About Us

Heather Hauptli, Editor-in-chief

Heather is a media pro, host, blogger, podcaster, and dog guardian. She likes to figure out better ways of slaying dragons.
She needs some coffee. Now.


Michelle Hansen – Travel Editor

Michelle Hansen is a high school English teacher of 15 years and currently resides in Cairo, Egypt.
A native Minnesotan, Michelle left the tundra of her home state in 2002 in search of warmer climes. She has since lived in Seattle, Washington; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and San Jose, Costa Rica.

Jess Severe – Editorial Advisor

Jess is an Iowa captive, having lived in 4 (four!) different, exotic locales within the state over the span of her life. Her hobbies include gluten-free cooking, feeling guilty about walloping you at Scrabble, having weird hair, and singing obnoxiously in her car.

Jenn Grothe Jenness – Associate Editor

Jenn is a university librarian in a tiny town on the prairie. She loves coffee, cats, and sarcasm, and is working hard to disprove the theory that people get more conservative as they age.

Dana Williams – Copy Editor

Originally from Minnesota, Dana is a professional horn star, which is to say that she has a Master’s in Horn Performance. A grammar nerd since she learned to read at 3, Dana has lived in Florida since 2005 and performs with the Punta Gorda Symphony, Suncoast Brass, and various other groups around FL. In her spare time, Dana enjoys learning languages (she’s fluent in Italian), correcting politicians’ typos on Twitter, and volunteering for animal rescues.