Work At Home Expert,
Shannon Hughes
Working Mom of two, Shannon Hughes is the co-Founder of HappyHourMom.com, an Examiner for Fresno, CA Working Moms, and Social Marketing Director for a company based in the Central Valley of California that allows her the convenience (or demise) of working from home. Shannon met her husband while attending Cal, and the two have traveled the world for his career as a Professional Athlete for the past six years. In desperate need of adult interactions, and an outlet to share those daily “mommy mishaps” that only other moms would understand, Shannon began developing HappyHourMom.com. The site was officially launched by Shannon and fellow Happy Hour Mom, Toni Danielson, in May of 2009 and began opening the doors for new and exciting opportunities. As a stay-at-home mom for several years, Shannon was eager to find her place in the “work world” and be a real grown up!

Officially re-entering the workforce in the beginning of 2010, Shannon quickly learned that even she couldn’t do it all. Organization is key, and she is excited to share tips and tools that will hep every working mom become more successful, no matter what the workload may be. Devoted to helping women find time for that daily Happy Hour, Shannon is determined to reach moms everywhere. Every mom deserves a happy hour, and even working moms can find a way!

Contact Shannon at Shannon@happyhourmom.com.

Travel Expert,
Nancy DePalma
Nancy DePalma was bitten by the travel bug at an early age and found the joy and adventure in simple day trips from her childhood home in New Jersey. During college, she scraped together her pennies to travel abroad during winter and summer breaks. While the post-college years brought “real” jobs in publishing and public relations, she eventually found a way to marry her passion for travel with her love of the written word.

She has been telling people where to go, what to do, and where to eat or stay for almost a decade while writing extensively about travel and fine dining. She has authored or contributed to eight books, including Forbes(Mobil)Travel Guides, Michelin Red Guides to New York City, America’s Best Hotel & Resort Spas, and Where to Eat: Boston/Cape Cod, among others. Her writing has also been featured in a variety of magazines and websites. She writes about travel at her new website and blog, www.thedestinationmaven.com.

After living in New York City, Connecticut, and North Carolina, Nancy has returned to the Northeast again, where she lives with her husband and two children. She may be reached at nancy@nancydepalma.com.

Home Expert,
Kathy Passarette
Kathy Passarette is an Interior Design Society Affiliate and a Window Fashions Certified Professional Associate. She has established herself as an expert in her field with her tips and articles being published in such newspapers as: Newsday, Newsday’s How To Guide, New York Resident Magazine, the Gwinnett Daily Post, the Denver Post and the Miami Herald, among others.

Kathy has been involved in interior decorating for over 20 years and formed Creative Home Expressions in 2005 with the goal of providing interior decorating services that would be affordable to everyone. Kathy has an appreciation for all styles of decorating, and does not specialize in any one area. The diversity of styles and rooms is a challenge the company embraces. With meticulous attention to details and an acute decorator’s eye, Kathy works with each client to make their vision reality - whether it’s interior decorating, redesigning or staging.

Kathy lives on Long Island, New York, with her husband of 25 years and enjoys spending time with her daughter, 23, and son, 19.

Tech Expert,
Lauren Halagarda
Lauren Halagarda, is a Certified Professional Organizer®, Speaker and Trainer and specializes in translating the language of software and technology into simple steps and systems you can easily apply in your daily life. Her company, The Organization Connection, works with dynamic & innovative women entrepreneurs both in the Washington, DC Metro area and virtually throughout the world to help them organize their B.I.T.S. (belongings, information, time and space) & Bytes- helping them to choose and use software to be more efficient and productive. Lauren is passionate about helping you to detox your inbox, organize your files and get control of your to-do list. “Being organized frees up your time so you can focus on the things that really matter…which really aren’t things at all.”

Green Expert,
Rachel Sarnoff of EcoStiletto.com
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is a writer, producer and spokesperson who represents eco-friendly living. In 2008, she founded EcoStiletto.com, an online magazine dedicated to eco-friendly fashion, beauty and lifestyle, which now has more than 35,000 subscribers to its weekly newsletter. Rachel has been a reporter for PlanetGreen.com and Treehugger.com, and wrote the “L.A. Story” column on Sprig.com. A mother of three, she also writes a weekly “Mommy Greenest” blog about eco-friendly parenting her three children, ages 10, 8 and two.

Savings Expert,
Amy Suardi
Writer and mother Amy Suardi has been making do with less for many years. She likes to discover where saving money intersects with living better. In addition to creating the blog Frugal Mama, Amy’s background includes founding an organization to help revitalize her neighborhood school, starting two babysitting co-ops, and directing a county-wide volunteer childcare program. With her Italian husband and three children, Amy has learned to live on a tight budget in places as diverse as Milan, Cincinnati, and Arlington, Virginia. They currently reside in the frugal mama’s nightmare: Manhattan. Amy can be reached at amy@frugal-mama.com or on Twitter at frugal_mama.

Cooking Experts,
Michelle Jenkins and Susan Aprahamian
For years we have been preparing meals for one another’s family. We quickly found that this was a perfect way to share family favorites while saving time in the kitchen. This “supper swap” taught us to be more organized and efficient in planning our meals and shopping for groceries. Most importantly, we found ourselves having more time for family dinners. Our kids and spouses loved it and so did we. As friends started hearing about our swap, they were eager to find a way out of their own dinner rut and the hassle of organizing their weekly meals menu planner and grocery lists. We designed YouveGotSupper.com as a solution for busy families who appreciate the importance of sharing the events of the day around a great meal. We don’t pretend to be gourmet chefs, but we do enjoy cooking for our families. We hope that YouveGotSupper.com our weekly meal menu planner will help you spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family.

Baby Expert,
Mindy Roberts
Mindy Roberts is a transplanted Chicagoan living in the Bay Area with her three native children. She has ridden the bounty and collapse of the Silicon Valley high-tech industry, recently ended her 12-year marriage, and is now gainfully re-employed after a long career in the nonprofit sector. On the up side, she still has a portion of her sanity and is in love with a chef, writer, teacher and photographer.

Mindy is writing her family’s memoirs as they go along. She loves her children fiercely, lives and breathes technology, and tries her best to use her powers for good. Mindy spent twelve years as a mild-mannered nonprofit employee. In 2002, after the birth of her third child in four years, she began to write about her life and children in the sleepless hours in an effort to capture her young family’s world in real time. This chronicle of her family’s adventures and mishaps through a chaotic period of marital, emotional, and financial strife is retold in her first book, Mommy Confidential: Adventures From the Wonderbelly of Motherhood. Mindy is founder of TheMommyBlog.net, PearSoup.com, Wonderbelly.com, and OverdueLetters.com. She is also a founding panelist at Momversation.com.

Dad Expert,
Paul Banas
As a new dad, Paul became very aware that many dads today are more involved in parenting but have limited resources from a man's point of view from which to better understand the challenges of their changing role. Thus, GreatDad.com was born. "While nothing can imitate or replace the special mother/child bond, dads develop incredible relationships with their children, and it is vitally important that they have a place to discuss the parenting process from a male perspective. Data indicates that fathers today are more involved in family life versus a generation ago, due to factors including post-911 security fears, loss of life long career job security, and increased demands on working moms and dual career families. GreatDad.com enables all dads-working, stay-at-home, single, gay, domestic partners, and more-to find ways to be involved and understand how dads are functioning as parents today.

Insurance Expert,
Ann Song of InsuranceAgents.com
Ann was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to the United States at the age of six. Growing up in Centerville, Ohio, she attended The Ohio State University where she majored in Strategic Communication with a minor in Business. After graduating, Ann taught English at a private institution in Korea. She returned to the United States and worked as a marketer for a hotel design firm before moving to her current position at InsuranceAgents.com. She finds her work challenging and exciting and has great hopes for growth within the company.

Auto Expert,
Jody DeVere
Jody DeVere is the CEO of AskPatty.com, Inc. a social media marketing to women expert, journalist, car care & safety spokesperson and has more than twenty-five years of achievement as a successful entrepreneur focused on sales and marketing leadership including ten years developing web based business solutions across diverse industries. DeVere is currently the President of the Woman’s Automotive Association International, member of the Car Care Council Women’s Board, member of the California State Advisory Board for SkillsUSA , Board member of UnitedSpinal.org, member of the SEMA Businesswomen's Networking Association and is a Contributing Editor for the Car Channel on Blogher.com.