LINTON JOHNSON
FounderLinton Johnson is the founder of Opes News. He’s also an award-winning journalist and communications executive as well as an entrepreneur with a passion for computer technology, people and planes.
Johnson has spent the last 15 years at the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) - the largest transit system west of the Mississippi. In his current role as Chief Strategist, he is responsible for aligning the agency’s message and working with media from around the world to tell BART’s story.
Johnson also has a long tradition of starting up successful media organizations. He created and launched BARTtv - the transit industry’s first ever multimedia online television station. Under his leadership, BARTtv has been nominated for multiple Emmys and other prestigious awards.
Additionally, Johnson was recently honored for creating and launching the Northwestern News Network (NNN) - the school’s flagship, student-run television station. To date, NNN has won multiple Emmys and other awards.
Before going to BART, Johnson was a primetime NBC, ABC and CBS news anchor and reporter for more than 16 years.
Johnson graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, which is the nation’s top journalism school.
GIL BINDELGLAS
Co-FounderOpes News Co-founder, Gil Bindelglas, is the Head of Business Development. Bindelglas brings to the team more than two decades of experience advising Fortune 500 organizations on how to optimally engage, structure and manage relationships with technology providers. Bindelglas has become a strong evangelist for blockchain and the many ways distributed ledger technology will change the world. He now concentrates his practice exclusively on blockchain related projects.
Bindelglas holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Arts in International Affairs. He is also a principal in Sweet Prince Productions, an independent film and media production company. He created and produced an award-winning documentary, From Philadelphia to Fallujah, which was broadcast on CBS.
MARK SCHWARTZ
Co-FounderOpes News Co-Founder, Mark Schwartz, began his professional journey in 1998 as a technology attorney with Shaw Pittman. Schwartz concentrated his practice on structuring complex technology relationships between Fortune 500 organizations and their technology providers. Schwartz guides clients in the formation of the specific blockchain ecosystem, digital asset features and properties, monetary policy, tokenomics, governance, curation, terms and conditions, privacy policy, and the token generating event.
Schwartz earned a JD/MA from The American University, where he graduated Magna cum Laude and a member of The American University Law Review. Prior to that, Schwartz graduated with highest honors from the University of Florida, where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
JONATHAN ARNOLD
Co-FounderJonathan Arnold is Opes News’ Co-Founder and Chief of Marketing Strategy. During his decades long career, Arnold developed business and strategic marketing expertise across many industry segments, including: energy optimization, development and construction, financial, healthcare, and television and broadcasting. With origins in broadcast journalism, Arnold gained experience with some of the largest companies in the business, including Gannett Company, Lin Media, and Scripps Television. Arnold holds a B.A. in Communications and an M.B.A. in marketing.
ELSA RAMON
News Director/AnchorElsa Ramon is also a two-time Emmy-award winning anchor/reporter with a 21-year career as a television journalist. Ramon has held anchor/reporter positions with all of the major US networks throughout her career, and was most recently with CBS Los Angeles. Ramon has now combined her experience as an on-air journalist, with her new passion for educating people about the social impacts of digital currency and blockchain technology. Elsa graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in English Literature.
JULES BERNSTEIN
Executive ProducerJules Bernstein is a veteran journalist with 15 years in San Francisco print, TV and radio outlets. Bernstein is also a Senior Public Information Officer at the University of California, Riverside, where she reports on peer-reviewed research from the school's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Previously at Sandia National Laboratories, Jules earned awards for writing on scientific subjects ranging from CRISPR gene editing projects to hydrogen fuel cell boats. She holds a BA in linguistics from UC Santa Barbara and an MA in electronic communications from San Francisco State University.
WILL TRAN
Anchor/CorrespondentWill Tran is an Opes News Anchor. He is also an Emmy nominated television news reporter and anchor trusted by millions of his viewers. Tran has nearly 25 years of experience in major U.S. markets, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tran currently reports and anchors in the San Francisco Bay Area - the 6th largest media market - for KRON4 news. He reports on politics, transportation, crime and breaking news stories. He also works occasionally as a correspondent for NBC doing live shots and other unscripted stories. Tran holds a B.A. in Communications with a minor in psychology.
TRACI GRANT
Anchor/Chief CorrespondentTraci Grant is a main anchor and chief correspondent for Opes News. Grant is a veteran journalist who has worked in both broadcast and print media in San Francisco, Boston, Orlando and Hartford, Connecticut. Grant has been nominated for three Emmy awards and won a Benjamin Fine award for education reporting. She also has worked in the world of space technology as a Public Affairs and Media Relations Officer at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Grant graduated with top honors from Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, IL.
MICHAEL FILSON
Chief PhotojournalistMichael Filson is Opes News’ award-winning Chief Photojournalist. He brings nearly two decades of in-depth multimedia production, digital marketing and journalism experience to the team. He is an accomplished writer, videographer and editor who has a passion for quickly and accurately bringing projects from ideation to fruition. Filson has worked for the nation’s premier news media companies including NBC, MarketWatch and CNBC.