Hello Fairfax, I'm Your New Editor!

Hello, Fairfax!

I am your new editor for Fairfax City Patch. I am excited to be here and hope to build on the incredible momentum Fairfax City Patch has going for it, as a strong community force.

Who am I? My name is Jennifer van der Kleut (formerly Jennifer McBride). Yes, if you're wondering about my last name (as most people usually do when they first meet me), my husband Alex is Dutch.

I originally hail from the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Sunnyvale, California - smack dab in the middle of the fast-paced Silicon Valley. I was born there, attended school there, and graduated from college there, at San Jose State University, where I studied journalism, public relations and mass communication.

After college, I dove into my journalism career. I worked for a handful of different Bay Area publications, such as Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, South Bay Accent magazine, and others.

In 2006, I married my husband Alex who, at the time, was an aerospace engineer for Lockheed Martin. We welcomed our first son, Connor, in September of 2007. Today, Connor is a hyperactive, sweet and funny 5-and-a-half-year-old who is aspiring to be the star of his new local tee-ball team.

Our second son, Oliver (we call him "Ollie") came along in May of 2010, and at that point, I took a little time off from my career.

However, in the fall of 2010, I started really itching to get back into journalism, and started searching for freelance work online. That's when I discovered Patch.

Patch, which launched its first few sites on the East Coast in 2009, was just starting to sweep into the San Francisco Bay Area in the fall of 2010. There were many listings online looking for freelancers and full-time editors in the Bay Area, and I was very excited. Having always worked in print, I was thrilled at the idea of getting to expand my skills into online news.

I worked for about 18 months as a freelancer for several of Patch's Bay Area sites, and then was hired on as a full-time employee in May of 2012. I worked for a while as the editor for the wonderful RedwoodCity-Woodside Patch, up until last week.

Just after New Year's Day this year, my husband was offered a promotion if we agreed to relocate to the northern Virginia area. We accepted, and just arrived in the end of February. Alex now works as a principal engineer for The S.I. Organization, which used to be a part of Lockheed Martin and recently split off to become its own company.

Excitedly, the timing was right for me to accept a transfer within Patch to take over the amazing sites of Fairfax City and Herndon. So here I am!

I am so excited to be here, and can't wait to hit the ground running. I have already had early contact with the ever-friendly Mayor Silverthorne. From what I've seen, Fairfax City Patch has some wonderful followers, readers and bloggers, and you have an incredible town.

Have a story tip for me? Want to say hi? Please contact me anytime. I am honored to be your new editor, and I'm here for you!

Jennifer van der Kleut

Phone: (571) 217-6241

E-mail: jennifer.vanderkleut@patch.com