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CONTRIBUTORS
Megan Waldrep
is a writer with a fashion designer past. After 10
years designing for her own label, she
started writing because “it just felt
good.” Sensing a magnetic pull from
the California coast, she packed her
car and made a soul-filled journey
from Charleston, South Carolina,
to Carpinteria, her home for more
than a year. A freelancer for various
publications and co-author of the
children’s book Spice & Little Sugar,
Megan considers the literary world her
home, sweet home.
James Buckley
, founder/publisher of Montecito Journal (weekly),
is an avid golfer who has allowed his
love of the game to get in the way
of his other avocation: writing and
publishing a Thedim Fiste Mystery
series, based upon the life, foibles,
exploits, and discoveries of an editor
of a weekly newspaper in a small
upscale community on the California
coast.
Steven Libowitz
has reported on the arts and entertainment for more
than 30 years. He has published his
work in daily and weekly newspapers
in New Jersey and California, as well
as in Santa Barbara Magazine and a
nationally syndicated news service.
When not at his computer or out
on the town, you’ll often find him
playing volleyball at East Beach, just
a short jog from Montecito’s famous
Butterfly Beach.
Randy Lioz
is an automotive enthusiast with more than a decade
of experience in the industry, from
advertising and marketing to data
analytics and forecasting. Hailing
from New York, he spent eight years
in the Motor City, immersing himself
in car culture, and came to Santa
Barbara to work for an automotive
forecasting company. He has
extensive experience in vehicle
evaluations, having tested hundreds
of vehicles on a long- and short-term
basis, and attending manufacturer
press events. He has an economics
degree from Duke University and an
MBA from the University of Michigan.
You can regularly find him at Cars
& Coffee with his Porsche 911 or
Speedster replica.
Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr.
has worked with the National
Geographic Society for 31 years
and written hundreds of magazine
and newspaper feature stories,
as well as guidebooks for Nat
Geo and the Smithsonian. The
Society of American Travel writers
has recognized his work with
three Lowell Thomas Awards,
the “Oscars” of travel writing. He
started his travel writing career as a
young vagabond with a backpack,
roaming around such exotic spots
as India (where he worked as an
extra in Bollywood movies for $4
a day). Jerry’s Montecito Journal
column, “The Curious Traveler,”
won the gold medal for Best
Travel Column 2011 from SATW. He
wrote My Favorite Place on Earth
(National Geographic), in which
75 remarkable people, from the
Dalai Lama to Natalie Portman, talk
about places they love.
Eva Van Prooyen
, as a quick-witted freckle-faced teenager with
a quirky sense of humor,
moved from Truckee to
the Santa Barbara area in
1989. Since then, she has
been managing editor of
Montecito Journal (weekly),
became co-founder and
co-owner of the Santa Ynez
Valley Journal, worked for
and received her master
of arts degree in clinical
psychology and now
runs a busy Montecito-
based private practice
as a licensed marriage
and family therapist. She
continues to write for
various publications, enjoys
a fast-paced game of
tennis when not chained
to her keyboard and has
maintained her quick wit and quirky sense of humor.
