Community & Guest List
Ali Brown is one of the world's most recognized entrepreneur coaches. Over the last 15 years, Ali Brown has advised and helped nurture the businesses of many of the 7 and 8 figure online thought leaders you see thriving today. Ali has been dubbed the 'Entrepreneurial Guru for Women' by Business News Daily and has taken her company to the Inc. 500 list rankings. Ali is an angel investor, a top-podcast host of Glambition Radio and mom of twins!
Treasure Shields Redmond, known as the “#DebtFreeDegree Expert,” is founder of Get The Acceptance Letter Academy. This is a community where she helps busy parents of college bound teens secure top-tier education without massive debt.
Birch Thomas is a commercial photographer born and raised in the DC area. She picked up a camera for the first time in 2016 and in five short years she went from taking photos in her spare time to running her own photography business and making it her full-time career. After a decade of working a 9-5 in operations and finance Birch took all of the skills and lessons she learned in her business experience to grow her side hustle into her own creative business. She works with a diverse range of local and national clients and enjoys the challenge that comes with creating something truly unique for every person she collaborates with. Her passion lies in creating work that supports the businesses of other creative entrepreneurs in their pursuit.
Michelle C. Thomas, Esquire is a seasoned divorce lawyer and the founder of M.C. Thomas & Associates, PC, a premier divorce and family law firm serving Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland. Michelle and her team represent a wide array of clients ranging from business owners and corporate executives to physicians, law firm partners, politicians, professional athletes and more. Her passion is helping people protect their assets and their future, and ultimately transform their lives for the better. Michelle Thomas has been repeatedly recognized as a Top Rated Family Lawyer in Washington D.C. by SuperLawyers, and recently named a Top Attorney by Bethesda Magazine. Michelle is a sought after speaker and media contributor in local and national media on issues such as effective co-parenting, parenting through the pandemic, divorce-proofing your marriage, and law firm management. She has been seen and heard on the Michael Baisden Show, Fox 5 news, News One Now with Roland Martin Radio, ESSENCE magazine, the Washington Times, The Daily Drum Show on WHUR/SiriusXM 141, and Law Talk with Ethel Mitchell on Radio One and more. Welcome, Michelle C. Thomas.
Jakob Heuser wants you to love the journey of growing into your career. Over the last two years, he's worked with companies to get their Learning and Development programs off the ground. Today, he's here to chat about the challenges of employee development. Today, the best way to retain your top talent is to help them grow and evolve.
With more than 25 years experience in nonprofit and corporate communications, Karen Bate, Founder and CEO of KB Concepts P.R., rebrands companies and nonprofits; positions organizations to achieve their objectives; garners key media placements; and harnesses digital marketing and social media tools to tell her clients’ stories and inspire others to support them. Great Ideas for Good Causes is not just her company tagline; it is the guiding philosophy of her work.
LORNA BORENSTEIN is CEO and Founder of Grokker, the on-demand wellbeing engagement solution for global enterprises including eBay, CVSHealth, Target, Dominos, Delta Air Lines, and GE. Her new book, It’s Personal: The Business Case for Caring, thoughtfully examines the Human Connection Movement™ in the workplace, which is fueled by a growing desire among employees to feel more connected to one another and as a result, better connected to their jobs. This movement has transformed the role of employers as the benefactors of wellbeing, and It’s Personal serves as a strategic and tactical guide for company leaders who want to embrace this transformational change, improve employee engagement, and drive business results. Previously, Lorna was President of publicly traded Move Inc. and held a number of executive positions at Yahoo! including Chief of their global personals online dating service and Head of Marketing for their multi-billion dollar worldwide Search & Marketplace businesses (Shopping, Travel, Autos, etc.). In 2000, Lorna launched eBay Canada out of her guest room in Toronto (with a newborn in tow) and went on to serve as eBay Inc.’s Vice President & General Manager.
Dave is regarded as a leading expert in the delivery of technology services, with broad experience in both technology and business. He owned and operated an IT Solution Provider and MSP for over a decade, both acquiring other organizations and eventually being acquired. This firm was a winner of multiple awards, including Kaseya’s Cutting Edge and ConnectWise’s Best New Idea, as well as being a finalist for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner of the Year in the Small Business Specialist category. After his MSP experience, he has worked for multiple vendors at such companies as Level Platforms, GFI, LogicNow, and SolarWinds, leading community, event, marketing, and product strategies, as well as several M&A activities. He is also the host of “The Business of Tech," and he also is a co-host on the "The Killing IT Podcast.”
Christen Johnson is the CEO, Founder of a couple of different entities. At SophisticatedChic Brand, she is the Personal Style Coach for professional women helping them to determine their unique body shapes in order to hone in on a personal style that makes them feel the most confident. At Project Style University she coaches aspiring and emerging wardrobe stylists through the growing pains of building a successful styling business in the fashion industry.
When she's not coaching, or speaking to individuals about elevating themselves in style, she's figuring out new ways to expand her knowledge in business, spending time with family and friends or jamming to some of her favorite songs.
When she's not coaching, or speaking to individuals about elevating themselves in style, she's figuring out new ways to expand her knowledge in business, spending time with family and friends or jamming to some of her favorite songs.
Jaclyn DiGregorio is a business coach and author of speaker and best-selling author. As the founder of Clarity and Action Consulting, Jaclyn helps female coaches launch successful programs and courses so they can set the world on fire with the income and impact they deserve. At age 21, Jaclyn started her first business from her dorm room at Georgetown University. She has spoken on stages at more than 75 universities and conferences across the U.S. Jaclyn has been featured by Forbes, Elite Daily, Bustle and Washington Business Journal, and her book has been featured on Good Morning Washington.
