About Us

DoItYourself Staff

Kimberly Keller

- Senior Content Manager

Kimberly Keller is the senior content manager for DoItYourself.com. Starting out in the entertainment industry as an assistant director, her passion for writing and website coding lead her to pursue a career in online media. An accomplished journalist, Kimberly has received awards from USC, CSUN, and A’Design Awards and has worked abroad in Italy.

From building websites to writing and editing, Kimberly has worked on both sides of the web publishing world throughout her professional life. Through her work on Internet Brands’ websites, she focuses on creating a user experience that brings carefully researched content to DIYers across the globe.

An avid DIYer from a young age, her grandfather was a general contractor, her uncle is a carpenter, and her father is an electrical engineer. These skills were passed on to her along with a passion for taking on new projects inside and outside the home whenever possible.

In her spare time, Kimberly enjoys working on various DIY projects, travelling, and volunteering with local animal rescues and Habitat for Humanity. Her favorite DIY project is the “clubhouse” she built with her dad and friends as a kid that is still standing her parent’s home. Built on stilts, it still has the best views of the neighborhood.

Angela Sabrowsky

- Junior Content Manager

Angela Sabrowsky has been the junior content manager for DoItYourself for over 5 years. Growing up with a DIY dad and grandpa who can build houses from the ground up, she’s still trying to shake off the sawdust.

She got her start in the publication industry working on her high school newspaper in Redondo Beach, California, where she spent deadline nights designing page layouts and editing news stories. Following that initial exposure into journalism, she became the managing editor at her award-winning community college newspaper. It was there she met her husband, who beat her in a popularity contest to become editor-in-chief (she may still be bitter about that).

Based in Los Angeles, Angela enjoys spending time on the West Coast with her family, whether it’s camping in the Sierra Nevada Mountains or crabbing in Washington’s Puget Sound on the 4th of July (an annual tradition for the past 20 years). She also loves vintage furniture and is always scouring estate sales for her next great find.

Her favorite DIY project is a raised planter bed she built with her dad in the backyard for a small vegetable garden. She can’t wait to start growing my own tomatoes and watermelon in the summer!

Caleb Mayo

- Associate Editor

Caleb Mayo is the Associate Editor for DoItYourself.com. He grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts in a family of do-it-yourselfers. From wood crafts to garden beds to a cozy cottage, Caleb has participated in many kinds of home construction projects, although he will probably never swing a hammer with as much confidence as his dad, or carve a block print as elegantly as his mom.

His DIY interests tend toward a focus on sustainable construction and environmental stewardship. He enjoys learning about green technology, off-the-grid living, and homemade non-toxic products. He hopes to build a house someday, and he’s passionate about empowering people around the world to complete their own projects efficiently and safely.

Caleb holds a B.A. in Drama from Vassar College, and has performed frequently in Shakespearean roles since he was young. He enjoys reading fiction, science, and journalism, and has worked in writing positions for production companies, blogs, and not-for-profit organizations.

Caleb grew up a dog person, though he has gradually come to understand what cats are saying, too. Currently residing in El Segundo, California, his favorite personal DIY project is a pair of television planters he filled with jade plants and elephant grass.

Jason Pelmont

- Videographer

Jason Pelmont is a videographer for Do It Yourself. In the home repair and home improvement space, he’s a big fan of quick fixes and small maintenance projects that save you the headache and cost of massive repairs down the line.

Jason’s earliest DIY projects were what you might expect: using a couple playing cards to steady a wobbling table leg, jewelry crafting, and installing tile and wood floors. He also picked up crafting, whittling, and woodworking skills as a Boy Scout.

Around the time he graduated from paper clips and chewing gum to hammer and nails type solutions, Jason discovered a love of filmmaking and pursued an education in this field throughout high school and college. As a teen he won awards for short film projects, performed comedy, acted in dramatic roles, and won the Martin Roth Memorial Screenwriting Award. He earned a degree in Cinema & Television Arts from California State University, Northridge before transitioning to work behind the camera full time.

Jason has worked as an assistant director on independent and studio feature films, written and directed short films, and has had scripted work optioned by multiple production companies. He has worked in the studio television system on programs for the Disney Channel, reality and documentary programming for the E! Network and A&E. With a background that includes work for marketing and advertising firms, Jason has also worked on commercials and music videos in an on set capacity and in post-production.

Jason’s favorite DIY project is the likely unsafe but surprisingly smooth dolly track he and his crew improvised on one of his early feature film shoots.

Andrew Luu

- Product Manager

Andrew Luu is the product manager for Doityourself.com. He hopes to bring a fresh perspective to DIY. Prior to working on Doityourself.com he’s worked on three different startups, with one of them being his own. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, he’s worked with companies such as Nike, Adidas, and Uggs to brainstorm and help bring his ideas to life. He’s now looking to expand his knowledge into the tech and web industry and is eager to make DIY a better place to foster creativity.

His favorite DIY project has been building his own work/gaming setup at home. He built his own PC by looking up tutorials and buying the parts online. He set up his own floating dual monitors and created a space to help him focus on his work and hobbies. In his free time, he likes to go onto forums to look for the newest and latest parts while helping out the PC building community.

Marc Catalan

- Project Manager

Marc is the project manager for DIY. He was trained as a developer at California State University, Northridge where he earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science. As a frequently appointed team leader for class projects and group activities, Marc is used to managing tasks and hurdles while working with different kinds of people. He believes in solving problems from the root cause rather than providing a band-aid solution as well as making sure that quality is ensured over speeding through tasks. Moreover, Marc employs an empathetic approach to management, placing emphasis on people's needs when deciding which and how issues are addressed.

David Thomas

- Senior Web Developer

David Thomas is a senior web developer of DoItYourself.com. He started in early 2012 as an intern and worked his way up to lead a team of developers who maintain a number of sites at Internet Brands along with DoItYourself.

David has a true passion for technology and often finds himself experimenting with new concepts. For DoItYourself, he has worked with the development team on ways to help improve the site’s speed while optimizing many of the underlying services that are used behind the scenes that make this site wonderful.

David's favorite DIY project was replacing the head gasket on his 1992 Nissan D21 pickup truck. While he does not have professional mechanical experience, he had the guidance of his father, who has a history of working on cars, and his grandfather, who used to work as a mechanic. If he can give any words of advice for those who would like to work on their own cars, it would be to always get the Haynes manual, as it contains every detailed nuance for all automobile make and models.

Tyson Yen

- Community Manager

Tyson Yen joined Internet Brands in 2012, starting out in the travel division as a community specialist. In 2018 he assumed the role of community manager for the Home vertical and now uses what he’s learned over the years to support the Doityourself.com community.

As a father of two sons,Tyson is very busy in his off-hours, spending time having fun with his family and challenging his children with educational, and occasional DIY, projects. His family’s latest DIY project involved making homemade slime. The project was simple, safe, and super fun.

Tyson recently relied on the expertise of the DIY community when attempting to tackle the replacement of a window screen in his oldest son’s bedroom. He had no idea how to perform this task, but found an article on doityourself.com explaining how to do it. After purchasing all the needed tools and equipment, he followed the steps outlined and was surprised at how easy it was. The screen needed replacing for awhile and he was so impressed with how good the new screen looked that he decided to replace the screens on the entire house. His wife thought he went a bit overboard, but he’s proud every time he views the outside of their home.

Moderators

Gunguy45

has been a member since Dec 2007, after retiring early from the workforce and moving to Arizona. He started as a Moderator in Firearms, Weapons, and Ammunition, but due to his level of activity and involvement, he was promoted to Group and Super Moderator in short order.

Growing up in a rural area, he started working for local farmers in the summer and learned that very few things couldn't be fixed with baling wire and electrical tape. He credits his "Do It All" father and 24 years in the US Navy as a Chief Electronics Technician with his interest and knowledge in projects of all sorts, from home improvements and auto repair to repurposing items normally sent to a landfill. "Use it Up, Wear It Out, Make it Do or Do Without!" isn't just a saying from the Great Depression, it's a watchword around his house.

He is active in local politics and never hesitates to promote DoItYourself.com to people he encounters in his excursions to the local big box, farm supply, and auto parts stores. He owns far too many tools that have only been used once, and needs a much bigger air conditioned garage.

His favorite project was the 140 sq ft potting shed/playhouse he built in Tidewater, VA, out of largely recycled and cast off materials. It was a design match to the main house including a porch and picture window and is still in use by the new owners 25 years later.

Mike (aka Lawrosa)

has been a moderator on the DoItYourself.com forum since 2010 and has been a plumber since the early 1980's. He did rough-in work on homes for 10 years when he first began moderating for the site, but these days he does mostly service work. With new time constraints he is always trying to stay active in the forums and help out anyone he can with his knowledge of plumbing and heating (and everything else in between).

Mike moved from New Jersey to Myrtle Beach in 2018 because of the warm weather, and, of course, golf! He has been through some health scares in recent years and still trying to mull through it. His free time is spent at the beach, camping, gardening, golfing, and just plain fixing stuff. His motto is "Just have to tinker. Always in search of the better mouse trap."

His favorite DIY project was designing add-on equipment in his new RV for off-grid camping. Camping off-grid with no electrical or plumbing hook ups allows you to experience much more secluded places in our great country, for example, Bureau of Land Management areas.

It was a self taught project and a true DIY experience. From solar panels, deep cycle batteries, inverter, to all the wiring, he did it all by himself. This allowed his family to enjoy the great outdoors with a bit of comfort, such as running an electric coffee pot, microwave, or watching TV, all running 120volts from the sun and batteries. Inner circles call this "glamping", not camping. This allowed him and family to keep the memories in their hearts from these secluded camping spots that very few have ventured to, or have even seen.

Shadeladie

joined the forum in January 2005 and became a super moderator in 2007. She used to own a small drapery workroom and has been sewing since she was a little girl. She’s self-taught in sewing home décor through reading lots of books and watching videos. She was also a bookkeeper, beauty consultant, baker and cake decorator, and a bodybuilder.

She’s an animal lover and loves nature, the beach, listening to rock, soap operas, musicals, and walking her dog. Her hobbies include computers, sketching, reading, watching supernatural horror movies and of course, helping out on the forum!

Her favorite DIY project was making a small patio outdoor oasis. She, together with her husband, removed an above ground pool that left a large empty hole in her yard. They filled it with sand and got some leftover pavers from a friend and made a small patio. Since it was a circle, the rest was filled in with small stones. They built a curved retaining wall using wall blocks on one side and filled in the dirt beyond that with mulch and decorative rocks. They planted a couple of bushes on one side and strung them with lights, and also put some path lights around the patio along with an outdoor bench. A frog theme was used by putting some decorative frog and turtle statues here and there along with some planters. They then dug a small hole, put a small tub in, and filled it with water. Some flat stone were placed around the opening along with a small garden fountain. She placed a patio set on the pavers and now enjoys sitting in her oasis!

The_tow_guy (aka TG)

has been a forum member since 2001. He’s been an avid motor vehicle tinkerer ever since buying his first car, a 1966 Austin-Healy Sprite, in 1971. He began his on-the-job training as a DIY homeowner-handyman in 1983 and has been fiddling with computers as far back as Windows 3.1. A dedicated disciple of Bob Vila & Norm Abrams, TG has dabbled in woodworking for over 30 years and in 2017 took home a Best of Show for a Florida State Fair entry.

TG’s favorite DIY project was the design, construction, and installation of built-in bookcases in his daughter’s first house in 2016 which he recently duplicated during a living room/dining room renovation in his own home. When not in his tow truck or “making sawdust”, he can often be found on the golf course, usually looking for his ball in the rough. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1999 as a Master Gunnery Sergeant, having spent 27 years in the aircraft maintenance field working on power plants (Pratt & Whitney jet engines) and fuel systems. TG has been sole owner/operator of his towing company in southwest Florida since the untimely death of his business partner in 2006. His siblings like to refer to him as “Obi-John”.

Tolyn Ironhand

joined the DoItYourself.com forum in November of 2007 and became a moderator July 2009. An electrician by trade, he can be found mostly answering questions in the electrical forums, but as an avid DIYer he will try to help anybody in any department he can.

There are many projects Tolyn has tackled including demo, moving walls, framing walls, electrical (of course), plumbing, installing drywall, finishing drywall, painting, staining, installing trim, laying tile, laying hardwood floors, auto repair, small engine repair, woodworking, welding, metal working, building decks, building sheds, replacing windows, etc. Really, if there is a project to be done, Tolyn will tackle it!

In his free time Tolyn enjoys hunting, shooting, building firearms, disc golf, RC airplanes and quads, and of course helping people on the Doityourself Forum!

It’s hard to choose the DIY project he’s most proud of. One that tops the list is a custom fabricated fireplace insert for his 70's era wood burning fireplace. The fireplace would use house air for combustion which was very inefficient as the air needed to be replaced and would come from outside. The outside air in Minnesota can get down to -35 degrees in the winter!

With the help of his father-in-law, he designed a prototype out of wood and took those measurements to order the steel to build it. The insert was made out of 1/4" steel and was complete with a firebox, heat tubes to transfer heat to the room, a door with heat-proof glass, and fans to move the room air through the insert. The worst part was when he needed to drill through the side of the firebox to install a 4" duct for the outside air. That required him to sit in the fire box to drill! It took about two weeks to finish and exceeded his expectations. They use it every winter and are amazed how well it works, it really helped to warm up the lower level of our drafty house!