BlogHer '11 : Speakers

Adriana Maestas began blogging about politics and issues that pertain to the Latino community four years ago at LatinoPoliticsBlog.com. She wanted to bring a Latina voice to various political issues and make use of the formal skills she acquired in college and graduate school. She holds a master's degree in public policy from Claremont Graduate University and a bachelor's degree in political science from University of California, Irvine. Adriana has worked on political campaigns as both a volunteer and as a paid consultant. During the day when she's not blogging at LatinoPoliticsBlog.com or at DailyGrito.com, she works at UC Irvine in open source publishing.

Amy Bellgardt is a work-at-home Oklahoma mom of two boys and wife to an insanely handsome jingle writer. In 2008, she started a blog, MomSpark.net, as a way to connect with fellow moms who were experiencing the same joys and challenges of parenting.  Amy quickly found the community and support she needed in the social media and blogging world.  

Mom Spark now consists of four writers and has a wide range of articles for moms that include recipes, product reviews, arts, crafts, travel, blogging advice, coupons, deals, and an active community forum.  In addition, Mom Spark regularly works with brands on ambassador programs, online campaigns, and guest articles.  

In 2009, Amy founded the successful MomMadeThat.com, an online listing registry for mom businesses to promote and advertise their goods and services.  Mom Made That! currently has over 200 business listings and was recommended by Etsy.com as an economical method of advertising.

In August 2010, Amy launched a social media company, Mom Spark Media, which helps mom bloggers further their blogging paths by offering instructional blogging and social media courses, as well as unique opportunities to work with brands.  Mom Spark Media is now a leader in the mom social media space and continues to grow its relationships with businesses and brands.

AMY WILSON is the author of When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, The Worrier, The Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be (Harper Collins, 2010), and of Mother Load, a one-woman show that Amy performed for nine weeks off-Broadway and in fifteen other cities since. Her writing has appeared in Redbook and Parenting magazines, and on websites like Babble, CNN.com, and Huffington Post. Amy is also an actress who has appeared in movies like Kissing Jessica Stein and Kinsey and TV shows like Law & Order.  She and her husband raise their three kids in New York City. After blogging for four years at motherloadtheblog.com, Amy is about to rebrand her blog as whendidigetlikethis.com, and hopes to not lose too many readers in the process.

Ana Lydia Monaco, founder and president of padma media and marketing, Inc. reached national recognition in 2006 for her visionary relevant and culturally sound approach to multicultural consumer outreach.  Under her leadership, padma develops programs that strategically align social & digital media, PR/publicity and public outreach to reach diverse and niche consumers, including Spanish-speaking Hispanics.

 

Ana Lydia’s results-driven approach is based on more than fifteen years leading national media campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, non-profit clients and government agencies.   Her ethical leadership style has earned the respect of industry leaders, colleagues, media and clients; strengthening their trust and loyalty in the guidance and strategic counsel provided by the padma team.

 

Shortly after launching padma, Ana Lydia secured the coveted role of launching Americas United Bank, the first Hispanic-owned business bank in California.  Her strategic alliances created the opportunity to introduce the financial institution to community leaders, local government representatives and the local business community.  The launch campaign secured media mentions and stories in leading publications, online news sites and news programs; including LA Times, La Opinion, NBC, MSNBC, to name a few.

 

Currently, padma leads a passionate team of experienced communications professionals.  The diverse team is responsive to the multicultural consumer, digital and media efforts for the agencies various clients and agency partners, which consistently “white label” padma’s social media and public relations services.  Current agency clients include: Macy*s, American Liver Foundation, Long Beach Transit Authority, to name a few.

 

Ana Lydia’s extensive professional experience includes managing the national Hispanic media campaigns for AT&T, General Mills, City of Hope, Telemundo and Sears. She also led the regional Verizon Wireless account and provided strategic counsel to Nike, the National Honey Board and The California Milk Processors Board.

 

Industry trade magazines and journals have relied on Ana Lydia’s expertise for various articles and industry trend reports, including the 2010 Hispanic Social Media & Marketing Report .  She has been quoted in Money Magazine, CNN Money, Ad Age, Univision, Hispanic Market Weekly, PR Week, and other leading publications. 

 

After the City of Los Angeles and former Mayor James K. Hahn recognized her public relations career, California Senator Hilda Solis commended the launch of padma media & marketing, Inc. in 2006. 

 

As community advocate, The Women’s Health Organization recognized for her commitment to women’s health and the United States Department of Commerce commended her partnership for the 2010 Census.

 

Ana Lydia received the YWCA Phenomenal Woman Award in 2003, was nominated by the Los Angeles Business Journal for the 2009 Women Making a Difference Award and was a finalist for both the Inc. Magazine & Idea Cafe Entpreneur of the Year Award in 2009.

 

Ana Lydia is a volunteer at Bienvenidos Childrens Charities and Santa Monica Catholic Church.  She is an Alumni Board Member at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, and graduate of the Woodhull Institute Ethical Leadership Training. 

 

She is also founder and moderator of the Latina Lifestyle Bloggers Group and active member with LATISM, Latinos in Social Media.

A stay-at-home humorist, Ann's writing has been featured on numerous websites including McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Aiming Low, BlogHer, Errant Parent, FunnyNotSlutty, Humor Press, Women on Writing, and in 2010 she was named a BlogHer Voice of The Year. So technically Ann's full name is "Ann Imig-BlogHerVoiceofTheYear2010" but you can just call her Ann. Offline Ann has appeared in Brava Magazine, Madison Magazine, The Wisconsin State Journal, on Wisconsin Public Radio, and hourly in front of her pantry trying to resist the siren-song of the fruit leather. After hearing “You Sunk My Battleship” one too many times from her two boys in spring of 2010, Ann created a show called Listen To Your Mother (LTYM), and named herself National Director. LTYM had Mother's Day shows in five cities in 2011, and plans for more in 2012. Ann and her family reside in Madison, Wisconsin.

Astacia dipped her toes into the social media pool when it was a small group of nerds. She has evolved into a personal blogger, product reviewer, website editor, website manager, blog designer, content writer and the list goes on. She taught herself WordPress while her kids were young. Now she owns a flourishing blog development company and loves to pay it forward. 

~~

Autumn Sandeen blogs for Firedoglake's Pam's House Blend, and is a columnist for San Diego's LGBT Weekly.

She is also a transgender activist, having recently handcuffed herself to the White House fence in April and November of 2010 over the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Her own Don't Ask, Don't Tell story is presented in "internet ink" on the HRC's website, and in video format on DOD Fed Globe's website.

She's currently retired from the military, and has a Veterans Administration (VA) Disability Rating of 100% - Service Connected. [The main, contributing factor for her VA disability rating is Bipolar II ½ (also referred to as cyclothymic disorder), although she has physical disabilities involving her right wrist and her back.] So, to fill her days she writes, and does other activism work.

After retiring from the U.S. Navy and received her initial disability rating from the VA, she explored her gender dysphoria with counselors in San Diego's VA Medical Center, and began transitioning as a male-to-female transsexual on February 6, 2003.

For Pam's House Blend she covered the Hate Crime Murder Trial for victim Angie Zapata from the Greeley, Colorado courtroom. She was interviewed by TruTV at the end of the trial.

Autumn has previously written for the Ex-Gay Watch.

Beth Blecherman is the Founder/Editor of TechMamas.com, and Twitters @TechMama as a platform to discuss technology, social media and gadgets for families.

Beth left her position as a Senior Manager at Deloitte for Family Management, then decided to blog as a career 2.0. She consults with companies and speaks at conferences on social media strategies and family technology trends. Beth Blecherman/TechMamas.com was chosen as one of the Nielson Power Mom 50 influencers, Parents Magazine Power Mom and is on the Forbes 100 Best Websites for Women. On Twitter as TechMama, she is one of the 25 Influential Moms to Follow on Twitter and spoke at 140conf NYC. She also spoke at BlogHer, SXSW, M2Moms and Web 2.0. She is on the Board of Advisors for MommyTech at CES, where she also speaks. Beth Blecherman's newest pursuit will be as Managing Editor of a new Cool Mom Picks website called "Cool Mom Tech". She lives in Silicon Valley with her techie husband and three sons - who teach her new tech tricks on a daily basis.

Britt Bravo is a blogger, podcaster, and juicy blogging coach. She's also a creative career consultant who loves to help people find and express their calling. She started blogging in 2005 with the launch of her blog, Have Fun * Do Good. Since then, she's written for BlogHer, the Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship, The Huffington Post, NetSquared, Sparked, the Stanford Social Innovation Review Opinion Blog, WEtv’s WE Volunteer blog, and WorldChanging. Her local paper, The East Bay Express, named her the Best Podcaster/Blogger Most Dedicated to Social Change. When she's not blogging, Britt loves to cook, collage, write letters, interview big visionaries, and bring groups of people together, online and offline.

Carleen Brice is author of ORANGE MINT AND HONEY, an Essence “Recommended Read” and a Target “Bookmarked Breakout Book,” and the best-selling CHILDREN OF THE WATERS. In February 2010, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network as SINS OF THE MOTHER, starring Jill Scott. It was the second-highest rated original movie in LMN’s history and received two 2011 NAACP Image Awards. Brice is the recipient of the 2009 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the 2008 Break Out Author Award at the African American Literary Awards Show. She was recently named one of the 25 most influential black fiction writers on Twitter.

Carol Jenkins is an award-winning writer, producer and media consultant. She is a sought-after speaker and writer on issues relating to the media, specifically the participation of women and people of color; women’s participation in the political and economic structures in the US; and the health of women in developing countries, particularly on the African continent.

An Emmy-winning former television journalist, she was founding president and board member of The Women’s Media Center, the groundbreaking non-profit aimed at increasing coverage and participation of women in the media. In that WMC role she conceived the acclaimed Progressive Women’s Voices media leadership program, and acquired and expanded the largest portfolio of women experts in the country, SheSource.

Carol Jenkins is Chair of the Board of Directors of AMREF USA. The African Medical & Research Foundation, a 53 year old organization based in Nairobi and founded as The Flying Doctors, is the largest African health NGO on the continent. AMREF operates in more than 30 countries in the delivery of services, training of a local health workforce, and providing safe water and sanitation. AMREF is winner of both The Bill and Melinda Gates Award for Global Health and The Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

In addition to continuing to serve on The Women’s Media Center board, she is Chair of the Black Maternal Health Advisory Board of Women’s eNews, the online international women’s newspaper; member of the President’s Council of Advisors at The National Council for Research on Women; a member of the Advisory Board of The Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and an Advisory board member of the Caring Economics Campaign, a project of The Center for Partnership Studies. Ms Jenkins formerly served on the boards of The Ms Foundation for Women and The Feminist Press.

Carol Jenkins is the co-author, with her daughter Elizabeth Gardner Hines, of Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire. A biography of her uncle, it was winner of Best Non-Fiction award from the Black Caucus of The American Library Association. She was an Executive Producer of Eve Ensler’s Sundance award-winning documentary, What I Want My Words to Do to You and is a contributor to the recently published book, Secrets of Powerful Women, Leading Change for a New Generation.

A recipient of both the Lifetime Achievement and International Reporting awards from the National Association of Black Journalists/NY, she holds honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College and The College of New Rochelle.

Recent honors include The 2009 North Star News Prize, and the 2008 Women’s Equality Award from The National Council of Women’s Organizations.

Caryn Kaiser is the General Manager of Chase Blueprint, a recent innovation available for free on many Chase credit cards, which is dramatically improving the way customers manage their spending and borrowing every day. Under her leadership, Blueprint has become the most successful standalone product launch in Chase Cards history with more than 1 million customers.

Kaiser joined Chase in 1998, holding a variety of key positions including managing Chase’s Cash Rewards Credit card business, several key Co-Brand Partnerships, and Chase’s Payment Network Strategy team. She also has led the bank’s multi-billion dollar Affinity card segment of over 250 Universities as well as other non-profit organizations.

Kaiser is passionate about promoting good financial behavior. In addition to overseeing the day-today operations and overall customer experience for Chase Blueprint, Kaiser closely follows consumer sentiment and spending and borrowing behaviors to constantly evolve the Blueprint product to ensure it is meeting customer needs. She is a sought after media commentator and public speaker on consumer financial behavior, recently appearing in Bloomberg and on ABC News.

Prior to her work at Chase, Kaiser was employed by GE Capital, responsible for consumer credit product marketing. She began her career in consumer packaged goods marketing with Procter and Gamble. At P&G, she worked on international product launches in Scandinavia and managed various assignments while based in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.

Kaiser is a Business Honors graduate of The Ohio State University. She has also completed graduate work at Xavier University, concentrated in Consumer Finance. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and three young sons.

Cheryl Contee, Partner at Fission Strategy, specializes in helping non-profit organizations and foundations use social media to create social good. She is also the co-founder of Jack and Jill Politics writing as “Jill Tubman” on one of the top 10 black blogs online. Cheryl is included in The Root 100 list of established and emerging African-American leaders. Fast Company has named her one of their 2010 Most Influential Women in Tech. She has over 13 years of award-winning interactive expertise and previously served as Vice President and lead digital strategist for Fleishman-Hillard’s West Coast region in San Francisco. Cheryl has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Magazine, BBC, and CNN, among other media appearances. She is also proud to serve on several boards and advisory committees: Netroots Nation, BlogHer, Blogging While Brown, Applied Research Center, and CommonGoods.Net. She received her B.A. from Yale University and has an International Executive M.B.A. from Georgetown University. In her spare time, Ms. Contee enjoys hiking, yoga, movies and tai chi sword.

Colleen Lindsay is an unrepentant nerd and digital native who spent most of her formative years hiding beneath the blankets with a flashlight and a book. Her obsession with reading was a hard habit to break; as a result, she’s worked in the book industry since 1984. Her first job in publishing was in Northern California as a mass merchandise sales assistant for Ballantine Books.

For five years she served as Director of Publicity for Del Rey Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, specializing in the creative publicity and marketing of science fiction, fantasy, pop culture, YA fantasy, graphic novels, manga and third-party licensed media. Some of the authors whose publicity campaigns Colleen had the privilege to manage at Del Rey include Terry Brooks, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Moon, China Mieville, Richard K. Morgan, Minister Faust, Matthew Stover, R.A. Salvatore, and Harvey Pekar.

Colleen has also worked freelance as a book marketing/publicity/online/social media publishing consultant for several major trade publishers, as well as working on major non-fiction projects such as MOTHER TERESA: COME BE MY LIGHT and A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD. She spent twelve years working as floor manager, backlist buyer and events manager at several San Francisco Bay Area independent bookstores and was a book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle under the inimitable Pat Holt. Most recently, Colleen worked as a literary agent at FinePrint Literary Management, where she discovered great genre and YA writers like Kelly Gay, Allison Pang, Ruth Long, Karen Rivers, and Scott Tracey.

Currently Colleen works in the business development department at Penguin Group (USA), and is the community manager for Book Country, an online writing and reading community for genre-fiction writers. You can usually find her on Twitter giving advice to writers, discussing the future of the publishing industry and waxing poetic about her cat Stinkyboy's addiction to Greenies.

With two design degrees, and an unhealthy obsession with all things Adobe, Cynthia started her one stop shop for everything from blog design to custom illustration and logo creation 3 years ago. Over 100 blog designs later, and many late night dates with her Macbook Pro, NW Designs has become her full time job. As if that wasn't enough, she also adds wife and mom of two to her list. You can find her chronicling the entire journey at her personal blog Nap Warden.com.

Darya is the creator of Summer Tomato, where she writes healthy eating tips for food lovers looking to optimize health and happiness. She received her Ph.D from UCSF Medical Center in 2010, where she studied neural stem cell development. She also has a bachelors degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley.  

Darya started writing about food and health in 2007 as science editor for the UCSF student newspaper. Shortly after she launched Summer Tomato and started building her social media presence. She now writes for several publications including The Huffington Post, KQED Science, Edible San Francisco and SF Weekly, and was offered most of these positions through contacts on Twitter. Her work is now frequently mentioned by major news outlets such as CNN and The New York Times.

Deborah Shane is an author, entrepreneur, media host, and business, career, and branding specialist. She is the heart and soul of her business education and professional development company, Train with Shane, which delivers their services through speaking, training events, consulting, and media platforms. She hosts a weekly business radio show on Blogtalkradio and writes for several national business, career, and marketing blogs and websites including Careerrocketeer.com, Smallbiztrends.com, personalbrandingblog.com, and BlogHer.com. Her book, Career Transition - Make the Shift: Your Five Steps to Successful Career Reinvention, is on Amazon.com and in all major book sellers. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogtalkradio, at Deborah Shane, or visit www.deborahshane.com.

New York Times best-selling author Denene Millner is a hotly sought after award-winning journalist whose insightful and captivating pieces have secured her foothold in the entertainment, parenting and book publishing industries. Millner is a columnist and contributing editor for Parenting, a national magazine for which she provides witty, engaging, mom-to-mom advice on ethics and etiquette in everything from childrearing and marriage to work and friendship. She also is the founder and editor of MyBrownBaby.com, a critically acclaimed blog that examines parenting and motherhood through the multi-cultural experience. Millner also is a frequent contributing entertainment writer for Essence, the most well-read and respected magazine for African American women, and has written for a plethora of national publications, including Health, Heart & Soul, Real Health, Money, and Ebony, among others. Her extensive television experience includes regular appearances on the The Today Show, CBS Early Show, The Nate Berkus Show, HLN, CNN, MSNBC, VH1, and the Rachel Ray show. Millner also is the author of 19 books, including Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, co-written with Steve Harvey. “Act” was named the best selling non-fiction book of 2009 by Nielsen, and dominated the New York Times Advice Bestseller List, where it spent 23 weeks in the #1 spot and remained in the top ten for 64 consecutive weeks. It also was on Publishers Weekly’s Hardcover Non-fiction Bestseller List for 37 consecutive weeks. Millner also wrote Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes’ memoir, which was the subject of a five-house bidding war, and penned the novelization of the Academy Award-winning movie, Dreamgirls, as well as her own novels, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, In Love & War, and A Love Story, co-written with her Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author husband Nick Chiles. Her co-written novel, The Vow (which has been optioned by the actress Gabrielle Union), was named one of Borders Best of 2005. She also is the co-author of the three-book teen series, Hotlanta for Scholastic (which has been optioned by Warner Brothers) and three children’s books, including March On, a children’s picture book on the historic March on Washington, written on behalf of Christine King Farris; the NAACP Image Award-winning My Brother Charlie, written with Holly Robinson Peete, and; Miss You, Mina, the first in the wildly popular Scholastic Candy Apple book series for tweens to feature an African American lead character. She recently re-teamed with Harvey for his latest New York Times bestselling advice book, Straight Talk, No Chaser, and has become one of the most sought-after and highest paid book collaborators in the publishing industry. In keeping with her dedication to books written for, by and about African Americans, Millner recently partnered with and helped launch NorthParan.com, the most comprehensive black bookstore online. In addition to offering for purchase the biggest selection of black books on the web, North Paran donates one book to a child in need for every book sold—a testament to Millner’s commitment to increase literacy among children of color. The former political reporter and entertainment journalist lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and their two daughters and son.

There was a time that Diana Johnson thought that if she only had $1-2 a day for food, it meant she had to live off of a fast food dollar menu.  After a year of unhealthy eating she discovered that if she just spent $10 a week on groceries, she could stretch ingredients and build up a pantry to eat better than she had imagined possible. 

She has now been on an incredible 10 year journey of learning to cook on a tight budget.   Diana teaches free cooking and nutrition classes to low income families in her community, and runs healthy eating and cooking programs at the local YMCA.  She partners with local government, farms and non-profits to make sure everyone in her community is given access to healthy food and education to know what to do with it.

Diana is an award winning recipe developer and blogs healthy affordable recipes on EatingRichly.com along with tips on how to stretch your food budget.

Affectionately known as  Dr. Goddess,” Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D., is a true, Renaissance Woman. She is an American, Africana and Women’s Studies Scholar, an entrepreneur and an entertainer and an activist. Dr. Goddess is a writer for TheLoop21.com and her own “Revelations” blog, a former columnist for the Pittsburgh City Paper and is published in the Special Inaugural Edition of Ebony Magazine about the "Real Love" of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

 

Named one of the “Most Influential Black Women on Twitter” by “For Harriet” Digital Magazine and profiled as one of the “Exquisite Women” by The Black Man Can, Dr. Goddess is known for her “Twectures” (Lectures on Twitter) and has also created some of the most memorable hashtags to date, including #FoodiesUnite, #GradChat, #BlkNat, #BlkTheater and the humorous, cult-favorite, #BaracksFlagPin (now @BaracksFlagpin).

 

Dr. Goddess is currently the Creative Organizer and Media Director for the "Are You for Fannie Lou?" Campaign on behalf of the Fannie Lou Hamer Statue Fund. She organized and moderated the "Tweeting the Revolution: How Hip Hop Transformed 140 into 360" panel for Netroots Nation in 2010 and co-organized 2011’s "Ask a Sista: Black Women Muse on Politics, Policy, Pop Culture and Scholarship," as well as taking online activism offline at the Blogalicious Women Bloggers Conference and the Online Activist Summit at Blogging While Brown. Dr. Goddess was also the Lead Organizer for "RootsCamp Pennsylvania", a project of the New Organizing Institute.

 

Her upcoming works are, “She Put a Hammer in My Hand” and “Community Meeting.” To order Books, CDs, DVDs or to Book the Show or Speaking Engagements, please contact Dr. Goddess Arts, Education and Management Co.

 

Catch Dr. Goddess via her Website, Mailing List, on Twitter and Facebook. 

Eden has been blogging since 2001, when her son was born, the World Trade Center collapsed, and she lost her job. She is grateful that life has been less eventful since then. Eden can be found at fussy.org and yogabeans.com.

Elisa Batista is a co-founder and moderator of the progressive parenting website MotherTalkers (www.mothertalkers.com), which was named by Ms. magazine a “favorite mom blogger.” She also blogs and is an advocate for the family organization MomsRising (www.momsrising.org), and is a member of the Environmental Defense Fund's Moms Clean Air Force (www.momscleanairforce.org) team. If she were not busy enough, she often volunteers at her children's Spanish-immersion school in Oakland, California, and runs for fun. Batista is a journalist by training and profession who has been published in the Huffington Post, Wired News in San Francisco, the Boston Herald, and several Boston-area weeklies. A native of Miami who is of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, she now lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband and founder of the Daily Kos, Markos Moulitsas, and their two children.

A Boston, Massachusetts native, Elizabeth received her B.A. in political science from Johns Hopkins University, and graduated from their Writing Seminars program.  She has worked for the NASA newsroom at the Johnson Space Center; as a speechwriter and press secretary to a U.S. member of Congress; an Op-Ed columnist and radio show host, and finally a professor of creative writing at Boston University and of journalism at Harvard Extension School.  She is published on Huffington Post.com, CNN.com; the Raleigh News and Observer, the New Hampshire Union-Leader and the Congressional Record.

Ellen Gerstein is the Director of Marketing at John Wiley & Sons, the global publisher based in Hoboken NJ.  Her responsibilities include developing and overseeing marketing strategies for key categories and working with industry-leading brands like For Dummies.  A passionate advocate and evangelist for social media, Ellen is a graduate of University at Albany (NY) and lives in the NYC area. Online, she can be found blogging at Confessions of an IT Girl and on Twitter at @elleinthecity.  She is the mother of two children, Soccer Girl and IT Boy, and happily married to the always-charming and techno-phobic, Mr. IT.  Ellen can usually be found in the shade at a youth soccer match but would much rather be on a palm-tree lined beach with book and beverage in hand. 

Erin Kotecki Vest is Political Director and Producer of Special Projects for BlogHer, Inc. In that capacity, Erin spearheads BlogHer's initiative to connect community members directly to legislators and policy-makers. Recent successes have included landing an in-person briefing on women online with Senior Advisor to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, an exclusive on-camera interview with then-candidate Obama, a series of live, interactive conference calls about health care between Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle and BlogHer's omni-partisan community members, and an exclusive webcast with Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about health care reform. Prior to joining BlogHer, Erin spent ten years as a broadcast journalist in Los Angeles, Orlando and Detroit winning six Golden Mic Awards with LA news institution KFWB. She continues to blog on her personal site Queen of Spain Blog, and can be found tweeting both for @BlogHer and as @queenofspain.

Eva Smith lives in Southern California. A Social Entrepreneur and IT architect by trade, in her free time she’s an avid baker, aspiring gourmet chef and enjoys writing and learning about people, food, and technology. She started her journey in Social Media while helping nonprofit organizations promote their campaigns and providing Social Media & Technology training. Her love of people, social media, technology and lifestyle led her to create her blog, Tech. Food. Life. and Consulting Business, Eva Smith Consulting.

Eva Smith is the Co-Founder of Latina Mom Bloggers.  Latina Mom Bloggers works with leading brands to create authentic blogger campaigns that reach Latina moms and families.  The Latina Mom Bloggers network also offers a place for Hispanic moms to connect with each other, share tips and grow.  Eva Smith is bi-cultural and is fluent in Spanish & English. She is also a contributor at MomsLA and IE Family.

Long time web video/videoblogging enthusiast. I advocate to transform the way video is currently used to tell authentic stories, lessons and points of view.

In addition, Gena is a Contributing Editor at BlogHer and curator of Out On the Stoop, Vidlicious and other web mischief.

Grace Duffy is the tech columnist for ShePosts.com, a popular industry news site for blogger, and consults with companies on social media strategies. She manages blogger outreach for Juice in the City and is a team member of the Splash Creative Media, a collaborative which organizes promotional campaigns with a charitable angle. She is also a brand ambassador for ChicaLogic and Mabel's Labels.  

Grace holds a Bachelors in Psychology and an MBA in Marketing and built a career working with tech companies. She has overseen award-wining advertising campaigns and social media initiatives from both an agency and client perspective and brings this unique and rich experince when engaging with brands. 

She began blogging in early 2007 upon quitting her job to stay home with her son. In those early days of motherhood, she had no idea that this little hobby would evolve into such a passion and spur a whole new and exciting career.   

Grace maintains a personal blog at FormerlyGrace.com, where she chronicles life as a married mother of two and "real housewife of Silicon Valley". She is everywhere you tweet her name (@graceduffy). 

 

Gwen Bell is a Digital Liberator. She looks you in the eye when she talks to you. She expects the same of you (and helps you learn to put down the damn iPhone).

Gwen's work is at the intersection of humanity and technology. She has practiced and taught yoga in Mexico, Japan and around the States. When not practicing on the mat or the cushion, find her writing Letters or drinking finely crafted beers.

She currently lives in Seattle, Washington. (Though she could be anywhere next week.)

Holly is co-founder of BlogFrog, a web-based company offering community-building tools for bloggers and brands.  She has spent her career launching tech start-ups in the internet, multimedia, entertainment, video, and other high-tech industries. She is a public speaker, contributing writer on technology and marketing to various publications, is an American Marketing Association “Marketer of the Year” recipient, private pilot, and a guest blogger for The Huffington Post.

She holds a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and when she’s not working or driving kids to hockey, band, and guitar, you can find her hiding with a book, blogging, or swimming laps. Holly lives in Colorado and blogs about technology, entrepreneurship, and life with teenagers at www.LoveandMath.com.

Jaden Hair is a television chef, food columnist and award-winning food blogger at Steamy Kitchen. You can watch her cook twice a month on Daytime Show, syndicated in 120 markets. Jaden is a food columnist for Discovery Health, TLC and for Tampa Tribune. Jaden is a cookbook author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

As the founder and CEO of TRENDERA, Jane Buckingham is the leading expert on Generations X, Y, and V. Having studied these generations for over 20 years, she is able to help companies and individuals gain insights into these often inscrutable groups. Her services to clients combine sophisticated research tools with trend knowledge, helping companies to understand how consumers feel and to anticipate what trends will impact their businesses. Trendera produces the trend forecasting report “THE TRENDERA FILES” and works with clients including Facebook, Paramount, Fox, Target, L’Oreal, and many others.

At age 17 Buckingham wrote the book Teens Speak Out about her own generation, starting her quest to better understand and explain how young people feel.

Buckingham pioneered the trend forecasting field by creating the marketing and consulting firm Youth Intelligence, which she sold to Creative Artists Agency in 2003. She created and published The Cassandra Report as well as the daily trend newsletter, TrendCentral, which she also sold to CAA. Buckingham is the author of the bestselling The Modern Girl’s Guide book series and was host of the television series “The Modern Girl’s Guide to Life” on the Style network for four years.

In her commitment to public service work, Jane serves on the Board of Directors for non-profit organizations including The Rape Treatment Center (RTC), RTC’s Stuart House, as well as Women in Film.

Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, as well as on “60 Minutes,” and “Good Morning America.” Other television appearances include “The Today Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and “The View.” Elle Magazine voted Buckingham one of the Most Powerful women in Hollywood.

Jane Buckingham graduated from Duke University majoring in English.

Jane Collins is currently the Director of Market Research for BlogHer. As part of her responsibilities, she designs, fields and interprets online survey studies for internal BlogHer efforts as well as to support client needs. In addition, Jane contributes monthly posts to a Research center on BlogHer.com.

Jane has spent many years in media and marketing research, heading up teams at organizations such as ABC, Fox television, Nielsen Media Research and MySpace. She also partners with a former colleague to write a blog about entertainment and media called The Flaming Nose.

Janis is the mother of four children born within a year, including Triplets. She has 30+ years in corporate & agency PR plus prior experience as a syndicated columnist for a national news service. Now she is mommy blogging and working as a social media consultant full-time for brands targeting moms, dads, families, and women without children. In addition to publishing and directing MommyBlogExpert.com and providing strategic advice to a range of social media clients, she continues her traditional PR consulting practice via Janis Elspas Communications http://www.janiselspas.com Past Employers include: Hill & Knowlton, SSC&B Advertising, Fairchild Industries, Rogers & Cowan, Informatics General Corporate and others. Janis has also served as national media relations director, a volunteer position, for the Triplet Connection Convention since 2002. Janis is one of Martha Stewart’s Dreamers Into Doers of the Week, is on the advisory board of SheBlogs, and is a mom brand ambassador for Her Interactive and others. She is a columnist for both Zulily.com and DealPop.com’s blogs, is a Nielsen Consumer Panelist, and a Certified Online Mom. Past mommy brand ambassadorships include The View, ABC’s hit TV morning talk show. She is a long-time member of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in addition to being an extremely active social network community member not only of SheBlogs, but also SocialMoms, Mom Bloggers Club, and Martha Stewart’s Dreamers Into Doers among others. Most recently Janis presented “Public Relations: When the Brand is Your Blog” at SheCon ’11. She has spoken at Public Relations Society of America conferences, both at individual chapters and at the International Annual Conference. She has also made appearances at numerous other professional association events, in the PR, marketing, journalism, and advertising fields, both at the national and local levels. Additionally, she has lectured at many major universities including UCLA, USC, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, Chapman College, UC Irvine, San Jose State University and more. She and her family are avid community volunteers donating hundreds of hours year-round to a range of non-profit organizations, such as Strides Therapeutic Riding Center, Big Sunday, homeless shelters, and The Triplet Connection. When she’s not working, Janis plays hard with her family skiing, traveling, cycling, hiking, swimming, and playing tennis.

Jennifer L. Pozner is the founder and executive director of Women In Media & News (WIMN), a media analysis, education and advocacy group, and editor of WIMN's Voices, the popular group blog on women and the media.

A noted public speaker, Pozner conducts multimedia lectures and workshops at colleges and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. (Get in touch if you’d like to bring her to your campus or community group!) Her first book, Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, was called “required reading for every American girl and woman” by MSNBC analyst and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Perry, while Cecelia Lederer, comedian and writer for “The Colbert Report,” says Reality Bites Back is “insightful, funny, fun” and that “Everyone who owns a TV, or plans to interact with anyone who owns a TV needs to read this book!”

A widely published journalist, her work on gender, race, class and sexuality in the media has been published in Newsweek, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, Ms., Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, Salon, AlterNet and Women’s Enews, among others, and her essays have been featured in numerous anthologies.

Pozner has offered commentary on NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC News Now, GRITtv, Democracy Now!, NPR, Pacifica, and Comedy Central's “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” And, because she's a sucker for punishment, she's gone head to head with some of the most blustery boys of cable news, including Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Joe Scarborough.

Pozner has served as an advisor and featured analyst for several documentary films, including Miss Representation, interviewed alongside Katie Couric, Jane Fonda, Rachel Maddow and Rosario Dawson. Forbes named Jennifer one of “20 Inspiring Women To Follow On Twitter.” She believes, as Ani DiFranco sings, “You gotta live light enough to see the humor, and long enough to see some change.”

Jenny Eckton has been blogging at formerlyphread.com since 2005, and says, "I blog to write, to connect, to laugh, and to share evolving ideas and start conversations. Sometimes I'm funny." She grew up in New York and now calls Utah home, with her husband and six kids (5 alive, 1 in Heaven). Being at home with her kids is what she's always wanted to do, and that's what she's doing - she's like Cash Cab, without the Cash. Jenny writes about many things, including but not limited to: stillbirth, triathlons, being awesome, music, television ("DVR makes me a better mom"), and being addicted to gum and the smell of laundry detergent.

In addition to having written guest posts for a variety of blogs, Jenny is one of the members of SassyScoops.com, contributed to the book Something Cleverish, and was a speaker at CBC10.

Jessica Rosenberg (aka @kikarose) started blogging back in 2003 when she took up knitting. She hasn't knit anything since her second daughter was born in 2007, but she never stopped blogging! What started as a hobby quickly became a passion and turned into a profession in 2009 when she became a staff blogger and social media marketer for Tiny Prints.

Today Jessica still blogs regularly on her increasingly popular site It's my life... (http://www.itsjessicaslife.com), works at Tiny Prints and is a founding member of the Splash Creative Media collective (http://splashcreativemedia.com/) which organizes and runs month long promotional campaigns with a charitable angle.

Her last two years working as both a blogger and a marketing professional at a popular company has given her a unique perspective about how bloggers should and can work to build great relationships with brands.

 

Jory Des Jardins co-founded BlogHer, Inc. in 2005 with Elisa Camahort Page and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s President of Strategic Alliances and lead evangelist to top revenue partners. With Jory’s leadership, BlogHer has developed its own distinctive, brand of strategic partnership, helping to facilitate constructive dialogue between some of the world’s major brands and women who are social media leaders and their readers.

Jory frequently gives private presentations and training sessions to Fortune 500 companies and their internal and external strategy teams, bringing community insights and case studies directly to companies and agencies that are navigating the social media space. Leveraging her prior experience in both print and online media, Jory works within brand teams to deconstruct media models and to develop messaging and campaigns that resonate with bloggers, blog readers and brands.

BlogHer’s integrated sponsorship model, which combines live events and media channels, has grown to revenue of eight figures trailing for the past two years, during which BlogHer, Inc. was named among the AlwaysOn OnMedia Top 100 for 2011 and Global 250 for 2010, and as one of America’s Most Promising Start-ups by BusinessWeek. BlogHer’s flagship site, BlogHer.com, was named one of the Top 100 Websites for Women by Forbes in 2010.

Jory is BlogHer’s representative on the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Board of Directors, and serves on the advisory board of start-ups FeedBlitz and Juno Baby.   Jory also represents BlogHer at public speaking engagements, having keynoted such events as ad:tech Chicago and the Marketing to Moms Conference, and spoken on panels at events for the IAB, ANA, AMA and WOMMA and at Web 2.0, SXSW Interactive, BlogWorld Expo, the Monaco Media Forum, Girls in Tech and CES.

Prior to co-founding BlogHer, Jory helped high-technology start-ups Pluck and Rojo develop the models to launch successful blog syndication initiatives and served as producer as Third Age transitioned from traditional web destination to a network of bloggers.

Together, BlogHer co-founders Lisa, Elisa and Jory have been named among the most influential women in Web 2.0 and technology by Fast Company (2008, 2009 and 2010), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalists (2010) and among the seven most powerful people in new media by Forbes Magazine (2009). In 2011 they were jointly awarded the PepsiCo Women’s Inspiration Award and in 2008, the Anita Borg Institute Social Impact Award. Jory lives in the Bay Area with her husband Jesse and their baby daughter.

Julia is a mom, wife, ad agency owner, advocate and volunteer, helping clients with their marketing efforts in traditional and innovative marketing avenues and advocating for kids with special needs. Her kids have survived dialysis, kidney transplants at age 8, developmental delays and the effects of trauma as a result of lives filled with medical intervention. Never wanting another parent to feel alone in what can be the isolating world of special needs parenting, she co-founded http://www.SupportforSpecialNeeds.com. Coping through stress with humor, she's been laughing at raising her two kids with special needs since they were babies. It's frowned upon in certain circles though; Grandma and Grandpa find it especially annoying. Blogging her family's journey since 2005 at http://www.KidneysandEyes.com, she stays busy working in her business with her husband (yeah, they're crazy) and organizing insurance receipts. A night owl, Diet Coke lover, and vintage photo collector, she hopes to raise advocates and activists. Julia speaks on topics surrounding raising kids with special needs to parent/patient groups and medical professionals and serves on the Board of Trustees at the PKD Foundation and Advisory Councils to advocate for better quality of life for kids with special needs and their families.

Julie Ross Godar has been the managing editor of BlogHer.com since 2003. She oversees some 70 freelance editors as well as an ongoing effort to provide opportunities for women bloggers. Previously Julie was managing editor of PlanetOut, a groundbreaking LGBT editorial effort; San Francisco editor for AOL CityGuide; and a freelance food and travel writer. This year, she also became a Jeopardy! champion (that was fun). Julie lives in San Francisco.

A journalist by training, Julie has participated first-hand in the information revolution that brought mainstream communications from print to pixels. Currently an account director at CMD in Portland, Julie has a wealth of experience in both traditional and social media, from strategic planning to content creation. Julie has worked in industry sectors including: consumer technology, mobile computing, software, healthcare IT, renewable energy, hospitality, travel and tourism and the arts.

Karen Walrond is a writer, photographer and the creative mind behind the award-winning blog Chookooloonks. A seasoned speaker on topics as varied as social media, parenthood and women in leadership, she has appeared on both local and national radio and television shows, including an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  She is a regular cast member of the online video show Momversation.com, and has contributed words and images to several national publications.  In addition, she is the author of the upcoming book, The Beauty of Different, to be published by Bright Sky Press, Fall 2010.

Katherine Mancuso is a GimpGirl Community Liaison, part of a wonderful team of women with disabilities led by Jennifer Cole who have been facilitating a vibrant community of women with disabilities on the web for 12 years at http://www.gimpgirl.com. In her other lives, she does interactive design & accessibility at Disney Imagineering & Parks and Resorts Online, is a masters student in Digital Media at Georgia Tech, works on developing internet standards for virtual worlds through the W3C and IETF, and is part of an artists' collective that does virtual world development, The Vesuvius Group (http://www.thevesuviusgroup.com).

Katherine Stone is the author of Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog on postpartum depression and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth (http://www.postpartumprogress.com). Postpartum Progress has been named among the top ten depression sites on the web by PsychCentral and won the 2010 Fit Pregnancy Best of the Web Award. Katherine is also the founder and executive director of Postpartum Progress Inc., a non-profit dedicated to vastly improving the support and services available to women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (http://postpartumprogress.org). Additionally, she writes the weekly column “If Mama Ain’t Happy” on ParentDish. Katherine won a Mental Health America Media Award in 2011, the 2010 Bloganthropy Award, and was named a WebMD Health Hero in 2008. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and 2 children. Follow her on Twitter at @postpartumprogr.

Technology host Katie Linendoll is the tech contributor to CBS Early Show and a regular technology contributor on CNN. She is also the resident tech expert for The Nate Berkus Show and was an Emmy-nominated host for A&E’s We Mean Business. Katie has a degree in IT New Media from Rochester Institute of Technology and won an Emmy for her work as an associate producer on ESPN’s SportsCenter. She regularly consults with magazines such as People Style Watch and Fitness on tech-centric stories. She is proud to be one of the first humans in the world to challenge the IBM supercomputer Watson at Jeopardy.

From education to coffee, blogger Kelly Wickham's passions are as diverse as her background. The self-proclaimed 'Mocha Momma' is a high school administrator and highly sought after speaker at state and national edu-events. She is a Senior Consultant for a change agency known as Focus On Results and coaches principals and superintendents in leadership efforts.

Kelly's personal blog Mocha Momma is laced with stories of her family, her amateur photography, her daily interaction with students, and even her passion for food, shoes and curly girl hair products. She also writes for Flawed But Authentic and is working on a new project for a Sunday Magazine while desperately trying to get that first novel out of her soul. She's got a transaction lined up with the devil for this to happen.

She lives in Illinois with her three phenomenally brilliant children and her achingly adorable dog, Lola.

Kyran Pittman has been blogging since 2005. Her first blog, Notes to Self, began as an online journal of days. In 2007, Notes was discovered by Good Housekeeping magazine, and her print career was launched. Kyran's memoir, Planting Dandelions: Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life came out to rave reviews, (including four out of four stars in People magazine) in the spring of 2011.

In 2010, she concluded Notes to Self and began a new blog, Planting Dandelions, to reflect her transition from stay-at-home mother/online diarist to a professional writer in both new and traditional media.

Leticia is the founder of Tech Savvy Mama, a site that assists parents in navigating the ever-changing world of technology.  She uses her experience as a former teacher and technology specialist for a large DC Metro area school system to share new technology and educational resources.

Leticia consults as a social media strategist, educating and speaking to brands and fellow bloggers about the social media space while also freelance writing and enjoying the distinction of having been Parents Magazine’s Editors’ Pick for Best Tech Blog, Babble’s Top 100 Mom Blogs, and named as one of the 50 Top Twitter Moms by Babble.  She can almost always be found online, often on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Skyping her Splash Creative Media colleagues simultaneously while writing her new Tech Savvy Parents column for Parents.com if she hasn’t unplugged to spend time with her husband, 2 children, and their overly enthusiastic Yellow Labrador.

Before starting the mommy blog known as Suburban Turmoil, Lindsay Ferrier couldn't get published to save her life. Today, three years later, she writes a Suburban Turmoil newspaper column for the alt-weekly Nashville Scene, pens the blended family blog for Parents, American Baby and Family Circle Magazines, and has written a chapter for the upcoming Penguin/Putnam anthology, Walk This Way: Introducing the New American Family, edited by Rebecca Walker.

In her pre-mommy days, Lindsay was a television reporter and anchor and later wrote and produced programming for CMT and the Hallmark Channel. She has teenage stepdaughters, ages 15 and 17, a four-year-old daughter, and a one-year-old son. And no, she doesn't regret for one second leaving the world of television news.

By day, Liz Gumbinner is an ad agency creative director, but online, she's best known as the co-publisher and editor-in-chief of shopping and trend blog Cool Mom Picks and sister site Cool Mom Tech. Called "the online arbiter of cool for the swingset crowd" by Parents Magazine, Cool Mom Picks been cited as a favorite parenting blog by Real Simple, inStyle, and the Telegraph UK. Liz is also the author of the popular personal blog Mom-101 which has been featured in the New York Times, CNN and NPR, and called "funny some of the time" by an enthusiastic anonymous commenter. Liz and partner Kristen Chase are often seen discussing parenting trends and tips in national magazines, newspapers, and shows including NBC's TODAY Show, CBS The Early Show, ABC News Now, and CBS News' @katiecouric web show. Liz has also been named a top digital influencer by Forbes, Nielsen, and the NY Post, and is a recent recipient of a 2011 AWNY Game Changers award. She is a frequent speaker on the ever-changing relationship between brands and blogs.

Follow us at @coolmompicks, @coolmomtech or facebook.com/coolmompicks

Liz Strauss is a master teacher, thought leader, community builder, and international business strategist, who has been called the most influential “real-ebrity” on the web. She has created an irresistible online community where folks come back again and again and bring friends as new participants. Corporations, small business, and individuals look to Liz for advice on strategy, branding, and relationships. Many come to her for advice and find her a friend.

Liz's business card reads, "You're only a stranger once ... be irresistible." And she can tell you how to do that.

In 2011, Liz was named Titan of Web 2.0, a prestigious award presented at The World Forum “Communication on Top” in Davos, Switzerland. She was the highest ranked woman on D & B's list of Small Business Experts found on Twitter. Liz has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers Top 100 Most Influential Marketers, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, NxE's Fifty Most Influential 'Female' Bloggers, among other lists.

Lynne Seitz is the Vice President of Location Product Marketing for TeleCommunication Systems, a leading provider of mobile solutions and applications, including Verizon’s Family Locator. With Verizon Family Locator, families and friends can easily and securely find and communicate with each other from their Verizon Wireless Device or the web. Detailed location information, updates when family members leave or arrive at specified locations like home or school and integrated text messaging are all standard features of this peace of mind application. With over 15 years of telecommunication experience, including senior positions with Vonage and AT&T Wireless, Lynne is passionate about mobile technologies that can make life better, easier or more efficient while protecting consumer privacy. Lynne, her husband and her iPhone proficient 1 year old daughter reside in Seattle, Washington.

Maria Niles is BlogHer's Client Services Director. Her business experience includes branding and marketing strategy, social media strategies, consumer market research and new product development. Prior to joining BlogHer, Maria founded ConsumerPop Marketing Consulting and she held brand management positions at consumer goods and services companies such as Netflix, Campbell’s Soup and Kraft Foods. Maria’s experience in the social media space has led to speaking engagements in a variety of settings from the MIT Media Lab to conferences covering social media use for business and how digital media is transforming business.

After establishing ConsumerPop Marketing Consulting in 2005, Maria assisted a variety of companies with their social media and marketing efforts. Clients included LiveWorld, JWT Digital and Kleenex® brand tissues, JFK University, a global cosmetics company, a leading CPG healthcare brand, retailers, advertising and PR agencies. Projects included development of marketing strategy and plans, mission statements, brand essence and identity, corporate blogs and blogging strategies, blogger outreach strategies, ad network development, video blog strategy and production, social media monitoring programs and online community development and management.

Maria holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan, a Master's degree from the University of Chicago and BA from UCLA.

Maya Bisineer is an entrepreneur and technologist. She is the founder of MeMeTales - a children's book reader and publishing platform for children's stories. Maya's career involved big companies, software development, architecture and technology strategy until 2 years ago when she jumped off and got on to the entrepreneur band wagon. Her life has been non stop fun, challenge and learning since then. Maya is incredibly passionate about education and enabling people to tell their stories. She also loves to see women rock technology. She is on the board of SMCSeattle, an advisory board member at The Everett Community College. Maya has 2 little girls, a dog, a cat and a husband that make it all worth it.

Melissa Lion is a senior account executive at CMD Agency in Portland, OR. She was a blogger and freelance writer for six years before transitioning her skills from the freelance world of sleepless nights and endless invoicing to working in social media and knowing where and when her next paycheck would arrive.

She's spoken on marketing and blogging at BlogHer '09, SXSW and Ignite Portland. She is the co-producer of Portland favorite storytelling event, Back Fence PDX.

Compelled by her own frustration with school meals — both as a mother and a teacher — one teacher known anonymously as “Mrs. Q” committed to eating school lunch every school day in 2010 just like her students. Mrs. Q documented her experience and described the meals by blogging, tweeting and sharing photos on her blog Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project.

Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project caught the eye of child health advocates around the United States. The country has a growing interest in childhood obesity and school lunch reform, thanks in part to programs like First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" initiative and Chef Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" on ABC. Mrs. Q has been interviewed on "Good Morning America" (in shadow), National Public Radio, and the Gayle King Radio Show. Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project has been featured on abcnews.com, AOL Health, Yahoo!, msnbc.com, cnn.com, and in USA Today.

Now that the year of school lunch is over, Mrs. Q is looking forward to the release of the book she wrote about her experience entitled appropriately Fed Up With Lunch. It is scheduled to be published late summer 2010. Mrs. Q continues to use her blog as a gathering place for people concerned about children’s food and health with her blog's audience of parents, nutritionists, doctors, chefs, and "foodies.” She is married, the mother of a toddler, and lives and teaches in Illinois.

After being born in South Africa and surviving everything from poverty to riots, Nirasha (known as Niri) shelved her desire for writing in a turbulent time to pursue a career in software engineering.  While dusting off the remnants of Apartheid, Niri left for the shores of the USA to be a techno-geek by day while pursuing philanthropic interests by night.  Fast forward 12 years…with a baby in tow (and another soon after), Niri traded the rat race for her rug rats and turned back to her passion of writing at MommyNiri.com. She has been featured on Boston.com, Syracuse.com and India New England.She’s coupled her work in blogging to further several charitable projects and events, such as putting an end teacher-funded classrooms, supporting Rwanda Path2Peace and Heart 4 Haiti, building playgrounds with Kaboom, hosting events to support Autism, and working on the End Child Hunger campaign. In December 2010, she launched a Mommy Niri Cares holiday drive to provide items to children born into poverty instead of a holiday gift guide. Brands received free advertising while their products were donated.That spawned a newly launched site MommyNiriCares.com, which focuses on using social media for social good.

Follow Niri on Twitter or Find her on Facebook

As Vice President of Marketing Communications for Samsung Electronics America, Peggy Ang is charged with overseeing the development and execution of the division’s strategic marketing and communications initiatives.
 
In this role, she directs the multifaceted marketing strategies that drive overall brand and consumer communications of Samsung products. Ang manages the multimedia campaigns and programs as well as develops strategic alliances that bring to market Samsung products across categories, from consumer devices like TVs, home audio video products, and digital imaging devices to home appliances and tablets. In particular, she has overseen the launch of Samsung’s LED TV, Smart TV, 3D TV and smart home appliances, as well as spearheaded the company’s social media endeavors including engagement programs for tech and mom bloggers.
 
Ang joined Samsung in October 2007. Prior to this, she was Vice President of Marketing for Animal Planet; a part of the Discovery Communications network. In this capacity, Ang was responsible for driving an assortment of brand and programming priorities, as well as building partnerships with ad sales and non-profit partners such as the Smithsonian National Zoo, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the National Wildlife Federation.  Major accomplishments include the successful premiere of the “Dragons” special and series launch of “Meerkat Manor”
 
She began her marketing career with Sony Electronics, where she served as senior manager of brand strategy and communications for the Home Products and Personal Mobile Products Groups.  Her accomplishments include launching the WEGA Theater brand and Sony’s consumer segment marketing campaigns.  Ang earlier served as an account supervisor at Hill, Holliday Advertising, where her diverse client list included Price Waterhouse Coopers Consulting, Minolta Consumer and Business Solutions, Marshalls and Budget Rent-a-Car.
 
Ang holds a Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from New York University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.  She resides in New York, and is based at Samsung’s offices in Ridgefield Park, NJ.

I work now as Conference Programming Director at BlogHer, but the bulk of my professional training and experience has been in education and editing. 

I began working with writers as a peer writing tutor and writing workshop leader as an undergraduate, and went on to teach a half a dozen years' worth of college writing classes as a Ph.D. student in American Studies.  After graduate school, I returned to my undergrad alma mater to head up the Writing Program where I'd initially cut my educator's teeth.  Around about this time (over a dozen years ago) I also began to freelance as an editor, primarily of academic prose.

I've published essays in academic journals (Feminist Teacher) and anthologies (Tilting the Tower, Routledge, 1994) as well as nonacademic ones (Parenting magazine and the anthology Confessions of the Other Mother, Beacon, 2006).  I've been publishing my own blog, Lesbian Dad, since 2006, and contribute elsewhere online mostly at BlogHer.com and Lesbian Family. I have not yet and don't plan to abandon my search for le mot juste, and am really delighted to be able to share this passion with my co-panelists and panel attendees.

A pop culture icon who has built a career on her candid, “straight talk” sensibility and her authentic, relatable nature, Ricki Lake has maintained a worldwide fan base that is a true cross-section of age and ethnicity.  Her approachable appeal has charmed international movie and television audiences for more than two decades, and she has managed to reinvent herself at every stage of her career. As “Tracy Turnblad,” the zaftig heroine of the original John Waters’ film HAIRSPRAY, Lake made an acting debut that positioned her as an “entertainer to watch” in Hollywood. Later, with a surprise turn as a talk show host, she met with unprecedented success and earned her place as a beloved media personality across the globe.

Poised to make a much-anticipated return to television with an all-new talk show from Twentieth Television in 2012, Lake has also completed work on a memoir for Simon & Schuster’s Atria imprint, due on shelves next year. She has, in addition, become an online voice for mothers, providing editorial contributions to outlets including Momformation and Momversation.

Another of her latest roles – surprisingly, that of an independent filmmaker, family advocate and author – has kept her uniquely charming perspective firmly in the public’s consciousness. But, not one to forget her roots, Lake also continues to put her creative energy into all entertainment mediums, continuing her career as an actress in film and television.

Lake executive produced the critically acclaimed documentary THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and examined natural childbirth in the United States. Since the film’s theatrical and DVD releases, the project has generated a grassroots movement, encouraging many parents-to-be to consider natural and homebirths rather than hospital births. In May 2009, Lake and the director of THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, Abby Epstein, released their first book, YOUR BEST BIRTH. The guide and its companion website, MyBestBirth.com, continue to be invaluable tools for expecting parents, designed to educate families about their birthing options. On October 18, 2011, Lake and Epstein will release a four-part, follow-up DVD series, MORE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, offering invaluable information and featuring birth stories from some of Hollywood’s most notable celebrities.

In addition to her work on the book, website and documentary films, Lake has become an integral figure in the birthing community. She is presently on the Board of Choices in Childbirth  — a non-profit organization that strives to improve maternity care by helping women make informed decisions about where, how and with whom to birth. Additionally, she has traveled tirelessly around the United States, England and Australia to discuss the state of the birthing “industry” in the United States in an effort to demonstrate how all soon-to-be parents can benefit from taking a more active role in their birth experiences.

The health and social implications of childhood obesity have also become a focus of Lake’s advocacy efforts. With the recent launch of AllStride.com and the publication of her latest book, TOO SMALL TO BE BIG, she is currently helping to shine a spotlight on an epidemic that impacts more than 12 million American children. Her book and online program take a fully integrated approach that teaches and encourages children to eat right, be active, respect themselves and others, and learn to face life’s challenges with confidence.

Lake has never abandoned the acting career that captured the attention of moviegoers everywhere. At 18, she made her film debut in HAIRSPRAY, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress. She later went on to star in John Waters’ CRY-BABY opposite Johnny Depp and SERIAL MOM alongside Kathleen Turner. Other notable appearances include the contemporary classic WORKING GIRL, the acclaimed drama LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, the romantic comedy MRS. WINTERBOURNE opposite Shirley MacLaine and Brendan Fraser, WHERE THE DAY TAKES YOU opposite Dermot Mulroney and John Waters’ CECIL B. DEMENTED. She also starred in the CBS film BABYCAKES and the popular television series CHINA BEACH and THE KING OF QUEENS. She headlined the Lifetime Original Movie MATTERS OF LIFE & DATING and the indie film PARK opposite William Baldwin and Cheri Oteri. Lake also co-executive produced and co-starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame film LOVING LEAH, featuring Lauren Ambrose (SIX FEET UNDER) and Academy Award-winner Mercedes Ruehl.

Prior to her recent advocacy work on behalf of women and children across the world, Lake entered the living rooms of millions of television viewers with her first daily talk show, THE RICKI LAKE SHOW. The Show — which premiered in the fall of 1993 among talk show powerhouses The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Jenny Jones Show and Donahue — became an instant hit by appealing to a younger demographic with youth-centric topics such as dating, fashion makeovers and weight loss. Over the course of 11 seasons, Lake received many honors and accolades both nationally and internationally, including a Daytime Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Talk Show Host,” England’s National TV Award for “Best Talk Show” and Sweden’s Aftonbladet TV Prize for “Best Foreign TV Personality,” among others. As a producer, Lake was instrumental in ensuring that the show continued to appeal to its committed viewers and continued to grow with its audience. 

The original THE RICKI LAKE SHOW continues to air in countries around the world, a testament to the global appeal and timelessness of the host’s one-of-a-kind style. 

Rita Arens is the senior editor for BlogHer.com. Her writing has appeared in Scholastic Parent & Child, Babble, The Kansas City Star, SuperEco, The Rockhurst Review and other outstanding print and online publishing venues. Her personal blog, Surrender, Dorothy, has won her attention in Forbes Woman, Businessweek online and The Wall Street Journal. She is the editor of parenting anthology SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK (Chicago Review Press, 2008) and a contributor to KIRTSY TAKES A BOW (Bright Sky Press, 2010). She lives with her husband and daughter in Kansas City.

Rosalind Wiseman is an internationally recognized expert on children, teens, parenting, bullying, social justice, and ethical leadership.

Wiseman is the author of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World, the groundbreaking, fully-revised edition of her bestselling book that was the basis for the movie Mean Girls. Her follow-up book, Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads, addresses the social hierarchies and conflicts among parents.  It is now being made into a major motion picture by New Line Cinema.  Her latest endeavor is the  young adult novel Boys, Girls, & Other Hazardous Materials which follows heroine Charlie Healey as she navigates the good, bad and ugly of her freshman year of high school.

Additional publications include the Owning Up Curriculum, a comprehensive social justice program for grades 6-12, and she writes the monthly “Ask Rosalind” column in Family Circle magazine.

In 2011, Wiseman is working with Unilever’s “Don’t Fret the Sweat” campaign to raise awareness about tweens’ body development and how it impacts their overall growth. In addition,  Rosalind is a spokesperson for LG’s Text-Education Council that aims to inform parents about responsibly monitoring teen cell phone usage.

Each year Wiseman works with tens of thousands of students, educators, parents, counselors, coaches, and administrators to create communities based on the belief that each person has a responsibility to treat themselves and others with dignity. Audiences have included the American School Counselors Association, Capital One, National Education Association, Girl Scouts, Neutrogena, Young Presidents Association, Independent School Associations and the International Chiefs of Police, as well as countless schools throughout the U.S. and abroad. She is also a member of the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s Start Strong Advisory Board.

National media regularly depends on Wiseman as the expert on ethical leadership, media literacy, and bullying prevention.  She is a frequent guest on the Today Show and Anderson Cooper 360 and has been profiled in The New York Times, People, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, USA Today, Oprah, Nightline, CNN, Good Morning America, and National Public Radio affiliates throughout the country.

Wiseman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Occidental College. She lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and two sons.

Sarah Kimmel comes from an IT background. Fixing technology, and helping women to understand technology is truly her passion; she started her blog Tech For Moms to help friends fix their own technology issues. As more and more of her fellow bloggers and friends came to Sarah for help with the technical aspects of their blogs she decided to branch off and start a business to help others fix, maintain, tweak, and setup their own blog called Blogger’s Help Desk. Follow her @Tech4Moms and get your technical questions answered!

Sarah Maizes is the author of "Got Milf? The Modern Mom’s Guide to Feeling Fabulous, Looking Great and Rocking a Minivan" (Berkley Publishing Group). She is a former literary agent, freelance writer, stand-up comedian, and founder of MommyLiteOnline.com (http://www.MommyLiteOnline.com), a parenting humor site. Her work has been featured in Los Angeles Magazine, on CBS/LosAngeles.com, HybridMom.com, Momtourage.com, More.com, DivineCaroline.com, TheNervousBreakdown.com, Shine.com (by Yahoo!), and Autisable.com (a website for parents of children with Autism. She has appeared on ABC News Now’s “Moms Get Real with Ju Ju Chang”; KTLA; NPR’s “Tell Me More with Michel Martin”; and on the NPR's podcast "What Would Rob Do?" She is also the creator and co-author of The Bridesmaid's Guerrilla Handbook (Berkley) a Borders Bestselling Trade Paperback. Her first children's book, "On My Way to the Bath" will be published by Walker Books in 2012. It's sequel is due out in 2013. For more information about Sarah, you can go to http://www.SarahMaizes.com.

Shanna is a problem-solving web, graphic and user interface designer. She has been creating outstanding and engaging designs that fulfill user needs and drive profitability to the bottom line for over 12 years. Her work has been published in three industry web and packaging design books. You can check out her portfolio at www.sitesquared.com.  She is currently a full time student, studying Mobile Media Development as well as a full time mom of 8 and entrepreneur. In her spare time she enjoys geekin' out with her kids and fighting the never-ending Mac vs. PC battle on the home front.  She's a Mac, her husband's a PC.

Shannon is a personal growth blogger and homeschooling mom of two children. Through her blog, The Discipline Project, Shannon is challenging herself in 2011 to accomplish two long-overdue goals. She hopes to help others put their big rocks first and take action to move forward.

Active in the online publishing world since 1995, Shannon has designed and developed numerous web sites, co-authored a book, and contributed several feature articles online, in newspapers and in magazines. As a homeschooling mom, she takes an eclectic approach and follows her belief in child-led learning. In her spare time she enjoys scrapbooking, traveling, skiing, and almost any variety of coffee beverage.

Simone Leid is a Trinidad and Tobago national who has worked in the field of Gender and Development and Sustainable International Development for over 7 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Management from the University of the West Indies and is working towards completion of her Masters degree in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, USA. As a former Project Officer with the Gender Affairs Division in Trinidad, and in her capacity as a consultant with the Division and other Women’s NGOs, she has worked on a number of projects aimed at building awareness and understanding of gender issues and how they affect the lives of men and women in society. Simone developed The WomenSpeak Project to provide a place for women to share their stories of discrimination and in so doing, help them to process their feelings and think critically about the ways in which these incidents have affected them. As a poet and 2008 Fellow of the Cropper Foundation Caribbean Writers Workshop, she has, in her own life, experienced the power of writing to improve cognition, communicate complex emotions and stimulate self-motivation and personal growth.

Sofía Quintero is a novelist, screenwriter and producer whose work crosses genres and garners acclaim. Her latest novel Efrain’s Secret (Knopf, 2010) earned raves from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus, was a winner of the Parents’ Choice Award and is a nominee for the Young Adult Library Services Association’s 2010 Best Fiction for Young Adults. Quintero’s screenplays have won the San Francisco Black Film Festival and Montage Entertainment Diversity in Screenwriting Award as well as semi-finaled for the ABC New Talent Development Program and the Sundance Institute Screenwriters’ Lab. She is a member of the inaugural class of the TV Writers Studio at Long Island University where she is pursuing her MFA in Writing and Producing Television and studies under Norman Steinberg (The Cosby Show, Blazing Saddles, My Favorite Year) and Bernie Orenstein (Kate and Allie, Sanford and Son, That Girl, What’s Happening.) Quintero and her work have been profiled in Latina, Upscale, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and Catalina. Quintero is also the creator the HomeGirl.TV network and web series which she will launch in March 2012. A self-proclaimed “Ivy League homegirl,” Quintero was born and raised in the Soundview neighborhood of the southeast Bronx. Although she attended an academically challenged high school, her intelligence and discipline gained her admission to Columbia University where she earned her BA in history-sociology as well as a New York State provisional teaching license through the highly regarded education program at Barnard College. Quintero went on to earn an MPA from the University’s School of International and Public Affairs as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. From there she embarked on her first career as a policy analyst and community advocate who worked on behalf of diverse issues and communities in the areas of public education, criminal justice and public health. These experiences inform the many stories Quintero many of aimed to tell when she decided to heed the muse and pursue a second career in multimedia entertainment. Upon making that decision, her talent and perseverance enabled her again to realize quickly what many aspire but few achieve – the publication of her first novel in 2004. In fact, under the pen name Black Artemis, Quintero published three novels of “hip-hop noir” with Penguin – Explicit Content, Picture Me Rollin’ and Burn. She also scored a two-book deal with Random House which published her 2006 “chica lit” novel Divas Don’t Yield based on her award-winning screenplay Interstates. Having been published by virtually every major house in the industry, Quintero has authored almost a dozen short stories and novellas in anthologies and collections including Friday Night Chicas (St. Martin’s), Juicy Mangos (Simon & Schuster, Names I Call My Sister (Harper Collins), Iridescence (Alyson), Dirty Girls (Seal) and Politics Noir (Verso.) She joins Joyce Carol Oates, Nikki Giovanni, R.L. Stine Meg Cabot and other notable authors who are contributing young adult fiction for an anthology by the Book Wish Foundation; the proceeds will go toward building a library in Darfur. Quintero’s novel-in-progress is the young adult novel Show and Prove and will be published by Knopf in 2012. She is also a writer-in-residence for the National Book Foundation’s innovative reading program BookUpNYC and was awarded the Gaea Foundation’s SeaChange Artist Residency in 2008. In 2001, Quintero co-founded Chica Luna Productions to identify, develop and support other women of color seeking to make socially conscious entertainment. The award-winning East Harlem-based nonprofit quickly became known for its signature filmmaking institute the F-Word and its innovative workshops that uses popular media from independent films like Girlfight to studio fare such as Thelma and Louise to cultivate film literacy as well as appreciation and awareness of women’s stories and their makers. The almost two dozen graduates of the F-Word have had their work screened on HBO, POV, ITVS, Showtime as well as festivals nationally and internationally. Lauded for her insight, accessibility and humor, Quintero remains an in-demand public speaker, providing media commentary, giving platform readings of her own work, delivering lectures and facilitating interactive, multimedia workshops. Her novels are taught in colleges and universities across disciplines and alongside authors such as Margaret Atwood and Asha Bandele, a rare achievement for an unapologetically commercial novelist. In partnership with Elisha Miranda, Quintero has also become the screenwriter/producer of the short films Blind Date and Corporate Dawgz which not only have been well received on the festival circuit but also continue to be screened in diverse venues. Along with Miranda, Quintero founded Sister Outsider Entertainment in 2007, a multimedia production company that creates content by and about women for television, film and theater. SOE produced and premiered the off-Broadway multimedia production of Pandora’s which at Theater Row in New York City and is presently developing the television series Sangria Street in 2008. This year SOE launched Athena Casting, a multicultural talent boutique serving the entertainment industry in the United States and abroad. In the next two years, Athena is slated to cast four feature films and commercials in the next two years. Quintero is represented by literary agency Avenue A Literary and the speaker’s bureau SpeakOut. She is also a writing mentor for Urban Word NYC, literary coach for aspiring authors and freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Post, New York Daily News, Ms., Urban Latino, El Diario/La Prensa and Russell Simmon’s360HipHop.

A pacesetter in digital media for nearly 15 years, Stephanie Agresta leads digital strategy and social media campaign development for the global public relations firm Porter Novelli. In this role, she is instrumental to developing digital media initiatives for some of the world’s largest brands, including Microsoft, Windows Mobile, PepsiCo, Hewlett Packard and P&G. Stephanie led the effort to make Porter Novelli the Digital Agency of Record for Bel Brands. She also secured AOR relationships with Blog World and New Media Expo, as well as partnerships with Twestival, Internet Week and Social Media Week, for which she serves on the Global Advisory Board.

Prior to joining Porter Novelli, Stephanie founded Stephanie Agresta Consulting, a digital media and marketing firm with numerous successes in forging partnerships with digital thought leaders and emerging technology companies. In 2008 she launched “Bloggers Lounge,” a networking hub for digital media influencers at the annual SXSW Music and Media Conference. That same year she partnered with Brian Solis, author of P.R. 2.0, to found the leading social media event brand The TechSet. Stephanie began her career with iVillage.com, one of the first sites to build an online community. She went on to hold prominent sales, marketing and business development roles with Internet powerhouses such as Barnes & Noble, Register.com and SpaFinder.

A popular speaker at industry events, Stephanie has sat on panels at Web2Expo, Blog World, SXSW and Mashable conferences. She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Social Media Advertising Consortium (SMAC), where she serves alongside executives from Ford, IBM, Intel, Pepsico and Razorfish. Stephanie’s first book, Perspectives on Social Media Marketing, co-authored with B. Bonin Bough of Pepsico, is set for release in 2010.

Stephanie Nielson was born, raised, and married in Provo, UT.  She is the 8^th of 9 born to Stephen and Cynthia Clark (of Provo).  She is a popular blogger and author of “nieniedialogues.com.”  She began blogging in 2005 while living in New Jersey as a way to keep her and her husband’s family informed about their life in the east.

From 2005 to 2008, her blog steadily grew in popularity and readership. Her blog entries are a natural portrayal of life as a wife, mother, Mormon, daughter, sister, citizen, etc.  They are filled with pictures and images that represent the common joys in the roles of her life.

In the summer of 2008 she and her husband Christian were involved in a serious airplane accident.  A close friend perished from his injuries and Christian and Stephanie survived the crash with burns covering arms, legs, face, and hands, about 80% of her total body surface.

She has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show with Matt Lauer, and the Glenn Beck program.  Recently 20/20 did a one hour special highlighting her story and recovery process. In these interviews she explains why she believes she beat the odds of surviving their tragic accident and what life is like with her new appearance and physical limitations.

Stephanie, 29 is living in the “Tree Street” area in Provo with her 4 beautiful children; Claire  9, Jane 8, Oliver, 5, and Nicholas 4 and her handsome husband Christian, whom she is madly and relentlessly in love with.

Before the accident, Stephanie was a yoga instructor in Arizona and avid runner.  Stephanie also loves to ski and instructed at Sundance Resort in Utah.  Stephanie began skiing for the first time since her accident last winter.  Skiing came back to her with triumphant ease!

She and her family are frequently seen on Utah Lake on their sailboat. Named the AuroraMark (the name came from Christian and Stephanie’s middle-names).

Stephanie is healthier than ever and happier than ever.  She has begun yoga again, and plans on running in races next year if all goes well.  Stephanie will have surgery frequently to release and re-build areas on her burned skin for most of her life.  She is upbeat and wants to add to her family.

Although reconstructive surgery is an ongoing requirement for Stephanie, she maintains a joyful attitude for life as it was meant to be and living the roles she loves to live. 

Stephanie Wood is the Executive Editor of Parenting Early Years and Parenting School Years, where she oversees articles on child development, health, and education. She is also a former Executive Editor of Babytalk magazine, and co-author of the book, The Babytalk Insider's Guide to Your Baby's First Year. As a freelance journalist, Stephanie has written about children and family life for many national publications in addition to Parenting and Babytalk, including Redbook, Parents, Child, Family Life, Working Mother, Woman's Day, McCalls, Nick Jr. and Sesame Street Parents. She lives with her husband and three children in Blauvelt, New York.

Susan Getgood has been involved in online marketing since the early 90s, and watched the web evolve from the first browsers to the interactive communities we participate in today. Since 2004, she has been helping organizations integrate social media into their marketing strategies to meet their customers online, build their brands and drive revenue.

Prior to founding her consulting practice, Susan held a variety of corporate marketing and management roles including Senior Vice President of Marketing at Internet software company SurfControl, General Manager of Cyber Patrol and Director of Corporate Communications at The Learning Company.

Her professional marketing blog, where she writes about blogger outreach, social media and marketing strategy, is Marketing Roadmaps (getgood.com/roadmaps). She is a co-founder of blog ethics and education initiative, Blog With Integrity (blogwithintegrity.com). Her first book, Professional Blogging for Dummies, will be published in July 2010.

She lives in a suburban setting that includes a big backyard full of birds, including two Downy Woodpeckers who are extremely possessive about their territory and have been known to chase off much larger birds.  She has two cats who are very interested in making the acquaintance of the birds and spend much of the day plotting, a ten-year-old son whose role model is Chuck Bartowski and several Scottish Terriers who are determined to trap a skunk of their very own under the deck, so they can play with it any time they want.

Tara Gentile is a creative business coach who empowers passion-driven entrepreneurs to actualize their ideas, visions, and dreams – turning them into dollars and cents. She brings a creative approach to branding, product development, and marketing that incorporates both strategy and high touch design.

She writes frequently for the Daily Worth, Crafting an MBA, and The Mogul Mom. She’s the author of several popular digital guides including her latest on the relationship between personal art and money, The Art of Earning. 

She’s a proud mama to a 3-year-old named Lola.

Tracey Friley is a Brown Girl blogger with a love for all things related to global culture and a genuine love for people everywhere. A self-proclaimed Culturalista and award winning entrepreneur with an MBA in Global Management, Tracey is not only a retailer with a penchant for wholesale shopping on annual trips to Paris, but she is a Travelista that contributes to American Airlines' BlackAtlas.com, owns and operates the only travel and learning adventure camp of its kind in the nation for girls 11-16, is an award winning Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide travel blogger, and sponsors girls with their very first passports via The Passport Party Project. An Ambassador for the Heart of Haiti, Tracey believes in empowering Brown Girls everywhere to greatness through positive messages and lives her life in service by giving girls a world view. When she isn't running her store or catching a plane, Tracey is on her blog, on Facebook or on Twitter celebrating and giving back with her own unique and positive Brown Girl spin.

Vikki Reich writes about the intersection of contemporary lesbian life, parenthood and pop culture. She is a community organizer and is currently working to unionize marshmallow Peeps. Vikki has blogged for 5 years at Up Popped a Fox and her work has also appeared on Grace the Spot and Autostraddle. She was selected for the 2010 – 2011 Foreword Program in Creative Non-fiction at the Loft Literary Center. She lives in Minneapolis with her partner of 18 years and their two children. In their free time, they enjoy imagining that they have free time.