Leona Baker joined the VistaGraphics team in August 2019 as Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Virginia Magazine and CoVa BIZ. Leona also provides editorial oversight for Savor Virginia, Coastal Virginia Bride, Be Well Magazine, Lynchburg Living and Lynchburg Business.
Leona is a writer, editor, creative, communications professional, food fanatic, news junkie, arts and nature lover, wife, and mother of a college student. In her published writing, she has covered a broad range of topics from arts and culture to public policy and politics. She previously served as Senior Editor for Port Folio Weekly, Director of Marketing & Communications for Virginia Wesleyan University, and Senior Copywriter for Spark451, a New York-based marketing agency specializing in higher education.
Born and raised in Coastal Virginia, she grew up in Gloucester but spent countless hours in Norfolk as a teenager studying ballet, eating barbecue at Doumar’s and going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Naro. She has a degree in English from James Madison University and a degree in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was once a wannabe rock star in a Richmond-based band called Mr. Pink. She currently resides in Virginia Beach, where she loves biking through the ViBe Creative District and kayaking at Pleasure House Point.
“I am beyond thrilled to be joining Coastal Virginia Magazine and CoVa Biz,” Leona says. “It is a privilege to be entrusted with the stories that reflect the richness of our region’s culture and all of the people who make this such an exciting place to live, learn, work, eat, drink and play. I hope to honor those stories by striving for excellence, not only on every page of our publications, but in all that we do in the community.”
