Roundtable Author-Pitch to Write for a Print or On-Line Magazine
Rebekah Teal has been an attorney for over 20 years. She has worked primarily in business, juvenile, and criminal law. In criminal court, Rebekah was appointed as an Assistant District Attorney, prosecuting felonies. Later she served as a Juvenile Court Judge, deciding abuse, neglect, and criminal cases. Today, in addition to general practice matters, she serves as Special Counsel to an Atlanta-based asset management firm focused on making investments in clean technology, energy, and natural resources. In 1993 Rebekah became a pioneer in the private probation industry when she co-founded and grew one of the first private probation companies in the U.S. Although she enjoyed being an entrepreneur, Rebekah ultimately sold her interest in the company, which continues to operate as one of the most successful companies of its kind in the state. Rebekah enjoys the non-profit world and has served on numerous non-profit boards, most dealing with child advocacy issues. She was honored to head the state-mandated Domestic Violence Task Force. She also served as chairperson of the Child Fatality Review Board. In addition to her law degree, Rebekah holds a Master’s of Theological Studies. Ten years ago, Rebekah became a mom. Much to her surprise and delight, motherhood has been her most fulfilling role. She is proud to say that she spoils her ten-year-old daughter rotten. In her free time, Rebekah enjoys hiking, cooking, gardening, running, and visiting her mountain farm. One day she hopes to have a big green tractor.
Melody is a fourth-generation Idaho girl and has been an artist from the time she could hold a crayon in her hand, knowing from the age of five that she wanted to grow up and combine beautiful colorful images with her love of words. At the age of 18, Melody began to sell painted works, and in 1997 at the age of 25, she started a worldwide product design and publishing business called Chatterbox. Through Chatterbox, she authored and published 15 books, manufactured and sold thousands of products that have become collectors items, and won countless awards for product innovation. Melody’s art, products, and books have been featured on television programs and in countless magazines. In 2009, Melody stepped away from Chatterbox to start Brave Girls Club, a worldwide organization that combines art with life skills to help women create the lives they want to live. Melody now licenses several product lines in arts and crafts, books, and home decor–including an extensive gift line with Demdaco and a new fabric line with Blend.
Colleen is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, science fiction, and romance. Formerly a student at the University of Arizona, she has worked as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter for seventeen years. Tiger’s Curse is her first book, which has already received literary praise and digital success. Her self-published eBook claimed the #1 spot on Kindle’s children’s bestseller list for seven weeks. Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a white stuffed tiger.
Elizabeth Maxson – Elizabeth House – Creative Entrepreneur
Erin Livers, ICNT (Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist) is a multi-faceted nutrition therapist and health educator. Her integrative approach to nutrition therapy combines Nutritional Anthropology, Functional Medicine, Chinese Medicine, Guided Imagery, and Intuitive Counseling, which supports her clients to discover how to nourish their body with food and nurture themselves in all aspects of life. Her philosophy is food as medicine: how our relationship to food and the food we eat creates the foundation for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. In her private practice, she helps people to lose weight and maintain it, improve digestion, relieve fatigue, sleep soundly, improve memory and concentration, balance mood and hormones, improve skin blemished by acne and eczema, improve PMS, relieve headaches, and prepare healthy meals with renewed inspiration. All this is done while partnering with a clients’ healthcare practitioner. She currently teaches nutrition and health-related subjects at Bauman College, a school for holistic nutrition and culinary arts in Boulder. Her passion for teaching leads her to offer many classes and workshops to the public as well. Erin resides in progressive Boulder, Colorado where she tends vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers in her organic garden before creatively cooking and eating them.
Karen Valentine is woman with her hands and her heart in many things. She is the creator of 
Loralee is a wife, mother, and blogger living in the wilds of Utah. She is mother to 4 handsome gentlemen, aged 15, 12 and 2, and a sweet little 4-month-old that passed away in 2003 of SIDS. She has been blogging since 2005 at the blog, 
Michelle Hainer is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in numerous national publications including InStyle, Country Living, Real Simple, The Washington Post, People, Teen People, and Parenting. A former teen magazine editor, Michelle’s covered everything from pregnancy to peer pressure, but these days she writes mainly on the subjects she is most passionate about: cooking, crafting, traveling, and of course, eating. (She’s never met a potato or a piece of dark chocolate she didn’t like). Michelle loves to knit and to cook, though not simultaneously. Visit her blog, 
Lisa Kivirist is co-author, with her husband, John Ivanko, of the award-winning book ECOpreneuring and Rural Renaissance and the new cookbook, Farmstead Chef (Fall, 2011 release) as well as Kiss Off Corporate America: A Young Professional’s Guide to Independence. She writes frequently on food, farming and women in agriculture issues for a range of publications including Hobby Farm Home, Hobby Farms, the Organic Broadcaster and Edible Madison, often accompanied by John’s photography. Lisa is the lead writer for Renewing the Countryside: Wisconsin, featuring success stories of rural revitalization and writes a column on federal policy issues for the Women, Food & Agriculture Network (WFAN). Lisa’s writing passions extend into educational outreach: she speaks nationally on the issues she writes about such as women in agriculture, sustainable living and food issues at venues ranging from the Mother Earth News Festivals to university campuses. Her home writing base is Inn Serendipity Farm and Bed and Breakfast outside Monroe, Wisconsin, which she runs with her family, completely powered by renewable energy. Visit her at 
A leading national advocate for championing the inspiring story of women transforming our food system, Lisa Kivirist serves as a distinguished 