine. Joey’s lived an exciting life that has left him with an incredible catalog of stories and characters he’s met along the way. He’s hitchhiked with vagabonds, couch-surfed with musicians, driven across the country, acted for film, and worked a few seasons in the remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It’s this obsession with life and all its experiences which drives him to strengthen his career as a community reporter.
To read stories by Joey, click here.
Annie Means, freelance reporter
Annie Means is a freelance journalist, photographer, and writer who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She has reported on topics both locally and internationally, with a particular interest in food systems, the blue economy, and adventure journalism.
In 2023 and 2024, she traveled the globe as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, reporting on women's leadership in the international maritime economy. Her work has been published in outlets including Food Tank, Session Magazine, Oceanographic Magazine, and more. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Humanities from Whitman College and, as of 2026, is pursuing a master's degree at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy.
This is Annie's second season on the Blue Hill Peninsula, and she very much looks forward to reporting on community news in the area.
To read Annie’s stories, click here.
Brian Robbins, columnist
Brian Robbins grew up in Stonington, Maine. His past lives include his years offshore lobstering with his brother Steve, a legend in the fishery, and traveling the New England coast for Commercial Fisheries News. These days Brian lives in Nobleboro with his wife and best buddy, Felicity, but as the late boatbuilder Wesley Lash told him a number of years ago, “You can take the boy off the Island, but you can’t take the Island out of the boy.” His column, “Wheel Watch,” appears monthly in The Rising Tide.
To read “Wheel Watch,” click here.
Kim Ridley, nature columnist
Maine native Kimberly Ridley is the award-winning author of six creative nonfiction books about the natural world for children and adults, including The Secret Pool and Wild Design: Nature’s Architects. Her essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications including Down East Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Boston Globe.
She lives in Brooklin with the painter Tom Curry and their cat Andy. You can find more about her at www.kimberlyridley.org.
To read her columns “My Wild Neighbors,” click here.
Michelle Beckwith, book reviewer
Michelle reviews new and not-so-new books of various genres and especially enjoys titles set in Maine. She is an enthusiastic reader who can usually be found at Bucklyn Coffee, in the Blue Hill Library or on the South Street-Parker Point Trail.
Her reviews from the past five years are posted on her Instagram page @bookshelfbybeckwith. She and her husband Jeff have made a home in Blue Hill and are enjoying getting to know the people and places that make the Peninsula so special.
To read her “Water-marked” columns, click here.