Allegra Huston worries that "we try to fulfill the expectations that are inevitably held for us, or we're fighting against those expectations. But in either case, we're still being driven by other people's expectations." Allegra is the author of Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found, the novel "A Stolen Summer," and many more books and screenplays, including the award-winning short film "Good Luck, Mr. Gorski."

Rhonda Barrymore is the founder and President of Help Me Rhonda®, Inc., a worldwide provider of physical appearance products and services. Rhonda has worked locally and globally to make up and style some of the most well-known and prestigious people in the world. Some of her services include beauty and special effects makeup, as well as, skincare, hair styling, wardrobe styling, prop styling and her extensive skin care and makeup product line for all branches of the media and personal use.

When Dave Conley worked for AOL, he introduced 32 million people to the internet for the first time. Now, he introduces people to themselves. Dave specializes in coaching, programs and talks for life changing journeys in weight loss, self-care and bereavement. Formerly weighing in at 330 pounds, he now weighs in to help people architect their health, wellness and future.

Susan Miner is the founder of Beauty From the Inside Out. As a supermodel, Susan graced the covers of Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Self, Bazaar, and more! Some of her beauty campaigns were L'Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon, and Nivea. She followed this up by becoming a Professor of Psychology and a therapist. Her company now combines both of her careers as a model and a therapist. Collaboration with other models is a fun part of her work as she lends her face and intelligence to projects.

Gay Thomas Wilson launched two successful international careers as a trained method actor, model and cover girl. Motivated by her sister’s diagnosis of schizophrenia, she has been an advocate for changing the stigma of mental health. Gay’s journey has given her the skillset to become a coach and mentor to business professionals, entrepreneurs and creative talent.

Carey Gillam is a veteran investigative journalist with more than 25 years of experience covering corporate news. She is the author of “Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science,” an exposé of corporate corruption in agriculture. The book won the coveted Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists. Gillam works now as Research Director for the non-profit U.S. Right to Know and a columnist for The Guardian.

Stanley T. Funches, Sr. is a Certified Financial Planner practitioner specializing in assisting business owners, professionals, and retirees with their retirement goals and savings.  He is the owner of INTELUS Wealth Management with over 20 years of financial planning experience and is committed to assisting his clients create, build, and protect their legacy. He has just published his first book the Amazon Best-Seller, “The Quest for Financial Independence: 10 Areas of Your Planning You Should Not Ignore.”

Arnie Herz is a lawyer, mediator and speaker. He has delivered over 100 programs and keynotes on topics related to the attorney-client relationship, negotiation, conflict resolution and work-life balance. His work has been covered in numerous publications and he has received a host of acknowledgements and awards from his colleagues.

Jessie Owen is an adventurous, spirited person whose path was interrupted in 2012 when a tree fell on her family car while on vacation. She lost both her parents and became a quadriplegic. After the accident, Jessie began the long journey to figure out where she fit in again. For two years she focused solely on her body and regaining as much function as she could. But Jessie wanted to be more than just a broken vessel in constant need of maintenance.  She wanted a life, and set out to create one.

Vince Kramer is a transformation and human potential expert. It is Vince’s passion to partner with individuals, parents and groups in finding lasting empowerment, purpose and passion in creating businesses, relationships and lives by their design. He brings a unique combination of experience, education and research in presenting workshops and online training in finding happiness and success in living life by your design.

Erik Seversen has forged a path filled with extreme adventure and success, ranging from hitchhiking from London to central Africa, living with a remote Amazon tribe, to building and selling businesses. His new book, “Ordinary to Extraordinary,” reveals his personal search for meaning, highlighting how anyone can create a life of purpose and success. Erik’s focus is on business development and English language training. He believes helping others is the best way to create success and fulfillment in life.

Judy Robinett saw other people were getting further ahead, making more money. She read an article on five ways to become financially independent: Become a doctor, a lawyer, inherit or marry. Number 5 was start a business. “How hard could it be? I got a $1.3 million S.B.A. loan and opened a franchise restaurant.” Judy has now led both public and private companies as CEO and served in management positions at Fortune 500 companies. She sits on several virtual capital boards and is an advisor to Springboard.

Larry Minnix, a leader in the non-profit aging services field since 1973, served as CEO at Wesley Woods Center of Emory University and at Leading Age, which represents 6,000-plus non-profits. A minister, author, and speaker, he consults widely on long-term care issues. He has received numerous national awards for leadership from the National Council on Aging and others. Leading Age named their leadership academy after Larry to honor his 1917 retirement.

Dr. Steve Taubman is a bestselling author, physician, magician, hypnotist, and mindfulness coach who brings deep wisdom, entertaining insights and a unique perspective to sales professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners. His reprogramming-your-mind-for-success audio, UnHypnosis for Entrepreneurs, was voted one of the Top 25 Must-Have Products for his industry. Steve has performed for and coached top celebrities and movie stars and has shared the stage with legendary motivational speakers like the late Zig Ziglar.

Laura Gassner Otting is a professional motivational keynote speaker and the founder of Limitless Possibility, where she empowers innovators, idealists, and iconoclasts to get “unstuck” in their thinking, push past their limiting beliefs, and achieve extraordinary results. Laura’s new book Limitless is like a high-energy master class and brainstorming session all in one, with actionable tips to transform your vision for your career and do work with purpose.

Pamela Peeters is an environmental economist and sustainability strategist. She consults with companies globally and develops educational programs for youth with her “Eco Hero” program now established in nine countries. An author, filmmaker, and educator, she was on the marketing team of the U. S. Partnerships for the UNESCO Decade for Sustainable Education. She's also a former Research Fellow in Economics from Columbia University and current Fellow of the Explorers Club.

Scott Wilhite was in a corporate job he hated, with a mindset he called “grumpaholic.” Feeling miserable, he ran a fantasy jackpot scenario in his head, and asked himself, “If I win the Powerball and $32 million, what will I do?” After quickly imagining his first seven days as a millionaire, he began to suspect lack of money was not his problem. He set out to discover what was missing. Scott has since created the Feed Your Happy app, authored a mindset course on the 7 Core Skills of Everyday Happiness, and founded nCOURAGE.LIFE.

Laura De La Cruz was learning about dog obedience and agility while teaching at a university. A colleague advised, “Get a Border Collie.” But the breeder Laura contacted said, “No way am I going to sell you one. You have no idea how to handle this dog!” A teacher, dog trainer and herding judge, Laura started Leash Up Dog Training as an alternative to the "pack" mentality, focusing on people who consider their dogs to be part of the family. Best-selling author of more than 80 books and journals, she has trained herding dogs and their people for over ten years.

Steve Robertson is the CEO of Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs (JKCP), an organization specializing in youth-to-adult programming that turns curiosity into passion and skill. Steve has been with the company for 20 years. In this role, his primary responsibility is to cultivate a culture that results in memories lasting a lifetime. Steve is an expert on youth development and education as well as understanding and adapting to youth.

Jeremy Barnhart experienced a successful career in finance, but he worked long hours and travelled extensively. Frankly, he wasn’t passionate about the work. He “retired” and started a company for something he cared about–assisting schools in fundraising. Now Jeremy has time to coach his 3 sons’ basketball, football and baseball teams. He is a co-owner and vice president of franchise development at Apex Leadership Co., originally Apex Fun Run, a healthy and safe alternative to school fundraising. The company partners with schools to raise funds for campus needs. The concept incorporates a two-week character building and leadership program for students that culminates with a student “run” to raise donations for schools.

Gini Dietrich had her sights set on law school and becoming a sports agent. Then her mother needed her help to overcome a life-threatening illness, so she took an entry level position at a public relations agency. Passing out samples of cranberry juice at PR events was an unexpected detour on her career path. Gini is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, an integrated marketing communications firm.

Vince Kramer is a thirty-seven-year airline and military pilot with over 200,000 hours in aircraft and flight simulators. In the U.S. Air Force he was a pilot, instructor & evaluator. He is a combat veteran with over one hundred combat hours during Desert Storm. He has flown for United Airlines and American Airlines as an airline transport pilot, has held positions in management and as an instructor/evaluator at United Airlines, and currently is an active pilot at United Airlines.

PJ Jonas faced criticism when she left an engineering job to be a stay-at-home mom. Soon her problem-solving skills and creativity were fully put to use. As an undergrad at the University of Virginia, stuff made from goat’s milk was nowhere in her plans. What started out as a means of getting good milk for her children produced a wide range of unanticipated discoveries, and a thriving family business.

Brian Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for the past 40+ years. He’s never met a medium he didn’t like, and he spent the first 34 years of his career helping Boardroom, Inc., become a state-of-the-art direct marketing and publishing company. As founder of Titans Marketing, he now advises many of the most admired direct marketers in the world and writes and speaks regularly on direct marketing.