Valentina Green got involved in the shooting sports and she noticed there weren’t too many folks like her participating. The instructor/activist changed that by extending opportunities to other minorities.
Green, a trained firearms instructor, did not get started because she was interested in self-defense. It wasn’t fear or any other factor, she said, that brought her to the shooting sports. Green was looking for a stress reducer and she decided to give shooting a try.
After getting hooked, she quickly realized there weren’t too many folks that looked like her involved in the sport. Green then decided to create a business that she would use to expand access to firearm education to women and the Black community in New Jersey.
“My organization is open to everybody — anybody that wants to learn about the Second Amendment, anybody interested in advocacy, anybody just [who has a] love of shooting,” Green explained. However, she wanted to make sure there was a space for other Black people to feel comfortable, where they could be introduced to shooting.
“I’m going to start a business so that people could see me. People of color. People in my community. Women. A lot of people ask me, is my stuff just for women?” Green said. “It’s not solely for women, but a lot of times when we go into spaces, especially women of color, if you don’t see somebody that necessarily looks like you, it can be very challenging to step into that space.
“Even if it’s not that the people are saying, ‘You can’t be here,’ historically, how we’ve had to interact in spaces — it becomes very difficult. And then the narrative of what a gun owner looks like still hasn’t quite made it to what it actually is. So I wanted to be that for them.”
Green said that she’s worked in the public sector for 23 years and after a high-level promotion, a friend of hers told her she needed to figure out a way to manage stress. Between the job, running a household, and being a mother, Green said she needed an outlet.
“They took me for my birthday to the Bullet Hole,” Green said about going to the range for the first time. “I went there to give [myself] a quick run through, and it was like — the minute that I shot that first cartridge, it felt like all of the weight of the world just left my body. And I was activated. I want more of this.”
After becoming a fanatic but before starting her organization, Green got a job at Gun For Hire at the Woodland Park Range. She approached one of the owners, Anthony Colandro, and talked to him about what she observed after visiting a few times. She recalled Colandro saying, “Why don’t you come work here?” It was at Gun For Hire where she really cut her teeth as an instructor working as a range safety officer.
Through her business, Green offers a few different kinds of events as well as private sessions for people who want to get started.
Green said that she offers workshops in the community for people who aren’t ready to go to the range. Because these sessions don’t have to be at a facility where shooting is going to occur, Green has hosted events at an ice cream shop, clothing store, and any business that’ll host her.
Green has brought her company, Naturally Armed, to Bloomfield, Irvington, her native Newark, as well as other areas. Green said she’s also had people come from as far as Philadelphia to attend some of her workshops and range events.
“I do four-hour workshops. And the general gist is; an overview of the Second Amendment, historical context, some civics, 101 basics, I go through firearm safety, firearm storage, basic breakdown of a pistol,” Green explained. “Then I ease in about rifles and shotguns … But, never to the point to overwhelm.”
Green will supplement her workshops with practical stations utilizing inert training firearms. The aids have the same weight and feel of real firearms. Those training firearms help when going over things like how to handle firearms as well as load magazines.
Proper terminology is something that Green stresses when working with students. She said it’s important to get “away from what you hear in the media and maybe out on the street,” but rather use the appropriate words. “Because when you use the correct words, you take away a lot of that negative connotation that comes with it.”
For the workshops there’s a nominal fee to cover any costs associated with hosting the event.
Monthly, Green hosts range events at Gun For Hire. She explained that similar to her non-shooting sessions, there’s a conversation about the Second Amendment and a briefing on gun safety. She’ll cover a lot of the same material from the other classes, except these events include live-fire exercises. The sessions involve a fee as well, however participants are getting certified live-fire firearm instruction at a state-of-the-art facility.
Green also volunteers for Women for Gun Rights. She works closely with the New Jersey state director on meeting with politicians. Just recently, she joined other women from all over the country in the District of Columbia to meet with legislators and discuss firearm policy.
On August 27, 2025 Green celebrated her one year anniversary since launching Naturally Armed.
In parting, Green reiterated that what brought her to the shooting world was her seeking a form of stress management. She said that because of her being open about that, people have gravitated to her. “I make sure to touch on it; because it’s the breathing, it’s the control [of] movements, it’s personal protection, it’s stress management, it’s a sport,” Green asserted. “I tell them it’s a multi-purpose thing.”
Valentina Green is one of the many women heavily involved in shooting sports across the country. With females — including minority females — being one of the largest growing demographics of new gun owners, the services that Green provides are indispensable. For more information about Green and her work you can check her out at: NaturallyArmed.online. Valentina also has a very active social media presence over at Instagram.
Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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