The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
Mission: To treat the citizens of Caroline County with respect and dignity through free access to news and information.
The Caroline Review was founded by Adelaide Warfield in 1980 with the goal of providing local news and information to the people of Caroline County, Maryland. Mrs. Warfield’s son and daughter-in-law, Rich and Loretta, purchased the magazine in 1991, and successfully published it for 33 years. Some of the partnerships with advertisers and content providers remain intact today, a testament to the legacy of “providing the community with news, information and advertisements.”
The Caroline Review was purchased in May 2024 by Debbie Bowden, who as publisher, saw the opportunity to grow the brand and expand its reach. In October 2024, Ms. Bowden introduced a Caroline County-centric news service on carolinereview.com, to bring sourced, reported news to the people of Caroline County. In a time of unsubstantiated and biased rhetoric being taken as “news” through social media, the Caroline Review magazine and online news service is a welcomed alternative to inform residents and businesses of the issues that impact their lives. It is a hyperlocal media outlet that spotlights the people and situations in this rural, close-knit community.
Through the established partnerships of advertisers and contributors, and a growing staff who support the operations, Caroline Review magazine and carolinereview.com news service will flourish while staying true to its roots. The goal remains for readers to continue to exclaim, “I love that magazine!”
Member: MDDC Press Association, Inc.
Debbie Bowden, Publisher/Editor
Debbie purchased the Caroline Review magazine in May 2024. She began her career in the newspaper business and took a circuitous path through transportation service and state & local government back to publishing. She has a varied professional background – she’s been in the private sector and the public sector, she’s worked for family businesses and large organizations, and she’s been at the front line for customer service and in strategic leadership roles. Before striking out on her own, she was Director of Caroline County Economic Development & Tourism, during which time she learned the value of open communication for residents and businesses in the county. She earned degrees in journalism and political science, and she is a graduate of Leadership Maryland and Shore Leadership.
Debbie currently serves as Chair, Board of Trustees, Adkins Arboretum, and President of the Caroline County Adult Day Care Foundation, Inc. She is a member of the Caroline County Chamber of Commerce. Her hobbies include activities that she enjoys but isn’t very good at like gardening, DIY home improvements, and cat-herding.
Email Debbie at publisher@carolinereview.com
Connie Connolly, Senior Correspondent
Connie Connolly began her writing career as recording secretary for her 4-H Club in northern Queen Anne’s County. Born in Chestertown with deep ancestral routes on the Eastern Shore, she was raised in the tiny hamlet of Unicorn. She graduated from Queen Anne’s County High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Salisbury University. She and her husband Gary live in Denton and share five grown children and seven grandchildren. They are active members of St. Benedict-St. Elizabeth Parish.
Over the years, Connie has been a freelance writer, ordained Methodist minister, English and journalism teacher, reporter and editor, retiring in 2021 as managing editor of The Star Democrat. During her writing career, she has won 40 writing awards, with most from four professional journalism associations. In May 2024, she was one of a dozen Maryland broadcast and print journalists to be honored for excellence in journalism by the Maryland State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In June 2024, she won five national awards in five categories, including three first-place awards, from the National Federation of Press Women.
Email Connie at connie@carolinereview.com
Joanne Gelles, Storyteller
Joanne Gelles has an interest in all things unique and creative. She is a resident of Denton, Maryland, and is well known as a teacher of mixed media art, mosaics, and other crafts. When she’s not talking to people and relating their stories, she can be found at the Caroline County Council of Arts, local restaurants, coffee shops, and private homes spreading the joy of creativity. Joanne is a creative face painter and enjoys doing her craft at local festivals.
She moved to the Eastern Shore from Washington DC about 30 years ago, where she attended the University of Maryland to study creative writing, art and education. It is where she developed her love of storytelling and good conversation.
Email Joanne at info@carolinereview.com
Tammy Coulbourne, Social Media Coordinator
Tammy is a Caroline County native and has lived in the County all her life (with the exception of 10 years on the wrong side of the Choptank River). She is a graduate of Colonel Richardson High School and Wilmington College.
Her heart is in serving the community, and she was honored for such in 2016 with the Caroline County You Are Beautiful Volunteer Award. She is a current member and Recording Secretary of Caroline County Garden Club, Former Board of Directors member and Publicity Chair for Preston Historical Society, former member and President of the Community Club of Preston. One of her passions is visiting Little Free Libraries, and she is the steward of the Book Garden on Gannon-Little Free Library #134292.
Tammy’s hobbies include reading, gardening, hiking, and visiting Little Free Libraries. She has been married 34 years and is the mother of one daughter and three fur babies.
Email Tammy at social@carolinereview.com
Anna Jean Powell, Administrative Support
Anna Jean grew up on the Eastern Shore and called it home her whole life (with the exception of a brief stint in the mountains of Western Maryland). She has worked in retail and childcare, and both experiences prepared her for being organized and efficient in supporting the Caroline Review. She is active in her church and brings forth the Word through her beautiful singing. She loves spending time with her nearly-new husband and very-new baby boy. Anna Jean thinks that the absolute best food in the world is mashed potatoes, with a side of meatloaf.
Email Anna Jean at info@carolinereview.com
Kennedy Thomason, Correspondent
Kennedy is a generations-deep Caroline Countian with a passion for writing, community engagement, and history. A lifelong resident of Denton, she is proud to raise her three-year-old daughter in the same tight-knit rural community that shaped her. She recently graduated summa cum laude from Washington College with a degree in American Studies, focusing on community education, American history, and journalism. During her time there, she wrote highly esteemed opinion editorials for the college’s newspaper, The Elm. During boating season you can often find Kennedy on the Choptank River, where she conducts historical river tours, helps run her family’s river cruise business, and enjoys the occasional crab feast. And yes, she swims in there too. Kennedy’s heart is firmly rooted in the community she loves, a quality which she brings to every piece she pens and task she is assigned as a contributor to The Caroline Review.
Email Kennedy at kennedy@carolinereview.com
Tracey F. Johns, Freelance Correspondent
Tracey is a writer, publicist, and strategist for the Caroline Review. With a keen eye for storytelling and audience engagement, she crafts compelling narratives that highlight the people, organizations, and initiatives shaping the region. Her expertise spans journalism, public relations, and strategic communication, helping her develop content that informs, inspires, and connects communities. A University of Maryland College Park and Shore Leadership (2005) graduate, Tracey spent nearly a decade in nonprofit executive management before becoming a freelance strategist and writer. Her photography and writing have been featured in national, regional, and local publications, including Tidewater Times and Shore Magazine. For fun, she enjoys being “Mamaw” to her granddaughter Anna, practicing improv with Improv Easton, and creating mosaics with Jen Wagner Mosaics. Passionate about impactful storytelling, she continues to elevate local voices through her work with local clients, including Choptank Community Health System and Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism.
Email Tracey at info@carolinereview.com
Mickey Pullen, Freelance Photographer
Mickey Pullen grew up on the beaches of South Florida. After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in Criminal Justice, he worked undercover organized crime/narcotics in the state of Florida. A sense of adventure and a pilot’s license landed him a job as an Alaska State Trooper where he worked in remote villages as well as the Fairbanks Burglary Suppression Unit. An avid interest in emerging medical technology prompted a midlife career change, where he earned an additional degree in nursing. Over the next two decades he worked as a critical care/cardiac RN and transitioned to a position as a consultant in Healthcare IT. That job took him to all fifty states, and he always had his camera nearby to capture the ordinary and the exceptional. Photography has been a passion of Mickey’s since the days of film and dark rooms and his photos have been featured in travel magazines, guidebooks, websites, and advertisements. His photos have won numerous awards, but he says the greatest reward is to tell a story with a single image. Mickey enjoys traveling and is always in the process of planning the next trip. He has a lovely wife, two fine sons, and a perfect granddaughter.
Email Mickey at info@carolinereview.com
Angela Price, Freelance Correspondent
As a community journalist, Angela Price spent 27 years as editor of the Bay Times on Kent Island. She also served as editor of The Star Democrat, the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer, the Caroline County Times-Record, and the Dorchester Star, and previously was news editor for The Parkersburg News and the Marietta A.M. She has been honored with multiple awards in writing, design, photography, and public service. She and her husband Roger lived and raised their family in Caroline County for more than 30 years. She was part-time Christian education co-director for eight years at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Denton, where she also was a long-time Sunday school teacher and Vacation Bible School director. She currently works as an intake investigator, fighting fraud, and serves as the volunteer executive director of Queen Anne’s Advocates for Youth.
Email Angela at info@carolinereview.com
