What L.A. Times staffers are giving from the Gift Guide

Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.

Adam Tschorn is a former small-town newspaper editor, game-show question-and-answer man, fashion scribe and cannabis culture writer. He grew up in the tiny Vermont town of Sandgate, earned his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Vermont and an M.A. in journalism from Northeastern University in Boston. All of these things have prepared him perfectly for going out into the world, looking at things, asking “why?” and then writing down the answers. From 2007 to 2025, he asked those questions — and got those answers — on behalf of the Los Angeles Times. He can currently be found on LinkedIn, adamtschorn.com and wherever burning questions need answering.

Lisa Boone is a features writer for the Los Angeles Times. Since 2003, she has covered home design, gardening, parenting, houseplants, even youth sports. She is a native of Los Angeles.

Born and raised in California, Christopher Reynolds has written about travel, the outdoors, arts and culture for the Los Angeles Times since 1990.

Jeanette Marantos is a Features reporter focused primarily on plants, gardening and Southern California’s changing landscapes for the Los Angeles Times. She also writes the monthly L.A. Times Plants newsletter, which includes a calendar of upcoming plant-related events. Email calendar submissions or plant-related story ideas to jeanette.marantos@latimes.com for consideration.

Defne Karabatur is platforms analyst at the Los Angeles Times. She graduated from UC Berkeley, where she studied applied mathematics, English and political economy, and previously was a 2023-24 Times fellow. Karabatur got her start in journalism working for the Daily Californian, Berkeley’s independent, student-run newspaper, where she was the 2022-23 creative director. She grew up in Connecticut and Istanbul.