Meet our staff

PUBLISHER
Shawn Palmer is publisher of the Valley Advocate. Prior to joining Newspapers of New England in 2021, Shawn held leadership positions at The (New London) Day, The (Danbury) News-Times, the (Meriden) Record-Journal, The Westerly Sun, The (Newark) Star-Ledger and the Hartford Courant. He earned a BA from Providence College and an MBA from Seton Hall University.

Contact: spalmer@valleyadvocate.com | 413-585-5279

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Dan Crowley is executive editor of the Valley Advocate. A Massachusetts native, he has more than two decades of experience as an award-winning investigative reporter and editor and joined the Advocate’s staff in 2021. He earned a BA from Connecticut College and an MA in journalism from Indiana University.

Contact: dcrowley@valleyadvocate.com | 413-585-5239

REGIONAL CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
Mark Galat was named regional circulation director in 2025 and currently oversees subscription sales, delivery and customer service. Mark joined the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 1996 and held several roles in the circulation department before assuming his current role. Prior to the Gazette, Mark worked in the circulation departments of The Republican and the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram.

Contact: mgalat@valleyadvocate.com | 413-586-1925

REGIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Stephanie T. Hadley was named regional advertising director in 2025 overseeing the day to day sales operations and production teams for Newspapers of New England which publishes the Valley Advocate. Stephanie started at the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 2016 as creative director before being promoted to sales operations director in 2019. Prior to joining NNE, she spent 12 years working at Turley Publications in Palmer, MA.

Contact: shadley@valleyadvocate.com | 413-585-5288

REGIONAL CONTROLLER
Edwin O’Connor is regional controller of the Daily Hampshire Gazette and oversees all aspects of financial accounting and analysis. He is a CPA and earned a BS from the University of Massachusetts and an MS from Northeastern University.

Contact: eoconnor@valleyadvocate.com | 413-585-5302

REGIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER
Michael Templeton was named regional advertising manager of the Valley Advocate in 2025. He joined the company in 2022 as digital advertising sales manager. During his tenure, Michael has helped the sales team significantly grow digital advertising throughout the region. In his current role, he oversees all advertising revenue and works closely with the media consultants to help local businesses reach their desired audience across all platforms. Before joining the Advocate, Michael held sales and sales management roles at Comcast Business and The Republican.

Contact: mtempleton@valleyadvocate.com | 413-585-5274

Editor
Emily Thurlow is the editor of the Valley Advocate. An award-winning journalist and photographer, Thurlow has roved from central and western Massachusetts, Arizona, Pennsylvania and back again. She’s covered a tornado, wildfires and tariff tussles as well as business and nonprofit issues, education, and arts and culture. She’s also the assistant editor of the Daily Hampshire Gazette overseeing the arts and features pages.

Contact: ethurlow@gazettenet.com | 413-585-5355

GRAPHIC DESIGNER, CONTRIBUTOR
Jennifer Levesque is graphic designer of the Valley Advocate. She joined the Advocate in 2008 and has held a variety of roles in editing, advertising, graphic design and remains a contributor and columnist of Mix Tape for the Valley Advocate.

Contact: jlevesque@valleyadvocate.com | 413-585-5399