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The Southern C Summit goes on a Retreat this February 2021 with an inspiring 3-day escape to Sea Island Resort and a NEW virtual option.
With social distancing measures in mind, the in-person event is limited to 150 people but the education and encouragement extends to the virtual attendee with access to a mix of live streaming session and thoughtful breakout opportunities!
#connectcollaboratecreate with other seasoned entrepreneurs and a roster of impressive experts on a more intimate (yet socially distanced) level.
The perfect getaway to get work done on the one who matters most – you – and #relaxrechargereignite the entrepreneurial spirit.
The Southern C Retreat focuses on inspiration and education but offers a more intentional pace, weaving in wellness opportunities and more time to enjoy the Sea Island Resort’s Forbes Five Star amenities.
TSC Summit-style Educational Programming Tackling Topics Entrepreneurs Want Most
Our membership has given us the roadmap to creating a virtual retreat that echoes our #connectcollaboratecreate –
What if you woke up tomorrow and Instagram was gone? Facebook too? Would your business survive? These channels are inexpensive, often free to begin with, they lure you in to create dependence and then overtime make everything more expensive with less effectiveness. The fact is you don’t own these channels and while social media has been an amazing game-changer for building, growing, and maintaining your business we have put it at the forefront of our strategy for far too long. So what do you own? Your website, your email list, and your SMS list to name a few. These channels are what we should be investing and focusing on, not something that could overnight be gone. I’m thrilled to spend two hours drilling down on what will result in controlled, personalized, and long-term marketing tactics to ensure your business survives long past the latest algorithm change.
*In the event of a cancellation of the In Person Retreat, all In Person Retreat tickets will be transferred to a Virtual Ticket and the cost difference refunded within two weeks post Summit. In the case of an individual’s cancellation to the In Person Retreat (this request must be made by January 4, 2021 with the Sea Island resort cancellation policy of the room block). At that time, the In Person Retreat ticket will be converted to a Virtual Ticket and the cost difference refunded within two weeks post Summit. Virtual Tickets are non-refundable. In Person Tickets and Virtual Tickets are non-transferrable.
** Speakers/Schedule subject to change
The TSC Summit, The Southern C Membership, and now The Southern C Retreat are tailored to offer a community of passionate entrepreneurs, creatives, and business owners an opportunity to connect and collaborate amongst top names in media, business, and branding online and in person.
Hailing from the South, this singer-songwriter is forging her own family traditions….Holly Audrey Williams, an American singer-songwriter, retailer, designer, and mother to three young children. She is the granddaughter of Hank Williams Sr., the daughter of Hank Williams Jr.
In addition to three critically acclaimed albums and extensive touring, including Opry appearances, Holly continues to carve a path in design, retail, and hospitality. She is the visionary behind H. Audrey and White’s Mercantile, two unique and adored retail concepts that have been hailed as, “impeccable…modern…always on point.” She has renovated and curated historic properties, under the name White’s Room and Board — a collection of unforgettable farmhouses and cabins, available for rent, offering a fresh take on the VRBO model.
Holly’s life, her music, and her businesses are choreographed around all of the things she loves and collects with her family and friends as the centerpiece. She is a tireless creative, currently writing her new record and expanding her retail footprint. She and her musician/artist husband are currently riding out the pandemic at 30A with their young children, while deciding which southern small town to settle down in.
Alexa Von Tobel is the co-founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital.
Prior to Inspired Capital, Alexa founded LearnVest in 2008 with the goal of helping people make progress on their money. After raising nearly $75 million in venture capital, LearnVest was acquired by Northwestern Mutual in May 2015 in one of the biggest fintech acquisitions of the decade. Following the acquisition, von Tobel joined the management team of Northwestern Mutual as the company’s first-ever Chief Digital Officer. She later assumed the role of Chief Innovation Officer through which she oversaw Northwestern Mutual’s venture arm.
Alexa, who holds a Certified Financial Planner™ designation, is the New York Times-Bestselling Author of Financially Fearless and Financially Forward. She is also the host of The Founders Project with Alexa von Tobel, a weekly podcast with Inc. that highlights top entrepreneurs.
Alexa is a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and an inaugural member of President Obama’s Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship. She has been honored with numerous recognitions including: a Forbes Magazine cover story, Fortune’s 40 Under 40, Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women, Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30, and World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader.
Originally from Florida, Alexa attended Harvard College and Harvard Business School before settling in New York City where she currently resides with her husband, Cliff, and three children, Toby, Cashel, and Rosey.
Lydia Fenet is Global Managing Director, Strategic Partnerships and Lead Benefit Auctioneer at Christie’s Auction House. She has led auctions for more than six hundred organizations and raised over half a billion dollars for nonprofits globally. Lydia is responsible for conceptualizing and spearheading the development of the firm’s Global Strategic Partnerships division, which has generated over $25 million in revenue to date and aligned Christie’s with 100+ corporate and luxury brands around the world.
Lydia is represented by CAA and travels internationally as a keynote speaker helping people unlock their sales potential and empowering women in the workplace. She was named one of New York’s most influential women by Gotham magazine and has been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Crain’s, and has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Town & Country. Her widely acclaimed book, ‘The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You’ was published by Simon & Schuster and was optioned for TV/Film by New Form Entertainment in February 2020. Lydia is currently writing The Most Powerful Girl in the Room is You for the next generation of female leaders.
Natasha Murphy is the founder and principal developer of Nicely Built. She divides her working hours between working with clients to build beautiful, highly functional websites and expanding the menu of services offered by Nicely Built based on client needs and new technologies. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, shopping, drinking tea, cooking, and spending time outdoors.
Waiting on Martha’s founder and curator, Mandy Kellogg Rye, lives by one mantra, “Life should be lived beautifully every single day.” Drawn to the “finer things” at an early age, her mother taught her how to appreciate beauty while her father how to create beauty.
A Michigan native, Mandy left the mitten behind and headed to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois where she graduated with dreams of becoming a high-powered attorney. However, her dream quickly fell short when she realized law school wasn’t all about wearing a designer suit and winning arguments with loads of whit and banter. Law school wasn’t a complete bust though; it introduced her to Chicago, her first big city and one she still holds dear to her heart. A city that unknowingly became the backdrop, and beginning of Waiting On Martha.
As the ultimate creative and personal outlet for Mandy, Waiting On Martha The Blog focused simply on creating a beautiful everyday through fashion, food, décor, and DIY. As the reader’s grew so did the oh-so common question “where do I get that?” And thus, as Mandy puts it, “It only took one reader’s question to push me to indulge my dream of opening a boutique.” Waiting On Martha Home opened as an e-commerce boutique in July of 2012 and opened a brick and mortar location in Atlanta in 2015 (where Mandy now resides with her husband and Cavalier King Charles Addison). In 2019, Waiting On Martha Home welcomed a sister shoppe, Waiting On Martha Everyday, with an emphasis on apparel, accessories and beauty for how you live everyday.
Ashley Brooke is an internationally known blogger, speaker, entrepreneur, and creator of Ashley Brooke Designs (ABD). She started ABD in 2008 after graduating college with a degree in Interior Design. Shortly after, Ashley Brooke Designs became a full-fledged lifestyle brand and blog that included everything from custom illustrated stationery to drinkware to desk accessories sold in over 700 stores nationwide. In 2017, Ashley and her husband, Ryan, sold off the product side of their business to pursue her blog full time.
Today, Ashley Brooke is a full time beauty and lifestyle blogger, documenting her everyday life, beauty, style, travels, and home DIY projects. Ashley and Ryan live in sunny Florida and love nothing more than a Saturday spent in their own backyard.
Brian Hart Hoffman is President/Chief Creative Officer at Hoffman Media, LLC, where he oversees the editorial planning and brand direction for all publications, as well as the public relations and special events divisions. Since joining Hoffman Media, Brian has been the driving force behind the launch of The Cottage Journal, Bake from Scratch, Southern Cast Iron, and Southern Home. His special-event leadership with the company includes planning and executing major consumer events. Prior to joining the company in 2007, Hoffman worked in the airline industry, which allowed him to live in six cities throughout the United States. He has visited all 50 states.
Deb Waterman Johns founded SCOUT with her husband Ben Johns in 2004. Decades in the making, the “ah-ha moment” happened when Deb—a seasoned fashion trend spotter and renowned fabric, pattern, and color thought leader—spotted a unique fabric at a high-fashion store in Milan. Deb was struck by the functionality of the fabric: lightweight enough that, if fashioned into a stylish bag, it could carry everything she needed without weighing her down. SCOUT was born.
Since then, SCOUT has become a cult-classic, giving modern women of all ages the products they need to contain, organize, and carry all the stuff they—and their families—need to successfully navigate and celebrate their busy days and lives. As Deb likes to say, “everyone has stuff, SCOUT gives them the best place to put it.”
With 40+ years of fashion and trend-forecasting experience and leadership, Deb is the visionary and creative force behind SCOUT. She conceptualizes and designs every product start-to-finish. Through the lens of her well-trained eye, Deb finds inspiration everywhere she turns, including her global travels, fashion trends, and her own day-to-day life as a modern, working woman and mother of four. SCOUT’s talented team of artists work collaboratively with Deb to interpret her designs, creating hundreds of original patterns each year. Limited-edition patterns are released only once per season, ensuring every seasonal SCOUT collection is fresh, on-trend, and in-demand.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in design from Cornell University, Deb began her career as Assistant Fabric Editor at Vogue magazine in New York, where she developed an unparalleled understanding of fabrics, colors, and patterns. Parlaying this talent and expertise into her next role, Deb joined Pat Tunsky Consulting—one of the world’s leading fabric and color predictive consultancies serving top fashion designers and retailers. At Pat Tunsky,
Deb acted as a go-to resource for ‘what was next’ in the fashion industry, advising more than 1,000 clients—from Kmart to Calvin Klein. Eventually, Deb set up her own consultancy, serving fashion and accessory brands from J. Crew to HUE. Deb also leveraged her experience in the fashion industry to launch her own personal styling company, working closely with celebrity and political figures in the DC metro area. Thanks to Deb’s unique ability to make women feel both comfortable and stylish by playing up their strengths, her client roster quickly grew—and she continues to style select clientele today. Inspiring style on a broader scale, Deb hosts an exclusive pop-up boutique several times a year, called FiFi. Hundreds of loyal followers flock to each much-anticipated event, eager to shop fresh, new products—many sourced from Deb’s frequent travels abroad.
Today, Deb and Ben lead a team of 30 full-time employees at SCOUT headquarters in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC.
In addition to being an entrepreneur, mother, dog owner, and accomplished seamstress, Deb is also an avid philanthropist who has created two charitable organizations. The GO BO Fund supports families and children in area hospitals with their medical bills, and Santa’s Helpers gives under privileged children gifts to put under the tree each
year—all delivered in donated SCOUT bags.
An industry leader in accessible luxury handbags, accessories, footwear and apparel, Rebecca Minkoff’s modern bohemian designs are inspired by strong, confident and powerful women who are drawn towards a west-meets-east sensibility.
After developing an affinity for design while in the costume department in high school, Rebecca Minkoff moved to New York City at age 18 to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer. In 2001, Rebecca designed a version of the “I Love New York” t-shirt as part of a five-piece capsule collection, which appeared on The Tonight Show and became an overnight sensation. In 2005, Rebecca designed her first handbag, which she dubbed the “Morning After Bag,” a.k.a. the “M.A.B.” This iconic bag ignited Rebecca’s career as a handbag designer and inspired her edgy,feminine creations in the years to come.
Rebecca’s success was further enhanced by the support of her brother, the company’s CEO and co-founder, Uri Minkoff, who helped usher in and pioneer the company’s industry-leading innovations with technology and fashion. After four years of designing statement-making handbags and accessories with her trademark leathers,studs and hardware, Rebecca returned to her roots of apparel design and introduced her first ready-to-wear collection in 2009.
Today, Rebecca Minkoff is a global brand with a wide range of apparel, handbags, footwear, jewelry and accessories products. In the spring of 2017, Rebecca Minkoff Watches was launched, reimagining the category through their decidedly downtown, rock-and-roll aesthetic.
The brand has three national retail stores, eight international locations, and is distributed in over 900 stores worldwide. In 2015, Rebecca Minkoff stores unveiled the first ever “Magic Mirror” technology, where customers could interact with mirrors installed in the dressing room walls of her store and tap to pick out additional sizes, colors and styles of clothing.
In 2011, Rebecca won industry recognition when she was awarded the Breakthrough Designer Award from the Accessories Council. She is an active member of the CFDA, and supports multiple philanthropies including Baby2Baby organization. In August of 2017, she was announced as a member of the first-ever New York State Council on Women and Girls, in the company of other female industry leaders including Refinery29 founder Christene Barberich, SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan and Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert. Rebecca is dedicated to bringing women together to enact positive change.
In September of 2018, she established the Female Founder Collective, a network of businesses led by women who invest in women’s financial power across a socio-economic spectrum by enabling and empowering female-owned businesses. In 2020, Rebecca will launch a diffusion line of children’s clothing called ‘little minkoff”, marking a foray into designing a truly sustainable and environmentally friendly collection. She will also launch a new name sake fragrance to be sold at retailers nationwide.
Rebecca is married to director Gavin Bellour, and they reside in Brooklyn with their three children.
Sallie Holder is a former award winning attorney turned Business Strategist and author who coined the phrase “Rock Middle™.” Today she helps female entrepreneurs systemize & scale their businesses inside her coaching program The BRIMM (Beyond Rock Middle Movement), using her revolutionary P3 PROCESS. This program has helped countless women scale their businesses to streamline, market and sell more than ever.
It’s her mission to share this P3 Process with more women so that they can achieve the massive success she knows is possible with the right systems & strategies in place.
As a nationally-recognized public speaker and business coach, Sallie has spent more than eighteen years helping businesses identify what’s getting in their way and then breaking down those barriers to success. Sallie earned a degree in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University and followed that by earning her law degree. While spending more than ten years practicing labor and employment law, advising small companies as well as giants like FedEx and Michelin, she grew passionate about the growth of businesses.
Now she’s thrilled to share these insider business secrets with more women, helping to create a true movement of women making the bold choices that lead to lasting success and happiness.
Molly Fienning is Co-founder and CEO of Red Clay Hot Sauce, a cold-pressed, Southern hot sauce & hot honey brand named “Tabasco for the 21st century” by Food and Wine Magazine and “hot honey to elevate your meal” by The New York Times. In the past year, Red Clay has grown 400% in gross revenue and has rolled out to The Fresh Market, Whole Foods Market, Harris Teeter, Food 52 and hundreds of additional retail doors.
Prior to Red Clay, Molly Fienning was Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Babiators, one of Forbes’ 100 Most Promising Companies and now the leading sunglasses brand for babies & kids (with 4 million pairs sold). Molly graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Engineering Sciences. She lives in Charleston with her husband Ted and their two sweet, smart boys, Sawyer and Fox.
Brooke Bell is Vice President Culinary and Custom Content at Birmingham, Alabama-based Hoffman Media, LLC, where she directly oversees the editorial teams of Taste of the South, Louisiana Cookin’, Cooking with Paula Deen, Bake from Scratch and Southern Cast Iron, along with all custom content. Brooke is also editor-in-chief of Cook: Real Food Every Day, which launched winter 2017. Her most recent cookbook, Cast-Iron Baking, was released in summer 2017. Additionally, Fall Baking, which was released in August of 2016, was named to Epicurious’ list of “30 Most Exciting Cookbooks of Summer” and was a “Number 1 New Release” on Amazon. Brooke is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and Les Dames d’Escoffier, where she serves as secretary for the Birmingham chapter.
Stephanie Summerson Hall is a native of Holly Hill, South Carolina and a current resident of the Lowcountry (Summerville, SC). She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and then earned a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 2000. Following law school, she practiced law in the Metropolitan DC area for ten years with a concentration on business law and corporate tax.
In 2005, while still practicing law, Stephanie Hall founded Ruth’s House Event Rentals, a full service event rental company based out of Charleston, SC and Holly Hill, SC. In 2010, she moved back to South Carolina with her husband and young family and took the reigns of Ruth’s House Event Rentals as the CEO and also officially becoming a full-time, serial entrepreneur (she and her husband desired for their children to be raised around grandparents, cousins and have a southern upbringing and that guided their decision to move back to the south). She is also the Co-Founder of Wedding Flowers for Rent – a rent and return wedding flower service. Most recently, she is the founder of Estelle Colored Glass.
Estelle Colored Glass is a luxury brand of hand-blown colored glass cake stands and stemware in a mix of jewel tones and soft pastels. The Estelle Colored Glass collection is comprised of original commissioned pieces made by glass artisans in Poland at a glass making company with a rich 100-plus-year-old history. Estelle Colored Glass pieces are best described as “jewels for your table.
Alexandra Macon is the founder of the e-commerce site and wedding inspiration blog Over The Moon and an editor at Vogue.com. She started out in the fashion industry as a copy editor in the advertising department at Ralph Lauren. She then went on to work as the assistant to the managing Editor of Vogue. After leaving Vogue, she went to Domino and Interview before ultimately returning to the mothership as the managing editor of Vogue.com—a role she had for seven years—before making the transition to creating weddings-focused web content and a shopping platform full-time. She lives with her husband and two daughters in New York.
Emily Hertz is an Atlanta-based, NYC-born lifestyle blogger with a passion for party styling and an affinity for all things beautiful.
Upon having her daughter, the former Director of Marketing at Spanx stepped out on her own to launch Born on Fifth, an aesthetically-driven site and accompanying social channel which highlights Emily’s favorite fashion, entertaining ideas and tot-friendly finds. Emily has been featured by Who What Wear, Lauren Conrad, Glitter Guide, 100 Layer Cakelet, The Atlantan, Atlanta Magazine’s Home and on the cover of Mingle Magazine.
Inspired by her bow-loving daughter and the impending arrival of her baby boy, Emily most recently launched Bows & Blue, a curated shop featuring lovely layers for home and life. Bows & Blue has been featured by House Beautiful and Veranda. This Spring, Emily will launch her first clothing collection in collaboration with Dillard’s under the Born on Fifth label.
Emily resides in Atlanta with her husband Michael, children Eloise and Jennings and cavalier, Birdie.
Megan Stokes is the writer of her eponymous blog, a website aimed to inspire others to elevate the everyday aspects of their lives. Based out of Charleston, Megan Stokes is a place to find entertaining tips, classic fashion finds, home decor inspiration, and more.
A South Carolina native, Megan graduated from the College of Charleston in 2011 with degrees in both communication studies and health. Following her undergraduate education, she worked in development for the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital Fund, cultivating capital campaign gifts to build the new Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. With a strong urge to express her creativity during her evenings of free time, Megan created a blog where she chronicled her favorite things and weekend escapades. Slowly but surely, her blog began to grow to a full-time business and gained a following across the United States and throughout the world.
When she isn’t at work overseeing content creation and scaling her brand, Megan loves to entertain friends and spend time with her husband, Brandon, and their two young children, Watson and Rosie. On any given weekend, you may likely find Megan playing tennis, boating with her family, enjoying margaritas with some girlfriends, and rearranging furniture in her home.
Halle Kern currently serves as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at The Urban Electric Co. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Halle moved to Philadelphia where she started her career in client services for Lilly Pulitzer before transitioning to the merchandising team, mapping out each season’s collections, collaborating with the design team, and traveling to work with factories overseas. She ended her nine-year tenure at Lilly Pulitzer in the sales and marketing department where she modeled financials and developed marketing plans for Lilly’s signature retail stores. She then served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Harry Barker before moving on to the Urban Electric Co. in new product development. In her current role as Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Halle is part of the executive team where she helps set the company’s strategic direction, with a primary focus on operations within the sales and marketing departments. She manages a team of 50 across the sales, marketing, creative, client services, shipping and fleet departments. Halle resides in Charleston with her husband, Brian, and their two children, Harris and James.
Molly Waring has more than ten years’ experience in cross-functional leadership, marketing, and strategic communications roles, enhancing value across multiple sectors—from non-profit to hospitality—through her ability to seize narrative-defining partnerships and media opportunities. During her five years as Director of Media Relations for the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Charleston area emerged as an international must-visit destination and won numerous awards, including Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice #1 U.S. City Award for five consecutive years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015) as well as Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best #1 U.S. City Award (2013) and #1 U.S. City (2013, 2014, and 2015). She also amplified partnerships with brands such as jetBlue, Bergdorf Goodman, The Today Show, Time Inc., The Meredith Corporation, and the PGA. Subsequently, as Director of Marketing at Avocet Hospitality, one of the brand’s core properties, The Vendue, won #9 Hotel in the U.S. and #1 Hotel in Charleston in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards (2017). She holds a masters degree in Public Administration and is former president of the Ashley Hall Alumnae Board, current president of the Gibbes Museum of Art’s Society 1858, and serves on the board of Historic Charleston Foundation.
Jessica Mischner is a longtime editor and writer who most recently served as senior editor of Garden & Gun, where she was part of a team that won two National Magazine Awards, produced a series of bestselling books, and developed content for emerging digital and experiential platforms. Prior to 2010, Jessica held staff positions at Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine (plus a few now-shuttered titles), and her work has since appeared in National Geographic Traveler, WSJ, Southern Living, House Beautiful, and Domino. In 2016, she began applying her storytelling experience to develop content and creative marketing strategies for brands, as well, from restaurants, hotels, and luxury retailers to cultural institutions such as the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry and the South Carolina Arts Foundation.
Jennifer Dalquist is a Minneapolis native who loves the cold and snow as much as she enjoys warm and cozy time spent experimenting in the kitchen, Jennifer Dalquist is EVP of sales and marketing for Nordic Ware, the iconic bakeware brand famous for its creation of the Bundt pan. She’s proud to be a third generation family member working in the business that her grandparents founded 75 years ago, carrying on their legacy of producing heirloom-quality American-made kitchenware pieces which are meant to be handed down from one generation to the next.
Jennifer plays roles in several different areas of the company, ranging from national account management to marketing and digital strategy, and also has involvement in Nordic Ware’s product design and creative processes. She’s particularly focused on ensuring that Nordic Ware remains a nimble, easy-to-do-business-with company that operates with an entrepreneurial spirit, no matter its size. “We will always be a small family-owned business at heart. It’s in our DNA.”
Prior to joining Nordic Ware, Jennifer worked for Target Corporation. She holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School. In her spare time when she’s not thinking about bakeware and US manufacturing, Jenny is an avid pilot, sailor and gardener.
Sirena White-Singleton of Aneris Photography captures intentional visual stories for creative entrepreneurs, authentic love stories, and organically candid moments between the ones you love…your family. She believes life is a beautiful story and she’s here to capture it. Sirena loves trying new locations, finding amazing light in clients’ homes or offices, and documenting families in situations that they typically do! She’s all about capturing the REAL you! Every creative, couple, and family is different and the goal is to not only create art, but memories that they will have forever.
Mimi Striplin, founder of The Tiny Tassel and a College of Charleston ‘14 graduate, left life in the haberdashery world behind and founded The Tiny Tassel in 2015. Based in Charleston, SC, Mimi designs and creates each tassel by hand with hopes of bringing a little joy to life through her colorful collection of tassel jewelry, accessories, party decor, and garments that are handmade by her mom, Keiko. The collection can be found at retail stores across the U.S. and our future flagship store located in downtown Charleston.
Over her tenure at Leapfrog, Libba Osborne has witnessed the genesis of America’s love affair with Southern food artisans and the city of Charleston – an explosion of talented food entrepreneurs, chef-driven restaurants and culinary-minded upstarts. Libba has guided many of her clients, both large and small, to become prominent brands among the shelves of national retailers. A story-teller at heart, she looks for common threads – a pride in process and an authentic history – in all of the companies she works alongside.
An Atlanta native, Libba found her passion for all things edible as a post-grad student at New York’s French Culinary Institute (International Culinary Center). She segued into restaurant public relations at Baltz & Co. and the Dunn Robbins Group, promoting brands in the food, wine and spirits industries. Following a move to her husband’s hometown of Charleston, Libba joined Leapfrog to continue her craft, becoming an owner in 2009. Libba is a graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee and serves on the Board of the Charleston Chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier. Libba and her husband, Chris, are raising their two young sons a stones throw from the Ashley River.
Following her undergraduate education at the College of Charleston, Jackie Thomson parlayed her innate sense of style into positions in New York with international fashion powerhouse, GUCCI, and celebrity bridal and evening wear designer, Reem Acra. The Annapolis, MD native returned to Charleston and joined Leapfrog, overseeing design-related projects. Her wide-ranging interest in lifestyle brands drives Leapfrog’s expertise in the fields of fashion, interiors, retail and wellness. Jackie promotes both established brands and new talent, and through her wide network, adeptly organizes events that connect entrepreneurs, influencers and designers around the U.S. Beyond the realm of traditional PR, Jackie enjoys honing brand strategy, creating content for owned media and directing market positioning with long-term clients.
In 2009, Jackie earned her MBA and became an owner of Leapfrog. She and her husband, Neil, reside in Charleston with their young son and daughter.
Holly Hollingsworth Phillips is a residential interior designer owner of The English Room, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Holly’s style is elegant, eclectic and colorful. She has completed homes all over the east coast that have ranged from the super modern to very traditional while keeping it true to her style and that of the client. She loves overseeing the design process from beginning to end. “The best part is when your clients really trust you and set you free to do what you do best.” Her love of color, pattern and layering of old and new can be seen in all her work. According to Holly, “Color makes people happy!” She loves the mixing the tradition of the past with the modern style of the future.
Holly has worked in the design world from and early age. Her mother took her to antique shows all over the east coast and she went on her first buying trip to Europe at age 11. The home Holly grew up in was designed by Mario Buatta. Her mother, Nancy Hollingsworth, is retired well known interior designer, and specialized in the English Country style. Childhood play dates could turn into magical discussions with mothers while they moved around furniture. Her lifelong passion for the arts has never waned. Holly has a strong educational love for antiques and the history of the decorative arts led her to this business.
Holly’s early design experience includes working with Alexandra Stoddard and Sotheby’s – both in New York City. Holly completed a Mint Museum Senior Study and worked at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. After College, Holly lived in London while completing Sotheby’s 17th and 18th century decorative arts program. She has also completed The Winter institute at Winterthur, which provided a deep exposure one of the most complete collections of American Antiques in existence. Her first “professional” job was with Travis & Company in Atlanta where she ran the Antiques side of the showroom. In 1999, Holly joined her mother full time at the English Room in Charlotte. Her educational background includes a degree in Art History from Rollins College and a degree in Interior Design from the American College.
She has been featured in Southern Living, Charlotte Magazine, QC Exclusive, Charlotte Design & Decor, Southpark Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens as well as online features in House Beautiful, Domino & Elle Decor.
Heather Adams is the founder and CEO of Choice Media Communications. A self-proclaimed pop-culture junkie, Heather is the communications expert leading Choice’s impressive team of women as they serve preeminent voices in publishing, lifestyle, entertainment, business, and faith-based arenas. Choice is known for working with high-profile clients that are both soulful and interesting. Heather has played an instrumental role in launching more than 100 New York Times bestsellers and has secured clients coverage in a host of major and elite national media. With a passion for mentorship, entrepreneurship, communications, and working motherhood, Heather is blazing a trail for the women who come behind her. She’s also the host of This Intentional Life with Heather Adams podcast, where she lives out her mission to empower and equip women to design and live a life they love. A proud alumna of the University of Georgia, Heather serves as a member of the Grady Society Alumni Board. This year marks her twenty-first anniversary serving as an adviser to Alpha Omicron Pi, her beloved sorority, where she believes in mentoring and developing women. She lives just outside Nashville, with her husband Matt Adams, and their two sons, Dixon and Thackston, who keep her thrilled and busy cheering from the sidelines of either a baseball field or basketball court.
Erin Phillips is the founder and CEO of Pinckney Palm, a social media agency that works with women CEOs and businesses who market to women 25-55 on social media. After living in DC and London, working at Capital One, and with brands like BMW and Le Creuset, Erin saw a need to bring her big city and big brand experience from the past 10+ years to businesses on a smaller, more tailored level. Pinckney Palm now has a remote team of four employees who work with brands across the United States, Malaysia, and Mexico. Erin lives in Charleston, SC with her husband Ryan, 5-year-old daughter Sullivan, twin baby girls Finley and Frances, and two golden retriever mixes.
Ansley Pridgen After attending SMU and receiving an Undergraduate Degree in Accounting, Georgia native – Ansley Pridgen – moved to New York City to begin a career in fashion. While in NYC, she learned about fashion production, design, life, and hard work. However, she couldn’t suppress her deep love and connection to the South.
After moving back to the south in 2015, she started her own company inspired by her southern background and experience in design. These dual passions led to the beginning of Allie & Elle, her creative outlet where she paints and sells greeting cards and gifts made from her watercolor paintings. After five years of continued growth, Allie & Elle has been sold in over 300 stores, boasts a successful e-commerce site, and the signature watercolor designs are celebrated throughout the country.
While working on Allie & Elle, Ansley had the opportunity to run a nonprofit and organize their largest fundraiser. She met an abundance of small business owners who collaborated with her to make the event a success. While working with these small business owners, branding, digital marketing, and e-commerce seemed to be critical problem areas that Ansley had personally navigated with her own company. As word spread, more and more of the small businesses she collaborated with reached out for her specialized and budget-friendly approach to comprehensive digital marketing. And thus, Ansley Media Co., a female-run digital marketing agency, was born. The company has always had a strong emphasis on prioritizing small businesses and helping them grow. Today, Ansley Media Co. proudly assists brands across the country to manage all things digital.
Kelsey Ogletree is a freelance journalist specializing in travel, wellness and food. After earning her master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, her career spanned editorial roles at publications covering business, events, luxury lifestyle and travel. In 2017, she started her own business, KO Copy, through which she writes for more than 30 publications including Wall Street Journal, AARP and Conde Nast Traveler. During the pandemic, she launched her Office Hours workshop series to teach publicists and small business owners how to get covered in the press and how to build relationships with freelance writers. Kelsey is also a content marketing expert and offers one-on-one consulting. She recently moved from Chicago to northern Alabama with her husband, Derrick, and their kitty, Monty.
Stacy Smallwood founded Hampden in 2007 as a style destination in Charleston that would allow women to fall in love with the most desired names in fashion, and to discover her favorite under-the-radar designers. Stacy travels to New York and London, Milan and Paris each season to stock her store with the best in established and emerging brands. An unerring eye for discovering the season’s most covetable pieces makes Stacy a respected resource for fashion insiders far and wide.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Stacy was accepted into the prestigious Neiman Marcus buying program in Dallas, TX where she worked as an assistant buyer & department manager. The retailing tenets she learned from the esteemed store lead her efforts at Hampden today. An elevated shopping experience, high-touch service and relationships – with customers, designers and employees– reign.
In addition to acting as owner and buyer for Hampden, Stacy signed on as the stylist for the female broadcasters at NBCSports, worked on a national TV show as the costume designer, and styled celebrities such as Busy Philipps for GMA, The Today Show and Kelly & Ryan. She has appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show, and featured in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Coastal Living, Southern Living, and online at Town & Country and The New York Times digital to name only a few. founded Hampden in 2007 as a style destination in Charleston that would allow women to fall in love with the most desired names in fashion, and to discover her favorite under-the-radar designers. Stacy travels to New York and London, Milan and Paris each season to stock her store with the best in established and emerging brands. An unerring eye for discovering the season’s most covetable pieces makes Stacy a respected resource for fashion insiders far and wide.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Stacy was accepted into the prestigious Neiman Marcus buying program in Dallas, TX where she worked as an assistant buyer & department manager. The retailing tenets she learned from the esteemed store lead her efforts at Hampden today. An elevated shopping experience, high-touch service and relationships – with customers, designers and employees– reign.
In addition to acting as owner and buyer for Hampden, Stacy signed on as the stylist for the female broadcasters at NBCSports, worked on a national TV show as the costume designer, and styled celebrities such as Busy Philipps for GMA, The Today Show and Kelly & Ryan. She has appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show, and featured in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Coastal Living, Southern Living, and online at Town & Country and The New York Times digital to name only a few.
Lifestyle blogger Dawn Burns calls Nashville, Tennessee home, where she is a mother of two and wife to husband, Seth. Dawn has always had a growing love for community and an even stronger passion for families traveling to her beloved city. Striving to connect others with the happenings in Music City and all it has to offer Dawn, the face behind The Nashville Mom, has become the #1 resource for families in and around Nashville to discover the best restaurants, shops, kid-friendly activities and events in town. Dawn also loves sharing about travel, home, books and favorite brands from across the south.
Anyone who knows Mandy Edwards knows she really doesn’t like talking about herself. She’d rather find out more about you!
She has always had a desire to help others. After 10+ years in sales and marketing, she branched out in 2011 on her own to start ME Marketing Services.
How did she get to now? It all started when she graduated from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia with a degree in General Business & Marketing in 2001. Go Dawgs!
As an undergraduate at UGA, she was involved in Baptist Collegiate Ministries (formerly known as the Baptist Student Union) where she established their first website and was responsible for media for the weekly worship gathering. While in business school, she served as Pledge President and later Vice President of Pi Sigma Epsilon Marketing Fraternity, helping its chapter win national recognition at the 2001 National PSE Conference in Dallas, Texas.
After graduating, she worked in the newspaper advertising industry for almost 5 years before serving as the local Marketing Director for a Chick-fil-A Restaurant. After taking a break from full-time work when she become a mom for the second time, she took on the marketing for the local franchise of Bruster’s Ice Cream where she got the opportunity to present at their corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on local store marketing.
After receiving several inquires for contract marketing services, she dove head-first into entrepreneurship and started ME Marketing Services in June 2011.
Mandy’s heart is in serving businesses. She works continually to educate herself in the latest in social media and digital marketing – from apps, tools, Terms of Service changes to platform changes. She always has a pulse on what is going on. She serves businesses in consulting, training, and managing social media. And in the last few years they’ve expanded and added website design, incorporating a side project into a full-time business offering.
As the business has grown, so has her expertise and it’s been noticed. She is currently a contributing author on social media and digital marketing to the websites Steamfeed, Social Media Today, Business2Community, and The Southern C.
Growing up in a home with six kids and a family business, Julia Weldon was never unfamiliar with hard work. She can still hear her Mom and Dad say, “If you don’t do it right, you’re going to have to start all over.” This included everything from cleaning the bathroom to writing a paper. What she didn’t realize at the time was that start-overs weren’t always a bad thing. A start-over affords you the ability to build on what was previously done and to arrive at something with a new perspective.
After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management from Liberty University in VA, she found herself working three jobs. First thing in the morning, she was the Business Manager of the local health club. In the afternoons, she helped run her family’s professional bakery. And to finish up the day, she drove to the high school to coach volleyball and basketball. This coaching job was her first real introduction to leadership development. It enabled her to recognize her passion for helping people realize their potential. A few years later, she relocated to NC, where she obtained a Master’s degree in Counseling and worked for 10 years providing services to youth. In 2006, Julia Weldon had the privilege of serving as team leader, strategist, and principal fundraiser for a one year, international humanitarian relief trip serving 13 developing countries.
Returning stateside, she was recruited by Conequity Resources, a privately held business management consulting firm. This job led her to ultimately work as a People & Change consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. She then had the opportunity to form a partnership with her trusted friend and colleague, John Saladino, and take a product invented by her family to market. This experience taught her what it takes to run a business, how to navigate through murky waters, and when to recognize pitfalls before they happen. Learning many invaluable lessons through my business career, she discovered her greatest joy lies in helping business-minded people live each day to its full. To embrace how interconnected our business and personal lives are and enable others to find the balance that so many are in need of. This prompted her to acquire a Life Coaching certification and start A Salty Rim.
Persistence is the key to success. Stacey Pierce fell in love with creating new opportunities during her junior year of high school as she found herself holding the illustrious title of one of the founders of the Pep Club. It was the sole duty to generate among her peers unwavering school spirit and pride. It was, by all practical purposes, her first startup company. It was then when she realized that true leadership was about doing. It was about getting your hands dirty, or in her case, being the one who donned on the old, musty Thoroughbred costume on Friday nights so that she could do her part in exemplifying team spirit and pride in her school. She discovered within herself a passion in creating, in finding purpose and solution, and in helping others reach their goals along the way.
Throughout the years, she faced like many of us, bouts of adversity, being told that she could not, she would never, or to just give up. These disparaging words only served as fuel to her fire and flamed her desire to be able to say she could, she would, and watch her.
She graduated Charleston Southern University with her BA in English, and in that same year graduated from Trident Technical College with an Associate in Health Science with a focus in Occupational Therapy. While working as a therapist, she was also on the ground floor of several startups: RA Entertainment, which included a catering and music business, and The Alley Café. At the big downward spiral of the economy, she found herself working in the non for profit world at a CCRC, Continuum Care Retirement Community, where she was responsible for creating new ways to generate income for the community.
Stacey’s passion for being innovative and solutions driven was recognized by other communities. This opened the opportunity to be a part of University South Carolina and their Gerontology research team, as well as, Rutgers University, to research and pilot technologies focusing on our aging population and their safety in the home. She has presented at numerous regional symposiums and conferences as well as the American Geriatric Society Annual Conference in 2009. She was honored to present on technology, in Israel, February 2013, at an International Conference called CODATA.
Along with many speaking engagements, she has authored numerous articles on the subject of enhancing care through technology, along with being featured in Money Magazine and other publications about the ripple effect we are making in the vast ocean of healthcare. She also co-authored “Coach: Leadership vs. Management: What New Managers Need to Know about Coaching”.
Mary Huddleston is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Please Be Seated, the premier event rental company in Nashville, TN. Mary and her husband started the business in 2014 and now have more than 30 employees servicing events nationwide. Mary started her career as an event coordinator in Dallas, TX, initially at Diamond Affairs Weddings and Special Events and later at the nationally-recognized Todd Events, where she helped launch their wedding division. In 2018 Mary established Mrs. Southern Social, a lifestyle platform focused on modern entertaining at home. She has 50K Instagram followers and has been featured in Southern Living, Southern Lady, StyleBlueprint and NFocus Magazine.
Meet Monica Lavin is a blogger with a passion for interiors and curb appeal. Her work has been featured on Pottery Barn, Coastal Living, Wayfair, House Beautiful, AdWeek and most recently the December 2020 Issue of Southern Living.
Lavin Label offers home inspiration through unique visual storytelling. Monica is well-versed in emerging technology and social influence through her past work at NASA and the College of Charleston. She now teaches social media at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia. Monica’s knowledge of technology and her well-curated taste in all things lifestyle lend themselves naturally to a fresh perspective on storytelling that captivates her followers and inspires them to become part of that story.
Monica lives in Savannah, Georgia with her husband, Casey, and their daughter Julia.
Paige Minear is the author, mother and preppy creator behind the design + lifestyle blog The Pink Clutch. Paige is known for her home full of color, old Palm Beach style + antique treasures. With a love for all things design related she writes five days a week allowing her readers to indulge in colorful posts and joyful inspiration. She is a lover of a strong latte, champagne cocktails, a stack of magazines, crisp button downs, popped collars, a sweet treat and a house full of fresh flowers and monogrammed linens. She can be seen most days headed out to scour items for her estate resale shop, Shop Pink Clutch, with a large monogrammed tote + ready for adventure.
Bettina Benson is a seasoned sales professional, creative visionary, team builder, mother, wife and Founder and Creative Director of Chloe Kristyn.
After spending 10 years in medical sales, interfacing with professional women at all levels, Bettina built a team of seasoned industry professionals and created an effortlessly elegant line for the modern, ever evolving, woman. With an understanding of what professional women desire and need in a functional wardrobe, Bettina empowers women to take strategic control of their image.
Bettina’s designs have caught the eyes and won the hearts of executives, prominent news anchors, journalists and national publication, Southern Living Magazine, who recognizes her as a “Tastemaker of the South”.
Anna Logan is an editor and writer who loves all things design. This southern girl found a home in Manhattan when she moved to take the market editor role at Traditional Home magazine. After a few years at Trad Home, Anna landed as the market editor for One Kings Lane. In her current role at One Kings Lane, Anna oversees the blog and social channels, as well as works closely with a community of influencers to share One Kings Lane’s vision. She also has a hearty freelance career, working for brands and outlets such as Domino Magazine, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle, House Beautiful and Schumacher. A proud graduate of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Anna has committed to pushing the boundaries of what press coverage in the modern media landscape can actually look like. Anna currently divides her time between her adopted Upper East Side neighborhood and beloved home state of Georgia
Ashley Brooke is an internationally known blogger, speaker, entrepreneur, and creator of Ashley Brooke Designs (ABD). She started ABD in 2008 after graduating college with a degree in Interior Design. Shortly after, Ashley Brooke Designs became a full-fledged lifestyle brand and blog that included everything from custom illustrated stationery to drinkware to desk accessories sold in over 700 stores nationwide. In 2017, Ashley and her husband, Ryan, sold off the product side of their business to pursue her blog full time.
Today, Ashley Brooke is a full time beauty and lifestyle blogger, documenting her everyday life, beauty, style, travels, and home DIY projects. Ashley and Ryan live in sunny Florida and love nothing more than a Saturday spent in their own backyard.
