About Ranch & Coast
Our Story Started in 1964
Ranch & Coast Magazine was founded 60 years ago as an exclusive Rancho Santa Fe community lifestyle publication, catering to the needs of one of the most affluent zip codes in the United States.
Every month, Ranch & Coast provides the most thorough reach into Rancho Santa Fe available as the core of our circulation. Our reach also includes additional areas of affluence and influence, including Del Mar, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, Santaluz, South Carlsbad, and Olivenhain. Ranch & Coast Magazine is also in-room at many local luxury hotels, as well as in private jet charters.
We Strive For Editorial Excellence
Ranch & Coast Magazine’s vibrant and interesting editorial covers a diverse array of topics. Galas, arts and culture, philanthropy, personalities, dining, travel, automotive, business, wealth, fashion, home environment, health, wellness, and beauty — our editors and writers are dedicated to keeping readers informed about what’s happening in their world.
Ranch & Coast Magazine has been awarded more than 100 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards, in categories including: architecture & design, business & financial, education, feature layout design, cover design, health & medicine, travel, series, photography, and website design.
We Work For the Community
Ranch & Coast Magazine hosts, sponsors, and supports charitable and community events. Through our strategic partnerships, we are committed to connecting our readers with the causes that speak to them.
Meet The Team
On San Diego’s social circuit, Bob Stefanko is most identifiable as a guy with a Canon EOS in hand. For two-and-a-half decades, he’s covered San Diego’s most influential philanthropists, celebrities, and athletes. After working in the community so consistently and for so long, it often seems he knows just about everyone at any social event.
In publishing circles, he is better recognized as part of a team that consistently executes local content with award-winning results, earning countless accolades across multiple categories and platforms. Lesser known is Stefanko’s commitment to publishing; under his leadership, the magazine has never missed a single issue — through 9/11, ravaging wildfires, or COVID-19.
“Community is all about trust,” says Stefanko. “Our mission is to consistently publish a magazine with passion, purpose, and success for all our partners and advertisers.”
Stefanko’s career is rooted in family. The Detroit native moved to San Diego in the ’80s, earning his stripes at his brother’s advertising agency, Stefanko & Hetz, which gained recognition as Qualcomm’s first agency of record. Later, he co-founded his own creative agency where Ranch & Coast was a client. Stefanko acquired the venerable Rancho Santa Fe publication in 1998, broadening its readership and circulation to La Jolla and beyond with access to San Diego’s most affluent communities. Today, Stefanko runs the magazine alongside his niece Mia S. Park, the magazine’s widely respected Editor-in-Chief.
As the Editor-in-Chief of Ranch & Coast Magazine, Mia S. Park is continually fascinated by the people and places the publication covers, and she’s committed to maintaining the magazine’s role of keeping our community connected. Park is tremendously grateful for the talented team Ranch & Coast has assembled over the years. She often refers to herself as an air traffic controller, managing multiple projects and recurring deadlines. In 2019, Park and R&C Publisher Bob Stefanko were honored with the San Diego Press Club’s Jim Reiman Award for Outstanding Media Management.
Raised in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Park attended UCLA, graduating with a degree in music. First stop: Los Angeles, where she helped launch the career of Grammy award-winning rock act Switchfoot, becoming their day-to-day manager. Park moved back to North County in 2005 and joined Ranch & Coast Magazine as Managing Editor while continuing to oversee Switchfoot’s annual charitable event, the BRO-AM, for the next 11 years.
Supporting charitable causes continues to be a passion for Park. She’s a member of the Board of Directors of The Country Friends, and in 2011 she served as chair of the nonprofit’s annual Art of Fashion. Park has also helped organize galas for Tender Loving Canines Assistance Dogs, Kids Korps USA, and Shelter to Soldier. In 2019, she was honored as a Women of Dedication by The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary of San Diego County. When not sitting in front of her computer, Park enjoys spending time with her husband, Justin, an IT manager and off-road racer, and their five-year-old daughter.
As Ranch & Coast’s longtime Editor-at-Large, Andrea Naversen covers fascinating SoCal people and places. She began her career as a reporter for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland while also contributing to Time and BusinessWeek magazines. Naversen later reported stories all over the world and co-anchored network newscasts as a correspondent for CBS and ABC News in New York and Los Angeles. In San Diego, she served more than a decade as an anchor and reporter at KFMB-TV and KUSI-TV, and authored travel and history books about the city. Naversen has won Emmy and Press Club awards for her work, and in 2014 was inducted into the prestigious Silver Circle by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
She also has been honored for her community service. In 2013, The Salvation Army named her a “Woman of Dedication,” and The San Diego Union-Tribune featured her as one of the “San Diegans Who Made a Difference” in 2014.
Naversen is especially proud of her 11-year service with The Country Friends, where she is a member of the Board of Directors. She chaired the nonprofit’s signature fundraiser, Art of Fashion, in 2010 and 2014, and was named AOF Honorary Chair in 2019. She also is co-chair of The Salvation Army’s 2020-2021 Women of Dedication. Naversen and her husband, Dwight, a retired airline pilot, have three grown children and four grandchildren.
Managing Editor Deanna Murphy joined the Ranch & Coast team in 2015. Her passion for writing was first sparked at just seven years old, when her work was printed in a publication for school-aged kids. She began her career in publishing at Condé Nast Publications, working for the magazine’s flagship, Vanity Fair, as well as SELF Magazine, followed by San Francisco Magazine and the Canadian-based Weddingbells. A natural curiosity means that Murphy is equally intrigued by everything from entrepreneurs, celebrities, and local businesses to nonprofits, food, fashion, and travel. An avid tennis player and a lifelong Padres fan, she’s especially enthusiastic about any opportunity to highlight local sports events and personalities. Murphy holds a degree in journalism from San Diego State University. She is a native San Diegan and a graduate of Torrey Pines High School (a long, long time ago). She is a past president of the nonprofit Beach & Country Guild, and it was through this charitable involvement that she first met Ranch & Coast publisher Bob Stefanko, who has faithfully covered the group’s fundraising events over the years. She lives in North County with her husband and two daughters.
Instilled with a love of the arts at an early age, San Diego native Chloe Pedersen began her artistic journey as an adolescent through dance, where she competed and was nationally ranked, and trained with choreography legends Mia Michaels and Wade Robson. Pedersen holds a BA in graphic design with an emphasis in art and design from Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), where she developed her passion for design. While there, she became Vice President of the PLNU chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and has been an active member of AIGA San Diego since 2011.
A mere two and a half months after graduating college, her journey at Ranch & Coast Magazine began as Graphics Manager. In her years at Ranch & Coast, Pedersen has worked her way up, being promoted to Associate Art Director, and most recently, Art Director. Her love of simplicity, color, and layout composition has helped Ranch & Coast win multiple design awards from the San Diego Press Club.
When Pedersen isn’t at the magazine, she loves spending time with family, enjoying live music with friends, staying active in nature, and hanging out with the newest addition to her family — a little black kitten named Bowie.
Anya Shah’s favorite part of her job as Sr. Graphic Designer for Ranch & Coast is bringing creative concepts to visual fruition when working on internal campaigns, client ads, and the “Seen” section’s society pages. She majored in economics and was a Dean's List student at Cal State San Marcos. She began her career in marketing management in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry before transitioning into the creative space. In 2023, Shah received her certification in Graphic and Web Design with honors from UC San Diego.
Shah was born in Eastern Europe and speaks fluent Russian, but grew up in San Diego and considers it home. She loves traveling, staying active, and spending quality time with family and friends. As a former dancer for a competitive hip-hop team, she still enjoys dancing and taking lessons in her spare time.
Seventeen years ago, Brian Douglas approached Ranch & Coast publisher Bob Stefanko about creating automotive reviews for his lively and informative lifestyle magazine. Douglas’ enthusiasm for Ranch & Coast won the assignment, and over the years, we’ve added car events like Pebble Beach to the beat as well as aviation coverage.
Douglas began his career in technical services and product management with major automotive parts manufacturers before migrating to creative management with advertising agencies. He’s reported on the automotive industry for three decades and founded the Western Automotive Journalists organization, serving as its first president.
Douglas’ first automotive reporting began in broadcast, producing and hosting Automotive Minutes at KSFO/KYA, as well as hosting Automotive News at KNBR and Motoring at KSFO Radio. Today, he contributes automotive insights to KGO TV and KQED Radio.
In print media venues, Douglas has served as Contributing Editor and Associate Publisher of Sports Car International and as an automotive writer for AutoWeek enthusiast magazine. In addition, he was a newspaper features writer for the San Francisco Examiner, Marin IJ, Asian Week, Minneapolis/St Paul Times Tribune, and PJ Media. Currently, Douglas’ automotive coverage also appears in Gentry and Capture magazines.
Travel has been the focus of Elizabeth Hansen’s life for as long as she can remember. She’s written hundreds of articles for newspaper travel sections and for magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, Islands, and Travel & Leisure. She’s also authored a dozen guidebooks in the Frommer series, including books about Australia, New Zealand, and San Diego. Hansen’s specialty is finding and reporting on authentic experiences. She is a staunch advocate of traveling off the beaten path, and she finds great pleasure in sharing what she’s learned with other travelers.
Since 2004, Hansen has been the Travel Editor of Ranch & Coast, where she writes for our well-educated, affluent audience. In addition to destination pieces, Hansen especially enjoys creating related features such as the impact of climate change on travel, the intersection of travel and philanthropy, the potential of finding happiness through travel, how older adults with physical limitations can continue to travel, and the positive connection between solo travel and mindfulness.
Hansen’s blog, Authentic Luxury Travel (www.authenticluxurytravel.net), and her Ranch & Coast features have won numerous awards. A La Jolla resident, Hansen is a member of SATW (The Society of American Travel Writers), American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the San Diego Press Club.
Bill Abrams is a writer and editor with nearly three decades of experience covering arts, culture, history, military, and human interest stories. Most recently, in a clean sweep, he took first, second, and third place honors at the San Diego Press Club's 2020 Excellence in Journalism Awards. Abrams’ connection with Ranch & Coast Magazine publisher Bob Stefanko and the publication runs deep. The two have been friends for more than 30 years, and Abrams has been an editor with Ranch & Coast since Stefanko first acquired the magazine in 1998. Before that, in the early ’90s, Abrams even coached R&C Editor-in-Chief Mia Park’s seventh grade soccer team.
In addition to his work for Ranch & Coast, Abrams is the author of Iron & Steel, a historical novel based on Scotland’s Tay Bridge, a two-mile railroad viaduct that collapsed while carrying a crowded passenger train in 1879. Born in New York City, Abrams attended the University of Pennsylvania and spent several years as an editor in New York before he and his wife eloped to San Diego. Together, they have two sons and a three-legged Golden Retriever.
For the last 26 years, Heather Cunningham has worked as a publisher, advertising director, and senior account executive in the print media industry in San Diego. Her passion is helping people grow their businesses through creative marketing campaigns. Cunningham has worked for daily newspapers and monthly magazines throughout her career and truly enjoys delivering the benefits of quality local media to both businesses and readers. She has enjoyed witnessing the development of digital media and experiencing how adding it to a print media plan has enhanced how Ranch & Coast helps our marketing partners and continues to grow client relationships. Cunningham is grateful for the longtime relationships she’s fostered through her work over the decades, many of whom she continues to work with today.
When she’s not working, Cunningham enjoys traveling with her husband of 27 years, Sam, and spending time with their two teenage boys and two dachshunds. She’s an avid reader and her favorite date night includes dinner and a movie. Cunningham is looking forward to the future when her sons will begin families of their own.
Ranch & Coast Magazine Senior Account Executive Charlotte Pence is a seasoned industry professional with extensive experience in sales and advertising. She works tirelessly on behalf of her clients to provide the best possible service. Pence’s passion for the customer experience is shown through her excellent communication skills and friendly approach to the sales process.
Pence grew up in the advertising industry. Her father was vice president of advertising for New Orleans Magazine and her uncle ran an advertising agency. Working at this agency during college is where Pence’s love for advertising and helping businesses succeed began. After college, Pence became an Advertising Account Executive at the Los Angeles Times Santa Barbara Regional office and then at The San Diego Union-Tribune North County regional office. She was a top performer at both companies during her 15-year newspaper career. In January 2015, Pence joined the Ranch & Coast Magazine team.
Pence is dedicated and enthusiastic about helping customers grow their business through traditional and digital media. She prides herself on listening to the customer to satisfy their needs, understands how to work through industry challenges, and is a creative problem solver. As an advertising consultant, she considers herself a part of the customer’s team to engage new audiences, grow the business, and be a partner in the customer's success.
A New Orleans native, Pence graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, majoring in marketing and communications. She lives in La Costa with her husband and two daughters. In her free time, she enjoys cooking Cajun and Italian favorites, camping with her family, biking, traveling, volunteering in the community, and music. Pence also loves watching college and NFL football games including the USC Trojans, the LSU Tigers, and the New Orleans Saints.
As an account executive for Ranch & Coast Magazine since 2018, Scott Stanford gets to do what he enjoys most: build relationships, meet fascinating clients, and work with truly outstanding people.
Prior to joining Ranch & Coast, Stanford was the advertising manager for Del Mar Life and La Jolla Life magazines. He has also served as San Diego account manager for Valpak, a nationwide direct mail coupon marketing company.
For several years he owned his own business, a manufacturers’ rep agency, where he honed his sales, marketing, and customer relationship skills. Over the years, Stanford has held VP-level sales and marketing positions in San Diego with Buck Knives, Wickes Companies, and Underwater Kinetics.
Stanford is a Chicago native (“Go Cubbies and Da Bears”), but says that after nearly 40 years, San Diego is his hometown. He is, in his words, “addicted” to long distance running, and enjoys golf, travel, time with his wife and friends, and anything outdoors. He also is a certified rescue diver and loves the ocean. Stanford graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northeast Missouri State University, where, he admits, the best thing about college was meeting his wife, Vicki.
Amanda de Koning has been in the bookkeeping industry for 12years and has workedwithvarious industries. She has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and started her own business in November 2012. De Koningis a mother of two young boys, sits on the PTA board at their school,and is an avid ultra trail runner in her spare time. Herlove to help others shows in her work and in her attention to her clients. She values each business as her own and only finds success when her clients’companies are thriving. De Koningis QuickBooks Online certified and consistently takes continuing education classes to expand her knowledge.
Born and raised in Southern California, Vincent Knakal’s roots have always run deep in the arts. Shortly after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Otis/Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles in the ’90s, Knakal set off for a year-long self-funded photography project in Southeast Asia. When he returned, he exhibited his work in galleries throughout the West Coast. Later he embarked on another project throughout the Southwest U.S. and yet other covering the Northwest and Alaska.
Eventually, Knakal settled down in North County San Diego and shifted his focus to commercial and editorial photography. It was at about this time that he began working with the Ranch & Coast team. Over the past 20+ years, Knakal has shot hundreds of covers and countless features, ranging from food to fashion and everything in between. Working with Ranch & Coast has allowed Knakal to explore and visually document some of the most amazing and often iconic parts of our county and meet some of San Diego county’s greatest personalities.
Photographer Jennifer Nelson is a lifelong Rancho Santa Fe resident. She specializes in outdoor portraits, nature photography, community events, weddings, and special family occasions. For many Rancho families, Nelson’s creative holiday greeting cards have become a yearly tradition. For the past 22 years, Nelson has been a contributor to Ranch & Coast Magazine, covering the most significant charity events in San Diego County. While covering these events she has had the pleasure of photographing Walter Cronkite, Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Oliver North, Victor Mature, Betty White, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wally Schirra, the Apollo team, Bonnie Raitt, BB King, Marguerite Henry, Bo Derek, and Annie Leibovitz. Her experience also includes 12 years as staff photographer for the Rancho Santa Fe Review.
Nelson’s photos and large canvas work have been displayed at the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild, Off Track Gallery, Rancho Santa Fe Library, Art in the Pines, and private art shows. Her collection of scenic photographs of local settings and her adventures in Europe, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Baja California have won awards at the San Diego County Fair. Nelson’s work on aluminum is currently on display at Quail Flower Barn in Encinitas. Each summer, Nelson offers photography classes for children and adults, sharing her experience and love of photographic art.
Nelson is passionate about life, and all that her life includes. She enjoys entertaining at home or at the beach with family recipes featuring produce harvested from her garden and orchard. She also tends flowers, cacti and succulents, and raises chickens and collects eggs. Nelson exercises every day, walking the trails of Rancho Santa Fe with her dog. With a love of traveling, she makes regular trips to the Sierras and Baja. Nelson is a member of the Del Mar Bodysurfers, adores music, and loves to dance.
Ryan C. Thomas has been a part of the Ranch & Coast team for almost two decades. He is an award-winning journalist and the author of several novels. He can sometimes be found in the bars around Southern California playing rockabilly guitar. When Thomas is not writing or rocking out, he is at home with his family and menagerie of pets enjoying the SoCal life.
Brandon Hernández is a native San Diegan and award-winning journalist and author. Since 2012, he has provided dining reviews, food, and travel articles to Ranch & Coast Magazine, while contributing to dozens of other high-profile publications including USA TODAY, Los Angeles Times, Wine Enthusiast, and Imbibe Magazine, as well as local outlets including the San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Magazine, San Diego Reader, Modern Luxury, Pacific San Diego, and Edible San Diego Magazine. He has served as a consultant to Food Network, FOX 5 San Diego, CW San Diego and Zagat, assisted popular chefs with book projects, and contributed recipes to numerous cookbooks. Craft beer is an area of expertise and passion for Hernández, particularly the exceptional ales and lagers produced in his hometown. He has authored two editions of the Complete Guide to San Diego Breweries and is the founder of the Beer to the Rescue charity campaign, which has raised more than $100,000 for the Lupus Foundation of Southern California since 2015. Check out Hernández’s near-daily coverage of the local brewing industry at his San Diego Beer News website (sandiegobeer.news) and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Hernández can also be reached via his professional website: thebrandonhernandez.com.