Amy Friedl

Born & raised in Wisconsin, Amy has fond memories of Sunday afternoon drives with her family and the occasional road trip. But it was not until she was in her 40s, dealing with a strong depression, that she learned how healing the outside world could truly be. Getting out of her bed and her comfort zone, Amy worked with her doctors and counselor to get the therapy, medicine, and weight loss work she needed. In spring of 2021, Amy set a goal of adventuring at all of Wisconsin's 72 state parks, forests, and recreational areas. She met her goal on December 28, 2022. Along the way, she formed stronggirlstravel.com, an online energy that seeks to encourage women to get outside of their own beds, their own heads, their own comfort zones, and do the brave, intimidating thing they need to do. Strong Girls Travel was also the idea for the children's book series she dreamed of writing while adventuring at Glacier National Park in 2021. For this series, Amy travels to the parks, takes photographs for her illustrator to convert into children's book artwork, and learns some lesson about life or the world. That lesson becomes a compelling read for ages 7-12 and encourages girls to remember that they are capable of making safe, smart choices on their own adventures.