Mary Couzin Chicago Toy and Game Group​ CEO/Founder Mary Couzin is CEO/Founder of the Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Group, which includes: playCHIC Toy Inspired Fashion Event, Int’l Summit for Professional Inventors, Int’l Toy & Game Innovation Conference, DiscoverGames.com, Toy & Game Inventor of the Year Awards (TAGIEs), Chicago Toy & Game Fair, Young Inventor Challenge and other events promotingRead More …

Jory Des Jardins BlogHer, Inc. Co-Founder and Strategic Alliances President Jory Des Jardins co-founded BlogHer, Inc. in 2005 with Elisa Camahort Page and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s President of Strategic Alliances and lead evangelist to top revenue partners. With Jory’s leadership, BlogHer has developed its own distinctive brand of strategic partnership, helping to facilitate constructive dialogue betweenRead More …

Elisa Camahort Page BlogHer, Inc. Co-Founder and COO Elisa Camahort Page co-founded BlogHer, Inc., in 2005 with Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s COO. With Elisa leading the BlogHer conference business, it has grown from a single conference hosting 300 attendees in 2005, to many diverse events that hosted more than 5,500 attendees in 2012.Read More …

Luvvie Ajayi is a writer and social media strategist who’s been blogging for a decade. Her award-winning pop culture humor blog, AwesomelyLuvvie.com is a respected space online, and was winner of the Best Humor Blog of 2009 from the Black Weblog Awards, chosen as one of BlogHer’s 2010 Voices of the Year, and was recognized as one of blogosphere’s bestRead More …

Karen Weigert serves as Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago.  She was appointed in 2011.   As Chief Sustainability Officer Karen works to guide the City’s sustainability strategy and implementation, bringing innovative, practical solutions throughout the work of the City. Prior to her appointment Karen served as Senior Vice President of ShoreBank (later Urban Partnership Bank) where she builtRead More …

Genevieve Thiers is an entrepreneur in the Chicago area.  Her first company, Sittercity.com, is America’s first company to take caregiving services online. Sittercity.com now has millions of users nationwide, and serves clients like the U.S. Department of Defense, Avon, Mastercard, Monster WW and many others. With new locations in the UK and Canada, it is an international success. Genevieve wasRead More …

Corri McFadden is the founder and owner of luxury consignment service, eDrop-Off. As one of the largest ebay Power Sellers in the U.S., eDrop-Off is revolutionizing the consignment business by selling over 3,000 items per week with over 350,000 transactions to date. At the head of the company is Corri, overseeing over 45 staffers including copywriters, photographers and stylists. InRead More …

Candace Collins Jordan began her career at age 13 in St. Louis, Mo. as the youngest fashion coordinator in the history of major retailer Famous-Barr.  After a stint at St. Louis University she became a Bunny at the St. Louis Playboy Club and was quickly promoted to the Chicago Playboy Club, the center of Playboy Enterprises all at the ageRead More …