Amanda Baker was raised on the east coast of England. In 1988, she sailed across the Atlantic as part of a three-person delivery crew on a 43-foot yacht. Baker has resided in the BVI ever since. In 2000, she started Virgin Portraits, specialising in children's portraits and wedding photography, and, in 2003, opened The Gallery on Main Street in Tortola. With an emphasis on black and white, infrared and fine art photography, her images reflect the beauty of the British Virgin Islands.

Jane Bakewell is a freelance writer with a degree in communications who has made her home in the BVI since 1994. Her love of travel and adventure brought her to Tortola to assist with her family's guest cottage business. Shortly thereafter, she started a snorkelling day charter business, High Sea Adventures, with a local partner. Her articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines in the United States. She continues to freelance for several publications in the BVI, including the BVI Welcome Tourist Guide, where she also served as associate editor. Bakewell currently runs her own freelance writing and marketing business, First Water Writers.

Elise Donovan, a native British Virgin Islander, is the deputy director of international affairs for the Government of the Virgin Islands. Donovan has worked in various organizations in Washington, D.C. and New York. Her work and life's passions focus on international development, human rights, diplomacy, diversity and issues related to Africa and the African diaspora. Donovan has also worked in Nigeria, with stints in South Africa and Liberia. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from Carleton University in Ottawa and a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University in New York.

Bobbi Fawcett was born in Australia and arrived in the BVI in 1989. Her first experience of the wonders of the BVI was as a crew member/co-owner of a charter boat, introducing charter guests to the delights of the Territory and its pristine waters. Although she has lived in the BVI for many years, it was not until 1997 that she gave up chartering in favour of promoting the BVI to a much wider audience via media sales.

Call Bobbi to inquire about advertising with us:
Tel: 284 495 9678
Fax: 284 495 3084
Contact Us

Click here to view the media kit for Experience British Virgin Islands,
the official BVICCHA guest guide to the BVI.

J. Kevin Foltz is the staff photographer for HCP/Aboard Publishing. An artist-in-residence at ArtCenter/South Florida on Miami Beach, Foltz travels extensively throughout the Caribbean, shooting photography for American Eagle Latitudes, Experience St. Maarten/St. Martin, Experience St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Experience Puerto Rico and Experience the British Virgin Islands, among other publications. An award-winning photographer, his culinary, lifestyle and destination images capture the unique beauty of this island paradise.

Verna Penn Moll is a British Virgin Islander, former teacher and chief librarian of the islands who was educated in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. She has edited and written several books, including Johnny Cake Country (1990), Virgin Islands (1991), St. Kitts (1995), Legacy (1997), Coals of Fire (1998), Cultural Prayers (2000) and The Genius of their Response: Land Acquisition by Virgin Islanders of African Descent from 1834 (2000). Penn Moll also writes the "This Land" column for the BVI StandPoint. She is now chief records management officer at the Deputy Governor's Office.

Eugenia O'Neal is a British Virgin Islander whose writings have appeared in a range of publications from The Caribbean Writer to Business BVI and The Property Guide. Her books include From the Field to the Office: A History of Women in the Virgin Islands (Greenwood Press, 2001), Just an Affair (Genesis Press, 2003) and the upcoming Dido's Prize (Parker Publishing, August 2008).

Clive Petrovic has lived in the BVI for almost 30 years, much of it aboard a sailing yacht. As a trained ecologist, he conducts research on a variety of topics — both on land and beneath the sea. He also promotes the development of yachting and marine tourism in the BVI. He is the Director of Econcerns, Ltd., a company offering services in environmental consulting, education and tourism.

Julian Putley began his writing career while sailing around the world on his small yacht, a Tayana 37, in the early 1980s. He's written magazine articles on the disappearance of aviatrix Amelia Earhart, the outer islands of Indonesia, exploring the uninhabited islands of the Chagos Archipelago and Africa's Zululand. In the Caribbean, a magazine article on pirates and Norman Island led to his first publication, The Virgins' Treasure Isle, the true story of a huge treasure buried on that island, which was the basis for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. He followed that up with a novel, Sunfun Calypso, a satire of Caribbean island life, and in 2002 published the first edition of the biennial The Drinking Man's Guide to the BVI. Both of these are Caribbean bestsellers. Putley and his family reside in the BVI.

Jim Scheiner has lived in the BVI for more than 25 years. A scuba instructor since 1975, Scheiner has logged almost 10,000 dives worldwide, usually with camera in hand. A well-known photojournalist, he specialises in underwater, aerial, yachting and lifestyle photography. Through his studio at Rainbow Visions Photography, he takes great pleasure in capturing the beauty and romance of a visiting couple's island wedding.