Megan Barnhard is a storyteller and avid foodie. When she’s not writing, cooking, or eating, you’ll find her making inept attempts at gardening. Megan lives in Sparks with her husband and two black cats.
Heidi Bethel enjoys sharing novel entertainment and dining experiences with her husband and their two sons. She loves a good flute of bubbly. And she thoroughly relishes the opportunity to share her foodie finds, tips and tricks, and other great information from the makers, bakers, and shakers in the community. Bethel has contributed to edible Reno-Tahoe magazine for more than a decade and continues to anticipate the next fun story assignment.
Raised in the rural farm country of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, Ali Dickson loves to uncover the sweet intersections where food meets community across her home in Reno-Tahoe. With an English degree and a passion for local agriculture, you can find her seeking out the great restaurants, urban farms, organizations, and outdoor spaces that shape the ways in which we grow.
Throw in large helpings of family, travel, food, celebrations, and fireworks — then add a dash of writing, photography, the arts, and Reno history — and you just might find a clone of Sharon Honig-Bear.
Claire McArthur thinks about food roughly 80 percent of the day. When she isn’t cooking it, researching it, or writing about it, she’s probably hiking in the mountains with a toddler on her back, a dog in tow, and homemade snacks in her pack. Though her Kansas roots won’t let her turn down a burnt-end sandwich, she’d much rather munch on vegetables these days.
Olga Miller is a freelance food and lifestyle photographer, recipe developer, and content creator. You can follow her on Instagram at Olgas_originals.
Christina Nellemann is a Nevada native living in Washoe Valley. A writer and designer for more than 25 years, she has covered everything from Burning Man and international travel to dumpster diving. Her favorite part of writing for edible Reno-Tahoe is meeting local ranchers, farmers, and business owners and sampling local food and cocktails.
Sophia Pappas operates Studio PDP, her illustration and letterpress studio located in Pittsburgh, Penn. She is a printmaking enthusiast, loves working on editorial illustration projects, and putters around her garden when she’s out of the studio. To see more of Sophia’s work take a look at her website: Sophiamariepappas.com.
Jessica Santina is the managing editor of edible Reno-Tahoe and a freelance writer and editor who wrote the French fry story appearing in this issue. She loves to cook, hates to bake, is a lousy but persistent gardener, and, after eating so many French fries, should probably start researching a story about the best gyms in town. She lives in Sparks with her husband, daughter, and cat.
Jen Schmidt is a margarita connoisseur and sushi enthusiast who lives at Tahoe with two good dogs and her husband, James (also good!). A lifestyle, wedding, and travel photographer of 14 years, she has had the pleasure of taking pictures all over the world, then happily coming home to the mountains. During the winter, she’s a blur of snow and skis and makes a mean beef bourguignon (Ina’s recipe); in the summer, she’s dangling her toes off a sloop named Sundance, rambling around the backcountry, and enjoying all the glorious sunshine the Sierra has to offer.
“Born and bred in the briar patch, that’s me!” With apologies to Br’er Rabbit, Barbara Twitchell says that statement aptly sums up the first 25 years of her life in Brooklyn, N.Y., which she credits for giving her fortitude, moxie, and a quirky sense of humor. The married mother of three, doting grandma, retired college counselor, social justice advocate, and self-confessed lifelong learner has resided in Reno for more than 30 years. She’s the oldest of edible’s writers, both in age and longevity, having written for the magazine since its inception, and has earned numerous honors from the Nevada Press Association for her work.
A Miami native calling Reno home now, Donna Victor has been passionate about photography since she was a young child. You could say she was born with a camera in her hand — her dad was a professional photographer as well. Portraits, both human and canine, are her main subjects these days. Shooting for edible Reno-Tahoe has allowed her the opportunity to meet some of the most interesting and talented people in Northern Nevada.
