Heidi Lyn Rao

Heidi launched her business North American Outdoors  https://northamericanoutdoors.org/ in 2013 to introduce people to the outdoors, especially hunting and the shooting sports, by delivering quality firearms training, related outdoor products, guides and a weekly podcast “North American Outdoors.”

 She has published 7 books to date, as well as hundreds of articles related to the outdoors, hunting, and firearms training.  

Heidi is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and is a Training Counselor.  She not only conducts basic firearms training classes, but also certifies NRA Instructors in the disciplines of Range Safety Officer (RSO), Rifle, Shotgun, Pistol, Defensive Pistol, and Personal Protection Inside and Outside the Home.  She is also a Texas License to Carry (LTC) Instructor.  Heidi has served on the NRA Youth Programs Committee and currently serves on the NRA Ladies Pistol Project Team.  She is a contributing author to NRA Women, NRA Family, and NRA Hunter’s Leadership Forum.  

She is the proud recipient of two prestigious NRA awards:
• 2023 “NRA Marion P. Hammer Woman of Distinction” award, and the
• 2022 Golden Bullseye Award for NRA Women: "Woman of the Year."  

Heid is very active in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).  Three of her sons are Eagle Scouts with the fourth one soon to be.  She is an Assistant Scoutmaster with a Troop, and in 2018 started her own BSA co-ed Venturing Crew that focuses on introducing young adults to hunting and improving their marksmanship skills through education and training.  They are very active and are called Venture Hunting Crew .30-06.  

Professionally, for over 25 years, her career has been with Texas Parks and Wildlife as the Assistant Hunter Education Coordinator, responsible for the state’s Hunter Education Program across Southeast Texas.  She is also the statewide Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Coordinator.

Heidi and her retired Game Warden husband John continually teach the outdoor traditions of hunting, trapping, camping, and the shooting sports to their four boys.  Heidi has always believed that when you train the mom, you involve the entire family!