Meet Our Publishers
Joan Bounacos is the Consumer Help Web publisher and co-founder of the organization. With more than twenty years of customer care experience, Bounacos lives near Washington, D.C., where she calls herself a "dangerous consumer" and promises to be one for you as well. The Consumer Help Web team publishes an informative blog, product reviews- the best online stores is just an example - and their complaint letter writing service. Bounacos and her team have won tens of thousands of dollars in settlements for consumers whose complaints were initially rebuffed by a company.
As a southern girl with Appalachian roots, it would be a sin if Cyndi Allison did not know how to put a good meal on the table. Cyndi, Cooking Help Web's publisher, is a rolling stone by nature and has lived in several states, Greece, and Japan where she expanded her cooking skills beyond her mountain apron-tail training. In addition to cooking and eating, Cyndi is a college lecturer and professional freelance writer and has over 1,000 publication credits ranging from magazine articles to technical pieces for a major software company.
Melanie Ellis is an Alabama homemaker and mother of two children. She decided on homeschooling during her own senior year of high school and has been lucky enough to be able to do so ever since her oldest child was born in 1995. As your Homeschool Help Web publisher, Melanie hopes to share ideas and information that will help make your homeschool adventures smooth sailing.
Brian Fisher is an editor from Holt, Mich. Despite having a full time job, he watches way more television than one person really should. Not that he regrets it. He previously wrote occasional television reviews and stories for The Detroit News. His favorite shows include Battlestar Galactica, The Wire and newcomer Pushing Daisies. He plans to review current shows, blog about buzz on fan favorites and keep track of the TV business and the trends that networks are pursuing.
A journalism degree, family and years of managing online content providers couldn't keep Garrett Gonzales from eventually staking his claim in the MMA world after following wrestling and boxing since childhood. Gonzales' personal blog is an eclectic mash-up that is part music reviews, part wrestling/UFC and part American Idol and other TV shows. The rest focuses on raising his children. Gonzales' MMA Help Web follows mixed martial arts inside and outside the cage. Visit to find analysis of Pay-Per-View shows, daily news, and the scope of where the business is heading. But you'll never make him tap out, unless UFC decides to show fighting seven days a week.
Mike Heyliger is the publisher for Music Help Web.
A Southern gal born and bred, Tracey Hunt left her Dixie home to bask in the smile of a charming dentist. Although her friends have attempted to explain to her that living in Maryland does not make her a No'thuner, she still asserts that she never saw snow like that in Alabama. Her visual arts gift showed early when she was made a member of the Art Honor Society. Tracey was also awarded a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art and Design. She discovered scrapbooking about the time that we entered this century. Her personal Y2K problem was that there just wasn't enough time for her new passion and all the other bothersome details of life.
Lynn Kvigne is a jewelry designer and owner of C-My Designs, a custom jewelry store rapidly gaining national attention. Ms. Kvigne maintains a busy schedule of appearances at shows throughout the Midwest and ships her jewelry throughout the world. As publisher of Beading Help Web, Ms. Kvigne and her contributors review web sites and other media, offer free tutorials on many types of jewelry you can make yourself and instructions for beginners and experienced crafters. Ms. Kvigne also interviews nationally known jewelers, artists and authors.
Laurie Morse worked for a large financial institution in upstate New York for over 20 years, where she delved into many different areas of the banking world. Morse has a solid knowledge of the banking industry and corporate policies and procedures. Working mostly behind the scenes, she has learned many tips and tricks of the trade to help you better manage your financial well being. Throughout the years she has been recognized for outstanding performance by receiving several excellence and Excalibur awards. She also edited a financial newsletter and has received her company's "High Mark" Award for multiple banking classes.
So many books, so little time. BookHelpWeb publisher Bridgette Redman has spent more than 20 years reviewing books, restaurants, and theater for a variety of media and companies. She also produces textbooks, industry training material, high school curriculum, and a variety of freelance ghost, academic, and corporate writing. She can't remember ever not writing or reading, though the first book she wrote at age 4--Judy and the Four Bears--became mouse fodder. When she isn't writing or reading, she is teaching drama to young students, volunteering with Cub Scouts, going to the theater, or crocheting fashion accessories for By Hand, an arts business she co-founded.
Emily Smith is a writer from East Lansing, Mich. Armed with her journalism degree from Michigan State University and her Visa card, she is well equipped to do two of her favorite things for Consumer Help Web, shop and write about it.
Ailsa Wu is a multimedia marvel. Wu worked multiple theater productions throughout New England, and studied film production in Boston. She is also a web developer (and webmaster for the Help Web sites), and spent two years working for the arts & entertainment section of a regional website. A lifelong film fan, she now indulges her love of the big screen as publisher of Movie Help Web. The site's news, reviews and profiles run the gamut from golden oldies to current hits, with some of Wu's lesser-known favorites thrown in for good measure.
