Meet the Scouting magazine team

J. Warren Young, Publisher
Warren earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his MBA in Marketing from New York University. After a 20-year career in New York publishing, with firms such as Time-Life, American Heritage, Random House, and Doubleday and as president of Four To Go Publishing, he joined the publishing operation of the Boy Scouts of America. Warren spearheaded the BSA’s literacy initiatives Reading Partners and developed Drugs: A Deadly Game!, an award-winning multimedia drug-education program reaching more than 17.7 million youth across America.

J. D. Owen, Editor-in-Chief
An Eagle Scout, J.D. left the newspaper business to join the BSA in 1982. He has served as editor of the 10^th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook, as managing editor of Boys’ Life, and was named editor-in-chief of the magazines in 1997. He has attended every jamboree since 1985, and has volunteered at all levels of the Scouting program.

John R. Clark, Managing Editor
A fascination for the spoken and written word led John into radio and then to print journalism. After working as an editor at The Dallas Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News and writing freelance, he was fortunate to indulge his itch to travel as Editorial Director for Southwest Airlines’ Spirit and American Way magazines. Since joining Scouting in 2007, he has loved reconnecting with his Boy Scout past and the wide-open spaces.

Bryan Wendell, Senior Editor
For Bryan, Scouting magazine represents the once-in-a-lifetime chance to combine his Scouting background and journalism education into an exciting career. Bryan, an Eagle Scout and Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow, has completed two Philmont treks and attended four national Scout jamborees. He received a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri and worked at The Dallas Morning News before joining Scouting in 2008.

Gretchen Sparling, Associate Editor
Lacing up her trail shoes, Gretchen joined the Scouting magazine team in 2011. Gretchen’s first love—beyond the glossy pages of magazines—is the outdoors, where she spends most weekends running, cycling, and hiking alongside her Eagle Scout husband. With a master’s in journalism from the University of North Texas, Gretchen brings years of magazine and Web writing, editing, and creativity to the pages of Scouting.

Scott Feaster, Design Director
Scott began his design career in the days before computers. He has worked at design studios, ad agencies, and magazines such as Cowboys & Indians and American Way. A former Boy Scout himself, he is currently a Tiger Cub den leader and an ardent cyclist and angler.

Elizabeth Hardaway Morgan, Senior Art Director
As a child, Beth loved writing stories and drawing pictures to illustrate them. She studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati, and after eight years working in San Francisco, she answered a classified ad that led to her life’s calling—the BSA. Thirty years later, she’s raised two sons in Scouts and has come to love “the whole Scouting thing, its values and what it teaches.” She doesn’t write stories anymore. But the award-winning designer still sees that they get illustrated.

W. Garth Dowling, Director of Photography
Garth comes to Scouting and Boys’ Life by way of the wilds of Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he put his University of Missouri-School of Journalism degree to use first for seven years as the chief photographer of the Jackson Hole News followed by 14 years of editorial and commercial freelance photography. The Oklahoma City native covers the lows and highs enjoying the outdoors from open water scuba diving to mountaineering and most everything in-between. He came aboard the Boy Scouts in 2012 as the Director of Photography for Scouting, Boys’ Life and Eagle Scout Magazine.

Edna J. Lemons, Photo Editor
Born and raised in New York City, Edna traded her heels for hiking boots when she moved to rural Texas with her husband, two children, and one dog. After honing her photo editing skills for eight years at Hearst Magazines International, the largest U.S. publisher of magazines worldwide, Edna came to Scouting magazine in 2007. At Hearst, she dealt with photos published in 120 different countries. Now, Edna has her hands full with the variety of pictures required for every issue of Scouting magazine.

Bryan Wursten, Online Editor
As a boy, Bryan remembers poring over the pages of Boys’ Life when it arrived in the mailbox each month. Now, as the online editor for both Scouting and Boys’ Life, he enjoys bringing the excitement of those two magazines to the digital world. Most of Bryan’s Scouting experiences took place in the Transatlantic Council, where he became an Eagle Scout and a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow. After graduating with a journalism degree from Brigham Young University, Bryan worked at the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before joining Scouting in 2006.

Linda Lawrence, Assistant to the Managing Editor
Linda’s first experience with Scouting was as den leader for her three sons. In 1992, after years as a volunteer and a stay-at-home mom, Linda’s search for part-time work led her to a place she knew well: the Dallas Scout Shop. Her journey continued as a custom-design specialist with the BSA Supply Group at the National Office and assistant to the circulation director for magazines, before joining Scouting magazine in 2008.