Dr. Karissa Thomas is an award-winning author, global leadership strategist, and creator of the Mosaic Intelligence Method™—a living framework that helps leaders build emotional integrity, cultural flexibility, and identity agility in high-pressure environments. Her work spans disaster zones, classrooms, and corporate boardrooms, translating lived experience into practical tools for leaders, educators, and teams worldwide.

Through her books, Dr. Thomas helps leaders transform tension into trust and belonging. She equips them with the language, presence, and emotional resilience to guide others through change—not from above, but alongside them.

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Princella Talley is a writer, ghostwriter, and editor with experience spanning the U.S., South America, and the Caribbean. As a digital entrepreneur, she has created content for Fortune 500 companies and globally recognized brands. Princella also cares deeply about environmental protection and personal wellness. Her sociopolitical commentary and creative work have reached millions of readers worldwide.

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Hady Méndez is a NY-based bestselling author, Latina speaker, and ERG coach. She currently serves as the Director of Programs for Lean In Latinas. She is also the founder and CEO of Boldly Speaking LLC, a company that is transforming the professional experiences of underestimated professionals by providing them with the skills to rise and thrive in the corporate world or in whatever path they choose. With a diverse career spanning over twenty-five years, Hady has served as head of equality for a major tech firm, held multiple customer-facing roles in high tech and financial services, served as a leader and advisor across various ERGs, dedicated two years to working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women internationally, and served as Community School Director at an elementary school in the South Bronx. Hady’s essays have been featured in Business Insider and #WeAllGrow Latina, and herthought leadership has been leveraged by organizations such as Lean In Latinas, Power To Fly, Prospanica, and many others. Hady is a Latinas in Tech Luminarias 2022 honoree, a Women of ALPFA 2023 Latinas to Watch, a 2024 LinkedIn Top Coaching & Mentoring Voice, and the recipient of HACE’s 2025 Mujer Maravilla Award.

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Hady Méndez Website

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About Michelle Smith: Hi, I’m Michelle Smith, LPC, LMHC, LCMHC, a licensed online therapist in Florida, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Oregon, dedicated to guiding clients through their healing with compassion and authenticity. My trauma-informed, eclectic, and client-centered approach integrates therapy modalities like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Clinical Hypnosis, Intensive Therapy, Couples Therapy, and Group Therapy to support clients in navigating the complexities of grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, and more.

My virtual therapy services are tailored to my clients' unique and specific needs. I create a safe, affirming environment to process trauma, grief and loss, and other life challenges while rewiring the subconscious patterns that keep clients feeling ‘stuck’ in perpetual loops.

By targeting the 90% of the brain that drives subconscious thoughts, and behaviors I help my clients shift their negative core beliefs, reducing emotional distress over past wounds and experiences, and changing thinking patterns for good. My clients report feeling relief and experiencing meaningful change after just a few sessions.

My virtual therapy groups include groups for grief and loss, trauma recovery, relationship loss & separation, motherhood transitions, and introduction to clinical hypnosis, help foster connection during the healing journey which can feel isolating. I offer a space to share and grow with others facing similar challenges.

Whatever your therapy needs, my goal is to help you find resilience and hope, achieving results faster than a traditional therapy model.

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Lauren is a former teacher, having started in Special Education before transitioning to become an English Language Arts/English as a Second Language teacher. She is fascinated by everything having to do with language and linguistics. She can explain arcane points of grammar with enthusiasm and joy, possibly a consequence of her Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although teaching is rarely seen as a glamorous job, Lauren has had the pleasure of teaching in places that people often consider exotic, like China and Alaska.

Although Lauren’s 29-year marriage ended in divorce, she remains grateful that her marriage also yielded her beloved daughter Robyn. Robyn and her husband Michael produced Drew, who is the apple of his Nana’s eye.

Lauren began playing the guitar at age 10. She eventually developed her musical ability to include songwriting. Other interests include a large variety of fabric and fiber hobbies, growing and using herbs, stained glass, beadwork, and jewelry making.

Lauren lives in a log cabin near Fairbanks, Alaska, along with Shadow, a grumpy poodle, Shenanigans, a Lab mix, and Sir-the-Cat, who runs the household.

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French Court

Cody: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Dog

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Jason Polk has been a couples therapist for over ten years. The reason he became one was because of a divorce. Jason remarried and started a family. He has two young daughters, and he owns a couples therapy agency in Denver, CO.

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Estefana Johnson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and experienced trauma therapist with over two decades of experience in mental health. She began her career in 2001 as a Behavioral Health Technician, briefly stepping away in 2005 to teach in Japan. Her diverse background spans multiple roles and settings, including residential treatment for at-risk youth and medical social work, giving her a well-rounded perspective on mental health care.

As the Director of Clinical Training for ARISE Alliance Institute, Estefana Johnson oversees the professional development and training of clinicians on Critical Memory Integration (CMI™). Her role involves designing and implementing comprehensive training curricula for mental health professionals to enhance clinical skills, particularly in trauma-focused care, PTSD treatment, and therapeutic interventions. Estefana also develops and delivers trauma-informed programming tailored to the needs of at-risk populations, bringing these services directly into community-based settings to ensure accessible, responsive care where it’s needed most.

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Mary Alice Stephens is a creative nonfiction storyteller. As a television writer-producer for HGTV, Food Network, and other media outlets, she shared others’ stories on everything from outdoor adventures to home improvement. In her debut book, Uncorked, Mary shares her own powerful story of alcoholism, recovery, and starting life anew at 45. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Dominican University of California and resides in Northern California. When not writing, she can often be found cyber-stalking her teens, planning her family’s next adventure, or searching for her elusive phone. For more, visit her website

Mary's Memoir: Uncorked: A Memoir of Letting Go and Starting Over by Mary Alice Stephens

Getting sober is one thing, staying sober another…

With a glorious bang, alcohol freed Mary Stephens from her lonely, self-critical teenage shell and fueled Fun Mary. For three decades, booze had been her best friend, the reliable spark igniting good times and (she thought) good friendships. But Fun Mary had a dark side: debilitating hangovers, blackouts, and perilous behavior. Not even a three-story fall that left her in a body cast could stop her from drinking. But finally, after putting her young son in danger and her marriage in jeopardy, Fun Mary had to go.

Now sober at age 45, everything Mary once cherished becomes a trigger—date nights with her husband, friendships centered around wine, and a father who expresses his love through alcohol. This new Sober Mary is lonely and vulnerable—feelings she drank to escape. Now what? Told with heart and humor, Uncorked: A Memoir of Letting Go and Starting Over is the powerful, inspiring, and relatable story of a woman's pursuit of a better life through sobriety.

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