Knew this week wasn’t going to be easy. Currently hiding behind a massive thank you gift from @TheMarySue readers. pic.twitter.com/vJYOG4lqj8— Jill Pantozzi (@JillPantozzi) June 29, 2015
The Nerdy Bird herself, pictured with some tokens of appreciation from extremely thoughtful TMS readers.
[Editor’s Note: TMS Editor-in-Chief Jill Pantozzi is leaving the site in search of new adventures, and in light of that, we’ll hope you understand if we do fave comments a little differently this week. TMS contributor Marcy Cook had asked if she could share a few words of appreciation for Jill, and helped organize some former and current TMS Editors to give our fearless leader a fitting send-off. ]
Marcy Cook: I’m lucky that Jill was around when I started to write for TMS. I pushed the boundaries on what the site would publish on transgender topics, including transgender rights, I know this because Jill told me that’s what I was doing. Here’s the thing though; Jill backed me every time.
“I’m not sure if this is too heavy a topic for TMS,” I wrote in one email, I was talking about the murders of TWoC, it was a topic very much outside what would normally run. Jill’s response was “This certainly is a heavy topic and not something I’d automatically jump on for us but I do feel it’s extremely important. I would like to run the piece …” During Jill’s time TMS has become a great ‘geek news for women’ site and that became inclusive of trans women.
Thanks Jill, hugs when we finally meet up.
Sam Maggs: Jill – you are the best boss a girl could ever ask for! I’m so touched and honored that you took a chance on me as a writer, and I feel equally so that I’ve been able to get to know you and call you a friend. You’re smart, talented, and an important voice in this world, and I can’t wait to see what you’ve got coming up next. I know it’s going to be big. Let’s Goldblum into the sunset together.
Teresa Jusino: Jill’s the whole reason why I’m here! I met her several years ago, back when she was The Nerdy Bird, and I was just getting my feet wet as a writer on the Intarwebz. I’d met her through mutual friends and geeky events, and the thing that always struck me about her was that she was so passionate about geek culture and fandom. She was smart and ambitious, and already her personal blog and freelance writing was worth reading, because she writes about geek culture thoughtfully – never afraid to criticize, but always with a sense of fun. I was honored when she offered me an Assistant Editor position here this year! She’s done so much to make The Mary Sue the site we all know and love today, and I’ll miss working with her, but I know that she’s gonna rock any future endeavors. She just can’t help herself! Goodbye, Jill! I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me here at TMS, and for always being so kind to me. I look forward to keeping up with and supporting whatever you take on next!
Jessica Lachenal: I’m still the new kid around here. That’s for sure.
Last year, when I applied to be a Weekend Editor at The Mary Sue, I thought I was throwing an application into the aether. I never expected to hear back or anything, so imagine my surprise when I’m on my way to my old tech job and I get an e-mail from the one and only Jill freakin’ Pantozzi. As luck would have it, I didn’t get the job (not outright, at least). I stuck around as a contributor, pitching anything and everything I could. To borrow an oft-used cliche, this started a whole new chapter in my life, and I have Jill to thank for that. From the get-go, she’s been more than just incredibly welcoming, she’s been kind, patient, and an amazing inspiration. It has been all kinds of incredible to have been able to work alongside her for whatever time we’ve had. I’m going to miss her terribly, but I wish her all the best. She deserves it.
Dan Van Winkle: I’ve known of Jill for a long time through mutual friends (mainly former editor Glen Tickle), but I didn’t really get to know her personally until she inherited me through the merge with Geekosystem. Though I tease her about being unwittingly stuck with me and her (imaginary, I think) desire to fire me, the truth is that she’s done an incredible job making sure each member of the staff has the opportunity to make the best use of their own unique voice and talents, and I hope we’ve been successful in returning even a small portion of that support to her. She’s certainly led by example.
I’ve come to know her as an incredibly dedicated, talented, and above all, principled person whose every action is driven by an honest desire to make the world a better place. She’s worked tirelessly (and too often thanklessly) to make this site the bright spot on an otherwise dismal Internet. For Jill, The Mary Sue was never about anything other than speaking out when things were bad and celebrating them when they were good, and that part of her will always stay with us here no matter where she takes it next—which I’m sure will be somewhere amazing.
Rebecca Pahle: I’ve been told that the plan is that we all write a paragraph to Jill on the occasion of her departure from The Mary Sue. But honestly—how can I put into words how awesome Jill is? How the angels come down heaven to shine rays of sunlight on her glorious hair? How much she’s worked her ass off over her time at The Mary Sue (seriously, people, you don’t know), and how I much she’s impacted the lives of so many ickle feminist geeks who will never even meet her or hear her talk about her cats in person?
I can’t. I can’t put that into words. So something else will have to do.
Jill: You Rock.
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Published: Jul 3, 2015 03:59 pm