Meet Our Doughcents
Mike Madgiak
Mr. Madgiak (pronounced like “magic”) is excited to be a doughcent for Pizza City USA! It is rumored that his first words were: “Pepperoni Deep Dish” but he contends they were: “Clearly Chicago’s pizza scene is superior to that of any city on the East Coast you faux-elitist plebeian.” Either way, he still loves pizza and making a florid show of his vocabulary. When not giving pizza tours, Mike is a Montessori teacher, improv comedian, singer in a synth-pop band, avid bicyclist and roommates with Ding Dong: a gigantic husky-lab mix. Feel free to ask him for hiking, biking, music and comedy recommendations.
Natalie Young
Like Michael Jordan, Natalie is a North Carolina Tarheel who relocated to the Windy City. She is mother to two teens, a dog lover, and a (sometimes) Lakefront runner. Currently, she is a Communications Manager in the Biological Sciences Division at The University of Chicago. With degrees in Chemistry and Theology, Natalie will gladly discuss the biochemical reactions of fermentation and the spiritual implications of the perfect slice.
Brittani Wills
A Midwest native, Brittani moved to Chicago after spending several years on the West Coast. She has a sweet tooth that doesn’t quit and will try almost any dish at least once – but her favorite type of pizza is anything with a thin, Tavern-style crust. Aside from blogging, traveling, and catching up on reality TV, Brittani spends most of her free time in the kitchen trying out new recipes.
Brian Roman
Brian is a native Chicagoan who grew up on classic tavern-cut, deep-dish and Sicilian pan pizzas. He is an MRI scientist, husband, father, and man servant to dogs Guido and Dante. Brian takes public transportation, swims in Lake Michigan, prefers “pop” to “soda” and has proudly taken multiple Segway tours with his son donning the safety orange helmet and vest. A former Chicago River docent he enjoys sharing his knowledge of the city and debating why Chicago is not the 2nd City.
Jeff Murphy
Jeff has always believed if you are happy in your work, success will follow. He’s a husband and father, derives pleasure from helping businesses do things better, and gets almost as energized when teaching people new things as he does when discovering new pizza places. Jeff develops software, teaches business and management classes for a local university, and finds few joys greater than teaching people about pizza.
Megan Christenson
Megan’s earliest memories are of eating homemade pizza on Friday nights to the sounds of canned laughter on ABC’s TGIF. While the Olsen twins have moved on, the Friday night pizza tradition remains strong in her family. Her favorite pizza will always be her Dad’s, but she’s also partial to the triangular corners of any tavern-style thin crust.
When she’s not sharing her passion for pizza, Megan can be found teaching yoga, coasting the 606 trail with her pup, Sofie, and coaching entrepreneurs and early stage social impact startups in Chicago and around the U.S. On a tour with Megan, she’ll happily sound board your latest million dollar business idea, offer a tummy-soothing yoga pose in between slices, and look at pictures of your dog.
Dr. Keith Reich
Originally from the Motor City, Keith became our latest doughcent after talking about his love of pizza on one of our private tours. He particularly loves artisan, deep-dish and his native Detroit-style pies. Keith is also a practicing physician and director of a rheumatology training program. When not obsessing over the many virtues of pizza, he spends his time trying to perfect his cooking skills and determine the best bottle of wine to go with his pizza. Outside of his food obsession, Keith enjoys biking, magic and pickleball.
Jeff Detoro
Jeff spent much of his childhood in the northwest Chicago suburbs indulging in tavern-style pizza and the occasional deep-dish sausage patty slice. A former meteorologist and air quality consultant, he traded office life for raising his kids and got involved with leading tours for a winery, various historical sites, and the Chicago Greeter program. When not walking the family dog, he can be found researching his Italian ancestry, transcribing historical documents, studying Japanese, listening to the Beatles, and taking pictures of food.
Peter Shearn
Peter believes that money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy pizza and that’s basically the same thing. After growing up in the suburbs, he has lived in the city for 25+ years and spent a lot of it debating what “Chicago-style” actually means. A husband and graduated stay-at-home father, Peter is happy to be moving past cheap birthday party pizza and onto the many amazing pies of the city. He is always up for your hot sports takes, historical tidbits, random trivia knowledge, and travel adventure stories. And remember, every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard and believe in yourself!
