STIR’s Fearless Leaders
Jonna Ivin, Founder
Jonna is the author of the memoir Will Love For Crumbs, the crime thriller 8th Amendment, and a humorous coming-of-age novel, Sister Girl. Over the years she has dabbled in various writing forms. Her first play, “And Heather Went Everywhere,” was produced by the Group Repertory Theater in Los Angeles. She also worked on a television pilot bought by 20th Century Fox. She volunteered with the Red Cross during Hurricane Ike, and with Write Around Portland as a workshop facilitator. She is passionate about marriage equality and the struggles of the working poor. She lives in Kansas, and when she isn’t writing books or learning about permaculture, she keeps busy spoiling her ungrateful dogs. She does not do yoga.
Laurel Hermanson, Editor-in-Chief
Laurel was in the ad biz, working in accounting and software development, before pursuing her dream of becoming an underpaid freelance writer and editor. Her first novel, Soft Landing, was published in 2009. She wrote for Second Nexus and Role Reboot, and her essays have appeared in Everyday Feminism, Daily Life, and The Manifest-Station, among others. When she was young and spry, she volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and local animal shelters. She spent several months volunteering in Central America at a wildlife sanctuary and a rain forest conservation group, and remains committed to protecting the planet and promoting social equality. She lives in Washington and tried yoga once, but gave up when she pulled something that shouldn’t be pulled.
Antonia Malchik, Managing Editor
Antonia has worked as a journalist in Austria and Australia. Her writing has appeared in Aeon, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed Ideas, and Orion, among other publications, and she is a regular contributor to Full Grown People. She’s an organic, zero-waste, locavore, former homeschooling mom whose weakness for Jolly Ranchers and a good burger doesn’t dent her passion for environmental issues, education, justice, and addressing the roots of inequality. When she was in college she worked for the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) on environmental and equitable wage issues. She lives in Montana and admits to doing yoga because it’s good for her back, but she’d rather be skiing.