Burbia is for people who know "hip suburbanite" is not an oxymoron. You know you don't live in the town of Stepford, but sometimes it seems like you (or some of your neighbors) do. How did you get this beautiful house/family/minivan/lawn ornament? Burbia is where you can rant, vent, laugh and talk about the absurdities and pleasures of living in the 'burbs. Burbia is the suburbs...with attitude.

Who lives in the suburbs (besides us)? Well, over 175 million people in America today. We're talking about all the people who live in houses, who own cars, drive in car pools, commute, deal with plumbers and roofers and furnace repair men and lawns and weeds and BBQs and block parties and blockhead neighbors.

Burbia is a place that treats the 'burbs, the suburban lifestyle and the people who live here, with respect and shared understanding and a good fresh sense of humor. Like any suburban community worthy of its name, Burbia is growing fast. Drop into the neighborhood soon to check out our new features, including video and cartoons by our growing cadre of notable (and notably funny) artists.

Our Senior Team:

Burbia is the creation of Mark Becker, a former TV guy and entertainment lawyer (Showtime and HBO) who woke up one day and found he had morphed into a homeowner/Little League parent in suburbia. As a consultant, Mark's clients have included Nickelodeon, VH1, MTV, Smithsonian Channel and Sundance Channel. When not coaching sports or arguing with neighbors about the state of his lawn, Mark spends his time overseeing Burbia.com and developing a variety of new Burbia businesses.

Joining Mark is Karen Dukess, who despite spending many years as a newspaper and magazine writer, editor and publisher in the U.S. and in Russia didn't experience anything truly surreal until landing in suburban New York and joining the PTA. Karen has had articles and book reviews published in The New York Times, USAToday, Columbia Journalism Review, Marie Claire and New York magazine. She also knows a thing or two about start-ups, having launched the Russian edition of Men's Health magazine in Moscow.

Burbia's IT and online development activities are overseen by Mark Alhadeff and his incredible team at Ocean-7 Development, Inc. located in hopelessly cool lower Manhattan where (we think) we actually used to live and, as time passes, can only barely remember.

Our Board of Advisers:

Yyvette Alberdingk. Executive Director, WITNESS; former Executive Vice President/Chief of Strategy & Programming, Joost Media-Network; former Executive Vice President, Business Affairs, Programming, Digital Media, MTV Networks International.

Mark Alhadeff. Principal, Ocean-7 Development, a technology company based in New York City.

Joanna Gilman. Online marketing & strategic planning consultant. Former Head of North American Marketing, Sotheby's International.

Robert Gold. President & CEO, Ridgewood Capital, private equity VC firm based in Ridgewood NJ & Palo Alto CA.

Ken Hershman. Chief & General Manager, Events, Sports & Live Programming, Showtime Networks.

Andrew Kaufman. Portfolio Manager, KS Capital, a Private Investment Manager based in New York City.

Elizabeth Skoler. Senior Vice President, Co-Production & Business Affairs, MTV Network Group.

Kent Sevener. Senior Vice President, New Media, Programming, Business & Legal Affairs, Showtime Networks.