Moderator-Self Publishing and Creating an Event
THE CREATIVE CONNECTION EVENT Co-founder
Comfort and American style define the heart and soul of Nancy Soriano, whether she’s consulting with companies on their brand extensions, cooking Sunday dinner for her family, or pursuing her own creative projects. During her 10 years as editor in chief of Country Living magazine, Nancy redefined “country” to embrace casual, comfortable living as the core value of American style. She brought readers a fresh, updated look as she grew the magazine into a multiplatform brand that included book publishing, live consumer events (like the Country Living Fair), an online presence through countryliving.com, licensed products, broadcast media, and SIPs. She has always been passionate about creative women and women entrepreneurs and was the driving force behind the Country Living program of women entrepreneurs. Nancy’s understanding of comfort continues to be her filter for how America lives today. She is a lifestyle expert on Good Morning America, a design and home keeping expert on Martha Stewart Sirius Radio, and sought-after expert to discuss decorating, lifestyles, and the growth of women entrepreneurs. A longtime collector of all things vintage and handmade, Nancy loves traveling the country to attend the biggest and the “best” of the antique shows, flea markets, furniture shows, and craft fairs. She is known for her ability to scout out up-and-coming under-the-radar shops, artisan shows, occasional sales, and creative individuals. Nancy is currently the Publishing Director of Craft for F+W Media where she and her team are producing books and are working to build the distribution of craft content through emedia, ecommerce, online learning and community experience.
Terry Walters is at the forefront of the clean-eating lifestyle movement. She is the author of the highly acclaimed cookbooks, 
Alli Worthington’s goal is to bring good things to women. She is one of the most recognized names in the Social Media community. In 2008 she founded Blissfully Domestic magazine, one of the most trusted women’s destinations online. Alli found her passion when she discovered the joy of hosting events. She is the co-founder of the wildly successful BlissDom Conference and its sister event BlissDom Canada. BlissDom is the first International Women’s Social Media conference; it strives to give the right brands the ability to connect with influencers in a welcoming environment. The Blissdom Conference environment fosters relationships and communication. She describes it as a loving business conference. What? It really is. She is a dynamic business consultant and strategist who specializes in developing social media strategy, vetting promotional campaigns and advising best practices for effective blogger outreach. Fortune 500 companies, small business owners and individual bloggers work with Alli to develop a vision, brand identity, and social media strategy. She often gives unsolicited marketing advice when she finds poorly executed pitches in her inbox.
Beth Nicholls founded 
Enthusiastically armed with an MBA, Kathy Hanson reinvigorates entrepreneurs and businesspeople with her energy and focus. Kathy specializes in developing custom strategies that save her clients time and make them money, while insuring sustainability. Fortune 100 companies such as Hewlett Packard, Georgia Pacific, Kaiser Permanent and Wells Fargo are just a few companies that sought out Kathy’s fresh and unique approach. As an entrepreneur, Kathy has been featured on the front cover of Country Home magazine, aired her own segment on HGTV, interviewed on Kare-11 and voted Best of by the top magazines in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Andy Krueger is the founder of the St. Paul Craftstravaganza, an urban arts & crafts show held annually at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. 2011 was its sixth year. In 2010 he helped to start the first annual Minneapolis Indie Xpo, a comics festival highlighting local and independent artists. He also works full-time as customer service manager at ReconRobotics.
Andrea Badgley is the owner and soap crafter behind 
Lilla Rogers steers the ship at Lilla Rogers Studio, an international art agency representing 38 artists in textile, apparel, gift, housewares, editorial, children’s books, advertising, etc. Clients include Crate & Barrel, Blue Q, Poketo, IKEA, Target, Warner Bros., New York Times, Levi’s, Godiva, Barneys New York, and hundreds of others.
Celeste is a Spokane, Washington businesswoman, entrepreneur, and contributing writer for several magazines. Her highly successful restaurant CHAPS, opened in 2006 to immediate critical acclaim, garnering the region’s “Top Table Award” in only its second year of operation. CHAPS annually receives acknowledgement from the food industry and voting patrons as “Best” in breakfast and family restaurant categories. Not simply content with the success of CHAPS, Celeste expanded it adding her bakery called “Cake” to complement the restaurant. CHAPS is now considered a “must visit” destination for the area, as underscored and featured on the Food Network’s “Diners Drive Inns and Dives”© in November 2010. Celeste is extremely proud of her country girl, Montana roots and heritage, where as a teenager she excelled in track, being selected as one of the youngest members of the 1980 U.S. Summer Olympics Team before the Games were boycotted. By education and training, she has a Masters degree in nursing, specializing as an Intensive Care Unit Nurse, having been voted “Nurse of The Year,” and traveling world wide with pediatric surgical trauma teams. She is the proud mother of two sons.
Retrace Margo Tantau’s career path, and you’ll find yourself all over the map. Margo blends a passion for art, design and the people who create it, with an understanding of specialty retailing and the challenges of being an independent artist. Margo’s love of possibility enabled her to turn the success of 10 years of her unique retail store, Tantau, into a sought-after wholesale business. This favorite venture, Relish, represented unique small artists nationally and internationally, and specialized in product that would differentiate any retailer who chose to place an order. Her success with Relish led to National Magazine work, and 4 years as Creative Director of Seasonal Decor Company, Midwest of Cannon Falls. She then joined Hallmark, where she served as creative Director of Retail Product Development prior to her present role, leading the Direct Imports team. Margo shares her rambling Kansas City bungalow with her partner Johnny, their 2 year old son Cooper, two loveable mutts, a well used art studio, and endless collections of pottery, art, antiques, and found treasures. Margo has been described as “Fairy Good-Mother to Artists Everywhere”…and she loves to live in to that personality. It is this passion that guides her creative spirit.