Welcome six new contributors to Anaheim Calling!

This offseason, one of the biggest needs of the site became apparent: Anaheim Calling needed new staff members.

The current staff has been nothing short of phenomenal, but the site has grown so much and so fast recently that it was obvious more help was needed. So, I put out a call for contributors out to the world. The results were better than I could have hoped.

Almost 30 people applied to join Anaheim Calling. Many provided some good writing samples as well as pitches for fresh perspectives and skills they could bring to the site. It was an extremely tough choice to narrow down the list to just six people; I had to move on from some great people.

But I believe the contributors you are about to meet were the best of the best. I’m so excited to see their work on the site and to have them help us continue to take Anaheim Calling to new heights.

Now, enough of my rambling. Let’s meet the newbies!

Jonathan Gleeson-Solomon

I am Irish but now live in London (England). For work, I am a lawyer specialising in intellectual property litigation with a focus on patent disputes. I started following the Ducks as a teenager and first saw the Ducks live at the Millennium Dome in London in 2007 (witnessing Bobby Ryan’s first ever career goal). I have played hockey for over 15 years skating for the Junior Belfast Giants, the Dundalk Whalers, the Oxford University Blues and the Law Faculty at the University of Toronto. I am really looking forward to getting started and hope you enjoy my contributions to Anaheim Calling this season!

Mark Zimmerman

I live in Southern California. For work, I consult with healthcare organizations about their clinical data, especially data extraction and analysis. I’m originally from Minneapolis, so grew up a North Stars fan, and stuck with them through the move to Dallas. Along with the rest of the country, moved to SoCal in the early 70s, which put a quick end to my ice hockey playing days. Started going to Ducks games in the 1990s and continue to follow them as my local team. I’m also a contributor to fellow SBNation site, DefendingBigD and am really looking forward to doing a deep dive into all things Anaheim.

Michael Fukuda

Hello AC! My name is Michael. I was born and raised in Orange County, the best place in the world (don’t @ me). I became well-rounded in sports due to my dad being an avid fan of all the local teams. That was a big way that we connected and, to this day, is still a major part of our relationship. Being Asian-American, Paul Kariya will always be one of my favorite athletes. I still occasionally watch his “off the floor, on the board” highlights. What a game! I went to UC Irvine for college (#zotzot) and now work in sales in the audiovisual industry. I love sports in general, photography, and coffee. I look forward to contributing in any way I can to Anaheim Calling. This community has taught me so much and I look forward to partnering with the team here!

Stephen Dohner

Hello everybody! My name is Stephen and I am a lifelong Ducks fan. I grew up all over San Gabriel Valley before finding my way to Santa Monica. I work for an investment company that has a number of fingers in a number of pies, not the least of which is producing BoJack Horseman. My dad is a Kings fan and my uncle is a Ducks fan. My father hasn’t quite forgiven for me siding with his little brother on this one. Selanne is the Duck of my youth, but Getzlaf will always have my heart. I was in the arena for the cup winning game, and I was in the arena for the first game 7 loss to Detroit. I love fake trades and questions without answers. Can’t wait to get into the season and see what fresh hell awaits us all this year!

Alex Khalifa

After years of only reading, I’m looking forward to contributing to Anaheim Calling! I happened to attend my first Ducks road game after moving to St. Louis as a teenager. My previous home in Connecticut was once occupied by a Hartford Whalers prospect called Chris Pronger, but I digress. Two years later, I was headed to Southern California and ended up witnessing a lot of cool Ducks moments live, including Game 6 of the 2003 Finals. In 2007, my girlfriend and I attended the entire postseason run to the Stanley Cup thanks to a season ticket holder friend of ours. Needless to say, we soon had our own season seats.

I’m a fantasy basketball writer and also contribute to the hoops section of California Golden Blogs. I graduated from UC Berkeley, where I played in the Cal Band and watched a young quarterback by the name of Aaron Rodgers. When I’m not watching or reading about sports, I love listening to jazz and visiting museums. Growing up I lived in a dizzying number of places with my parents and two siblings, including Egypt. These days, I enjoy residing mere miles from the Honda Center. After all, where else but Orange County can you receive a thank you from Kent Huskins after reviewing his coffee shop?

Cory Houston

I was born and raised in Anaheim; my parents had season tickets from 1993-99, and I was a kid with lots of energy who loved being physical, so hockey was just always present in my life. I, just like Alex, was also lucky enough to attend the 2003 and 2007 runs, but was unlucky enough to be in attendence for every Game 7 loss we’ve ever had – ya win some, ya lose some. I graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2018 with a history degree, with the intention of eventually going back for a masters in something concerning writing. I’ve worked on political campaigns in both digital content creator and press secretary roles, but quickly decided that DC was not the place for me. Currently, I serve tables on Saturdays and Sundays, I write and produce content for LakersNation, and I shoot freelance photography in my free time. I’m excited I can now rationalize telling my friends, “hey, can’t hang, gotta watch hockey.” Looking forward to the season!