CONTRIBUTORS
Dymphna Calica-La Putt has been a Las Vegas resident for almost 10 years and is now editor-in-chief of the Las Vegas Asian Journal, the most widely circulated ethnic newspaper in the city. Before coming to the United States, she was a financial reporter for Manila, Philippines-based BusinessWorld, the oldest business newspaper in Asia.
She has a degree in journalism and has worked in communication and research at the Philippine Stock Exchange and Thomson Reuters.
She hears about the old days of Las Vegas from her husband who has lived in the city for 20 years, and she looks forward to the town's changing landscape that her 4-year-old son is experiencing.
Debra Collins
Debra Collins is the project specialist for Southern Nevada Workforce Connections. She has been instrumental in the development of the Nevada Health Care Sector Council and the writing of the State Health Care Workforce Development Planning Grant.
In recent years, Collins was the assistant director of the health/nutrition services for Sunrise Children's Foundation and is a registered nurse. She is a graduate of Seattle University.
LISA FERGUSON
Lisa Ferguson is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent more than two decades covering news and entertainment happenings in Las Vegas.
The Nevada Press Association award recipient has interviewed countless celebrities while reporting on the local entertainment, dining, shopping and lifestyle scenes. She has also written articles about myriad health, aging and women's issues.
Ferguson's articles have appeared in newspapers throughout the nation.
TOM HAYNIE
Tom Haynie is a freelance writer living in Medford, Ore. He is the former chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Manpower Inc. of Southern Nevada.
Born and raised in southwestern Pennsylvania, Haynie is a U.S. Air Force veteran from the Vietnam era. He has senior management experience in large and small companies in Nevada, Michigan and Washington. He is the founder and former president of a manufacturing company in the Pacific Northwest.
An avid reader and writer, he has written two novels that are published and available on www.Amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
Susan Haynie
Susan Newbry Haynie is a freelance writer living in Oregon. Before moving to Oregon in the fall of 2011, she was a lifelong resident of Las Vegas. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from UNLV and an Master of Education from University of Phoenix. She taught English and journalism in the Clark County School District. She advised the award-winning Centennial High School student newspaper, BARK! Voice of the Bulldogs.
As a counselor, Haynie has worked in the areas of threat evaluation, crisis response and intervention for students in danger of dropping out of school. She is a nationally published writer in the ASCA School Counselor, the journal of the American School Counselor Association.
JOANNA HAUGEN
JoAnna Haugen is a writer and editor based in Las Vegas when she isn't traveling around the world. In addition to writing for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she has had work published in more than 40 other regional, national and international publications.
Haugen is also the community news editor for WorldView (the publication of the National Peace Corps Association) and managing editor for Journey Beyond Travel, an online travel guide about Morocco.
KIMBERLEY McGee
Kimberley McGee is a nationally published writer and gossip columnist based in Las Vegas. A resident of Las Vegas for more than 30 years, she's written in-depth articles on a wide variety of subjects, from autism to cancer research, and interviewed some of today's biggest stars, from Celine Dion to Justin Timberlake .
McGee is married and works from home while caring for her 1-year-old twins.
BRIAN SODOMA
Brian Sodoma has covered business, real estate, health and other topics for 14 years - 10 of them in Southern Nevada. Originally from Chicago, he lives with his wife and two children in Henderson. In his free time, he studies film and is involved with valley youth hockey and soccer programs.
Linda Yi
Linda Yi, a 30-year resident of Las Vegas, is a registered nurse and the project director of the Nevadan Health Care Sector Council.
Together with Debra Collins and Jen Richards, chair of the Nevada Alliance for Nursing Excellence, they submitted Nevada's successful application to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action Coalition.
