Meet the team of inspiring creatives who help bring each issue of Whidbey Life Magazine to you.
Meet The Team
Allyson Meyer
Publisher • Editor
ALLYSON MEYER is an avid storyteller with more than a decade of experience in videography, photography, and editorial writing. She earned an MBA from the University of San Diego and has worked as a freelance writer for award-winning education and travel publications. She is the owner of Allyson Meyer Communications and serves on the Board of Directors for South Whidbey Hearts & Hammers and Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift Stores. She’s been a writer for Whidbey Life Magazine since Issue 17 and, in December 2024, she became the publication’s publisher and editor.
Nia Martin
Writer • Photographer
NIA MARTIN is a writer and photographer whose articles and photos have appeared in local, regional, and national publications, including The Seattle Times, Bitterroot Magazine, and The Fold. In 2020, she co-founded the newsletter Parts & Labor, which ran for three years and featured stories about, and affecting, women in the Seattle area and Washington state. She currently works as the director of development and communications for a nonprofit on Whidbey Island where she lives.
Dennis Browne
Photographer
DENNIS BROWNE is a photographer and writer who made Whidbey Island home in 2011. His goal in every photograph he creates is to connect the viewer with the heart and soul of the musicians, artists, and people he photographs. His photography has a unique and recognizable signature style. To view his work, visit dennisbrownephotography.com.
Russell Clepper
Writer
RUSSELL CLEPPER is a singer-songwriter who plies his trade locally and around the country.
Lea Cramer
Writer
LEA CRAMER is a daydreamer with aspirations of world domination. She spends her free time concocting gourmet meals for sloths (no one’s sure if they appreciate it) and generously doling unsolicited advice everyone secretly enjoys. Although inevitably inappropriately dressed for the weather, she’s a sportin’ gal, always up for adventure. Lea lives in a house on wheels with her daughter and two dachshunds who believe they’re running the show.
Bijan Mitchell
Photographer
BIJAN MITCHELL co-owns Kalypso’s Gifts with her mother Giavonne Mitchell. Magick and intuition inform her daily life. When not in the store, Bijan is exploring the island, training her service dog, reading, or becoming one with nature. As a photographer, she is captivated with the small “shots” and moments in life, striving to capture the beauty that can be elusive on camera.
Kate Poss
Writer
KATE POSS has enjoyed writing since 1986, when she began as a freelance writer for the weekly Acorn newspaper in Southern California and later wrote for the daily Ventura Star. Other work experience includes working with Sno-Isle Libraries for nearly 8 years as a library assistant, cooking on an Alaska Eco tour boat, having her own catering business on Whidbey Island for 10 years, and writing for the Whidbey News Times, Whidbey Life Magazine, and—since August 2018–publishes her own blog, thisiswhidbey.com. For three months each autumn since her husband Bill retired in 2020, Kate and Bill travel to the southwest and California with their 1979 vintage trailer ‘Marion’ as ‘rain birds.’ Being with family, friends and cooking are her favorite things.
Mary Reddy
Writer
MARY REDDY is a writer and visual artist who enjoys crafting stories. She’s equally at home with the written word; using color, line, and geometry in oil or watercolor; and extracting compelling data charts and interactives from densely packed spreadsheets.
Jennifer Dunlap
Writer
JENNIFER DUNLAP has lived on Whidbey Island for the past three years, and is excited to deepen her community involvement through volunteer work and writing. As the Outreach Coordinator for Good Cheer Food Bank and Thrift Stores, she focuses on raising awareness about the organization’s mission through social media and fundraising events. With a passion for addressing food insecurity and promoting local food system resilience, she volunteered for seven years with the Seattle Giving Garden Network at Ballard P-Patch and is now contributing her efforts as a new volunteer with Slow Food Whidbey Island.
Kiersten Miller
Photographer
KIERSTEN MILLER is a retired aerospace engineer and freelance photographer from Whidbey Island. She has lived and worked in Canada, Russia, Japan, in the midwest and on both coasts of the US. She began showing her work in 2018, with her first solo show at the Double Bluff Brewery. Since then, her work has been shown and awarded internationally with recognition in the Monochrome Awards, the Pollux Awards, and multiple Julia Margaret Cameron Awards. When not out and about exploring with her camera, Kiersten can be found at home tinkering on her motorcycle, getting it prepped for the next road trip.
Jamie Conners
Photographer
JAMIE CONNERS is a portrait and wedding photographer based in Clinton, Wa. In the summer she is the superintendent of photography for The Whidbey Island Fair. During the school year she teaches photography and art to adults and youth. Her website and contact info can be found at faragephotography.com