Andrea Kline

Andrea Kline, R.N., B.S.N. served in the U.S. Army with the 31st Combat Support Hospital during Operation Desert Storm. Her 40+ year nursing career spans bedside care, business development, and leadership. She has built products, led analytics at UnitedHealthcare, led the National Data Cooperative for Willis Towers Watson, and worked as a global healthcare industry expert in analytics and AI at Teradata. After retiring in 2024, she founded a consulting firm. She is the producer of I Am Speaking, an annual event that fosters community and healing among veterans, service members, and their families and is active in multiple veteran organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans.

Annie Connole

Annie Connole is a writer, artist, and mystic who has lived in the Mojave Desert since 2015. Originally from Montana, her work has a strong resonance with place and landscape. She studied at The New School and earned a MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside - Palm Desert. Annie’s work has appeared in Alta Journal, High Desert Journal, Writers Resist, and The Rumpus. Her first book, The Spring: A Mythic Memoir, was published by Chin Music Press in 2021. Since 2023, she has led the Desert Book Club and produced climate storytelling events with Everything Change.

Beth Allen

Beth Allen is an ex-city girl — after 26 years in San Francisco she became a full-time desert rat in 2017, when she moved to Morongo Valley with her partner in crime, Shawn “Shonzie” Smith. A 9-5 graphic designer, she has a long list of hobbies outside of work. When she’s not on the clock, you might find her doing hot yoga, rocking out in one of her local bands (frontwoman for the Hot Patooties and ALiEN PROBE), dirt biking, creating multimedia art, or dabbling in taxidermy. She hates the color beige and is dedicated to keeping the desert weird.