About Us

Our Team

Debbie Gaylord  
​M.A., B.A.
Owner, Publisher, Designer & Creative Director

        I have worked in advertising and communications for close to twenty years now, creating content for local brands, nonprofits and politicians over the years. What makes me happy is learning about local businesses, helping them craft a design that reflects their ideas and putting it out in the world for other people to see and experience.
     The impetus to publish my first magazine grew out of necessity.  Years ago, as the mother of triplets plus one, I wanted to do something that would allow me to be creative and give me the flexibility to be there after school.  
     I discovered the publishing world in an initiation by fire with my first publication in 2005, the Capital District Kids Directory.  Through that first experience I learned design, layout, sales and how exciting it was to create and share a magazine each month. I later owned a second publication, Our Towne, in upstate New York.  
     After moving to St. Johns in 2012 I decided to start St. Johns Magazine. The concept has remained simple from the beginning - a multi-platform advertising vehicle that connects communities and shares positive, helpful information. When you contact St. Johns Magazine you deal with a fellow business owner who understands the dynamics of entrepreneurship and will give you the personal attention you deserve. 
     Looking back now, I am so thankful to have gone down this path and found my passion in designing and publishing.
     When I’m not working, you can find me at the beach swimming and generally soaking in the beauty of St. Johns. I love reading and creative writing and most of all traveling the world.
Darren Rosenbaum 
Editor & Contributor 
Darren Rosenbaum is a lifelong teacher with a penchant for history. Since moving to St. John's County and the First Coast, his interest in colonial history has been rekindled and if he could spend every day looking out at the Matanzas River from the Castillo de San Marcos, he would consider himself one of the luckiest people on earth. He is the father of "the triplets" plus one, and spends his free time with his family at the beach or wandering the streets of St. Augustine just taking it all in.
Mindy Kerr, Nature's Child Photography (& Official St. Johns Magazine Photographer)
One of the most amazing local photographers in St. Johns, she is our go to expert for all things photography.  Talented at really helping people relax to get the perfect cover shot.  *Mindy is responsible for most (not all) of our covers and photography for our featured sponsors.  She grew up in Missouri, is an Air Force Veteran, and has brought up two wonderful children.  Her creativity and happy spirit make it a lot of fun do cover shoots together!

Some of our Community Contributors

Our Philosophy - Advertising is an Art

There are a lot of great technicians in advertising. And unfortunately they talk the best game. They know all the rules. They can tell you that people in an ad will get you greater readership. They can tell you that a sentence should be this short or that long. They can tell you that body copy should be broken up for easier reading. They can give you fact after fact after fact. They are the scientists of advertising. But there’s one little rub. Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.


                                                                                                                 - William Bernbach, Giant of American Advertising.
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