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LKLA icon Speakers Showcase

Conference producers, seminar organizers and corporate meeting planners: LKLA's clients are experts who can speak on a wide range of topics at events in the U.S. and abroad. Here you can find keynote or workshop speakers, panelists and instructors, listed by specialty: Diet/Fitness Food & DrinkHealthPsychologyBusiness/Motivation Entertainment Parenting • GenealogyTrue CrimeHow-To

DIET/FITNESS

Nicole Avena, Ph.D.—Nutrition, Diet and Food Addiction Scientist

Nicole Avena, Ph.D.A research neuroscientist and expert in nutrition, diet and addiction, Nicole Avena, Ph.D. is a pioneer in the field of food addiction. She is also an expert in diet during pregnancy, and childhood nutrition. She is the best-selling author of Why Diets Fail (2014) and What to Eat When You’re Pregnant (2015); her forthcoming book, What to Feed Your Baby and Toddler (2018), offers science-based advice on how to get your baby to eat healthy foods. Her blog, “Food Junkie,” appears online at Psychology Today. A sought-after speaker, she regularly appears on The Dr. Oz Show and has been featured in many media outlets. Her talk How Sugar Affects Your Brain was ranked the number 2 most-watched video on TED-ED, with over 5 million views.
View Nicole Avena’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Micaela Karlsen, MSPH—Plant-Based Diet Research and Dietary Behavior Change

Micaela KarlsenMicaela Karlsen is a recognized expert and respected speaker at premier conferences on plant-based nutrition, including the Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference in San Diego, California, and the Plant-Based Prevention of Disease (PPOD) Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the author of A Plant-Based Life (AMACOM Books, 2016), a strategic how-to guide for successful plant-based eating, and a contributor to the New York Times bestseller Forks Over Knives, the companion book to the movie of the same name. Micaela currently serves on the Expert & Medical Advisory Board for the International Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference and the Board of Directors for PPOD.
View Micaela Karlsen’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Brian Kateman—Expert on Plant-Based Nutrition and Behavioral Change

Brian KatemanBrian Kateman is cofounder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing meat consumption in order to create a healthy, sustainable and compassionate world. Brian is the editor of The Reducetarian Solution: How the Surprisingly Simple Act of Reducing the Amount of Meat in Your Diet Can Transform Your Health and the Planet (TarcherPerigee, 2017). A TEDx speaker and leading expert on food systems and behavioral change, he has appeared in such media outlets as The Washington Post, Vox, The Huffington Post, National Geographic, The Atlantic, Forbes, Fast Company, Salon, The Los Angeles Times, Fox News, NPR and The Daily Mail. He is an instructor at the Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability at Columbia University.
View Brian Kateman’s complete profile and range of discussion topics

Gregg McBride—Motivation, Reaching Goals, Weight Loss

Gregg McBrideGregg McBride is a motivational speaker who provides audiences with the building blocks needed to reach the kinds of goals that might have previously seemed unattainable. After taking off more than 250 pounds over a decade ago, Gregg is testament to achieving dreams and living the best life possible. His entertaining and humorous approach to even serious subjects encourages audiences to find levity in all of life's situations, which offers the potential to unlock limitless potential. Along with multiple appearances on NBC's The Today Show, Gregg is a best-selling author (Just Stop Eating So Much!), a successful Hollywood screenwriter/producer, a blogger and regular contributor to The Huffington Post. His latest book, Weightless, was published in 2014 by Central Recovery Press.
View Gregg McBride’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Liz Neporent—Health, Fitness and Wellness Specialist

Liz NeporentLiz Neporent has spent her entire career helping people realize their fitness dreams and improving their health. She passionately believes in the power of healthy living as a means to a better life. Liz is author or co-author of more than 18 health books, including the best-selling The Winner’s Brain (Da Capo, 2011) and Fitness For Dummies (For Dummies, 2010), now in its fourth edition. Liz has been on all the morning news shows, CNN, The Food Network and more. She was the regular fitness expert for the Satellite Sisters and Sirius Satellite Radio’s The Larry Flick Show. She holds a master's degree in exercise physiology from New York University and is certified by the American Council on Exercise, where she serves serves on the emeritus board of directors and as a national spokesperson.
View Liz Neporent’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Sharon Palmer—Plant-Based Nutrition

Sharon PalmerSharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian™, is an award-winning dietitian, blogger, writer and editor. She is author of The Plant-Powered Diet: The Lifelong Eating Plan for Achieving Optimal Health, Beginning Today and Plant-Powered For Life: Eat Your Way to Lasting Health with 52 Simple Steps and 125 Delicious Recipes. More than 850 of her articles have been published in national publications, including Prevention, Better Homes and Gardens and Today's Dietitian. She is also the editor of the award-winning publication Environmental Nutrition and writes for her blog, The Plant-Powered Blog. Her specific expertise is in plant-based nutrition, including Mediterranean, vegetarian and vegan.
View Sharon Palmer’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Marlynn Wei, M.D., J.D.—Yoga, Mindfulness, Work-Life Balance

Marlynn Wei, M.DMarlynn Wei, M.D., J.D., is an award-winning psychiatrist, psychotherapist and certified yoga teacher. Dr. Wei is author of the Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga, a comprehensive guide that gets to the true healing heart of yoga and its latest research. She is contributing editor to Harvard Health and is a featured contributor for Psychology Today and the Huffington Post. As an expert in mindfulness, resilience, yoga and nutritional psychiatry, Dr. Wei provides audiences with tools to reduce stress, improve work-life balance and prevent burnout through her holistic approach integrating mindfulness, yoga, nutrition and positive psychology. She has been featured on Z Living network, Doctor Radio, SELF Magazine, Prevention, Cosmopolitan, Vice, Mic.com, and several other media outlets.
View Dr. Marlynn Wei’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

FOOD & DRINK

Susan Reigler—Bourbon Authority

Susan ReiglerSusan Reigler sips, writes and talks about bourbon for a living. An award-winning journalist, she began writing about bourbon before it was cool, more than 25 years ago, as the restaurant critic and beverage columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal. Her bourbon books include the best-selling Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book, Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide, and The Bourbon Tasting Notebook. A correspondent for Bourbon+  and for American Whiskey Magazine, Reigler has been interviewed as a bourbon authority and quoted in The Atlantic, Forbes, The Guardian, The New York Times, newspapers in Germany and Austria, and NPR. She has also judged numerous spirits and cocktails competitions and is the immediate past president of the Bourbon Women Association.
View Susan Reigler’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Peggy Noe Stevens—Master Bourbon Taster, Bourbon Hall of Fame Trustee

Peggy Noes StevensFueled by a lifelong passion for bourbon, Peggy Noe Stevens is the world’s first female Master Bourbon Taster and 2019 inductee into the Kentucky Distiller’s Association prestigious Bourbon Hall of Fame. She is also the founder of Bourbon Women, the industry’s first female-centered consumer group. Her affinity for women’s interests and career growth has made Peggy an in-demand speaker at conferences from coast to coast. She has authored two books: Professional Presence: A Four-Part Guide to Building Your Personal Brand and The Woodford Reserve Culinary Cocktail Tour.Peggy’s newest release, Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? (University Press of Kentucky, May 2020), is a collaboration with fellow bourbon enthusiast and writer Susan Reigler.  
View Peggy Noe Stevens’ complete profile and range of discussion topics.

HEALTH

Jody Gastfriend—Expert on Senior Care

Jody GastfriendAuthor of My Parent's Keeper: The Guilt, Grief, Guesswork, and Unexpected Gifts of Caregiving, Jody Gastfriend is Vice President of Senior Care for Care.com, the world’s largest online destination for finding and managing family care. A licensed clinical social worker with more than 30 years of experience in senior care, she is a nationally sought-after speaker on topics related to family caregiving trends, employer-supported eldercare and caring for loved ones with dementia. A featured senior-care expert for NBC News, Fox News, New England Cable News, AARP and The Wall St Journal and an expert opinion writer for Forbes.com, she has also published numerous articles in outlets such as Oprah.com, Salon.com, Huffington Post, Next Avenue and The Harvard Business Review.
View Jody Gastfriend’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Peter Grinspoon, M.D.—Expert in cannabis, addiction, psychedelics, physician health

Sally Wendkos OldsPeter Grinspoon, M.D., is a primary-care physician and cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a certified Health and Wellness Coach, and a contributing editor to Harvard Health Publications as well as a TEDx speaker. The author of Seeing Through the Smoke: An Expert Doctor Untangles the Truth About Cannabis, he has been interviewed by national media outlets, including NBC, C-SPAN, Fox and Friends, Good Morning America, MSNBC, The Daily Show, NPR, People, The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today and Men's Health, discussing issues ranging from cannabis to the opioid crisis. Openly in recovery from opioid addiction, he has been a national leader on the issue of physician health.
View Peter Grinspoon, M.D., complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Sally Wendkos Olds—Personal Growth, Breastfeeding, Grandparenting Specialist

Sally Wendkos OldsSally Wendkos Olds has written extensively about intimate relationships, personal growth, and developmental issues throughout the life cycle, and blogs about about topics of interest to people of grandparent age at Super Granny. In addition to her classic, The Complete Book of Breastfeeding, first published in 1972 and revised for its fourth edition in 2010, Sally is the author of ten other books, including Super Granny: Great Stuff to Do with Your Grandkids, and more than 200 articles in major periodicals. She is currently writing a book for people whose life partner has died a year or more previously. An accomplished speaker and lecturer to professional, parent, and general audiences, she has also appeared on numerous radio and TV programs throughout the country.
View Sally Wendkos Olds’ complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Marie Pasinski, M.D.—Harvard Neurologist and Brain-Health Expert

Marie PasinkiA graduate and faculty member of Harvard Medical School, Marie Pasinski, M.D, is a board-certified member of the American Academy of Neurology and a staff neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. A renowned brain health expert, Dr. Pasinski has been featured as an expert commentator for The Today Show, Ladies Home Journal, Women's World Magazine and numerous other media outlets. As an author, Huffington Post blogger and frequent guest speaker at conferences and symposia, Dr Pasinski is dedicated to increasing public awareness about the importance of adopting a brain healthy lifestyle. Her book, Beautiful Brain, Beautiful You: 7 Step Guide to a Better, Smarter, Younger You, is for any woman who suffers from “Bad Brain Days.”
View Dr. Marie Pasinski’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

PSYCHOLOGY

Shari Botwin, LCSW—Trauma and Healing Counselor

Shari BotwinShari Botwin, LCSW, has been counseling trauma survivors for over 22 years. Her second book, Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing, deals with overcoming physical and sexual abuse, war-related injury, loss due to tragedy or illness, natural disasters and other traumas. Shari has conducted keynote presentations for universities and professional conferences throughout the country. She has given expert testimony on breaking stories related to trauma on NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, CTV News, CNN, Prevention Magazine, The Associated Press, Radio Europe and other international media outlets. Her feature articles have appeared on online media, including Thrive Global, Huffington Post, The Toronto Star, The Authority Magazine, Medium and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
View Shari Botwin’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Joseph Cardillo, Ph.D.—Expert in Attention Training™ and Creative Thinking

Joseph CardilloJoseph Cardillo, Ph.D., is a martial artist, doctor and national leader in holistic healthcare. He is a top-selling author of several books in the fields of health, mind-body-spirit and psychology. His books include Can I Have Your Attention?: How to Think Fast, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Concentration; the body-energy classic Be Like Water; and Body Intelligence: Harness Your Body’s Energies for Your Best Life, which earned a starred review in Publisher‘s Weekly. An expert in Body Energy, Attention Training™ and Creative Thinking, Dr. Cardillo has taught his methods to over 20,000 students at various institutions. His work has been featured in O (The Oprah Magazine), Smithsonian Magazine, Men’s Health, Family Circle, MSN, The TodayShow.com and GoodHouseKeeping.com.
View Joseph Cardillo’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Nancy Colier—Modern Mindfulness and Wellbeing Therapist

Nancy ColierNancy Colier, LCSW, Rev., is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister, mindfulness teacher and the author of The Emotionally Exhausted Woman: Why You’re Feeling Depleted and How to Get What You Need (New Harbinger, 2022), among other nonfiction books. Nancy is a national speaker on women’s empowerment, anxiety, rumination, obsessive thinking, mindfulness and technology, technology addiction and detox, healthy relationships, peak performance and flow, mindfulness and meditation, spiritual living in a material world and body awareness. She has been featured on Good Morning America, The New York Times, USA Today and countless other media.  She is also a regular blogger for Psychology Today and HuffPost, and a regular contributor to Epoch Times and Radiant Life.
View Nancy Colier’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Billy Manas—Addiction Recovery Coach

Billy ManasA popular blogger for Elephant Journal, motivational speaker and street-smart musician, Billy Manas is doing what no one has done before: He has made the tried-and-true principles of personal development and goal-setting accessible and enjoyable for a subsection of the population who have been largely ignored by this area—the people of alcohol- and substance-use recovery. Think of an entertaining cross between Tony Robbins and Russell Brand. His book, Kickass Recovery, teaches that the key to long-term sobriety is learning how to not just survive—but thrive! Manas knows firsthand that being clean, while a great accomplishment, has to feel good and be fulfilling in order to stick. Thugh this means different things to different people, Billy's techniques for getting there are simple, yet profound
View Billy Manas’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Loren Olson, M.D.—Psychiatrist and Researcher on LGBT Issues

Loren OlsonAuthor of Finally Out: Letting Go of Living Straight, Dr. Loren Olson seeks to challenge the stereotypes of aging, being gay and the way things are “supposed to be.” He believes that opportunities come with aging, opportunities we’ve never had before. As an older gay man who came out after be married to a woman and having children, he understands and addresses the struggles that men and women have as they confront questions about their sexuality and understands why they may come out late or choose not to come out at all. A frequent resource for local print, radio and television journalists on mental-health topics, Dr. Olson was recently featured nationally on ABC-TV’s Good Morning, America and he is a featured blogger for HuffingtonPost.com and PsychologyToday.com.
View Dr. Loren Olson’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Holly Parker, Ph.D.—Relationship and Empowerment Expert

Holly Parker, Ph.D.An award-winning lecturer at Harvard University, where she teaches the popular course The Psychology of Close Relationships, psychologist Holly Parker uses lifestyle-based interventions to advance people’s mental health and the quality of their lives. The author of When Reality Bites: How Denial Helps . . . and What to Do When It Hurts and If We're Together, Why Do I Feel So Alone?: How to Build Intimacy with an Emotionally Unavailable Partner, Dr. Parker also writes a blog on her website www.drhollyparker.com, has been a featured guest on radio programs and has served as an expert for media outlets such as ABC News, Prevention, SELF Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, Fox News and The Saturday Evening Post.
View Holly Parker’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Sylvester “Skip” Sviokla, M.D.—Addiction Medicine Specialist

Sylvester SvioklaBoard certified in addiction medicine, Dr. Sylvester “Dr. Skip” Sviokla is the author of the highly rated From Harvard to Hell...and Back, the true story of his own journey through addiction to his joy in recovery. He was featured on the cover of Addiction Professional and his thoughts and opinions have appeared in various other print media. He has been a guest on radio talk shows, including Voice America and Recovery Radio. and TV shows, including Health Check, NBC Turn to Ten, The Dan Yorke Show and The Rhode Show. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Sviokla is a clinical instructor at Brown Medical School and owns Medical Assisted Recovery in Warwick, Rhode Island. He speaks regularly to young physicians to increase their awareness of the lethal disease of addiction.
View Sylvester Sviokla’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

BUSINESS/MOTIVATION

Brian D. Egger—Investment Analyst and Social Media Consultant

Brian D. EggerBrian D. Egger is the founder and publisher of BreakingCall.com, the author of Social Media Strategies for Investing and a contributing writer for TheStreet.com, writting extensively on a variety of investment-related topics, including the impact of social media on investing. During a twenty-year career on Wall Street, Brian held positions of increasing responsibility as an equity analyst at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, BMO Capital Markets and Topeka Capital Markets. An experienced lecturer, Brian taught securities analysis to MBA students as an Adjunct Finance Professor at Columbia Business School. He received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.
View Brian Egger’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Kerry Hannon—Personal Finance, Career and Retirement Expert

Kerry HannonKerry Hannon is a nationally recognized expert on career transitions, personal finance and retirement, especially for older women. A frequent TV and radio commentator and sought-after keynote speaker, Kerry focuses on empowering yourself to do more with your career and personal finances—now and for the future. Currently a Senior Columnist for Yahoo Finance, she has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, AARP’s Jobs Expert and “Great Jobs for Retirees” columnist, Forbes, and the PBS website NextAvenue.org. She is the award-winning author of 14 books, imcluding In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work.
View Kerry Hannon’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Robyn Hatcher—Presentation Skills and Communications Coach

Robyn HatcherRobyn Hatcher is passionate about transforming the way individuals communicate and express themselves. As owner of SpeakEtc., a boutique communication and presentation-skills training company, she has helped thousands of business professionals—high-level executives and entrepreneurs as well as private-school educators and human- services supervisors—improve their presentations, interviews and interpersonal communication. In her book on presentation skills, Standing Ovation Presentations, Robyn created a unique communication style typing system that identifies an individual’s core strengths, then provides detailed tips and skills on how to polish those strengths. Her presentations, workshops and trainings are dynamic, engaging and inspirational.
View Robyn Hatcher’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Andrea Kay—Career Consultant, Syndicated Career Columnist

Andrea KayAndrea Kay helps people get excited about jumping out of bed and going to work. She specializes in “Career Therapy”—creating strategies to help professionals get the career they want. She has written six books, including This Is How to Get Your Next Job and Life's a Bitch and Then You Change Careers, as well as more than1,400 articles in her weekly syndicated column “At Work,” which appears in USA Today, other Gannett newspapers and online. Heard weekly on WGRR Radio, she is widely quoted on radio and TV, and in national publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and US News and World Report. Awarded the Women In Communications Gem Award, Andrea has presented hundreds of workshops and keynote speeches.
View Andrea Kay’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Lucinda Schroeder—Former Undercover Wildlife Agent, Expert in Detecting Deception

Sylvester SvioklaA field investigator fo the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 30 years, Lucinda Schroeder is an expert in the area of detecting deception. She wrote about two of her undercover cases in A Hunt for Justice and Plunder of the Ancients: A True Story of Betrayal, Redemption and an Undercover Quest to Recover Sacred Native American Artifacts. She’s an enthusiastic and practiced speaker who taught this subject at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for 15 years. Lucinda has taken what she knows and developed a highly informative program designed for the workplace. The methods she teaches help people decide with quiet confidence whether or not they are being told the truth by others. She also teaches how to determine when is the best time to make a proposal or sales pitch.
View Lucinda Schroeder's complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Scott Schwertly—Creator of Powerful Presentations

Scott SchwertlyScott Schwertly is the Founder and CEO of Ethos3 and the creator of Badge, a proprietary presentation assessment tool that helps presenters discover and maximize their presentation style. He is also the author of two books, What's Your Presentation Persona?, a groundbreaking book that identifies 16 presentation personas, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and shows you how to leverage your unique qualities to become a more powerful, persuasive and successful presenter; and How to be a Presentation God. Scott also co-hosts the Presentation Scientists podcast. Founded in 2006, Ethos3 provides design and training for a robust set of clients around the world, serving thought leaders like Guy Kawasaki and Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola.
View Scott Schwertly’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Kathryn Sollmann—Women’s Work+Life Expert and Advocate for Lifelong Flexwork

Kathryn SollmannKathryn A. Sollmann, author of Ambition Redefined: Why the Corner Office Doesn’t Work for Every Woman & What to Do Instead, is a trusted career coach who has created hundreds of programs that help women sustain and advance careers as they blend work and life. Her “Make Work Fit Life” event drew 200 women and sponsorship from AXA Advisors, Cigna, Ernst & Young, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Raymond James and Wells Fargo. She has led compelling discussions for women’s professional and community organizations, internal corporate women’s groups, college alumni and career services programs and financial advisors. A frequent media resource, Kathryn has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Cheddar TV, ForbesWomen, Next Avenue and more.
View Kathryn Sollmann’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Syl Tang—Futurist in Technology Trends, World Affairs and Consumer Behaviors

Syl TangSyl Tang is an award-winning journalist, futurist and expert in how people consume. The author of Disrobed, she focuses on where the world is going, with an eye toward global events such as natural disasters, geo-political clashes and pandemics. She provides insights on how to make practical use of that information. An entrepreneur and marketer, she started HipGuide in 1998, and went on to launch category-changing products for beauty, beverage, automotive and technology companies. She has given talks to corporate, education and government audiences including the Ad Club, the Economic Development Corporation, IBM, Diageo, JCK, Vision Expo, the National Association of Women Business Owners and NYU’s Annual Conference on Business Ownership and Entrepreneurship.
View Syl Tang’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Lily Whiteman—Expert on Federal Careers, Landing Jobs and Negotiating Salaries

Lily WhitemanLily Whiteman is the author of the critically acclaimed How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job, the careers columnist of Federal Times and an award-winning senior science writer at the U.S. National Science Foundation. Her career-boosting advice has been covered by major media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Public Radio and The New York Post. Known for her lively, engaging style, Lily has delivered dozens of seminars for universities, professional associations and government agencies on writing winning resumes, acing job interviews, job-hunting for 40+ professionals, landing internships and negotiating top salaries. Her hundreds of articles have appeared in national publications from U.S. News & World Report to Discovery Channel Magazine.
View Lily Whiteman’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Kristin Wong—Millennial Money and Career Expert

Kristin WongKristin Wong is an award-winning journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine’s The Cut and Glamour. She has appeared on Fox Business, HuffPost Live and American Public Media. She received the Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism award for her work at MSN Living. An advocate for financial literacy, Wong is the author of Get Money: Live the Life You Want, Not Just the Life You Can Afford. The book is a gamified guide to personal finance, incorporating basic money advice into actionable challenges to help readers feel financially empowered. Booklist called it a "well-written and leisurely guide to modern financial literacy." Wong frequently writes about career, negotiation and women's issues.
View Kristin Wong’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

ENTERTAINMENT

Peter Filichia—Musical Theater Reviewer and Historian

Peter FilichiaPeter Filichia has hosted the Theatre World Awards since 1996. He is the author of the Strippers, Showgirls, and Sharks: A Very Opinionated History of the Broadway Musicals that Did Not Win the Tony Award, as well as Broadway MVPs, which was chosen one of Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 Performing Arts titles of 2011. He is the theater critic emeritus for theThe Newark (N.J.) Star Ledger and TV News 12. He has been a columnist for Playbill, Theater.com, Theatermania and Theater Week, and currently blogs weekly at MasterworksBroadway.com and writes “Filichia Features” for Music Theatre International's Web site, The Marquee, and the column “Filichia on Friday” for Kritzerland Records.
View Peter Filichia’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

PARENTING

Douglas Haddad—Parenting, Education and Self-Help Expert

Douglas HaddadDouglas Haddad is a middle-school teacher who has been recognized as the 2016–2017 Simsbury (CT) School District Teacher of the Year and a 2017 Connecticut Teacher-Ambassador in Public Education. He has also worked as a coach, mentor, nutritionist and inspirational speaker for children and adults. The author of The Ultimate Guide to Raising Teens and Tweens, he has published more than 250 articles in the realms of parenting, education, self-help, and health and wellness. He is the co-author of an award-winning exercise and fitness book, Top Ten Tips for Tip Top Shape, which provides super-health programs for individuals in all professional fields. He has been featured in many media outlets, including NBC, ABC, FOX, ION and many national magazines and popular online websites.
View Douglas Haddad’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

Lori Holden—Adoption Blogger

Lori HolderLori Holden, named aTop 10 Must-Read Mom” by Parenting magazine, has been published by Parenting and Adoptive Families, on the Website BlogHer and other media. Adoptive Families listed her blog, LavenderLuz.com, as one of the top adoption blogs. Her book, The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole, was born from listening to hundreds of people living in adoption—adult adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents and adoption professionals. Honored as a 2018 Angel in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition of Adoption Institute, Lori has spoken at BlogHer conferences about adoption/loss/infertility issues and about authenticity in writing, and was the keynote speaker and an award honoree at Parenthood For Me’s annual gala in 2013. View Lori Holden’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

GENEALOGY

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak—Genealogist, Cold-Case Researcher

Megan SmolenyakMegan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, that's her real name) is a genealogical adventurer who loves solving mysteries, making unexpected discoveries and pushing the boundaries of conventional genealogy. A popular writer, speaker and TV guest, Megan has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, NPR and BBC. A consultant on TV shows ranging from Who Do You Think You Are? to Top Chef, she is a cold-case researcher for the Army, NCIS and the FBI; Huffington Post contributor; former Chief Family Historian/spokesperson for Ancestry.com and author of six books including Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing, Who Do You Think You Are? and Trace Your Roots with DNA, the best-seller on genetic genealogy, co-authored with Ann Turner, M.D.
View Megan Smolenyak’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

TRUE CRIME

Ron Franscell—Prize-Winning Author and Journalist, Expert on Narrative Nonfiction

Ron FranscellAuthor of 18 books, Ron Franscell has been hailed as one of America’s most respected narrative nonfiction writers. Just days after 9/11, the Denver Post dispatched him to the Middle East to cover the first months of the War on Terror. His reporting from the USS Enterprise, other units in Operation Enduring Freedom, and from the streets in most Arab or Muslim capitals was submitted for a Pulitzer Prize. His debut book, Angel Fire—a USA Today bestselling literary novel—was listed by the San Francisco Chronicle among the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century West. Ron’s nonfiction books include his international true-crime bestseller The Darkest Night, the 2017 Edgar finalist Morgue: A Life in Death and ShadowMan: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling.
View Ron Franscell’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.

HOW-TO

Marni Jameson—Home and Lifestyle Columnist

Marni JamesonMarni Jameson is America’s most-loved home and lifestyle columnist. Her humorous and helpful nationally syndicated column “At Home with Marni Jameson” appears in 25 papers nationwide, reaching millions of loyal readers who have been following the author’s home adventures for well over a decade. When Marni chronicled the downsizing of her parents’ home of 50 years, and her childhood home, she captured America’s attention and heart. She put it all down in her book Downsizing the Family Home: What to Save, What to Let Go, which quickly became a big hit. Whether audiences are trying to scale back their own homes or are clearing out the home of a loved one, Marni lights the way with wit, wisdom and well-researched advice.
View Marni Jameson’s complete profile and range of discussion topics.