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.

Senior features writer Adam Tschorn is a former small-town newspaper editor, game-show question-and-answer man and fashion scribe who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007. He currently covers a wide range of pop-culture topics with a focus on cannabis culture. Holding a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. in journalism, he feels perfectly suited to looking at things, asking “why?” and writing down the answers.

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 [email protected] for consideration.

Defne Karabatur is an audience engagement editor 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. Outside of the newsroom, Karabatur enjoys cooking, taking photos, reading and watching Formula One races.