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Jacqueline Ackerman is Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. WPI believes that gender matters in philanthropy, and that solving the world’s complex problems requires perspective, leadership and generosity from women and men. Jacqueline’s work centers on moving the institute’s research into action, delivering insights to donors, fundraisers and sector leaders that grow women’s giving and deepen fundraisers’ engagements with female donors. Over the last decade, Jacqueline has led WPI’s research agenda, including serving as primary author on most of WPI’s research reports. Jacqueline joined the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in 2012 after earning a Master of Public Affairs from the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington. She was raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and resides in Bethesda, MD.

To learn more about Jacqueline Ackerman and Women’s Philanthropy Institute:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelineackerman

https://www.instagram.com/womensphilanthropy

https://www.facebook.com/womensphilanthropyinstitute

https://www.linkedin.com/company/womensphilanthropy

Michelle Petties is a TEDx speaker, Food Story coach, and author of the award-winning memoir Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict. She reveals how emotional wounds, cultural expectations, and personal history—not hunger—often shape how we manage food. After battling emotional overeating for decades and gaining and losing over 700 pounds, Michelle discovered that the key to lasting weight loss wasn’t another diet—it was rewriting the stories behind her eating.

With a background in media sales and leadership at companies like Radio One, Disney/ABC, and NPR/PBS member stations, Michelle now uses storytelling as a tool for transformation. Through workshops, retreats, and her ebook Mind Over Meals, she helps others uncover their food truths, rewire their thinking, and create lasting change from the inside out.

To learn more about Michelle Petties:

TEDx Talk, A Food Addict’s Lesson: Confusion. Clarity. Recovery. Please comment, like, and share it with your network. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJLr53XlIV4

Get your signed copy of Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict, https://Leavinglarge.com

Subscribe to My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIbMxXOSCNH–MCNru4WuLw

Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/iambrandnewnow

Follow me on Facebook: https://facebook.com/iambrandnewnow

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-petties/

Read my essays:https://vocal.media/humans/loving-your-self

Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@iambrandnewnow?lang=en

Aspen Noonan is a young mom, entrepreneur and the CEO of Elevate Holistics – a rapidly growing telemedicine company making medical marijuana more accessible across the

U.S. Starting from the ground up, 

Aspen began by taking patient calls and handling support, eventually growing the business into a multi-state operation and stepping into the role of CEO.

 With a background in health sciences and a passion for patient education, Aspen

has helped thousands of people find natural relief through plant medicine. Her story is

rooted in grit, heart, and a mission to modernize healthcare with compassion and

accessibility for all.

To learn more about Aspen Noonan and Elevate Holistics: 

X – @elevateholistic

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aspen-noonan-242545110

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@elevateholistics9102/posts

Christina Irene is a disability and diversity speaker who works with corporations, not-for-profit organizations, government entities, and educational institutions all over the world. Her clients include Target, Redfin, Maersk, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Navy, National Credit Union Administration, FINRA, MITRE, the Brookings Institution, Johns Hopkins University, Technology University of Eindhoven, Penn State Health, Pueblo of Jemez, and many more.

Using a lived-experience approach, she invented the Splat system of communication and published a series of books on it, including Talking Splat: Communicating About Hidden Disabilities, Splatvocate: Supporting People With Hidden Disabilities, and Spactivity Book: Self-Care and Carefree Distractions for Adults with Hidden Disabilities. Christina’s past careers include high school English and theater teacher and nationally-touring stand-up comedian. She lives with physical, cognitive, and mental health disabilities.

To learn more about Christina Irene:

Website: ChristinaIrene.com

YouTube: @ChristinaIreneInspires (or use the url ChristinaIreneTube.com which redirects to my channel)

Instagram: @TalkingSplat (all Splat-related content) and @InstaChristinaIrene 

TikTok: @TalkingSplat

Facebook: @SplattiePage (Splat-related content) and @ChristinaIreneInspires

Elizabeth Becker is an award-winning American author and journalist best known for her work in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Her singular coverage of Cambodia under Pol Pot is the basis of the French feature film “Rendezvous Avec Pol Pot” (Meeting With Pol Pot in English) that opened in Cannes and has received multiple awards.

She began reporting in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Since then she has covered international affairs for five decades including as a New York Times correspondent, the Senior Foreign Editor at National Public Radio and Washington Post correspondent. She was part of the Times’ team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of 9/11. She won two DuPont Columbia awards for NPR coverage of the Rwanda genocide and South Africa’s first democratic election. She has reported from all continents, including posts in Phnom Penh and Paris.

She is the author of five books including YOU DON’T BELONG HERE: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War (2021) which tells the hidden story of women who covered the Vietnam War. A best seller, it has been praised as a masterwork. The book received Harvard’s Goldsmith Award, the Sperber book Prize and was named the military book of the year by Foreign Affairs.

Her 2013 book “OVERBOOKED: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism,” also a best seller was an Amazon book of the year and was hailed by Arthur Former as “required reading” about the future of global tourism.

In 2019 Conde Nast Traveler named Becker one of the people who has changed how the world travels because of her book and one of the most powerful women in the travel world for emphasizing a conservationist ethic in tourism.

She is the author of the now classic “WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, “ originally published in 1986, won a Robert F. Kennedy award. The movies “Rendezvous Avec Pol Pot” and “Bophana” by acclaimed Cambodian director Rithy Panh were based on this book.

In 2015 she testified as an expert witness at the international war crimes tribunal of the senior Khmer Rouge leaders.

She was a fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, holds a degree from the University of Washington and studied language at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthaan in Agra, India. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the board of the Oxfam America Advocacy Fund.

To learn more about Elizabeth Becker:
Website: https://elizabethbecker.com/
IG: ehb47
Author of:
YOU DON’T BELONG HERE: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
OVERBOOKED: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism
WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution

Karen describes herself as a ‘history hound.’ History has fascinated her since she was a child,
and she has always been obsessed with uncovering the truth hidden between the pages of history books. Behind every date and every significant event in history, there is a catalog of untold stories, and she’s always been passionate about digging them up and understanding the people behind the events. Themes of social justice, gender equality, and race equality infuse every aspect of her work.

As a woman, Karen is passionate about discovering and sharing the injustices faced by women
throughout history. She wants to empower women and girls to change the future and strive for
absolute parity between the sexes. Her work is dedicated to sharing lesser-told stories to show
the world that strong women have always been, and always will be, crucial to the future of the world.

Karen was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Hawaii. She was raised by a single mother whose
strength and resilience fed into her passion for uncovering the stories of strong women
throughout history. Karen loves reading and enjoys indulging in her book addiction. In addition
to writing or having her nose in a book, Karen is also a professional chef and nutritionist and is
continuing her education in Anthropology.

To learn more about Karen Wang Diggs:
IG @herstoryinhx
FB https://www.facebook.com/herstoryinhistorynow
TikTok: herstoryinhx5
Website and to order her book: https://www.herstoryinhistory.com/

Janet Collard is a dance performing artist, choreographer and movement director originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.

As a professional contemporary dancer, Janet has performed for many companies and choreographers including AXIS Dance Company, Nancy Karp and Dancers, Gerald Casel Dance and Katie Faulkner’s little seismic dance company.

As a choreographer, she has worked with Korsa Musical Theater Company, Shotgun Players,
Berkeley Playhouse, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Throckmorton Theater and others.

In 2018, she premiered her dance theater solo show Performing Valeska based on the life of avant-garde actor and dancer Valeska Gert. In 2019 she toured this production to different festivals across the country and was artist in residence at the University
of Rochester in New York.

She recently completed an MA in Dance Philosophy and History at Roehampton
University in London. While in the UK she presented her dissertation and performed a lecture on dance reconstruction and dance reenactment at the Theater, Dance and Performance Conference at the University of Leeds (remotely). She also participated in a living history performance at the Old Operating Theater in London.

She currently lives in Northern California and continues to create choreography and teach movement for artists as well as Pilates and Gyrotonic.

To learn more about Janet Collard:
Website: www.janetcollard.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f4CYHMGTlI

Simona Rinfreschi is a children’s picture book and fantasy author whose heart-led stories weave gentle magic with emotional truth. With a background as a librarian, early childhood educator, and ESL teacher, she draws on a rich tapestry of life experiences to create stories that help children and adults feel seen, safe, and unconditionally loved.
Born in Italy and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Simona now lives in a sun-drenched town on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Her early years were shaped by adversity, and books became her refuge—a safe place that inspired her lifelong dream of becoming an author. After decades of living with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and mental health challenges, she began writing in earnest following a transformative move to Spain and significant changes to her lifestyle.
Simona writes under the imprint Solthira Press, a name that reflects her passion for unity, love, and quiet enchantment. Her debut picture book, Good Pixie, Bad Pixie, is scheduled for publication in mid-2025 and was inspired by the birth of her first grandchild. She also has a bedtime story and a new adult fantasy trilogy currently in the editing phase.
Her monthly newsletter, Letters from the Enchanted Hearth, invites readers into her creative world with reflections, behind-the-scenes musings, heart prompts, and moments of gentle connection.
Through her work, Simona hopes to challenge harmful labels, encourage kindness, and nurture emotional healing in readers of all ages. Her guiding mantra is:
“Be gentle with yourself and generous with your magic.”

To learn more about Simona Rinfreschi:
Website: simonarinfreschi.com
Instagram: @simonarinfreschi

Lola Akinmade Åkerström is an award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author, and travel entrepreneur. She has dispatched from over 80+ countries and her work has been featured in National Geographic, New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes, and many more. She has collaborated with commercial brands such as Dove, Getty Images, Mercedes Benz, Intrepid Travel, Electrolux, ASUS, and National Geographic Channel, to name a few.

As a storyteller, Lola was featured on Condé Nast Traveler’s Women Who Travel Power List. She was named one of the Most Influential Women in Travel by Travel Pulse, a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine and Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year. She was also honoured with a MIPAD 100 (Most Influential People of African Descent) Award within media and culture and a Newsweek Future of Travel Storytelling Award. 

Her book, Due North, received the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Best Travel Book, and she is also the author of international bestselling “LAGOM: The Swedish Secret of Living Well” available in over 15 foreign language editions.  Her internationally-acclaimed novel, “In Every Mirror She’s Black”, was a Good Morning America (GMA) Buzz Pick, Apple Editors’ Pick, Amazon Editors’ Pick,  Independent UK “Best Thought-provoking Story”, and was shortlisted for the Bad Form Review Book of the Year. Her novel, EVERYTHING IS NOT ENOUGH, is an NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literature, Jennette McCurdy Book Club Pick, a Washington Post, Sunday Times, and Amazon Editors’ Pick, amongst others. Her latest novel, BITTER HONEY, was published in May 2025.

As an entrepreneur, she runs Stockholm-based creative storytelling agency Geotraveler Media and online academy, Geotraveler Media Academy, which runs photography experiences around the world and is dedicated to visual storytelling and helping the next generation of travel storytellers put the heart back into the craft.

To learn more about Lola Akinmade Akerström:

Links – Media Kit  |  Portfolio

Director, Geotraveler Media

Social – LinkedIn | Instagram

Dr. Rebecca Whittington is the Online safety editor for Reach Plc, the UK’s largest commercial news publisher. She was appointed to the role, which was the first of its kind established in the UK, to protect journalists from online harassment and harm. Rebecca also writes about online threats, campaigns for the online safety of women in journalism, and sits on the advisory committee for Women in Journalism and the employers subcommittee of the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists.

To learn more about Dr. Rebecca Whittington:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccalucywhittington/

Isabella “Bella” Hughes is a repeat founder, mentor, and angel investor with experience spanning the arts, entrepreneurship, and emerging CPG. Born and raised in Honolulu, she splits her time between Austin and Hilo. Currently, she’s the chief revenue officer and co-founder of Better Sour, a globally inspired sour candy brand founded with her lifelong best friend. She also co-founded Hawaiʻi Contemporary and Shaka Tea, and most recently was honored by Inc. Magazine as one of 2025’s Female Founders 500.

Social:

www.bettersour.com

 @eatbettersour

Marivir R. Montebon is a New York-based journalist who runs her media company Awesome Media, Ltd. In 2012, she established the online magazine OSM! (awesome!) together with her daughter, Leani Alnica Auxilio. In 2022, she produced Conversations with MM, a digital talk show, on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook platforms.
Marivir was president of the FilAm Press Club of NY in 2018 and 2019. She set up a 501 (c) (3) non-profit in 2018 called Women’s Immigration and Communications Cafe (WICCAFE). It has a project arm called Women & Media (WAM), a collaborative platform for women and communities to amplify their voices and actions.
Marivir was a media fellow for Montclair University’s Cooperative Media Program for COVID-19 Reporting in 2020 and a member of the Theta Alpha Kappa honor society.
She finished her Doctoral Studies, with distinction, in May 2024 at the HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership in New York City with a focus on Peace and Public Leadership. Her doctoral research is titled: Bridging the Political Divide of US Immigration Reporting through Transformative Journalism.
She is currently a United Nations representative for the Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWP), a global women’s organization with a Consultative Status with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Marie Montebon – Instagram
Marivir Montebon – Facebook
Marivir Montebon – LinkedIn

Aayusha Prasain is a dynamic leader with over a decade of experience in strategic planning, community development, and responsible tourism. As the CEO of Community Homestay Network, she has been instrumental in scaling community tourism across Nepal and building/strengthening partnerships for sustainable impact.
Her expertise spans leadership development, youth engagement, research on gender, and women’s economic empowerment. With a Master’s in International Development from Nagoya University, Japan, her work is deeply rooted in rural and regional development. Her thesis on women-led micro-enterprises highlights her commitment to creating equitable economic opportunities. Throughout her career, Aayusha has been recognized for her contributions to research and community development.

Social Media Handles:
Community Homestay Network (website): https://communityhomestay.com/
Community Homestay Network (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/communityhomestaynetwork?igsh=YWdia3U5MWhieDN2
Community Homestay Network (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/13353695/admin/dashboard/

LinkedIn (Mine): https://www.linkedin.com/in/aayusha-prasain/

During her term as 20th Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia (2020-22), Emerita, the Academy of American Poets awarded Luisa A. Igloria one of twenty-three Poet Laureate Fellowships in 2021, to support a program of public poetry projects. She is the recipient of the Immigrant Writing Series Prize from Black Lawrence Press for Caulbearer (2024), and was one of 2 Co-Winners of the 2019 Crab Orchard Poetry Prize for Maps for Migrants and Ghosts (Southern Illinois University Press, fall 2020). In April 2021, the Writers Union of the Philippines (UMPIL) conferred on her the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas lifetime achievement award in the English poetry category. In 2015, she was the inaugural winner of the Resurgence Prize (UK), the world’s first major award for ecopoetry, selected by former UK Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, Alice Oswald, and Jo Shapcott. Former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey selected her chapbook What is Left of Wings, I Ask as the 2018 recipient of the Center for the Book Arts Letterpress Poetry Chapbook Prize.

Other works include The Buddha Wonders if She is Having a Mid-Life Crisis (Phoenicia Publishing, Montreal, 2018), Ode to the Heart Smaller than a Pencil Eraser (2014 May Swenson Prize, Utah State University Press), and 10 other books. She is lead editor, along with co-editors Aileen Cassinetto and Jeremy S. Hoffman, of Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States (Paloma Press, September 2023). Her poems are widely published or appearing in national and international anthologies, and print and online literary journals including The Georgia Review, Orion, Shenandoah, Cincinnati Review, The Common, Indiana Review, Crab Orchard Review, Diode, Missouri Review, Rattle, Poetry East, Your Impossible Voice, Poetry, Shanghai Literary Review, Cha, and others. Luisa served as the inaugural Glasgow Visiting Writer in Residence at Washington and Lee University in 2018.

Luisa also leads workshops at The Muse Writers Center in Norfolk (and serves on the Muse Board). She is a Louis I. Jaffe Professor and University Professor of English and Creative Writing, and a member of the core faculty of the MFA Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University, which she directed from 2009-2015. Since 2010, she has been writing (at least) a poem a day. www.luisaigloria.com

Social Media:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VAPoetLaureate2020
Instagram @poetslizard
Bluesky       @thepoetslizard.bsky.social
https://linktr.ee/thepoetslizard

Beth Santos is an author, storyteller, and keynote speaker on a mission to better connect and support women travelers and share the stories of diverse women worldwide.
With a background in international development, thoughtful community building, and social enterprise, Beth Santos is out to change the landscape of travel for women worldwide.
In 2009, while cruising her blue motorcycle through the streets of São Tomé and Príncipe, Beth created the first iteration of Wanderful as a travel blog aimed to explore the diverse and shared experiences of women traveling the world. Today, Wanderful has exploded to an international community and social network with the active participation of over 40,000 women and gender-diverse people of all ages and backgrounds. This is manifested through an active membership community, chapter events in over 50 global cities worldwide, and annual community events and trips.
Beth is the author of Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo, published in March 2024. The book helps women to uncover the confidence they need to see the world for themselves, by themselves.
In 2022, she launched the 85 Percent Podcast, which interviews accomplished women in travel and tourism and tells their stories of success — and their advice for a more inclusive travel industry.
Beth is in the process of filming episodes of World Herstory, a travel docuseries highlighting food, culture, and history through the eyes of women around the world.
In 2014, Beth created the WITS Travel Creator Summit, the leading event for women and gender diverse travel creators, entrepreneurs, and industry to use their voices to champion change in the travel industry, now hosted annually on two continents.
In 2022, Wanderful launched Wanderfest, the first major outdoor travel festival by and for women, hailed by Fodor’s Travel as the new festival to add to your radar.
Beth’s commitment to community building also reaches her local neighborhood of Jamaica Plain in Boston, where she and her husband are the owners of Ula Cafe, a social-justice-minded cafe, bakery, and lunchtime meeting spot.
Beth has been recognized in Business Insider as one of 17 changemakers transforming the hospitality industry, in Conde Nast Traveller as one of 12 inspiring people to follow for International Women’s Day,
She was a finalist for Travel Unity’s Applied DEI Award and a finalist for Women in Travel CIC’s IWTTF award in the female leader-entrepreneur category in 2024.
In 2023, Beth was recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Hospitality and Travel, alongside leaders like Airbnb’s Brian Cheskey, Skift’s Rafat Ali, and PBS’s Samantha Brown.
She has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Wellesley College. When she’s not traveling the world, she’s relishing in home renovation projects and exploring her home city of Boston with her family.

To learn more about Beth Santos:
Website: https://bethsantos.com/
https://sheswanderful.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/maximumbeth/?hl=en
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sheswanderful/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/santosbeth/

Ida Tin is the Danish visionary co-founder and former CEO of Clue, the most trusted menstrual cycle health app used by more than twelve million active users in over 190 countries.

Ida created the term “femtech” in 2016 and is the founder of Femtech Assembly, a think tank to articulate the link between Femtech, economy and planetary health.

Prior to starting Clue, Ida led motorcycle tours around the world for five years in the motorcycle touring company MotoMundo she co-founded with her dad. She guided tours in Mongolia, Cuba and Vietnam amongst other destinations.

The travel adventures on her motorcycle led Ida to write her book, Directress, which was published in 2009.

She is now working on a new book about Femtech and is an active voice in the Femtech space.

To learn more about Ida Tin, Clue and Femtech Assembly:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/idatin/

Erene Henninger, an immigrant from the Philippines, moved to the United States in 2007. She met her husband Brantley in 2009 and welcomed their daughter Noëlle in 2016.

Erene not only has a passion for coffee but more importantly, she has a passion for people. In 2019, they were looking for potential properties to purchase that could be split-use commercial and residential. They looked in places like Suffolk and Chesapeake, but never really found a perfect fit. Then 2020 hit and brought with it Covid-19. Opening a coffee shop was not a wise decision at the time, but she still wanted to pursue a coffee business, even if she had to start from home.

During quarantine days in 2020, when everyone was working from home, she wished for someone to deliver coffee to her. That’s when she realized she can deliver coffee to people! She experimented with cold brew coffee and eventually came up with 30+ flavors. Project Seed Coffee Cold Brew was being sold online for delivery and also at farmers’ markets.

What started as a cold brew delivery service has gone full scale to a brick and mortar shop in April 2024. Located in the heart of Kempsville, Virginia Beach, Project Seed Coffee offers Filipino inspired coffee and pastries while focusing on building a collaborative community.

To learn more about Erene Henninger and Project Seed Coffee:
IG, Facebook, Tiktok: @projectseedcoffee

Cacie Robichaux was born in Louisiana and has been living in Wisconsin since 2009.
Cacie received her bachelors, worked for a hot minute then started a family and decided to be a stay at home mom for several years. She decided to go back to school where she received her second degree: an associate of software development. Her second degree led her to a career as a Scrum Master.
Cacie is a facilitator who leads a team using the Scrum framework for agile project management. Scrum masters help their teams implement Scrum principles and practices, and coach them on how to improve their workflows.

To Cacie, building solid relationships and a sense of psychological safety in the work place is very important. She likes to be a multipurpose person and help out wherever needed.

Cacie is a mother of three daughters and very active in their lives coaching sports and ubering them around to lots of activities. She doesn’t have to ever worry about meeting her favorite athletes because she gets to raise her own.
Cacie loves a good physical challenge. She completed RAGBRAI in 2024, which is a bike ride across Iowa. She also plans to run a half marathon in Wisconsin this spring.
In addition, Cacie and her daughters are volunteering at Hope Heals Camp, a camp for individuals affected by disabilities and their families. They would like to raise funds in order for campers to attend for free. To learn more about Hope Heals Camp, go to hopeheals.com/camp or click on the link below:
https://secure.qgiv.com/event/hhc2025/account/1947341/
She’s an introvert, and gets her energy from reading a book in her basement. She loves Malcolm Gladwell, Brene Brown, Simon Sinek and Adam Grant.
To find out more about Cacie Robichaux:
LinkedIn: Cacie Robichaux

Dr. Patricia Wright is a scientist and distinguished professor in the Department of Anthropology
at Stony Brook University, NY. She has received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (Genius
Award) and three medals of honor from the Malagasy government. In 2014 she was the first
woman to win the Indianapolis Prize for Animal Conservation (equivalent to the Nobel Prize in
Conservation).

Dr. Wright is the Founder and Executive Director of Stony Brook University’s
Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments, and is the Founder and Executive
Director of the Centre ValBio, a research and training center in Ranomafana, Madagascar. After
discovering a new species(spee-sheez) of lemur in 1986, she helped establish its habitat as a national park
and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She continues to lead research expedition to remote
places in Madagascar which make valuable contributions to science.

Dr. Wright has published over 200 scientific papers, authored four books and has given
hundreds of lectures to museums, universities and societies throughout the US and Europe.
Her research and accomplishments have been featured in the award-winning documentary
IMAX/Warner Brothers film “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar” narrated by Morgan Freeman, and most recently the documentary, “Ivohiboro(eev-wee-bore) – the lost forest”, which premiered in France in the fall of 2024.

To learn more about Dr. Patricia Wright:
https://www.instagram.com/patcwright/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-wright-5a15889/

To learn more about Centre Val Bio:
https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/centre-valbio/
https://www.instagram.com/centrevalbio/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy-ibXFhKs-UOpSlyKROj7A/videos
https://www.linkedin.com/company/centre-valbio/

Erin Schnabel (@ebullientworks) is a Distinguished Engineer at Red Hat and a Java Champion with over 25 years of experience as a developer, technical leader, architect, and advocate. Erin prefers being up to her elbows in code. She learns and teaches through practical (and occasionally ridiculous) application, focusing on automation and developer experience. As Chairperson of the Commonhaus Foundation, she is building tools to automate all the things, wielding Java and TypeScript with equal enthusiasm.

To learn more about Erin Schnabel:
Mastodon: https://hachyderm.io/@ebullient
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ebullient.dev
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinschnabel/
Discord: ebullientworks

Naomi Waring started out writing for the theatre and was part of the young writer’s program at the Royal Court, an invite-only group with Stacy Gregg and Alice Birch with her first play showing at London’s BAC.
Her first film Little Ones, an autobiographical documentary was supported by Film London and the Kevin Spacey Foundation and went to various international festivals.
She holds an MA degree from the London Film School and her graduation film won best short film and screened at top BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals.
Her work is usually set in working-class communities and is influenced by social realism, with a particular interest in youth culture and the female perspective.
In 2019 Naomi was selected for Bela Tarr’s directing workshop, where she developed and shot the film Ascend, The film got screened at Locarno Film Festival as part of the anthology Under the God. She was also selected for the Encounters Widening the Lens and Go Shorts writing program as well as mentoring by Raising Films in 2016 at The Edinburgh Film Festival.
In 2020 Naomi was commissioned by BBC N.I and Screen N.I to shoot a short film, Ode, which was screened on BBC Arts, BBC Iplayer, and various international film festivals, such as Aesthetica, Dublin Film Festival, Uppsala, and Underwire.
She is currently shadowing director, Alex Winkler on the HETV series Mary and George.
Naomi is currently developing her debut feature film: which was shortlisted for the Torino Script Lab and LIM.
Naomi is a visiting lecturer at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and GSA teaching screen Acting on the BA acting course. Other clients include Hatch Films, The Paper Birds, The Round House, The Lyric Hammersmith, and ISSA.

Her Films have screened at BBC I Player, Dublin Film Festival, Cork International Film Festival, Galway Film Festival, Belfast Film Festival, Manchester International Film Festival, Underwire, Aesthetica, Locarno Film Festival, Kerry International Film Festival, Richard Harris International Film Festival, Shiny winner, Off Line Best International Short, Finalist European Cinematography Awards.

Lisa Pulitzer is an American author and journalist. Pulitzer is a former correspondent
for The New York Times. She has written and/or collaborated on more than 55 non-
fiction books, many of them topping The New York Times Best Seller list.

In her capacity as collaborator, she has worked on the memoirs of many high-profile
personalities, from prosecutors to judges to celebrities. Of particular note are her
collaborations with people who have escaped fundamentalist religion, including Jenna
Miscavige Hill the former Scientologist, Lauren Drain the ex-member of Westboro
Baptist Church and Elissa Wall who wrote about her experiences after leaving
the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Pulitzer left journalism in 1998 to concentrate on writing books. She also works as a
writing mentor/book doctor. Pulitzer currently teaches at Long Island University’s Hutton
House Lecture Series. She also runs private and semi-private writing classes in person
and via Zoom.

To learn more about Lisa Pulitzer:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pulitzerlisa/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@pulitzerlisa

Chef Ayse Ozlem Oguzcan-Cranston, also known as Chef Oz was born in Eskisehir Turkiye, but was raised in Brooklyn, New York.

Chef Oz found her love of cooking at an early age, watching her Mother make meals for her family while growing up in Brooklyn. It was this love of cooking that inspired her to enter culinary school at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC.

After finishing her education at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, Ozlem decided to work at Abigail Kirsch Catering from 2007-2012. In 2014, Ozlem decided to open her own catering business and decided to cater in the tri-state area.

When Ozlem and her husband moved to Kingston, NY, she got the opportunity to take over a brick and mortar restaurant and she opened Masa Midtown in March 2020 as a catering and events venue. When Covid hit, she pivoted her business to do takeout, but eventually opened to the public after the positive response from the community. Currently, Masa Midtown is open as a restaurant and catering business with Chef Oz at the helm.

Chef Oz resides in Kingston with her husband, Bill Cranston, and her kitty.

To learn more about Chef Oz and Masa Midtown:
IG: masa-midtown

Named as an “Architect of Change” by Maria Shriver, Sara Hirsh Bordo is a 15x award-winning filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Women Rising®, listed as “One of the Most Innovative, Interesting, and Purpose-Driven Women Led Startups to Watch” by Inc Magazine.

Women Rising® began in 2013 with Sara directing and producing the first TEDxAustinWomen which became the year’s most live and on-demand viewed TEDxWomen event around the world. Sara’s film directorial debut, A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY premiered and won the 2015 Audience Award at SXSW and won awards at all eleven festivals played, received two WEBBY Awards, and secured global distribution via National Geographic,
LifetimeTV, Amazon Prime, and iTunes.

In 2017, Sara’s second film, PROTECT HER, was a first-of-its-kind project, aimed at protecting girls on campus by activating the power of the schools’ male athletes and was acquired by Amazon Prime. In 2018, Sara executive produced the animated short TIGHTLY WOUND, which played 25 film festivals worldwide, was acquired by Condé Nast and most recently executive produced the five-time award-winning documentary about deaf access to entertainment, SIGN THE SHOW, acquired by Apple+.

She has directed and produced Prevention Magazine’s Health and Wellness Summit, The Women’s March of Texas, which became the largest gathering of women in Texas history, followed by the Official Women in Football Weekend at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, as well as executive produced March for Our Lives NYC, and directed The United State of Women Summit at the Shrine in Los Angeles, keynoted by Former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Currently executive producer of SXSW Community Award-winning ConnectHer International Film Festival and consulting director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-sponsored, ConnectHer Pitch Fest, Sara has written and directed national short films and award-winning campaigns for clients like TOYOTA, ESPN, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Marvel, Farmhouse Fresh Goods, and University of Texas at Austin’s NIKE 360, as well as consulted on many Hollywood film marketing campaigns including Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman franchise and Sony/Marvel’s blockbuster Madame Web.

In 2024, Sara and Women Rising released the findings of “Autoimmunity and the ‘Good‘ Girls,” the first sociological survey exploring the intersection of empowerment and autoimmunity in American women. The research has been featured by Psychology Today, is being used as curriculum for graduate school, and Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States, stated, “We are fortunate that Sara has taken this exploration on to inform us all on these gender dynamics of empowerment and health.”

Her first book “Autoimmunity and the ‘Good‘ Girls: How the Power to Put Yourself First Can Keep You Well,” sold at auction in a worldwide deal to HarperOne/Harper Collins in August 2024 for release in 2026.

Sara and her work have been featured in the books I Am That Girl and The Feminine Revolution, is a member of the Producer’s Guild of America and a three-time Juror for Best Documentary. An invited delegate to TED Women, the United Nations Media Day, the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, and The Obama White House’s Champions of Change Summit, Sara has been nominated twice for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur, and is a member of the Global Wellness Institute Women in Leadership Committee. She has spoken about her creative work and activism at Apple, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, the Air Force Academy, Women in Film, The Associated Press, and SXSW.

Sara and Women Rising’s work have been featured in Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Bustle, The Washington Post, Women.com, NPR, Fortune, Variety, Women and Hollywood, TCU Magazine, Tri Delta Magazine, Austin Woman Magazine, People, The New York Times, Women to Watch, and The Kelly Clarkson Show.

She previously held positions in media and entertainment, including Executive Director of Interactive Marketing at Paramount Pictures, VP of Digital Marketing at MGM Studios, and CEO and Co-Founder of NowLive, which was acquired by Live Media Group.

Sara lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is Aunt Sissy to 11 nieces and nephews, and Fairy Godmother Sara to three godchildren.

To learn more about Sara Hirsh Bordo, her films and Women Rising:
Instagram: @sarahirshbordo
Facebook and LinkedIn: Sara Hirsh Bordo

Born in Brazil and living in the US since 2003, Simone Bueno is a multi-talented filmmaker and web developer who brings over 25 years of experience to her passion for empowering stories. As a mother of two, she understands the unique challenges faced by moms and small business owners seeking to connect with their audience. Simone’s journey in the film industry, spanning various roles from pre-production to color grading, led her to discover her passion for training others on on-camera presence and video creation. Through personalized sessions, she helps individuals overcome self-doubt and build confidence, enabling them to share their stories authentically and effectively. Simone’s extensive background in web development, including the creation of online courses and user guides, further enhances her ability to tailor her teachings to beginners.

To learn more about Simone Bueno::
https://simonemony.com
https://linkedin.com/in/simonedbueno
https://youtube.com/@IamSimoneMony
https://instagram.com/iamsimonemony
https://facebook.com/iamsimonemony

Fatima-Tuj-Johora is an independent visual journalist and a National Geographic Explorer based in Bangladesh. Her passion is to produce artistic visuals that include information about stories of daily life, children’s and women’s rights, and environmental rights. She conveys significant facts about the human experience in intimate and engaging storytelling. Her works concentrate on the effects, consequences, and adaptation of global climate change that relate to natural phenomena and human experiences.
Despite having a degree in biological science, Fatima chose to pursue a career in photography because, to her, photography is all about empathy: it fosters closeness and understanding while addressing contemporary social issues like injustice, abuses of human rights, and our adverse relationship with the environment.
She has worked as a contributing photographer at Reuters and ZUMA Press. Her images have been published in The Guardian, Liberation, The Courier, Avax News, Hindustan Times, and many others.

Portfolio website: www.fatimatujjohora.com
Instagram: @fatimatujjohora

Yelba Zoe McCourt was born in La Ceiba, Honduras and arrived in the US as a toddler. She grew up in New York City. She attributes her diverse upbringing with her ability to portray different characters and her facility with accents. She is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City. She studied acting and graduated from the American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. Early on in her career she performed sketch comedy and improv in the West Village. Her television credits includes:Sesame Street, House of Buggin’, Law & Order, First Time Out, Riot, Walker Texas Ranger, Local Heroes, Fired Up, Tracey Takes On, Diagnosis Murder, Moesha, On Common Ground, No Mother’s Crying, No Babies Dying, Strong Medicine, The Mind of a Married Man, Hollywood 7, ER, For the People, and Kingpin. Her film credits include:Carlito’s Way, No Exit, Slings & Arrows, The Pest, Ghetto Rhapsody, Road Dogz, King Rikki, Hustlas, Frozen Stars, Shut Up and Kiss Me! Valentina’s Tango, and Griot’s Lament. In 2015 she graduated from UCLA with a Masters of Science degree in Nursing. She most recently wrote and performed in “Where Y’All From?” a solo play directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson at Solofest 2024. Her solo show will preview at the Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 6 at 8:15 pm at the Zephyr Theatre.
To learn more about Yelba Zoe McCourt and her show “Where Y’All From:
https://yelbazoe.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/YelbaZoeMcCourt
https://www.instagram.com/yzmccourt/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yelbazoemccourt/?trk=opento_sprofile_details
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0652205/