The Line rejoices--we're bringing aboard Dena Alspach as our new publisher. I first met this vivacious, hyper-connected digital thinker and doer a few weeks ago at The Happy Gnome gastropub, where she had come for a confab with IMG cofounder Brian Boyle. At one point Brian took me aside and hinted--all smiles--that Dena was probably going to be the person to take The Line's financial prospects and connectivity to the next level.

Then, about a week ago, I got confirmation of the hire. Dena and I then sat down together Monday, along with The Line managing photographer Bill Kelley, at Kopplin's coffee shop. I filled her in on some details of the publication, she shared some (already awesome) ideas for advancing The Line's mission, we laughed a lot, and she and Bill traded smartphone photos of their kids.

A Digital Futurist with a Houseful of Books

To call Dena the right woman for the job is a bit of an understatement. She's a publisher and a self-described "digital futurist" with fourteen years' experience in magazines and media. As long-time publisher of Twin Cities METRO, Minnesota Bride, and many other publications, she was on the front lines as the business of print began the massive upheaval that's still continuing. Boy, does she get the possibilities and challenges of digital journalism, and how new modes of connectivity--including social media--alter the landscape of publishing. (And it doesn't hurt a bit that METRO shares important elements of mission and demographics with The Line.)

For the publications on which she worked, she led the way into digital strategy, social media, and mobile development, creating successful integrated marketing plans. These days, she's looking to the future of content marketing and asking questions like: what products and platforms are businesses going to need to thrive in a media and tech world that seems to change hourly?

An active mom raising two adorable boys (I saw the photos), Dena also dedicates herself to a rescued black lab, a houseful of books, a (nearly) unmanageable garden, and eating her way around the Twin Cities.

She's also warm, funny, bubbling over with good ideas, and connected to practically everybody in town who cares about, or might care about, this publication. Did we luck out or what?

Photo of Dena Alspach by Bill Kelley