Tom Pounds started the Toledo Free Press in 2005. He is a 30-year veteran in the newspaper industry, beginning his career in newspapers in 1990 at the Los Angeles Daily News as director of circulation. He went on to serve in a similar role at the San Jose Mercury News and Pittsburgh Post Gazette. He came to Toledo as the vice president and general manager of the Toledo Blade. In 2004, he left the Blade to open the Toledo Free Press. After it closed in 2015, Tom continued to publish local magazines until reopening the Free Press in 2024. He serves on several local nonprofit boards, including the Red Cross, Owens Community College Foundation, and The Maritime Academy of Toledo.

Rebecca Conklin Kleiboemer is a former newspaper editor, website manager, columnist, and reporter for The (Toledo) Blade, The (Findlay) Courier, and The Lima News, and is an experienced event coordinator and fundraiser. She also is a communications specialist and former development coordinator for the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center, which serves Lucas and Ottawa counties. Conklin Kleiboemer served eight years in elected office with Whitehouse Village Council, including as council president and mayor pro tem for her hometown community in the Anthony Wayne area. She is founder/admin of Whitehouse Ohio Community Discussion and a member of Toledo Opera Guild, Whitehouse America Legion Auxiliary, and Peace Lutheran Church in Bowling Green. She and husband Dan Kleiboemer, a merchant marine captain and retired U.S. Navy commander, have two sons and a grandson who inspire them to serve their community and enjoy all its many wonderful attributes. You will find them hiking in Metroparks and the Maumee River, attending symphonies and sporting events, and driving around speedily in Dan's supercar and putteringly in his Model A.

Sean Nestor is a lifelong Toledoan who helped to architect the revival of the Toledo Free Press as a digital nonprofit in 2024. In his spare time, he works as a freelance writer and publishes “This Week in Toledo,” a weekly local news roundup, on social media and Substack.

Morgan Kosinski is an actress, lifestyle host, and writer based in Toledo. She formally hosted the live, daily lifestyle show What's Going On? on NBC24, it addition to its eponymous weekend program, The NBC24 Academic Challenge. She was also featured as “Mrs. Parker” in the local indie hit, The Lifeguards. When Morgan is not working in front of, or behind, the camera, you can find her actively working her role as "Hockey Mom," wife, and local philanthropist. Follow her on Instagram @rally_the_readers or on Facebook.

Daniel E. Kimmet has served on the Toledo Free Press Board of Directors since its inception. Dan is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelors and masters in mechanical engineering. In his career, Dan held a variety of executive positions at Aeroquip/Eaton Corporation. Prior to his retirement, he was vice president of Operations for Eaton Hydraulics. After his retirement from Eaton, Dan served as the CEO of Dillin Corporation and executive director of Ohio State’s Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence. Dan currently serves as a director of the Owens Community Foundation and The Ohio State University Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board. He has served on the Sisters of Notre Dame Board in Toledo, as director and treasurer of the Mary Immaculate School Board in Toledo, and on The Ohio State University Alumni Association Board.

Stephen Vasquez is a lifelong Toledoan who has spent more than two decades building his career in this community. He graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Public Policy and Administration, then went to work at Aerotek in Cincinnati before returning home to Toledo, where he has built his career ever since. Over the years, Stephen has worked across a wide range of industries, including higher education at Lourdes College, the nonprofit sector at United Way of Greater Toledo and the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, construction and mechanical contracting at Industrial Power Systems, and manufacturing at Wurtec Inc. That range gave him a rare, well rounded view of how different organizations operate and grow, from mission driven nonprofits to global manufacturers. In January 2025, Stephen launched Harbor Light Strategies, a Toledo-based consulting practice that helps businesses and public sector organizations make smarter, more strategic technology decisions. The work draws on everything he learned across his career: how to read a market, build a process that actually works, and help an organization grow without losing sight of what matters to the people it serves. Stephen has also stayed closely tied to the causes and organizations that shaped him. He currently serves as Board President of Ohio Virtual Academy, and over the years has served on the boards of the Toledo Airshow, CASA/CRB, and EPIC Toledo. For Stephen, giving back to Toledo isn't separate from his career, it's part of the same story.