Michelle Bergquist is a nationally recognized author and award-winning entrepreneur. Michelle is the CEO and Co-Founder of Connected Women of Influence, a national association of professional women leading people, projects, teams and companies.

Michelle is also the Co-Founder of SUE Talks;™ which are bold, passionate talks and viewpoints, centered around business and success by successful, unstoppable, and empowering leaders in business. In addition, Michelle is the Chief Publisher of Women Lead Publications, a go-to source and publication for female leaders to rise and thrive in business.

Michelle is a passionate advocate to advance women in business. Michelle has been recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners as the Women’s Advocate of the Year, by the East County Chamber of Commerce with the Women in Leadership Award, winner of the SIMA Global Award Winner and by the San Diego Metro Magazine as one of the Women Who Impact San Diego, California.

Linda Amaro is CEO at Klarinet Solutions, LLC, Co-Founder of NextWork Services, and Co-Founder of SUE Rising.

With 25+ years of experience, Linda drives the innovation that continually propels Klarinet to meet peak performance goals. Over her career, she has built data centers from the ground up and spearheaded building the infrastructure for virtual offices and teams. She’s also got some serious people skills—meet her and you’ll quickly realize how she turns the stereotype of quiet, withdrawn IT professionals on its head.

She is an expert at aligning corporate vision, both short and long-term, with the technologies that will serve best. Her consulting is driven by her commitment to help businesses get more out of the technologies they have and strategically identify needs. The queen of achieving career fulfillment and work-life balance, when Linda shuts the corporate door, she shifts to be an engaged grandmother and a board member for non-profits.

Shelly Harrison is the CEO and Founder of Luminary Leaders, a full-service professional agency, specializing in representing world-class CEO’s, Thought Leaders, bestselling authors, military speakers and public figures. A one-stop solution for CEO’s and Thought Leaders, Luminary Leaders offers Consulting Services, Professional Representation and Management, including value added publicity and branding.

Shelly and her team help CEO’s and Thought Leaders develop their platforms, build profitable stage presence to complement their businesses and become “luminary” in their industry. Her client roster has included Tanya Brown, youngest sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, TV journalist- the late Mary Parks, Former NFL Football player of the Seattle Seahawks, Dave DesRochers and Atlanta school shooting hero Antoinette Tuff, to name a few.

Shelly is the Host of her LIVE Show – Luminary Leaders LIVE, a platform to showcase her clients, collaborative partners, valued sponsors and CEO’s of companies. She is also the Host of Amplify Your Influence on the platform Women Lead Radio, sponsored by Connected Women of Influence. In 2018, her company Luminary Leaders partnered with the National Veterans Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) to support various programs offered by the Chamber, including the Military Speakers & Author Program to feature and represent Veterans across the country. She is also the Co-Director for the Inland Empire Chapter of the National Veterans Chamber of Commerce. Shelly is also Co-Host on the Veterans Radio Show, sponsored by the NVCC.

With a passion for helping women in business, Shelly is the founder of the Global Women’s Networking Group on Facebook with over 5.1K followers. She is also a director level partner with the National women’s organization, Connected Women of Influence.

Charlesetta Medina is passionate about Entrepreneurship and has a desire to be of service. Those characteristics serve her well in her role as Consulting Program Manager at Cal State University Fullerton’s College of Business and Economics. There she has the opportunity to serve business students and the local small business community, by bringing together student led consulting teams and fast-growing Orange County companies and organizations.

Having graduated with her B.A. Business Administration — Entrepreneurship from Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, she now enjoys mentoring students as they grapple with the challenges that come with live- student consulting engagements. In her role, Charlesetta juggles both marketing and recruitment of close to a hundred business annually. She finds, secures and manages client placement. As well as manages the administrative responsibilities, while serving as liaison between the businesses, faculty, and student consulting team conducting in-depth analyses.

Ms. Medina was asked to start a group to support aspiring women founders. As a result,Titan Women Collective was launched. This effort has garnered attention across the University’s Campus from women in STEM and other colleges.

Jaimee Pittman was President and CEO of Workplace Guardians Inc., a consulting and training firm with a unique niche – Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention. Jaimee and her team of executive-level consultants have worked with organizations of all types and sizes to positively impact workplace behaviors.

For over 20 years, Jaimee and her leadership team worked together to serve hundreds of organizations. Their mission was simple, holistic and unwavering. They worked with clients to create and maintain workplaces that reflect the highest standards of workplace safety, best leadership practices, and preparedness in the case of emergency. Those services naturally expanded to include leadership development, human resources, and emergency preparedness/business continuity programs.

Jaimee is a Co-Founder, sponsor, and founding member of Connected Women of Influence!

LaVonne Shields is the CEO of Management Consultants of America. As The Accounting Strategist and Business ACCOUNTability Coach, she specializes in training and consulting business owners to help them gain peace of mind and relieve stress associated with running a company, all while improving the bottom line. LaVonne uses her expertise to help engage business owners in all facets of their company, including financial management. She created ACCOUNTability, a specialized training and system that helps to engage business owners into the financial management of their business and seamlessly integrate their accounting into their operations.

LaVonne Shields is a passionate Accountant with over 20 years of experience working in several industries (including banking, real estate, construction and non-profit). She is enthusiastic about helping small businesses and entrepreneurs improve their bottom line.

LaVonne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and is a registered tax preparer with the State of California. She also serves as a Business Consultant and Trainer for the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center and the Inland Empire Small Business Development Center.

Mary Van Dorn is a Keynote Speaker, Panelist, and the CEO / Founder of Speak Easy, Speak Bold. She mentors executive leaders to present at their absolute highest levels of influence and inspiration within their organizations and industries.

Mary works with business executives, athletes and entrepreneurs to go from simply giving a mediocre speech to a performance that inspires and empowers your audience to take action. Absolutely every famous talk you have ever heard was the result of hours of preparation and rehearsal under the watchful eye of a coach. Sales strategies vary yet they all involve being an excellent communicator. She helps Leaders to prepare a presentation that is structured to grab and hold attention. Knowing how much content to deliver and where to place it in your presentation is key to inspiring action. Your presentation, well prepared allows you to deliver with true confidence and relatability.

Mary’s keynotes on World Summit stages have been voted ‘Top Talk’ in 13 countries. As an instructor at the American School of Mortgage Banking, she was voted Best Teacher in three states, 4 years in a row.