Meet the 'Live from OR!' team
Stay on top of all the action from Outdoor Retailer Snow Show next week.
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With the launch of our independent and unfiltered trade journal, The Voice, dropping Jan. 30, we’re also excited to announce a new way of covering all the happenings at Outdoor Retailer. Our excellent roster of reporters—some veterans and some fresh faces—will be scoping out what’s hot and buzzworthy throughout the show to produce a stream of stories for our site and social media. From Wednesday (Day 1) to Friday (Day 3), we’ll be sharing those stories in our Live from OR! newsletter. Don’t miss out—sign up for it here.
To follow along live on social media, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We’ll be curating our content under the hashtags #WeKnowOutdoors and #LiveFromOR.
Meet the team:
James Mills is our Culture Reporter. His beat will include DEI topics, people, movements, initiatives, and more. Mills is a freelance journalist based in Madison, Wisconsin, and has worked in the outdoor industry since 1989 as a guide, outfitter, independent sales representative, writer, and photographer. Pitch him stories at james@joytripproject.com.
Jenny Willden is our Sustainability Reporter. Her beat includes brands and companies, products and people really moving the needle in sustainability and climate change. Willden is a snowboarder, hiker, freelance writer and the editor of Outdoor Sports Guide magazine in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pitch her stories at jennywillden@gmail.com.
Ryan Wichelns is our Retail Reporter. His focus will be on getting the scoop from retailer attendees on what’s hot in terms of gear, issues, challenges, the show, and more. Wichelns is a climber and outdoor adventure journalist originally from upstate New York. He’s currently roaming Colorado’s Front Range in his Jeep Renegade rigged with a Tepui rooftop tent. Pitch him stories at ryan.wichelns@gmail.com.
Ron Griswell is our Gear Reporter. As a relative newcomer to the OR show scene, Griswell will be sniffing out the coolest new performance products and innovations on the show floor. Griswell leads student trips as the Outdoor Program Coordinator at his alma mater, North Carolina A&T State University, and works as a manager at his local adventure outfitter, Townsend Bertram & Company. Pitch him him stories at rvgriswe@aggies.ncat.edu.
Kelly Bastone is our General Assignment Reporter, handing all the stories that don’t fit a specific beat. Based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Bastone is a freelance journalist based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Pitch her stories at kmb@kellybastone.com.
Additionally, Kristin Hostetter will lead the team as editor-in-chief, Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan will direct stories as managing editor, and Amelia Arvesen will feed social media channels and curate the newsletter as assistant editor.
Look for us at the show!
