About Us
AY Media Group, is a multimedia company that specializes in niche market publishing. Our magazines and custom publications include Arkansas Money and Politics (AMP), the state’s premier business and political magazine; AY Magazine (About You), a lifestyle publication; and Mental Health Guide Magazine of Arkansas. In addition to our print products, we have expanded websites and social media platforms.
Please email hbaker@
Read Arkansas Money & Politics’ online coverage at armoneyandpolitics.com and find our print edition each month.
Please email press releases and other stories and ideas for consideration to press@aymag.com.
Our Staff:
Heather Baker
PRESIDENT / PUBLISHER
Meet Heather Baker, the powerhouse of the publishing industry in Arkansas! With over 25 years of experience and an impressive portfolio of successful publications, Heather is a force to be reckoned with.
From a young age, Heather’s passion for cars ignited her career as a magazine publisher. She fearlessly launched Arkansas AutoBuyer and went on to develop several other exciting publications like Arkansas Wild and Savvy at the Arkansas Times.
Currently, Heather holds the prestigious titles of President and Publisher at AY Media Group, a multimedia firm based in Little Rock. Under her guidance, AY Media Group publishes the popular monthly magazines AY About You and Arkansas Money & Politics. Heather’s expertise also extends to specialty publications such as the Mental Health Guide of Arkansas.
But Heather is more than just a businesswoman. She’s a devoted mother and an active community leader, passionately involved in numerous philanthropic projects. Her efforts with the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s Dancing With Our Stars helped raise over $100,000 in 2013, and she even served as a celebrity judge in 2019. Heather’s dedication extends to organizations like Project Zero, Ronald McDonald House, 20th Century Club, Wolfe Street Foundation, Second Chance Youth Ranch, Hunger Relief Alliance, and Women’s Own Worth, where she was honored as Woman of the Year in 2019.
Heather’s exceptional contributions haven’t gone unnoticed. She has received accolades such as being named an American Heart Association Circle of Red Honoree for three consecutive years, and she was chosen as the honorary chair for the Legacy Award Business Luncheon hosted by Junior Achievement. Heather’s influence extends to public speaking engagements, where she delivered a captivating keynote speech at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hubs’ 2020 Pitch Competition. In 2022, she became an outspoken advocate for victims of violence, championing their cause through various platforms, including working with Congress.
Beyond her impressive achievements, Heather’s vibrant personality has made her a sought-after emcee, judge, and media personality. She has graced screens on THV11 and currently collaborates with KARK, FOX16, and 103.7 the Buzz.
Heather Baker’s dedication, leadership, and community involvement make her a true Arkansas legend and an inspiration to all.
Mark Carter
SENIOR EDITOR
Mark has worked as a sportswriter for the Southwest Times-Record in Fort Smith, covered news and sports for The Leader in Jacksonville, worked in corporate communications, covered business and politics for Arkansas Business and also wrote editorials for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. An avid Hogs fan, Mark lives in Little Rock with his wife and three dogs, the former with whom he has two sons in college.
mcarter@armoneyandpolitics.com
Greg Churan
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Greg grew up in Chillicothe, a small town north central Missouri, and graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia, where he graduated with a degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Originally he wanted to work in the outdoor field, specifically in the whitewater rafting business, as that’s what he did during summers of college – guiding rafts in the Smokey Mountains on the Nantahala, Ocoee, and Chattooga rivers. After realizing that his passion for the outdoors should remain a passion and not a profession, he moved to Kansas City, and landed in industrial gas sales with Airgas.
With his passion for the outdoors, Greg jumped at the chance to move to Arkansas with Airgas, and has been in Little Rock ever since. Wanting more freedom and to help people save and invest, he went into the financial planning with Ameriprise.
In 2011 he had an opportunity to work in publishing as an account executive and has had success developing print and digital advertisers for niche publications. Building relationships is incredibly important for anyone in development. Greg feels that building business relationships is important, but what’s equally as important to him is to research and recommend what’s best for each client in each situation.
Greg is an avid waterfowl hunter and outdoorsman, enjoys spending time in the the Ouachitas, Ozarks and duck camp with son, Jake, fiancée, Jennie, her son, Caleb, and Labradors, Trigger and Tru. He is also a member of board of directors of the museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie in Stuttgart.
gchuran@armoneyandpolitics.com
Mary Funderburg
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Mary is an Arkansas native, born and raised in Little Rock, and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a degree in liberal arts. She enjoys the outdoors and plays competitive tennis year-round.
Mary has one son, who is her world, and loves being with family and friends. She looks forward to continuing her adventure with AY Media Group.
Dana Rodriguez
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Dana is an Arkansas native, born and raised in Sherwood. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in health service administration. She then went on to receive a diploma of nursing from Baptist Health College Little Rock. She plays competitive tennis year-round, and she loves being the varsity cheer coach at Mount St. Mary.
She is married to her college sweetheart, Jon Rodriguez. They have two boys, Cruz and Maddox, who are their world.
Jona Parker
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Jona is an Arkansas native, born in Little Rock, graduated high school from Mt. St. Mary Academy and has spent the last 20 years in Hot Springs raising her family.
She has three children, ages 19, 17, and 15. She loves cycling, being on the lakes, and spending time outdoors with her dogs.
Karen Holderfield
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Bethany Yeager
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Bethany Yeager was born and raised in Houston, Texas where she obtained her business marketing degree from the University of Houston. Now a resident of Arkansas for 3 years, in her down time she loves to go on local road trips to explore our Natural State, eat good food and tend to her garden.
Mike Bedgood
PRODUCTION MANAGER
mbedgood@armoneyandpolitics.com
Lora Puls
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Lora has been a graphic designer for 23 years. To her, layout design is like a puzzle; an exciting challenge to get all the pieces fitted together to create the perfect picture. Since family is at the center of her life and hers all live out of state, she travels frequently and is inspired by places and sights both in and out of the Natural State. Though she was born and raised in Iowa, she now calls Arkansas home (as well as those Hogs!).
Jenna Kelley
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Arkansas native, born and raised in Benton, Jenna graduated college from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. She has always loved creating things. Art has been her passion ever since she was a little girl. She is now married living in Conway with her husband and Goldendoodle. She loves doing crafts, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.
Angela-Maria Jones
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR
Angela is an Arkansas native, born and raised in Pine Bluff. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff with a degree in Accounting. She enjoys the outdoors and playing golf year-round. She has one son who is her world and she loves just being a good human.
Dwain Hebda is president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths in Little Rock. A writer, editor and journalist of some 30 years, his work appears in more than 30 publications in four states. Nebraskan by birth, Southern by the grace of God, he and his wife, Darlene, have four grown children and two lovely dogs.
Jessica Everson
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER
Hilarious. Hard-working. Those are a couple of the attributes Jessica Everson says people use to describe her (at least when they want something). Jessica graduated from UALR with a degree in history and a minor in sociology. But since she doesn’t actively use her history background at work, she’s content to nerd out at museums and daydream about one day being a museum curator. Jessica is also very involved in the local art scene, serving as volunteers coordinator for ACANSA and a volunteer for the Symphony Design House and CALS. She is mom to a little human, Laila, and a cat, Vera. When she’s not caught up with any of her many endeavors, you might find her meal prepping or hiking.
Sarah Coleman
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Sarah is a passionate communications professional hailing from Northwest Arkansas. Sarah attended the University of Central Arkansas where she studied journalism and held several positions –including editor-in-chief – at the student-led newspaper, The Echo. With experience in daily, weekly and business news, Sarah enjoys writing feature-style stories about the people that make Arkansas great! A lover of all things art, music, books, pop culture and podcasts, Sarah can be spotted at the dog park with her aussiedoodle, Ollie, or adventuring throughout the Natural state in her free time.
scoleman@armoneyandpolitics.com
Mak Millard
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Mak Millard is based in North Little Rock and graduated from Hendrix College with a degree in English Literary Studies and Spanish. While at Hendrix, Mak was the editor-in-chief of the student-run news magazine The Profile and an editorial intern with The Oxford American. They enjoy writing of all kinds and have had poems published in undergraduate literary magazines The Aonian and Prairie Margins.
In their spare time, they enjoy watching soccer, curating a monthly Spotify playlist, and taking early morning walks on the Arkansas River Trail.
Kellie McAnulty
MANAGING DIGITAL EDITOR
Kellie is the Managing Digital Editor at AY Media Group. Social media is her passion. Kellie says though she’s still learning every day, one thing she knows for sure is that helping others succeed absolutely enables her to thrive. Help a person or business grow makes all the hard work worth it, she says.
Kellie adds that she’s blessed and fortunate to be married to a wonderful man, with whom she’s a parent to two cats. Kellie and her husband love traveling any chance they get, and watching sports (Go Hogs!) and reality TV.
kmcanulty@armoneyandpolitics.com
Kilee Hall
ONLINE WRITER
Kilee Hall discovered her love for writing at a very early age, and began writing music at just eight years old. This passion continued into her adult years as she obtained a bachelor’s degree in public relations with a minor in Spanish from the University of Central Arkansas. After college, Kilee gained experience in writing about all things Arkansas while working as a digital content producer at THV11.
Kilee is also a pop culture enthusiast and probably the biggest Harry Styles fan you will ever meet. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, checking TMZ for the latest celeb gossip and playing with her cat, Cappie.
John Callahan
STAFF WRITER
John was born and raised in Little Rock, living there all of his life with the exception of four years spent studying English and History at Hendrix College in Conway. He discovered his love of writing in middle school, and his education has given him plenty of experience with it since then. Now, he is able to do what he loves every day as a Staff Writer. When not at work, John spends much of his time playing video games or Dungeons & Dragons with his friends, be it as a member of the party or preparing sessions as the game master.
Sarah DeClerk
STAFF WRITER
Sarah DeClerk is an Arkansas native who has served as board member and president for the Arkansas Society of Professional Journalists. She worked as a special sections writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where she coordinated the weekly Homes Arkansas section, as well as award-winning magazines Downtown Little Rock and Real Weddings Arkansas, among other projects. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mass communication from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where she worked as features editor for the campus newspaper, The Forum. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking and listening to local music.
Vicki Vowell is the founder and CEO of AY Media Group (formerly Vowell, Inc.), a multimedia company that specializes in niche-market publishing. AY Media Group publishes AY Magazine (About You), a lifestyle magazine, and Arkansas Money & Politics (Arkansas’ premier business and political magazine). Ms. Vowell, a native of Harrison who studied journalism at the University of Arkansas, created her publishing company so that she could share the stories of the people and places in Arkansas.
In 2001, Ms. Vowell founded AY Magazine‘s “Runway for a Cause,” a luncheon/fashion show in which survivors of breast cancer walk the runway in the season’s high fashion. The luncheon has been one of the state’s largest fundraising events, and in its first 10 years, it raised more than $1 million for local breast-cancer organizations. The Association of Fundraising Professionals has named “Runway for a Cause” an Outstanding Volunteer Organization.
Ms. Vowell has served the community as a member of the Little Rock Executive’s Association, a board of Baptist Health Foundation, member of the CARTI Foundation, the Mayor’s Commission on Tourism, and Women and Children First. She is a past member of the boards of Curran Hall and CareLink. She has received the Phyllis Brandon Philanthropist Journalistic Award, the 2017 Ozarks Ambassadors Award from the North Arkansas College Foundation and was featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette‘s “High Profile” in September 2009.