Thea Vaughan

Thea Vaughan is the former Owner and Co-Founder of 3 globally recognized photography agencies based in NYC: VAUGHAN HANNIGAN, AUGUST and OTTO. She founded these companies in 2007, working to promote and curate the work of world renowned photographers and illustrators to achieve original commissioned work for advertising, editorial and corporate clients, while maintaining their presence as exhibiting artists in galleries and collections. The agencies were established as some of the best in the industry, holding strong to integrity in business and the principles of creative management of artists. Since moving on from the companies, she has focused her energy on consulting for growth of small businesses and individual artists, maintaining her love of curating artwork and business development. Thea holds an MFA in Sculpture and Photography, co-founded an after school program called The Be YourSelf Club, co-hosted The Greater Good Party in NY, and has raised thousands of dollars for cancer research through creating, establishing and promoting multiple events. Thea lives in Bend OR with her partner and 3 young girls.

Michelle Ghilotti

Michelle Ghilotti was named one of the nation's top creatives in ORIGIN Magazine and has been quoted by publications such as Forbes and HuffPo. She is the owner of Michelle Ghilotti International: a branding, coaching and empowerment agency. She's the creator of experiences like the Greater Good Party, the Creative Heroine Experience, Brand to Success, High Touch LIVE, CEO Changemaker and Mom to Mogul. Having worked with brands like Nike, Hewlett-Packard and Starbucks, she is a Brand Activator and Success Coach, as well as a writer, speaker, social entrepreneur and modern adventurist mom. Michelle activates and supports socially-active entrepreneurial women (or those aspiring to be) to make a tangible difference in the world through businesses-turned-movements, while also focusing on a more unapologetic self-expression. She supports clients to integrate their full roster of talents, multiple passions, values, creativity and spirituality into powerful brands that make others feel like they’ve known you forever. She lives in LA with her Harry Potter and Star Wars-obsessed son, husband and pup, Holland, named after the country where her son was born.

SPEAKERS

Corey Martin

Corey Martin has received wide acclaim for creating modern buildings that display sensitivity to the natural environment, daylight, spatial dynamism, and craftsmanship. An Oregon native with a deep personal connection to the diverse landscapes of the Pacific northwest, Corey has designed and developed award-winning buildings, operated his own furniture design and fabrication studio, worked as an artist and sculptor, and started two award-winning design and architecture firms. Corey finds insight in the relationship between nature and architecture, leading design with a focus on elevating our sense of connection to the natural world. His work encompasses a variety of project types, including mass timber design, single and multi-family residential design, office and workplace design, hospitality and restaurant design, and cultural facility design, including performing arts venues, art facilities, and sanctuaries.

René Mitchell

René Mitchell is a creative convener and arts advocate with over two decades experience cultivating creative thinking and challenging perception. Following eighteen years co-leading Bend-based branding agency, tbd, in 2016 René took on the role of the Director of Marketing for former-client Humm Kombucha, while continuing to promote arts, culture, and social change through her creative studio, René Mitchell Creative; as a Board of Director for Caldera Arts, Art in Public Places, and ScaleHouse; and as the Director of the Bend Design Conference. René is the co-founder of Scalehouse, a multidisciplinary contemporary arts center convening diverse thinkers for in-depth discussions, artistic collaborations, exhibitions and events, including Bend Design Week, Scalehouse Gallery, and Patricia Clark Artist in Residence Studio. Scalehouse believes our shared future presents complex challenges and opportunities, not just benefiting from creativity, but requiring it. 

Jodie Patterson

Jodie Patterson is an award winning author, speaker, advocate, and entrepreneur whose work spans communities as diverse as fashion and beauty brands to media and entertainment organizations to queer and BIPOC advocacy groups. In 2019, she became the first Black person elected to the role of Chair of the The Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board, America’s largest LGBTQAI organization with more than forty years of experience advocating for the rights of this community.  

In addition to her work with The Human Rights Campaign, Jodie sits on the Board of Directors for The Shabazz Center, which upholds the legacy and teachings of Malcolm X and his wife Dr. Betty Shabazz. She also serves on Mount Sinai’s Institute for Health Equity Research Task Force, Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery Advisory Board, and the Advisory Board of the Ackerman Institute’s Gender & Family Project. In 2017 the United Nations recognized her as a Champion of Change.

Jodie’s first book, The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation,was hailed by Alice Walker as “Marvelous,” and since it’s publication in 2017, Jodie has spoken weekly on topics of identity, gender, race, beauty and how they play out in family dynamics. In 2021, she published her second book, Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope. The picture book was inspired by Jodie’s child’s pronouncement at the age of three, “Mama, I’m not a girl, I am a boy” as well as Jodie’s transformation into an unapologetic LGBTQAI advocate.

Her story is currently used by the State of New York for diversity training of its employees. 

In addition to her advocacy work, Jodie is a longtime entrepreneur. She currently co-owns Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, the acclaimed venue she helped co-found in the late 90s. She also co-founded two beauty brands focused on women of color. 

Jodie lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she co-parents her five children with love, education, and family solidarity.

Molly Carroll

Molly Carroll, MA, LPC is a therapist, coach, published writer, speaker, and loving mom of two kids. Molly has been passionately working in education and mental health for 30 years. ​​Molly published her artistic self-help journal Cracking Open: A creative journal for self-transformation in 2015 and published her second book, Trust Within: Letting Intuition Lead with Amazon. Molly has done two TED talks: one in 2015 and one in November of 2019. Molly just launched her heartwarming and transformative podcast Cracking Open with Molly Carroll. Molly conducts popular workshops throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica. She is a successful public speaker for corporations such as Apple, Hydro Flask, Sojern, RAND, and LinkedIn. Molly has also had the good fortune of having a private audience with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

Marcus LeGrand

Marcus LeGrand currently works at Central Oregon Community College as the College and Afrocentric Program Coordinator where he is focused to establish holistic support of self-identifying Black and Afro-Centric students and their allies to access information to create agency. He serves as a Cadre member for Restorative Justice and Equity helping to create restorative programs and practices for the Bend-La Pine School District and the surrounding communities, as well as serving on several boards such as The Father’s Group, Allyship in Action and Central Oregon Equity Council. Marcus believes that youth education, leadership and community advocacy are the catalyst to help communities understand how to navigate their future for growth and sustainability, through the collaboration of community and industry. He earned his B.A. in Marketing and Advertising from the Foster Business School at the University of Washington-Seattle; his M.A. in Counseling and Psychotherapy from Rowan University; is a Navy veteran who fought in the Persian Gulf; and is the father of two outstanding students.

Courtney Christenson

Courtney Christenson is a writer, activist, peacemaker, and the founder of Sparks & Matches. She is dedicated to helping women understand and leverage their power to dismantle systems of injustice and push our society toward equality, equity, peace, and justice.

Courtney has 15 years of entrepreneurial experience including a decade of brand strategy, marketing, and years of copywriting for both nonprofit and for-profit companies that she helped found and grow. She believes marketing can and should be ethical, constructive, and an agent for positive social change.