editors

Bonnie McDaniel

Editor-in-Chief

Bonnie is an author, host of ION Television Network's Metro Magazine and a television segment contributor for ABC’s News Channel 8 Let’s Talk Live. She is also a contributing writer for Small Room Decorating Magazine. She is the creator of Women Are Talking, a global initiative created in 2008 to provide an easily-accessible virtual space where women can support one another through sharing knowledge, experiences, and resources. The Women Are Talking Initiative uses technology to create dialogue between women around the world on issues of work, career, education, health, finance, family, relationships, personal development, law and policy. (www.womenaretalking.org)

In previous roles she was a former radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, editor of Family Digest Magazine and an award winning restaurateur winning the prestigious Wine Spectator Award for having one of the best food and wine menus in the world.

Allison McDaniel

Associate Editor, Editor for Growing Good

Allison is a graduate of Savannah College of Art & Design with a BFA in Advertising Design. She is a free-lance graphic artist and photographer and is the co-host of an upcoming television project and Its Thyme TV. She has several years experience working with Bonnie catering and creating beautiful weddings.

Karen Schachter

Contributing Editor, Growing Good

Karen Schachter is a licensed clinical social worker, certified health counselor, and founder of “Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds” and “Dishing With Your Daughter™” which offer a variety of programs and services to help girls and women experience nourishment, good health and deliciousness in their relationship to food, eating and their bodies.

Mocha Lee

Contributing Editor, Be Well

Mochalee is one of the country’s top fitness professionals. She is a former fitness TV host for BET’s Heart & Soul, is a contributor for Oxygen Women’s Fitness and Heart & Soul magazines. She has graced the covers and has been featured in numerous magazines including Embrace, Max Muscle and Ebony.

Andrea Rock

Contributing Editor, Thrive and Good Media

Andrea has a Master of Arts in Media Arts and has worked extensively conducting workshops and speaking on the media’s influence on children.

More recently Andrea became a certified Grief Recovery facilitator from the Grief Recovery Institute and graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity.

Dr. Renita Gabriel

Contributing Editor, MindWorks

Renita C. Gabriel (Perkins) is a licensed clinical psychologist. Her professional/personal interests include forensic psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, mentoring and spiritual development. Dr. Gabriel recently acquired her board certification in Christian Counseling.

Website: http://www.psydmommie.com

Christine Chen

Contributing Editor

Christine Chen is the President and Founder of Global Professional Protocol (GPP). She has been conducting protocol, etiquette, and customer service programs and privately consulting since 1997. Professionally trained by The Protocol School of Washington, she has a clear understanding of the ever-changing rules of etiquette in today’s society along with the importance of world class customer service. As a graduate from the Cappa Chell Finishing School, she brings expertise in the area of making the first impression that counts. With a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and as a certified practitioner of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator assessment, Christine brings out the importance of understanding the need for positive relationships between employees and clients as well as the need for team building within the organization.

For additional information, to schedule a program, or to invite Christine to speak at an event, contact her at chris@gpprotocol.com, 301-580-7780, or visit GPP website at www.gpprotocol.com.

Lisa Reed

Contributing Editor

Lisa is an IFBB Fitness Professional and owner of Lisa Reed Fitness, LLC, an in-home personal training, boot camp and weight loss company. Lisa has trained tennis icon, Monica Seles, trained the athletes as a Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Florida, the United States Naval Academy and the National Cathedral School for Girls in Washington DC. With a Master of Science degree in Exercise Physiology, certified by the NSCA: CSCS, TRX, Healthy Moms and HKC Kettlebells, Lisa is not only the fitness and nutrition consultant/expert and life performance motivator for clients not only in the Virginia, Maryland and DC areas, on News Channel 8 ABC DC, Sports Talk Live, Fox Baltimore, WTOP radio, but around the world. Her passion is to make positive differences in lives of her clients. Lisa believes in the small steps each and every day that will inspire, motivate and educate you to be healthy from the inside out.

Shelley Tidmore

Healthy Lifestyle Contributor

A vegetarian and holistic life style enthusiast since age 17, Shelley Tidmore has consulted hundreds on lifestyle, health, and fitness. She has worked as a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and nutritional consultant through holistic whole food eating.

Shelley is a marketing professional with emphasis in health care, health, fitness, and naturopathy. Her work in these areas are represented by her day to day life.

Through the social and behavioral sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham her studies focused on psychology and sociology with concentration on biofeedback, meditation, and self-regulation. She has practiced yoga since age 15, meditates daily, and believes in achieving external beauty through the mind body spirit approach.

Shelley focuses nutrition on raw food, vegetarian, organic consumption and believes this nutritional lifestyle is the optimal approach to prevention and healing of chronic illnesses.

Darian Davis

Contributing Editor, Cooking School

I’m kid Chef Darians Davis, I’m in the 7^th grade and love school and cooking. I cook easy healthy meals for children using lots of fruits and vegetables in a fun way. I use no stove or oven. Instead I rely on the george foreman grill, toaster, waffle iron, microwave etc. My motto is “I keep it healthy and safe for the kids!” Website: www.chefdariandavis.com.

Ivy Ford DeShield

Contributing Editor

Ivy serves as the Director of a nonprofit 501c3 organization, Upward Bound at The George Washington University School of Medicine, providing supplemental education services to low-income, potential first-generation college students in the District of Columbia. She is also the Founder of the TasteMakers Networking Group, targeting professional women in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Most recently, she has been spending considerable time working simultaneously on a poetry and children's book and browsing local 'hotspot' consignment boutiques.

Website: www.deshieldenterprises.com

Roger Mack

Contributing Editor

Roger Mack is one of the Metropolitan DC areas top certified personal trainers. He is a dynamic energetic professional athlete with over 10 years of proven success. Mack’s career reached its peak when he qualified for the the 2004 Olympic Games Trials in the 110m high hurdles.

For the last 10 years, Roger has committed himself to helping individuals lose weight, trim and tone. He has successfully combined his passion and career by offering personal training and conditioning services at every fitness level. As an elite athlete, he offers training services that are based on practical, professional, and academic experience. He is certified with NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). Mack’s specialties are strength training, weight loss, sports achievement, speed development and nutrition.

Donavan Beckford Sr. and Jr.

Contributing Editors

The Beckfords are a father and son team whose lifestyle epitomizes good and healthy living. A single father, the senior Beckford is teaching his son, by example, how to choose the right foods and adopt fitness as a way of life.

A certified fitness trainer for his squadron in the United States Air Force Reserves, Donavan Sr. also shares his healthy lifestyle philosophy through his work as a commercial model and actor in both print, movie and television media.

Donavan Jr. is also a commercial model and actor, as well as being among the top students in his school.

In addition to spending time together in the gym, the father and son team also enjoy time cooking together and creating new and healthy recipes.

Donavan Sr. has a degree in Mass Communications, is a former college instructor, a member of the United States Air Force and is a candidate for a doctorate degree with a completion of the program in 2013.

And if the name Beckford sounds familiar, Donavan Sr. is the cousin of the famous model Tyson Beckford.

You can email them at bdonavan1@yahoo.com.

LaTeisha Williams

Contributing Editor

LaTeisha Williams is a wife and mother of two children. She fills her busy days with teaching children's and women's classes at church, taking care of her home and homeschooling her little ones. She has a passion for nutrition, cooking, and creativity—fitting in time for cake decorating, teaching cooking classes, and teaching herself to sew when she can.

Kimberly Powell

Photography

Kimberly Powell is a freelance photographer who specializes in portrait and live performance photography. In her work she enjoys creating images that provide a fresh and memorable perspective, open a window into the heart and soul of her subjects, and that celebrate artists from all walks of life as they create, perform, and inspire.

Beverli Alford

Associate Photographer

Beverli has been a professional photographer for over 20 years in fashion design and graphic artistry. She is a member of Fashion Group International, NAAP and Professional Photographers of America.