Karen Ballou has been a leader and innovator in the skincare and wellness space her entire career. Most recently, she is the founder and CEO of Immunocologie, an all-natural skincare brand focused on skin health and immune protection as well as co-founder of LB Equity, a growth equity fund investing in emerging brands in beauty, wellness and personal care. She is also a licensed esthetician, has founded and owned day spas around the country and authored curriculum for the American Esthetician Association.
Lily Tang Williams was a law school assistant professor in Fudan University, Shanghai, China who became an American entrepreneur, an educator and a motivational speaker. Born to illiterate working-class parents in China, she grew up in poor living conditions, social chaos and Communist indoctrination. Today, she has her own businesses and relishes the freedom, independence, and prosperity she found in America. She travels in the U.S. to share the story of her American Dream and about horrors of Communism.
Tim Tortora has spent his impressive career in the entertainment industry garnering extensive financial and producing experience before releasing his latest book which guides aspiring filmmakers through the black box that is building a durable network in film and TV production. During his varied career, he’s worn many hats on all kinds of TV programs and major feature films–from PA, through unit production manager, to line producer–all the way to executive in charge of production, and now CFO.
Sonja "Dynamo" Price is a Top Career Strategist, Salary Advisor, Leadership Coach and the author of 2 books, “The Pivot Point System” and “The Infinite Leader.” She has helped many professionals understand how to find meaningful work, earn more money, and to land their dream job with prestigious organizations such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Starbucks, AT&T, Nordstrom, and many other large and small organizations.
Gene Rice’s business career includes working for a Fortune 100 firm–where he was promoted 5 times in 7 years–to co-founding Rice Cohen International, a successful executive search firm. In 2008, Gene and his wife started a nonprofit charity, The Plant a Seed Inspire a Dream Foundation, which has enabled over 800 children from low-income households to pursue their passions. Gene and his daughter, a teacher, have recently co-authored the book “Grad to Grown.”