Experts

Co-founder Anni Stromfeld started SIJO alongside childhood friend Jacob Xi after reconnecting and bonding over their common interest in entrepreneurship and a desire to build an ethical and sustainable business in the health/wellness area. Her vision was to transform the way consumers think and feel about the home. After working in high-stress, results-driven work environments and juggling her career and personal life, she sought to find balance in the chaos of life. The root of that: better, healthier sleep. This journey to find balance helped her (and Jacob) precisely identify the demands of the SIJO customers, using innovative fibers and materials to create the best possible products.Anni, Jacob and their team focus on creating sustainable, performance driven products that not only boast healthy benefits and unparalleled quality, but that have a simple, modern aesthetic that suits any home.

Anne (Catherine) Johnson is the owner and founder of Anne Cate, a Made-in-America accessories brand and manufacturing firm specializing in skyline silhouette purses and pillows. A proud Kent State graduate, Anne has grown her business from a single sewing machine in her college dorm room into a full-scale manufacturing studio, employing full-time staff and empowering others to build success with their hands.Anne Cate products are distributed through both B2B and B2C platforms, with a client portfolio that includes major brands such as Hulu, KeyBank, and Goodyear.Anne has been recognized as one of WAWAK’s Finest Sewists, named a NEO Mover & Shaker, and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. She was honored as a Notable Entrepreneur in Crain’s Cleveland Business and has received Cleveland Magazine’s Best of Cleveland award for three consecutive years (2021–2023). In 2024, Anne was awarded the Distinguished Honors Alumni Award from Kent State University.Anne’s favorite part of her work is bringing joy to her customers. To them, Anne Cate products are more than just purses or pillows—they tell personal stories, represent meaningful places, and hold memories close.When she’s not creating, Anne enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to New York City for inspiration, or relaxing on the shores of Lake Erie.

With over 30 years’ experience of creating and organizing community and state events, Ms. Reahl has been managing large scale events for the past (30) years in various roles including (14) of the National Special Security Events (NSSEs). Ms Reahl’s capabilities and experience have successfully provided, implemented and integrated temporary security operations for NSSEs. She has dedicated her skills to executing the planning, acquisition and coordination of various types of temporary security perimeter solutions for Tier 1 NSSEs.Ms. Reahl’s attention to detail has earned her a reputation of unparalleled excellence in executing protective missions of NSSEs on schedule and within budget all in accordance with the operational security plans. You can also hear Anna Co-Host “Managing Your Perimeter™”

Angie (She/Her) believes that every person deserves pleasure and body comfort and that we can all access them in abundance. Angie is a self-intimacy and sex coach specializing in self compassion, body comfort and sexual desire and pleasure. Angie’s superpower is helping you uncover your desires and dreams, and the achievable path to get there, in a shame-free, deeply empathic setting. In 2023, Angie created Oh What Beauty, a pleasure and intimacy shop focused on curating toys and tools with quality, innovative design and aesthetics in mind, all from women, Queer and BIPOC-owned business. Angie also developed a line of natural silk gentle restraints to encourage pleasure seekers to experiment with bondage and restraint in a way that was inclusive, accessible and decadent.Angie graduated with a Masters of Arts in Community Counseling in 2009 from the University of Minnesota. She completed an independent study with Dr. Eli Coleman at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (Formerly the Center for Human Sexuality) and a Practicum at the The Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life (formerly the GLBTA Programs Office). Angie has additional experience in the sexuality and wellness space as a Sex Educator at the Annex Teen Clinic.

My book #LivingSugarFree Revealed is available now on Amazon.#LivingSugarFree is not a diet, it is a lifestyle.I founded Better Me, Inc. in 2007 to help improved communities, businesses and lifestyles one solution at a time. Together we are the solution.

Amy Vandenstockt is the co-founder and principal partner of HatCountry.com, a pioneering online retailer specializing in Western wear and accessories. In 2002, alongside her husband Mike, Amy transformed a family-run cowboy hat stand into a thriving e-commerce business, launching operations from their garage with a vision to bring authentic Western apparel to customers nationwide.​With a background in business and a keen eye for emerging market trends, Amy recognized the potential of e-commerce early on. Her strategic foresight and dedication to customer service have been instrumental in HatCountry.com's growth, helping the company expand its product offerings and reach a global customer base.​Amy's leadership extends beyond business operations; she is deeply committed to fostering a company culture that values quality, authenticity, and personalized customer experiences. Her hands-on approach and unwavering commitment to excellence have earned HatCountry.com a reputation for reliability and integrity in the online retail space.​Today, HatCountry.com operates from its headquarters in North Carolina, with multiple warehouses across the United States, ensuring swift and reliable delivery to customers worldwide. Under Amy's guidance, the company continues to honor its roots while embracing innovation, offering a diverse array of high-quality products that cater to both traditional Western enthusiasts and modern fashion seekers.

Amy is passionate about investing in and promoting businesses in the lifestyle of health and sustainability “LOHAS” marketplace, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. Looking at global trends, healthcare and food conditions in America, environmental causes, and the emergence of natural alternatives to wellness and “food as medicine,” Amy is using her experiences and knowledge to disrupt old business models. Nutrigenomics and Biohacking are the future of aging and DISEASE. now she is applying here.

Amy Cohn has hybrid of experience of building new businesses and growth for global brands to hyperlocal high-growth startups. A former exec in media and tech, she has ran online product innovation teams and digital strategy at Disney, Oprah and Sony, and was a marketing & growth exec in healthcare (Heal) as well as blockchain (Dapper Labs). After being diagnosed with colon cancer, she founded Joydays, which is focused on creating accessible food solutions for people with chronic conditions.

Dr. Amy Beckley faced fertility and recurrent miscarriage struggles due to hormone imbalance (low progesterone). Armed with her PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Colorado Anchutz Medical Campus, she got to work in the lab and founded Proov to fill the gap she discovered in both knowledge and reliable options.When perimenopause hit, Amy discovered the same fertility hormone imbalance she experienced was the cause of her debilitating peri symptoms. So, she expanded Proov to help women like her confidently manage menopause and get back to feeling more like themselves.

With a background in fashion and business, Amanda understands the importance of a strong personal brand expressed through style and how this can impact success both personally and professionally. And now, she’s founded Wave + Woven to deliver exceptional concierge personal styling experiences and a 360 approach to shopping and getting dressed.Amanda’s styling expertise, editorial work and trend forecasting can be found in Yahoo!, USA Today, GLAM Weekly, and Marika Magazine. She also writes quarterly style columns for two local Boston-based magazines and produced her first runway show in 2023. She specializes in wardrobe curation for men and women executives and entrepreneurs, as well as high-level interior styling. Her knowledge, attention to detail and fashion-forward vision has made Amanda a highly sought after and recognized talent in Boston and beyond.

Alyssa is the founder of This Is Not Legal Advice, a legal-themed lifestyle brand that blends sharp design with the kind of honesty you’re not supposed to say out loud in court. A JD/Tax LLM student, mom, and longtime entrepreneur, Alyssa’s work spans more than just the law—she’s been in the food packaging manufacturing and beverage design industry since 2019.In 2023, Alyssa experienced both a traumatic brain injury and a concussion, which left her unable to read or tolerate light for months. It derailed everything, law school, business, parenting, and forced her to rebuild her approach to work and learning from the ground up. She adapted by creating visual tools, hand-drawing briefs, and rejecting every mold she was “supposed” to fit into.The experience became part of her brand’s ethos: blunt, resilient, and always a little rebellious. What started as inside jokes on T-shirts has grown into a movement for lawyers, students, and legal professionals who know that the system isn’t always fair, and that surviving it takes humor, grit, and a solid pair of pajamas.Whether she’s drafting designs, sourcing ingredients, or writing IRAC flowcharts while her daughter does spelling homework, Alyssa brings the same clarity and defiance to everything she touches.

Alexandra StoneFounder & Creative Director of Zandra StoneBorn in Melbourne, Australia, Alexandra Stone’s story is one of creativity, culture, and considered living. A former track athlete and biomedical student, Alexandra was scouted into international modelling — a career that took her from Europe’s fashion capitals to calling New York home.Alongside her husband, she co-founded Bluestone Lane and Husk Bake Shop — lifestyle-driven businesses rooted in connection, community, and wellbeing.Now a mother of three, Alexandra’s understanding of identity through fashion is deeply personal — experienced first-hand in life’s evolving seasons. Zandra Stone is her creative expression of this journey — a brand shaped by Australian coastal ease, global influences, and a love of timeless, artful dressing that empowers women to express who they are, and who they’re becoming.