After a 14-year detour, Whitney Friedlander returned to Los Angeles in 2002, journalism degree in hand. She arrived just in time for Ed LA’s first-ever Happy Hour, where she made the connections to score an internship at Los Angeles magazine. Nowadays, Whitney can be found at as a web editor for Variety.com (another gig obtained with the help of networking) and she is a freelance writer for L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Times and other publications. If you’re new to the city, new to Ed, or just want to say hi, drop her an email at whitneyfriedlander@gmail.com or keep reading Ed to make sure you don’t miss out on the West Coast gatherings.(If you’re interested in joining LA’s Ed book club, contact LA Book Club Director Sree Roy at sree@saagahh.com.)