At (what is now called) University of Louisville hospital in Louisville, Kentucky early on a Friday morning in 1986, I was brought into the world. Healthy, happy, and the product of two loving, wise parents, I grew up with a strong sense of family and connection, even though I was an introvert! From infancy, books and storytelling were a constant in my life. My mother works at the Louisville Free Public Library, my father read to me each night while I was growing up, and both of them would often answer my (rather strange, I’ll admit) questions with anecdotal stories instead of a terse “yes” or “no.” The storyteller in me began to awaken. Ever stubborn, it wasn’t long before I pried the copies of Dr. Seuss purchased for me from the hands of my father and took over reading duties for myself. As I consumed book after book, I started to want to take over the writing reins as well. That’s how the stories I wrote in notebooks and on my computer at home came to be. I would share what I wrote with friends and family, getting critiques on plot, character development, and even spelling and grammar from my mother, father, aunts, uncles, classmates, and teachers. Since graduating high school, I’ve worked as a teacher’s assistant, telemarketer, psychotherapist, insurance agent, customer service rep, and cashier, all while writing on the side. In 2010, as I was starting my first job after graduate school and had just purchased my first home, I began helping people with their writing needs for money. From that point forward, I was hooked. The possibility of being able to make a living doing something that I would (and had) done for free was all the motivation I needed to start working toward a writer’s lifestyle. Today, I am the CEO and founder of https://volopressbooks.com/, which allows me to help authors with their book planning, writing, editing, and design needs. I started https://writerwerxuniversity.com to offer literary education and support for screenwriters, novelists, poets, and other text-based creatives. My husband started https://pleascentries.com and I took it over from him and turned it into a literary style shop, allowing writers to show off their love of literature with special designs just for readers and writers. Oh, yeah! I’m also an independent author myself! I have written in multiple genres, including psychological thriller, mystery, romance, erotica, fantasy, and self-help. I am slowly polishing and publishing the work I’ve been writing since I was a child so that I can get it all out onto the book market. Never miss an update! Follow me on https://www.amazon.com/Tenesha-L.-Curtis/e/B08358NNF2, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7705814.Tenesha_L_Curtis, https://www.bookbub.com/authors/t-l-curtis, and https://www.facebook.com/readtlcurtis.

Andrea is a neuroscientist, holistic health practitioner, and cancer alchemist who is deeply devoted to empowering others in their health and wellness journey. She offers a unique perspective, having worked in healthcare for over a decade, primarily in oncology. Nine years ago, Andrea left conventional work (and life) and moved to the jungles of Costa Rica with her family. Andrea runs two companies Cancer Alchemy & All Things Frequency, both focused on health, healing and expansion of consciousness using principles and practices of natural medicine, energy healing and entheogens. Her coaching and community combines the wisdom of naturopathy, neuroscience, and frequencies: body, mind & energy. A holistic perspective that merges ancient practices merged with future technology.

Cortney Person Holles (pronounced like Pierson and Hollis) grew up with teachers for parents and played school as often as Barbies. Somehow, despite her love for all things school-related, she thought she should become a medical doctor as a teenager, but some came to her senses in college. Instead of 8 years of chemistry, she wanted more years in college classrooms, especially those where she could sit in a circle and talk about books. She earned her Masters in English in 2003 and then started a family with her husband just after she got hired at Colorado School of Mines as an adjunct. She soon dropped the other adjunct gigs at colleges around town and devoted her teaching to Mines, getting hired full time as a professor in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in 2010. Cortney was appointed to lead the freshman writing class, Nature and Human Values, shortly thereafter. This position included the hiring and professional development of 15-20 instructors who teach this required course and developing the pedagogy and content and assessment for all students. Her life took a turn when her husband sustained a brain injury and spinal nerve damage just as she was starting the path to earn her doctorate in education. Her elementary school kids and her care responsibilities and home life became her main focus for a number of years as her husband struggled and ultimately died in early 2017. Then there was another major shift in focus—being an only parent to kids entering middle school with trauma to heal from became Cortney's primary job. She stepped back from service to her department and called in lots of favors from family and friends. She got everyone to consistent appointments with quality counselors. She did her bst to keep up with her teaching load and responsibilities. Then, finally, after a 2 year hiatus, Cortney returned to her research for the doctoral degree despite the unforeseen and the unknown and was able to complete her dissertation in 2021, earning her EdD from University of Northern Colorado. Now, Cortney is in the phase of life where her nest is clearing out, she has new love in her life, and she is getting to work with amazing colleagues on the Teaching with Heart grant, extending her interest in student and faculty well-being research into communities of practice. She has finally allowed herself to call herself a writer (not just a reader who's pretty good at writing) and she is diving into writing poetry and memoir about her life and relationships to continue to process the juxtaposition of all the magic and pain, confusion and beauty in the world.

Sam Horn is the CEO of the Intrigue Agency, a positioning/messaging consultancy, which helps people design and deliver TEDx talks, keynotes, funding pitches and one-of-a-kind brands. She is also the CEO of the Tongue Fu! Training Institute, a trade-marked communication skills approach, that teaches how to give and get respect at work, at home, online and in public. Sam is the author of 10 books including Tongue Fu!®, POP!, SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week, IDEApreneur, and Wash Post bestseller Got Your Attention? Her newest book Talking on Eggshells received a glowing Publishers Weekly review and endorsements from Marie Forleo, Jack Canfield, Lynn Twist, JJ Virgin, Dr. Ivan Misner (founder of BNI) and Whole Foods founder John Mackey who calls it “The course-correct for today’s cancel culture.” Sam's work has been featured in dozens of publications including NY Times, Forbes, Fast Company and, Harvard Business Review. She has been interviewed on every major network including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, NPR and MSNBC. Fun Fact: Sam Horn and her Tongue Fu! team stumped the panel on the TV Show To Tell the Truth. Sam has had the privilege of speaking to more than half a million people worldwide from China to Chicago, Ireland to England, and for clients like Intel, Oracle, Accenture, American Bankers Assn. Sam co-founded the Business Book Festival (held at USA Today headquarters) and served as the Emcee and Executive Director of the world-renowned Maui Writers Conference for 17 years. She also served as the Pitch Coach for Springboard Enterprises which has helped entrepreneurs generate $27.8 billion (yes, that’s a B) in funding – and has been brought in by NASA, TED FELLOWS and Richard Branson's NEW NOW LEADERS to teach public speaking/media training. Sam’s LinkedIn Learning course has been translated into 6 languages and is used by organizations around the world, (e.g., Amazon, KPMG, Walmart,) as part of their communication – customer service – leadership training. As a consultant, Sam helps clients - including Terry Jones, Founder of Travelocity and Charlie Pellerin, Project Manager of the Hubble Telescope - get their books out of their head and into the world. Sheri Salata (Former Executive Producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Pres. of Harpo Productions and OWN) calls Sam “one of the bright lights and most accessible wisdom-sharers in our culture today.”

Paige Davis has been working in the travel industry for almost 20 years. She spent much of that time as a Marketing Director at a large group travel company. In 2019, she and her sister signed up for a tour that was designed specifically for women, and she became passionate about the importance and the power of women’s travel. She spent the next few years reminiscing about this trip and how meaningful it was for her. With much trepidation, she left her long-time career to try to start a travel company with a friend of hers. When the stars didn’t align for a variety of reasons, Paige resigned herself to following a different path. But the universe had other plans. In early 2023, Paige was named President of AdventureWomen — a travel company designed BY women FOR women. Founded in 1982 by Susan Eckert, AdventureWomen is based outside of Boston, Massachusetts where Paige lives. AdventureWomen operates over 60 trips each year in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Canada, the United States, and even Antarctica. At AdventureWomen they believe that any kind of travel can be an adventure.

Nicole Majik has an interesting and extensive background with a bachelor's degree in Biology/Chemistry, a Masters in Metaphysics and experience as a Financial Advisor. She is an accomplished leadership and empowerment strategist and educator, and has created a highly effective, life-transforming empowerment program: The Alchemy of Transformation®. She awakens your true potential by erasing limiting beliefs and showing you how to live a life you deserve without compromising who you are or what you love. Nicole has appeared on various radio shows, local TV, as a keynote speaker for international conferences and has even appeared on the Travel Channel for Greatest Mysteries: Smithsonian

Super smart executive with over eight years of success in the automotive industry who could not figure out how to be smart in her dating life even after spending $15K with a dating coach... so she raised $500K and built the MVP of her app called Clara for Daters to help her. Her mission is to help people choose relationships that make them feel good. She believes that the person you choose to be in a relationship with impacts your mental, physical, emotional health and well-being and is committed to helping others stop wasting their time on people who aren't good for them.

Alexia Parks, founder and President of 23ZIP, Inc. – a public benefit corporation – home of the First Food Responders - has been called “One of 50 people who matter most on the NET” by Newsweek for her launch of Votelink.com in 1995. It was the first successful electronic democracy system on the Internet. In 2012, Alexia spent 18-months as a United Nations Mentor to a young woman leader from Africa who became Fortune Magazine’s #1 Social Impact Award Winner in 2014 at their Most Powerful Women in the World Summit. Over her career Alexia Parks has launched 100 successful social impact projects including setting up an outdoor education program for ALL elementary schools in Boulder in the 1970s, and received funding from the City of Boulder to create the Energy Futures and Walking Cities conferences. As a science-journalist she received funding from the RAND corporation in 1980 to represent public opinion on nuclear issues at high level meetings in Washington D.C. As a science journalist, Alexia Parks covered environmental topics for the national desk of The Washington Post, had a nationally syndicated column, then moved to New York City where she published VisionUSA magazine. TIME magazine acquired it. Alexia is a keynote speaker at conferences in the US and abroad, including the USMayors.org Winter Conference in Washington D.C. and the COP conference on Climate Change in Bali 2008. Since 2000 Colorado State University has offered continuing education credit for her programs. Alexia Parks is an award-winning entrepreneur, best-selling author of 18 books and chair of the Alexia Parks 10TRAITS Leadership Institute, a tax-exempt organization founded in 1990.

Audrey White is the CEO of the Grief Coach Academy and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan. She understands grief both professionally and personally. In 2020, Audrey lost eight family members, including her mother. In 2022, her brother was tragically killed by his wife, who subsequently took her own life. Through her own journey of healing, Audrey has developed a deep compassion for those suffering from loss, setbacks, and grief. At the Grief Coach Academy, Audrey teaches people how to overcome loss and rebuild lives of meaning, purpose, and joy. Prior to the pandemic, research showed that 57% of the US population was suffering from grief. The pandemic only increased this turmoil, stress, and heartache. Audrey is a compassionate and skilled professional dedicated to helping people navigate the challenging journey of grief and loss. With her expertise in dealing with life’s setbacks, grief, and stress, Audrey has helped countless individuals find hope and healing during times of trauma and loss.

Mary Katherine Stahl is a busy mom, wife, and multi-business owner. She has a love for health and fitness and inspires others to be the best version of themselves. At the young age of 25, she started as a member at a Fit Body Boot Camp and it quickly became the best part of her day every day. At the time she was working in an operations role at a real estate firm, which did not provide any sense of purpose. She used that passion and energy she felt at boot camp to open her own location in August 2017. In addition to owning two locations, in July 2020, MK took over a failing Fit Body Boot Camp and grew it by 4 times of where it started in less than 2 years. Today she is not only passionate about helping her clients but also about providing her team with opportunities to grow. MK attributes a lot of her success to building culture and community within her business. She believes building strong relationships is the key to having a successful business and team. ,