Camryn Montgomery, Political and Civic Affairs Reporter
Camryn Montgomery is a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder studying journalism and political science. She is passionate about community-centered reporting and believes deeply in the press as an observant fourth estate — an essential safeguard in a healthy democracy.
Her work is grounded in the idea that journalism should hold power to account, elevate underrepresented voices, and give residents clear, contextual information about the decisions shaping their daily lives.
Camryn currently serves as the assistant news editor for the CU Independent, CU Boulder’s fully independent, student-run news organization. In this role, she assigns and edits breaking news, as well as campus governance and features.
Her reporting experience extends beyond campus. Camryn interned with DC Witness, a nonprofit newsroom in Washington, D.C., that documents every stage of violent crime cases in the District’s courts. There, she covered daily hearings, learned to navigate complex legal proceedings, and gained experience in data-driven public safety reporting. The role reinforced her commitment to transparency and to making public institutions more accessible to the people they serve.
At the Estes Valley Voice, Camryn reports on civic affairs with an emphasis on local government, housing, and community policy. She approaches every meeting, vote, and proposal with a focus on clarity and public impact, aiming to translate technical discussions into reporting that residents can use. She values the trust that comes with covering a small community and strives to provide context, consistency, and accountability in her coverage of the Estes Valley.
Outside the newsroom, Camryn enjoys taking in the beauty of Colorado, hiking, skiing, exploring local coffee shops, and staying up-to-date with the news that impacts communities across the United States.
Dick Mulhern, Political Cartoonist
Dick Mulhern is a graphic artist turned political cartoonist for the Estes Valley Voice, which means he spends his time observing local life, drawing sketches, and waiting patiently for Estes Park locals to provide him with fresh material. Thankfully, it never lets him down.
Dick studied fine arts at the University of Northern Colorado, where he learned how to draw people, shade properly, and — most importantly — “make someone look 10 percent better in a portrait so they’d actually pay me.”
Dick’s early career began in Greeley, where he drew pencil portraits. He then headed to Craig, Alaska, on Prince of Wales Island to teach High School art and do other important things, such as being Santa at the elementary school Christmas program and opening the gym on Saturday nights.
He returned to Colorado in 1979 to serve as program director at Covenant Heights Bible Camp and later joined his family’s business in Greeley. Throughout all of this, he kept drawing — faces, ideas, oddball situations, and the kinds of things that eventually turn into editorial cartoons once they marinate long enough.
Dick’s first regular cartooning adventure began when the Estes Park Trail-Gazette published his weekly editorial cartoons. He took on the noble mission of proving that even the most serious community problems — traffic, elk, tourists attempting to pet wildlife, and anything involving local politics — have a lighter side if you squint hard enough.
Then, in 1985, Dick surprised everyone (including himself) by diving into the electronic bankcard processing industry. He founded First Link of Arizona and later developed GRS software — a system that enabled banks to access merchant credit card data more efficiently. Vital Processing eventually acquired GRS and later Total Systems, which still surprises people who only know him as “that guy who draws the cartoons.”
Dick is married to Liz (Dick and Liz, like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) and has three sons: David, Thomas, and John. Over the years, Dick and Liz have split their time between Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, and Canada. These days, when he’s not drawing cartoons, he is gathering new material simply by attending Estes Park meetings and observing life in this wonderfully unpredictable valley.
Samantha Nordstrom, Environmental Reporter and Photographer
Samantha “Sam” Nordstrom is a fearless, passionate, and inquisitive award-winning photojournalist based in northern Colorado who aims to tell stories that evoke curiosity, empathy, and cultural understanding while inspiring her audiences to see the world through a new perspective.
Originally from Montgomery, Texas, Samantha is a graduate of Colorado State University, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and media communications, with a minor in creative writing. While there, she served as a photographer and feature writer for the student-led newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, and magazine, College Avenue, earning accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Colorado Press Association.
Samantha was also the Student Sustainability Center’s content officer for the School of Global Environmental Sustainability, where she founded the Green Bulletin Blog and shared stories highlighting student sustainability initiatives. During college, Samantha studied abroad with Semester at Sea, traveling to 11 countries aboard a cruise ship while earning class credits and producing a series of personal travel stories.
As a freelance content creator, Samantha has planned and produced transmedia stories for numerous clients, including the Toy, Game, and Puzzle Library, the Museum of Art Fort Collins, Travelmation, and the Sustainable Living Association. She has also built a flourishing portrait side-hustle business, primarily working with graduating seniors.
At the Estes Valley Voice, Samantha primarily reports on local environmental issues, sustainability initiatives, community activism, and outdoor culture.
Samantha hopes her stories always inspire people to see and experience the world in a new way, and she is proud to be working with a paper that values authentic deliberative journalism as much as she does.
Visit her webpage at www.samanthanordstrom.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.