Joshua Abel, co-owner, Mangrove Media Group, attended the University of Hawaii, Manoa’s Academy for Creative Media where he developed a strong foundation in visual story-telling. Here he used his creativity to create short films from scripted dialogue to a polished edit. He continued his education at Ashford University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. After working for several production companies and crafting his trade, he developed Mangrove Media Group as a company, which prides itself in creating cost-effective, unique concepts that drive business advertising and marketing campaigns. He eagerly works with charities to further their good causes through the magic of video.

Tamara Chapman is editorial manager at the University of Denver. An award-winning writer and a tireless reader, Tamara is a lifelong patron of libraries of all descriptions. She has a towering pile of overdue notices to prove it.Tamara started her career in newspaper journalism, working for the El Paso Times and business journals in Richmond, Va., and Jacksonville, Fla. Later she moved into magazine journalism, editing a city magazine in Florida and an arts association quarterly. Since joining the communications staff at DU in 1998, she has written and edited for practically every department on campus. She edited the book “Built for Learning” (University of Denver, 2008), and has been a frequent contributor to the University of Denver Magazine since its launch in 2000. Among the subjects Tamara has tackled for DU are binge drinking, the Islamic faith, jazz bassist Charlie Burrell, population growth, autodidacts, the decline of bookstores and the connections between animal abuse and domestic violence.

Tamara makes her home in Denver, Colorado, where she, her husband, daughter and two cats preside over a personal library desperately in need of dusting and more space.

Coming soon…

Jenny has a background in neurology and psychology and has studied in nine different countries. Utilizing her skills as a licensed clinical social worker and national educator, Jenny is a sought after keynote speaker, has provided professional training seminars in 48 states and has created programs to help children battle bullies.
Jenny has provided a weekly “Check up from the neck up” on the radio and has appeared on WINK, CBS, FOX and the Lifetime Network. She is currently launching her own radio show called the “Live your Power hour” providing power tools to changing your life. She has been named one of Gulfshore Business’s 40 under 40, has been featured as a guru of interest in Gulfshore Life and has been published in numerous magazines. Her passion for helping others is also found in her writing and recordings. She has written the books “Weighing Your Options” and recently released “I am Brilliant” which is a children’s book on inner beauty and brilliance. She is currently in the process of publishing her next book “Live your Power” providing clinical tools for battling your inner bully.She has recorded CD’s for helping professionals including: Bullying proofing your clients, 101 Quick Techniques to help children with emotional and behavioral problems, Emotional Eating: Strategies for Lifelong changes. She is program development chair of the American Women’s Business Association, provides service to the community through the Kiwanis Club and sits on the advisory board of the new program “America’s next great trainer”.

Children’s Book Author, Lisa Fleming, and former Naples Daily News Columnist, is passionate about kids and reading!”I love the feel and sound of pages turning; and even the smell of new books. They represent an entire world of learning at your fingertips! If I could bottle the magic of words and where they can take a child, I would!”

Now Lisa can!! Her debut children’s book, “Cat and Crow: An amazing friendship” launched on October 2011.  Based on a true story, a wild crow and stray kitten set aside their obvious differences and became best friends. Fleming will be traveling all over to share their story, and also raise awareness about the plight of stray and feral cats, and the need to protect and respect all wildlife.  Lisa notes, “If two natural-born enemies can be friends, so can we.”

I am an experienced marketing professional leveraging creativity, analytic thinking, and motivational management to create and execute innovative, actionable business strategies.Currently I am the Senior Director of Marketing Operations for Lumension – a global security software company. My professional career includes over 12 years experience in Internet strategy, Marketing, and eCommerce in large, medium, and small enterprises. As part of that work, I have co-authored a business method patent in the area of Internet Marketing that delivers relevant content to targeted market segments. Additionally, my ability to create success through dynamic, motivating work environments was recognized in 2002 when named Insight’s Employee of the Year.A sales and marketing professional by education, I have been given the opportunity to manage and lead teams in diverse disciplines like Ecommerce, IS/IT, Product Management/Marketing, and Sales. As a result of those experiences, I have developed a broad, applied skill set in the creation and execution of business strategies.

Janine Jones has been an active volunteer with K is for Kids for many years, she enjoys working with the TAT, and is committed to promoting children’s literacy. As a retired Operating room nurse who specialized in Cardio-Thoracic surgery Janine considers herself to be a very task oriented person, often saying ” give me a job and I will do it.” As a cancer survivor she is also a volunteer with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Janine and her husband Steve have two boys and love being a part of the Naples community. A few of her other interests include boating, alpine skiing, and studying history.

I am a freelance writer whose work has appeared in over 35 national print and online publications, focusing primarily on men’s and women’s health issues, parenting topics and pop culture. I was previously an editor at Men’s Health Best Life magazine and, more recently, The New York Post’s Page Six magazine.

With over 20 years of design experience, Mary Kay adds her own brand of sophistication and style to the Client-Designer Relationship. Recently, when K is for Kids® moved into their new office, she helped display the Foundation’s true treasure — the children’s books. Mary Kay is writing a children’s book herself, collaborating with a water colorist.Particularly adept at creating wonderfully luxurious rooms, Mary Kay believes that your home should offer respite from hectic lives and restore our minds as well as our bodies.

Mary Kay earned an Interior Design degree from East Carolina University and has a professional membership with the American Society of Interior Designers.

I’d been CTO at True/Slant where I had the opportunity to shape things at the junction of technology, business and editorial. At Forbes (which acquired True/Slant in June 2010), I continue to help build distributed teams and the platforms and processes to help make The New Newsroom work. Before True/Slant, I spent 8 years working with Condé Nast’s print and web brands; the last 18 months of that were spent rebuilding parade.com and working with their hundreds of newspaper partners. Prior to Condé, I built products, businesses, and teams for About.com, Prodigy and IBM.

In the last five years my work experience has been from a babysitter, personal assistant, cashier, bookkeeper to now a Tax Accountant. Two months prior to graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting I was hired by Health Management Associates Inc., to work with their tax department. It has been ten years since I arrived to United States from Ecuador and I have learned that with determination, anything is possible. I know that only perseverance will help me reach all my aspirations and I have learned to use every challenge as a life experience to make me stronger. Now I am enroll in the Florida Gulf Coast University M.S. Accounting program and my goal is to become a Certified Public Accountant.

Candace Rotolo is freelance writer, media consultant and public relations professional. Before starting her own business, she helped launch èBella magazine, Naples’ first women’s publication, and served as editor. From 2007 – 2010, she wrote feature profiles on some of the area’s most interesting and accomplished women, before starting her own business.With a background in television news, Candace spent 15 years working as a news anchor, reporter, producer and assignment editor at stations in North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Florida. Most recently, she worked as the health reporter/fill-in anchor at WINK-TV in Ft. Myers from 2003-2006.
Her experience also includes working as Director of Public Relations for Lee Mental Health, along with freelance magazine and newspaper assignments for publications in the Carolinas and New Jersey.Candace received her B.A. in communications from Elon University. In addition to her volunteer efforts with K is for Kids Foundation, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Miss Southwest Florida Scholarship Pageant and The Choir Project. In her spare time, Candace sings in the chorus of Opera Naples.

Ross Sabes designs functional web sites that are flexible, provide value to the visitor as well as the owner, and are easy to maintain. He is currently customizing and implementing technologies that will display across a wide variety of platforms including mobile phones and tablet devices such as the iPad. Ross also provides assistance and consultation setting up sites and marketing other social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter and YouTube.

In addition to computers, software and accessories, Naples Computers offers computer repair, network services, virus & spyware removal, system tune-up, data recovery, wireless / WiFi network Sservices, hardware installation and consulting services.

Coming soon…

Brandon Velez currently is a Senior at Florida Gulf Coast University studying public relations. While at FGCU, Brandon has served as President of Chi Alpha campus ministries and a leader in his local church doing college and young adult ministry. Brandon has lead public relations campaigns for various nonprofits in Southwest Florida and has been shown to be an excellent public speaker for events large and small.Brandon believes in the power of the human voice and that each of us wants one thing: “To be understood.”

Mike Winder earned his BS and MA degrees from Brigham Young University and has over 30 years of education and leadership development experience. In his work, he has delivered thousands of seminars, classes, and programs all over North America as well as created four corporate universities for companies in different parts of the US. Mike is presently the Corporate Trainer at Arthrex, Inc., here in Naples where he works with the organizational and leadership development needs of the company in addition to doing leadership coaching and a process called “Building Leadership.”Mike is a firm believer in the old saying, “When you are through learning, you are through,” and one of the best ways to keep learning is by reading. He is inspired by young people who take reading and education seriously as that gives him great hope for these, the leaders of our future.