Jan Risher

Jan Risher went around the world to get from Mississippi to Louisiana-- with stops in between ranging from the mountains of Slovakia, the streets of Paris, a tribal village in Burkina Faso to the hills of central Mexico. The Mississippi native has made her home in Lafayette since 2001. A columnist for The Daily Advertiser and former managing editor of The Times of Acadiana, Jan is now a full-time teacher. She's also the mother of two daughters, ages 12 and 7. She loves reading, cooking, entertaining -- and food in general.

Some of her life's stranger moments have included Chanda Lear (daughter of the man who built the Lear Jet -- yes, he named his daughter Chanda) knocking on the door of Jan's office and proceeding to explain that she wanted to audition for a street performer's license and subsequently singing "High Hopes." On another day, she was running in the dark down a dirt road toward the Dakar, Senegal airport at 2 a.m. as 32 children chased her and screamed, "Madam, Madam." Both are rather long stories. If you ever run into Jan and are curious, with very little encouragement, she'll be happy to tell you either (or both).