April Tilton
Iser
Photographer · Firearms Instructor · Homesteader · Homeschool Mom · 15th Generation Floridian
Self-reliance isn't just a philosophy — it's how I raise my family, run my businesses, and move through the world. Every skill I teach, every image I capture, every event I build grows from the same root: the belief that a prepared life is a free life.
From the Florida land my family has called home for fifteen generations to the places my camera takes me, everything connects back to living with intention, confidence, and grace.
Read my story →Southern roots,
sharp instincts.
A Modern Southern Belle With a Ruger and a Garden
I received my first firearm — a Ruger 10/22 — when I was thirteen, and my 12-gauge shotgun at fifteen. For me, firearms aren't a hobby. They're a heritage, a responsibility, and a way of life that I'm honored to pass on to others through Iser Defense.
My path has never been a straight line. I practiced cosmetology for ten years before becoming a firearms and self-defense instructor. I'm a Brown Belt in Hapkido and hold rank in Pa Kua archery and edged weapons. These days you're as likely to find me at the range as in the garden, training ballet, practicing piano, or deep in a book.
I'm also a full-time student at the University of Florida, double-majoring in anthropology and geology with a minor in event management — which is how I've ended up upside down in excavation units from Florida to Peru, trowel in one hand and camera in the other. I went back to school while raising six kids and running my businesses, because I've never believed you have to stop growing to keep everything else running.
My husband Daniel and I homeschool our children, run multiple businesses, and homestead on our property in rural Florida — proving every day that you don't have to choose between ambition and family.
Self-Reliance in Practice
Every venture is a chapter in the same story — empowering people to live with confidence, capability, and intention.
Teaching confidence, safe firearm handling, and the defensive skills that could save your life.
Visit →An annual gathering for people who believe self-reliance is a way of life — not just a weekend hobby.
Visit →Courses in preparedness, homesteading, and the practical skills that make you less dependent on systems that can fail.
Visit →Our family's adventure — cooking, homeschooling, homesteading, and living intentionally with Southern charm.
Visit →Landscapes, architecture, and street scenes from the backroads I've known forever and the places I'm still discovering.
Visit →Graphic tees for the modern witch with timeless taste — a little magic, a little sass.
Visit →Advocating for a free-flowing Ocklawaha River — and the wild Florida that comes back with it.
Visit →The louder, cheekier sibling of Rivers Reconnected — making the case to breach the Rodman Dam.
Visit →One shared hub for the whole household — chores, allowance, schedules, and the family vault.
Visit →Also in the works
The resume behind the story.
Experience
- Chief Marketing Officer — WP Popup Maker · Code Atlantic 2023 – Present
- Founder & Event Coordinator — Homesteading & Prepping Summit 2020 – Present
- Owner / Event & Training Lead — Iser Defense 2018 – Present
- Homeschool Principal & Educator — Pine Forest Academy 2012 – Present
- Executive Assistant / Operations — Code Atlantic 2019 – 2023
Education & Credentials
- University of Florida — B.A. Anthropology & B.A. Geology, Event Management minor 2023 – 2027
- St. Johns River State College — Associate in Arts
- NRA Instructor Certifications — multiple disciplines 2016 – Present
- Florida Cosmetology License — DBPR 2005 – Present
Community
- GFWC Woman's Club of Palatka — Member since 2012; currently Chair of the Domestic Violence Prevention & Awareness and Human Trafficking Awareness & Prevention CSPs. Past Second VP (2014 – 2016) and Arts Chairman (2013 – 2016) 2012 – Present
- Keep Putnam Beautiful — Board Member (2010 – 2014), Vice Chair (2012 – 2014) 2010 – 2014
- Girl Scouts of Gateway Council — Troop Leader 2011 – 2015
As seen on CBS 12 News I-Team — 2024 coverage of the Homesteading & Prepping Summit.
Built for
the stage.
Whether it's a keynote on self-reliance, a firearms safety workshop, or a homesteading demonstration, I bring the same energy I bring to everything — practical, passionate, and unapologetically direct.
- Women & Firearms: Building Confidence, Not Fear
- Self-Reliance as a Family Value
- From the Garden to the Table: Homesteading Fundamentals
- Personal Safety & Situational Awareness
- Homeschooling a Large Family While Running a Business
Self-reliance isn't about doing everything alone. It's about knowing that you could — and choosing to build a community anyway.