New Editor in town - Elise Marylander takes reins of Courier

Elise Marylander, who has served as Assistant Editor of the Left Hand Valley Courier since July 2022, has dropped "Assistant" from her title, and is now the Editor of the Courier.

Bruce Warren, who had served in dual roles of Managing Editor and Editor of the Courier since April 2022 when former editor Jocelyn Rowley left to take a full-time position with a Loveland newspaper, will continue to serve as Managing Editor of the Courier.

Marylander's duties as Editor include determining content for each issue, assigning stories to reporters, and editing everything readers see on a weekly basis. She will continue to write her popular weekly column, "Let's Talk About...."

Marylander has an English degree from UCLA and a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She practiced law in California before moving to Colorado, where she was an attorney and partner in The Marylander Law Firm, LLC, emphasizing corporate law, contracts, business, trademark, and estate planning in her practice. She retired from her law practice in September 2023.

Marylander has lived in Lake Valley for almost 30 years with her husband, Grant Marylander, whom she met in law school. Their three children are graduates of Niwot High School.

Warren welcomed the change, which will allow him to focus more on the overall operation of the Courier. "Elise has been an incredible asset to the Courier," he said. "She and I work well together, and she is adept at paying attention to detail, fixing grammar, spelling, punctuation and other mistakes that I often miss."

"She works very well with the staff, is kind and considerate, and serves as a mentor to many of our young writers," Warren said. "And she sometimes brings cookies to our staff meetings." Baking is one of Marylander's hobbies and she says she isn't above a cookie-bribe now and then.

Marylander said, "I have enjoyed reading the Courier for years. I am so happy to be part of this great group of people who bring local news and entertainment to this community. I am hoping more people will come forward to share their talents with us. It is a lot of fun."

"Her column, 'Let's Talk About....,' has been very well received, and is best enjoyed when read out loud," Warren said. "I hope to focus more on the overall direction of the newspaper in a changing and challenging time for community newspapers. We've done this for over 26 years, and we're committed to keeping the Courier as a vibrant part of the community."

Warren also noted that he expects to have more time to write sports stories. "When Elise first started working for the Courier, she noticed that I'm a die-hard Cubs fan," he said. "She casually mentioned that her cousin used to work for the Cubs, and when I asked who her cousin was, she replied, 'Joe Maddon,' who led the Cubs to their only World Series title in over 100 years. She now realizes that for me, everything comes back to the Cubs."