Walter “Sonny” Dinkins is an author, teacher and popular speaker who is currently deployed as an armed-forces chaplain due to the Global War on Terrorism. He has been stationed and lived all over the world, and especially enjoys working humanitarian missions with interdepartmental agencies. His most recent book, “Red Fish on a Fly,” focused on fly-fishing and travel throughout the nine major redfish states in the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast. He is North Carolina’s first outdoors writer to author a book on the state fish. His next book, due out in 2014, will be titled “Waterfowl Hunting (Ducks & Geese) Around the World.” When not deployed, he calls Wilmington, N.C., home with his wife and three children.
Doug Kelly serves as editor in chief of Traveling Sportsman Magazine, an international publication for those who like to travel to enjoy their fishing and hunting experiences. Publisher of the video series “Saltwater Flyfishing from A to Z,” Kelly enjoys light-tackle fishing, bird hunting, camping and travel. In addition to OWAA, Kelly’s memberships include SEOPA, the Society of American Travel Writers and the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
Jennifer P. Kross has been with Ducks Unlimited for three years, beginning at the Southern Regional Office in Ridgeland, Miss., then moving to the Great Plains Regional Office in Bismarck, N.D. She has a master’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science from Mississippi State University. Kross’ position as a communications biologist with Ducks Unlimited entails using her waterfowl biology background to communicate DU’s message through various media. She works with writers and journalists who are interested in writing about ducks, duck hunting and wetland conservation. Kross enjoys duck, pheasant and dove hunting, hiking and bird watching. As a Southerner who has been transported to the Great White North, she is still getting used to that white stuff that falls from the sky.
Drew Rush is a photographer and writer based in Jackson, Wyo. He graduated with a degree in secondary education/social studies from the University of Wyoming and then realized that guiding fishing and snowmobiling trips was way more fun and exciting than teaching. He has guided fishing trips for 10 years and snowmobiling trips for five. Now he spends the majority of his time trying to figure out how to get back out into the field to write and photograph and still be able to put food on the table and pay the rent. To see more of his work visit www.drewrushphotography.com.
Lowell Strauss is a biologist and geographer by training, wildlife conservation scientist by profession and an outdoorsman by choice – he has a passion for all things wild. Strauss is a photographer and technical writer, and as a student member of OWAA, he hopes to learn the business of outdoor writing. He lives in the heart of the central flyway in Saskatchewan, Canada. When not hunting birds or big game, trapping or fishing, he enjoys teaching outdoor skills to youths. He is a competitive target shooter and range officer with a strong interest in handloading and ballistics. More information about Strauss and his work can be found at www.lowellstrauss.com.
Chris Walls is the director of public relations for Warner Law Offices in Charleston, W.Va. In this role, he works as director of Beyond The Backyard, a Bobby Warner Charitable Youth Foundation. Beyond The Backyard’s mission is to increase the number of West Virginia children who participate in the great outdoors. Walls earned both bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in journalism from West Virginia University. He is a three-time National Wild Turkey Federation grand national turkey-calling champion. An accomplished videographer, Walls loves shooting freelance video of his outdoor adventures across the United States. To learn more about Beyond The Backyard visit its Web site at www.beyondthebackyard.org.
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