Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in travel and outdoor markets. Before launching The WON in 2008, she worked as a newspaper and then magazine editor. Her bylines can be found at Field and Stream, American Hunter, Outdoor Life and other outdoor publications.
Barbara writes “Babbs in the Woods” at The WON Her bylines have appeared in America’s 1st Freedom, Fly Fisherman, AAA publications, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Columbia (Mo.) Tribune, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, SHOT Business, SHOT Daily, Shooting Illustrated, AAA publications, Show Me Missouri, National Shooting Sports Foundation publications and a host of other magazines and newspapers. She writes a popular travel blog, based on a former self-syndicated newspaper column, “The Accidental Ozarkian.” She is currently writing a book on the water mills of the Ozarks.
Barbara is available as a speaker or to conduct workshops on the following topics: women in the outdoors, the women’s outdoor market, traveling Missouri and why content marketing matters. Contact her here at The WON. Visit The Accidental Ozarkian travel blog.
Jackie Baird Richardson is an interior designer, editor at The WON and avid junker. Jackie brings her knowledge of graphic design and social media acumen to the pages of The WON, and is pivotal in the daily operations of keeping the “content machine” well oiled, and the bookkeeping straight. She created a monthly column that features outdoorsy women called “Gal Gab.” Watch for her design tips and occasional crafting ideas, bringing the outdoors indoors.
Michelle Cerino, aka Princess Gunslinger, is the managing editor at The WON. She also is the author of “Gear Up,” sponsored by Springfield Armory and “Princess Gunslinger.”
Kate Ahnstrom, owner of Virginia Shooting Sports, is a certified, professional instructor of the Paragon School of Sporting. She has dedicated her life to sharing her passion for the outdoors and diversifying the dynamics on the clay course and the hunt field. Her tireless dedication to her students’ success is obvious in each and every lesson. Kate is on the pro staff for Syren, the resident pro at Orapax Hunting Preserve and the Preserve at Dundee, department editor for “Woods and Waters” magazine and field staff member of the Sisterhood of the Outdoors. She and her husband, Mike, enjoy their small farm in central Virginia where they have a menagerie of animals and plenty of room to train and work their beloved GSPs. Kate loves getting behind the barrel of her Syren Tempio Sporting in 20 gauge for all things clay and feathered. Kate has penned several posts surrounding Syren, the fine line of shotguns made for women.
Prior to becoming an outdoor content creator, Anderson was a news anchor and reporter in western Wisconsin. She now uses her passion for storytelling to inspire families of all experience levels to get outdoors. Anderson is a published children’s book author and shares her love for nature, fishing, and the outdoor life with her husband, two children, and their yorkie named Kiwi.
JoAnna Anderson is a successful real estate investor, realtor, speaker, coach and radio host. She excels at marketing, negotiations, team building and management, outsourcing and partnering with county officials to improve communities while creating real estate solutions for homeowners. Her business focuses on wholesales, rehabs, and buy and holds.
Prior to becoming a real estate investor, she was a high school biology teacher for 14 years. She strongly believes that you can “give a man a fish, and feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, you feed Him for a lifetime.” She enjoys making sure that generations of bellies are full for a lifetime as she shares her knowledge with others – especially her 2 daughters, 27 siblings, 63 nieces and nephews, and an immeasurable amount of greats. Educating others is both her passion and her gift.
I am a wife and a mother who loves the outdoors, I also review and test airguns and shooting products for manufacturers. As Airgun Angie, I get to spend a fair amount of time outdoors hunting and shooting! I love what I do, I get the opportunity to test many different types of shooting and hunting gear. You can follow me on Facebook here.
Jen Barcklay is a retired civilian field helicopter mechanic with a lifelong fascination with anything that goes boom. She has been blessed to be able to help others by spending most of the last 20 years involved in firefighting and EMS operations in various locations around the world. She is also a US Army veteran.
We are here to empower girls and shooting sports. At 15-years old, we are the next generation of female hunters and need to be able to speak up to protect our hunting rights and protect the Second Amendment.”
Lanny Barnes is a three-time Olympian in Biathlon, as well as a National & World Champion in several shooting disciplines. She is currently teaching courses to military, law enforcement and competitive shooters on physiological and psychological aspects of shooting and is the director of Commercial Sales for HIVIZ Sights. Lanny and her twin sister spend much of their free time traveling around to schools, 4-H clubs, Boys & Girls Clubs, etc., talking to them about following their dreams, setting goals, and leading a healthy active lifestyle. Taking wounded vets and terminally ill kids on hunts through Freedom Hunters and OE4A is also one of Lanny’s passions.
Ali Juten is an outdoor enthusiast, hunter, writer and host of Empower Outdoors Podcast. She previously worked in corporate communication in women’s fashion but, has since transitioned to the world of freelance as an outdoor writer and digital media content strategist. Besides her Journalism degree, Ali also has a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and has traveled to a total of 11 different countries. Her background gives her a unique perspective with the hope to inspire other women to participate in all things outdoors. Ali reviews products for us the old-fashioned way. She puts them to the ultimate tests and give us her honest, thorough opinion.
Nancy Keaton is a retired college administrator, president of her local gun club, competitive shooter and freelance writer whose work has appeared in A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League, “American Shooting Journal,” “American Concealed,” “Northwest Meetings + Events,” and other publications. She enjoys writing about a wide variety of topics and interviewing ordinary people doing amazing things. To see a compilation of her writing, check out her website.
Vera Koo is a first-generation Chinese American woman. She is a wife and mother, author, entrepreneur and retired professional athlete. Vera made her home on the West Coast but is an avid traveler, food lover and patron of the arts. Her first book and memoir, The Most Unlikely Champion, recounts the stories of her life with tremendous introspection and emotional clarity. Her second book, published on the heels of the first one, is titled Wisdom and Things: Essays from an Unlikely Champion. It is based on her columns found regularly in the online publication Women’s Outdoor News, along with more life experiences. This new book, another memoir, features content in a wide variety of categories, covering everything from travel to Vera’s faith in God and her conversion from Buddhism to Christianity.
Koo was born in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China, and spent her childhood in Hong Kong. She immigrated with her family to the United States she was 12 years old. Vera and her husband, Carlos, own a successful business in the San Francisco Bay area, are the proud parents of three children and grandparents to six grandchildren.
In a relatively short period of time and at an age when many people are thinking of retiring, Vera became one of the world’s top female athletes in the sport of competition action pistol shooting. She represented the U.S. in several world matches, and won the prestigious Bianchi Cup championship in the women’s division eight times – which is unsurpassed today.
It is her hope that during this time of her life, she may be allowed to continue mentoring other people to aspire to be their best at whatever they choose to do, and to work with whatever life gives them. In her own life, she has navigated storms of death, losing a child and betrayal. She continues her unending faith in God, and attributes it as the reason for her success and stability. She is an “unlikely champion,” and represents that entity in all of us.
Visit VeraKoo.com.
Ashlee Lundvall writes a blog titled “Redefining Life,” that follows her rise from a debilitating injury as a teenager to Ms. Wheelchair USA in 2013. Her first book, “A Redefined Life,” was released in February of 2016, and she was recently invited to join the National Pro Staff for Mossy Oak and the NRA’s Disabled Shooting Sports committee, and is on the President’s Council for Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. Ashlee is also the recipient of the 2017 SCI Foundation Pathfinder Award. Ashlee truly shines as a keynote speaker at outdoor industry and disability related events and conferences. She is passionate about mentoring newly injured patients, and loves to pass on her love for adapted outdoor recreation!
Hollis Lumpkin writes that she is a “simple girl living in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, but I happen to have a great love for the outdoors, particularly hunting and fishing.” She is a duck-hunting freak. Hollis pens an exclusive version of “The Bright Side of the Road.”
Julie Park was born in South Korea, raised in Canada, and is now living in her beloved Rockies in beautiful Colorado Springs with her husband and 5 kids. An attempted break-in transformed this stay-at-home, unassuming woman into a pistol-packin’ mama serious about the safety of herself and her loved ones. She is a certified NRA pistol instructor and Chief Range Safety Officer, and has been teaching and training women (and men!) just like her for the past several years. She has been a chapter and state leader in women’s shooting organizations and an instructor at her local range. She loves discovering new guns and products for women and sharing her passion with others. If she’s not shooting and training, she is homeschooling her kids, enjoying travels and connecting with her favorite books and people.
Emily Perreira was born and raised on the beautiful island of Maui. She began hunting at the age of 5, on trips to Texas. The once pastime and hobby has now become a great passion. Selected as the 2016 Safari Club International and Cabela’s “Young Female Hunter of the Year,” Emily is a licensed guide for Maui Hunting Safari and hunts every opportunity she gets. Watch for her trending reviews on modern hunting gear and firearms. Emily pens “She Guides,” a column that features hunting tips and tactics, sponsored by Remington Outdoor Company.
Amy Ray is the owner of The Sisterhood Of The Outdoors, an organization that creates opportunities for women to hunt, shoot and fish. Amy is a pro-staff shooting instructor with Shoot Like A Girl. Amy is certified as an NRA pistol instructor and Refuse to Be A Victim instructor. As a member of the Freedom Hunters advisory board, she helps to expand hunting opportunities for servicewomen, Gold Star wives and daughters of fallen heroes. She also is an avid hunter and shooter and loves mentoring others in the outdoors.
Makayla Scott lives in the mountains of West Virginia and shoots, hunts and does all things outdoors, with enthusiasm that is off the charts. Makayla is sponsored by MEC Outdoor and CZ-USA. She was part of the team from CZ-USA that broke the world record for most clays broken by a 5-person team in 12 hours (Oct. 2019) and holds the official Guinness World Record. Makayla also contributes a monthly article to The WON.
Avery Skipalis is the owner of Skip’s Tactical Solutions, an organization that focuses on empowering women, men and children to make sure that no one else becomes a victim. She gained her firearms experience from the military where she’s been a military firearms instructor for 10.5 years. She’s also a certified NRA rifle and pistol instructor and Glock Advanced Armorer since 2015. She’s attended Sig Sauer Academy, FNH, Special Operations Command Armorers courses as well as multiple Advanced Shooting Schools across the United States. She resides in Florida with her husband and 2 kids. She’s currently serving in the United States Air Force and loves sharing her passion with others. She thinks it’s important that women also feel like they’re in control of their own safety.
