Gale Hansen Ritterhoff

Freelance writer

United States

I am a freelance journalist and copywriter living in Charleston, South Carolina. I was an editor at Harper's Bazaar for 15 years where I covered beauty, health, fitness, design and entertainment. As a freelancer, I've written about almost everything, including food, tennis, pickleball, divorce, restaurants, business, books, medicine, real estate and travel.

Portfolio
Doubletake
Unique Pickleball Destinations

Obsessed with pickleball? Join the crowd--it's the fastest growing sport in America. Millions of people are playing the game. Courts are popping up everywhere. Professional tournaments are on TV. Even pickleball travel is a thing. Resorts are offering all kinds of programs from social meet-ups to intense training sessi

Doubletake
Sponsor-ama: Following the Money in Tennis

Unique Tennis Pro Sponsorships Tennis players aren't paid like many professional athletes. They don't earn yearly salaries or sign multimillion dollar team contracts. Competing at a high level is expensive, and tennis players are basically self-employed. Prize money is key, but sponsorships account for the biggest pay

Doubletake
Pickleball Rules Update: Everything You Need to Know Now

Pickleball's popularity is exploding, which is awesome. But as more newbies take to the court, it's increasingly important that everyone knows the rules. Here is a roundup of all the latest updates to pickleball rules as of 2024, and what rule changes we may be seeing in the future.

Harper's Bazaar magazine
Love Shack

Model Kirsty Hume and husband Dononvan Leitch retreat in style to their hip Woodstock hideaway

Harper's Bazaar magazine
Summer Hair

Outwit heat and humidty for beautiful hot-weather hair at any age

Doubletake
Tennis Star Gazing

The tennis stars are realigning. An incredible era of champions is slowly coming to an end, leaving space for a new set of players to ascend. Some members of the 'next generation' have already captured major titles and the attention of fans. Others are just beginning to rise.

Westchestermagazine
12/29/2017
20 Spectacular Spas

Relax, recharge, and renew at one these top daytime retreats.

Westchestermagazine
06/07/2019
Bring Out Your A-Game on These Top Westchester Tennis Courts

Westchester is a tennis lover's paradise. Whether you're a hacker who wants to throw on a sweatshirt and bash the ball around, a junior with Grand Slam dreams, or a mixed-doubles tandem who join teams hoping to advance to national playoffs (or simply for the post-match beer and wine), Westchester has everything you need.

Westchester Magazine
01/03/2020
Chamber Music Virtuosos David Finckel and Wu Han Make Beautiful Music, Together

It's a tale as old as time. Cellist meets piano player and falls in love when she allows him to transition slowly from an A to a G while performing Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major. Actually, this very specific musical incident is what sparked the romance between acclaimed pianist Wu Han and her husband, renowned cellist David Finckel.

Westchestermagazine
11/29/2018
Alex Witt

Alex Witt at her neighborhood spot, Underhills Crossing in Bronxville. I am very good friends with waking up in the dark," says Alex Witt, anchor of MSNBC's Weekends with Alex Witt, who has learned to enjoy her very off-peak commute from Bronxville to Manhattan.

YM magazine
Cinderella Story

Model Jessica White stays grounded despite her overnight success

Westchestermagazine
11/30/2018
Real to Reel

Photo by George Kunhardt Six Emmy Awards crowd a small shelf in a corner of Peter Kunhardt's modest loft/office space in Pleasantville, home to his company, Kunhardt Films. The impressive statuettes, even though slightly tucked away, silently express just how good Kunhardt is at what he does.

Westchestermagazine
11/29/2018
Sandra Smith

Sandra Smith at the edge of the Long Island Sound. Be an expert at something." Up-and-coming Fox News anchor Sandra Smith always recommends this path to success to would-be journalists. The approach led her to an anchor chair on America's Newsroom, the network's popular three-hour morning show.

Westchestermagazine
Haute Cooking At Home

When Chef Antony Ballard's rich and famous clients (Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, and Richard Gere are just the ones we're allowed to name) want something special, he is more than up to the task. In fact, a $3,000 appetizer is "kind of normal," he says.

Westchestermagazine
07/24/2017
Raising the (Oyster) Bar

Oysters are given star treatment at Bread and Brine, the hip Hastings-on-Hudson bistro. Daily offerings are listed on a big, movie-marquee-like sign by the bar, so patrons can easily see what's available. Inspired by summers spent in Maine, owner Jeremy McLellan offers only fresh-from-icy-water varieties, such as briny Pemaquids or Little Shemogues, delivered by the "crème-de-la-crème of purveyors."

Westchestermagazine
04/27/2018
Made in Westchester

Manufacturing isn't dead! Many local companies are crafting products - both well known and surprising - right here in the county.

Westchestermagazine
LOLA New York Makes a Fashion Statement With Savvy Merchandising

On the heels of their success in White Plains, LOLA New York recently expanded to a second location, in Tuckahoe. Photos by Nicolle Cannone If it isn't fun, we're not doing it anymore," says Dawn Pasacreta of the fashion retail business she owns with close friend Denise Elias.

Hvmag
06/26/2017
New-Age Kombucha Brews Hitting Local Farmers' Markets

Photos Courtesy of Blessed Brewery Thirsty? How about a glass of the Tea of Immortality? That is the heady, historic nickname of kombucha, a fermented tea believed to have first been brewed in Asia as far back 200 BC.

Westchestermagazine
Dancing Queen

Photograph by Bill King Sure, she has choreographed some 135 ballets, four Broadway shows, six movies and worked closely with the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov, but Twyla Tharp is no ivory-tower type. Her Joffrey Ballet Deuce Coupe featured the music of the Beach Boys, and her Billy Joel-based Broadway show, Movin' Out, won a Tony.

Westchestermagazine
This Businesswoman and Mother of 2 Earned Her Cred the Old-Fashioned Way

General Manager Colby Brock brings equal parts style and savvy to the Radisson Hotel New Rochelle. Photos by Paul Aresu Colby Brock is a brilliant multitasker. She can speak insightfully about the hospitality industry on the phone with a reporter while holding a baby, watching a toddler, negotiating a transaction at a car-rental counter, all after just getting off of a plane.

Westchestermagazine
The Last 7 Westchester Towns With Affordable Single-Family Homes

Single-family Westchester homes considered deals? Really? Believe it. No one will ever call Westchester a cheap place to live. But, if you know where to look, there are pockets of relative affordability where you can still score an excellent deal on a house.

Westchester Magazine
08/18/2020
How Westchester's Funeral Industry Adapted During the COVID-19 Crisis

Funeral home owners had to contend with new mandates and protocols that threatened their business practices - and the human element of their profession. Pictured above, Dorsey Funeral Home in Ossining. Photo courtesy of Dorsey Funeral Home What would have happened if the nurses and doctors stayed home, or the paramedics, the hospital employees?"

Westchestermagazine
Keeper of the Couture

Retail-savvy Westchesterites know that the Mary Jane Denzer boutique (currently located at The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester in White Plains) has long reigned supreme as the go-to source for high-end designer clothing. Though the store's eponymous founder died in December 2015, at age 83, her legacy lives on, thanks to longtime associate Anastasia Cucinella, who was appointed COO of the company by members of the Denzer family in March 2016.

Westchestermagazine
Improving the Workforce-Workplace Interface

Photos by Ken GABRIELSEN Entrepreneur John Arenas looked at an old car dealership in Rye and saw the future. His future - and possibly yours. He converted the building on Theodore Fremd Avenue, located a short walk from the heart of town, into Serendipity Labs, one of Westchester's first coworking facilities, or basically an office for hire.

Westchestermagazine
09/30/2016
A Grape Collection

Where does one go when nothing less than a Château Margaux 1982 will do? If you live in Westchester, the answer is Winston restaurant in Mount Kisco. Nestled in the center of this sleek, tri-level eatery is a world-class wine "cellar" featuring a collection of older, rare, and quality bottles known as a library wine list.

Westchester Magazine
09/03/2020
A New Facility Aims to Help Those 'Aging Out' of Elizabeth Seton

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Seton Children's Center Stephanie Gabaud loves to wear pink. She wishes she had more closet space. She enjoys listening to music and swimming in the pool. She also loves movies, and one of her favorite actresses is Angela Bassett.

Westchestermagazine
South Salem's Hidden Sandwich Maestro

Photos Courtesy Market on Spring Most Northern Westchesterites who drive Route 35 are on a mission - to get from one town to another in a hurry, to make a train, or to pick up their kids. But, there's a charming spot just minutes off this busy thoroughfare that's certainly worth the detour.

Westchestermagazine
Salem Vino

Vintner John Vuolo has opened what he's aptly calling a micro-winery on the grounds of the Gossett Brothers Nursery. Offering tastings, wine by the glass, simple food pairings, and bottles for sale, the small South Salem Winery is big on charm. The welcoming vibe comes direct from Vuolo, who says opening the place has been a labor of love.

Westchestermagazine
The ABCs of MLM

Clothing from LuLaRoe, a direct sales company. Go online and do an Internet search about multilevel marketing. What you'll encounter is the real-world ambivalence that characterizes the industry. Information abounds both extolling its virtues and decrying its evils. So, where does the truth lie?

Westchestermagazine
02/01/2017
This Tarrytown Artist Creates Beautifully Realistic Art

Above: Photo-realist Cathi Locati of Tarrytown - a former Miss USA contestant representing Montana - displays her Hudson River homage, titled Working Water, at the Hudson Harbor Development's Stone House. The casual observer might not guess that local artist Cathi Locati looks to Michelangelo for inspiration.

Westchestermagazine
For This Regeneron Scientist, Ultramarathoning is Simply a Hobby

Alicja Barahona racing in the southcentral Sahara Desert. On a regular day, you can find her in the Regeneron lab. For many people, completing a marathon is a major achievement. For Greenburgh resident and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals scientist Alicja Barahona, 26.2 miles is basically a light workout.

Westchestermagazine
"Returnships" Gaining Favor

Anyone see Robert De Niro in The Intern? Hilarious, right? But what is it really like to work as an intern when you aren't, shall we say, the youngest person in the room?