About

Eric’s background is rooted in the rental and real estate industries. He founded metro Detroit’s Urbane Apartments in 2003, after serving as senior vice president for a major Midwest apartment developer. He established a proven track record of effectively repositioning existing rental properties in a way that added value for investors while enhancing the resident experience.

He also established The Urbane Way, a social media marketing and PR laboratory, where innovative marketing ideas are tested. Eric has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week Magazine.

You can connect with Eric_Urbane on Twitter.

Eric also writes regular articles for the following publications;

Matt Oberdier received his BFA in Illustration from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit in 2008. He has since worked as a freelance graphic designer & web developer.

In his free time, Matt enjoys playing guitar & singing, cooking vegan food, photography and acting.

Bonnie Caprara’s career has traversed between print journalism and media relations in the agency world and for private clients. She’s also a semi-serious foodie with a penchant for Cheetos.

Michael Angelo Caruso is a valued communication consultant to companies and organizations all over the world.Michael is author of the 5 Cool Ideas books, an audio book on legacy titled, Dear Michael Angelo–A Father’s Life Letters To His Son and the FastLearnerAudio series

Jane Fader received a Master’s degree from the Wayne State University Department of Communication, where she also completed her doctoral coursework in media studies and instructed courses in film, video production, and television criticism. She has written widely on the topics of sexuality and pornography, and produced an internationally awarded documentary about female ejaculation. Currently Jane does creative direction and marketing in the sexual wellness industry, instructs courses in Cultural Diversity and Information Literacy at IADT Detroit, and maintains her blog, janefader.com.

David Moss is a writer, marketer, and seasoned foodie with a taste for all types of cuisine. After toiling for several years in the restaurant industry (cooking, waiting tables, bartending, eating) and considering a career as a professional chef, David switched gears to attend Wayne State University and receive a degree in journalism and public relations.As a marketing professional in the non-profit industry, David has experience in Public Relations, Social Media, Grant Writing and Donor Development. But let’s get back to food. When not at his day job, David explores the Detroit area’s best (and sometimes not so best) spots for food, drink and value. He’s part of Yelp’s Elite Squad, and regularly tweets about food, wine and craft beer. You can find him on twitter at @dave_moss.

Melissa has been sharing too much of her life online for the past five years at http://www.rockanddrool.com. She recently Co-Founded a social media company amply titled Smart Savvy Social (http://www.smartsavvysocial.com) because she and her business partner are both smart AND savvy. When Melissa isn’t cleaning up after her 5 kids, 6 cats, 2 dogs and various other household pests, she can be found obsessively twittering as @rockdrool.

I hail from the land of Faulkner, Grisham and Elvis and love to write about all things, especially sports.Sports writing has been in my blood since 1980 when as a high school junior, I sprained my knee on the basketball court. The local weekly paper needed someone to write up post and preview action of my high school and I jumped at the $5.00 a week opportunity.Full disclosure allows me to tell you I’m an Ole Miss Rebel, Miami Dolphin, Boston Celtic and Indianola Academy Colonel fan but my job makes me write from the facts and not so much the heart most of the time.

Now With more than 30 years of professional writing experience, I have worked in automotive, advertising, marketing, public relations, creative and technical, as well as news/sports/entertainment and column writing from Mississippi to California to Michigan and parts unknown in between.

In Michigan since 1993, I work with several newspapers, advertising agencies and national and local magazines through my freelance company, Prime Time Penguin Unlimited LLC.

MJ Galbraith is a songwriter and local musician, freelance writer, baseball enthusiast, lover of travel, and a terrible mechanic. When MJ graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in Creative Writing, he was immediately barraged with ‘questions’ of “What are you gonna do, teach?” He is determined to not get a job teaching.So far, so good.With music, MJ’s traveled the country touring on his songs. Having spent time in places from Chicago to Seattle, LA to New Orleans, and Nashville to NYC, he is convinced that Detroit and its ‘burbs have the the highest concentration of ‘native’ songwriting talent anywhere.

Eat it, New York. You too, LA.

MJ started writing for the Urbane Life in the summer of 2011. He also writes for a handful of other websites as well as an immigration lawyer. He used to work in a publishing house. He’s glad he’s out.

Stephanie is a publicist, free lance writer and bad actress living and socializing in downtown Royal Oak. Originally from South Carolina, Stephanie moved to Michigan to attend graduate school at Wayne State University. She writes her own blog, The Smallest Pepper, about food, fashion and fun in Detroit and beyond. Enjoy charming wit at smallestpepper.blogspot.com

Chef Tom is your Street Eatzz foodie. A chef since 1986, Chef Tom has worked for Katherine’s Catering in Ann Arbor and was the executive chef at Domino’s Farms where, in addition to his many duties, he served as the personal chef for Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan. He is currently a chef consultant.