November 2024
Stories of the Female Body
Adventurous ladies roam. Our theme invites our storytellers to recall a time they were far from home. This might be literal distance from home base — an overseas vacation, year abroad, the experience of moving for college or their first job. Or this might be a metaphorical distance — getting far from the person they really are, losing sight of their values and sense of self. Maybe they’ll dive deep or maybe they’ll just make us laugh. Whatever they choose to share, humorous or heartfelt, we know it’s going to inspire and delight.We asked our performers to turn their gaze to the site of so much female joy and anxiety: our bodies. The ever-changing relationship we have to the vessels we move through life in is fraught and fascinating, funny and fearless. The messages we get from society, the media, even our own friends and family can be mixed and honestly, a mind f*ck. We invited our courageous storytellers to tell us a story about their body— their challenges or their triumphs. The way it’s brought them pain, or the pitter-patter of tiny feet, or better yet pleasure.
Our Storytellers
Team 20s - Michaela Campbell
​After being estranged from her parents one month before high school graduation, Michaela took a gap year to discover who she was. She moved to Seattle with one box and a suitcase where she leaned into her love for movement and community. She shared her journeys with friends on Instagram. From making new recipes to trying new workout classes, she took you along for the ride. Four years later, Enjoy Life with Michaela has blossomed into a space for content creation and community connection. Michaela hosts community events centered around her love for wellness, travel, and food with the intention to give people one more reason to enjoy their life. Aside from her social venture, Michaela is a full time college student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business while working full time in luxury real estate and building up her knowledge as a seasoned solo female traveler. You can find her strolling through the streets of Seattle or on an airplane visiting her next destination!
@enjoylifewithmichaela​​​
​
Team 30s - Kendall Tyson​​
Kendall Tyson is the Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Intelligence for the Seattle Kraken. She is responsible for overseeing the financial affairs, strategic planning, and data management of the Kraken and its affiliates. In her role, Kendall manages the use of data to drive revenue growth, conduct financial analysis, create personalized guest experiences, and facilitate business efficiency with automated reporting. Prior to joining the Kraken, Kendall led corporate development at Topgolf, where she evaluated mobile apps, entertainment venues and golf technology for M&A or partnership. Earlier in her career, she advised state and local government agencies on business transformations as a Management Consultant at Accenture. Kendall holds a B.A. degree from Emory University, a B.S. degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Yale School of Management. She currently resides in Seattle, WA with her husband and two children.​​
​
Team 40s - Julie Beard
Julie Beard is a Washingtonian through and through - she grew up in Duvall, attended high school in Duvall and Tacoma, and attended both the University of Washington and Gonzaga University. Professionally she has been in law enforcement for over 20 years, and currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Police for an agency on the Eastside. Julie's family has always been committed to service and she was raised around volunteers, military veterans, and first responders. Julie is married with two daughters - one tween and one teen - and together the family enjoys playing and coaching several sports, volunteering at school, and finding time to reconnect outdoors as much as possible. They fill their weekends with sports tournaments, camping, or tending their yard and garden. Julie believes in chasing a big goal every year, and for 2024 she committed to completing an Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - which she did in July!​​​​​
​
Team 50s - Rose Woods
She/They. Co-Executive Director of the Whidbey Institute. Writer. Theatre Director. Founder and former Artistic Director of Island Shakespeare Festival. Former Artistic Director for Whidbey Children’s Theatre. She has served as Artistic Director for three theatre companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and has worked across the country with both professional and youth theater companies. She is a professional screenwriter and playwright. Awarded a commendation from Barbara Boxer for her work in teaching tolerance with youth theater and is the recipient of a number of awards for both her writing and directing, including the Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, Humanitarian Teacher Award from the Humane Society, and a variety of national and international awards for her writing. Believes art can be activism.​​​​​​​​​​​
​
Team 60s - Lorene Edwards Forkner
Lorene Edwards Forkner is an author and speaker whose work centers on exploring the wonders of the natural world. She writes a weekly gardening column for Pacific NW Magazine in The Seattle Times and is the author of numerous gardening titles. Since 2018 Lorene has been capturing daily color studies of fragments from the garden, a practice that grew into her latest book, ‘Color In and Out of the Garden,’ a memoir told in plants and pigment.
@seeing_color_in_the_garden​​​​
​​
Team 70s - Fabienne “Fae” Brooks
Fabienne “Fae” Brooks, retired as the Chief of Criminal Investigations with the King County Sheriff's Office after 26 years. She is the first African American female to hold various positions within the office and has served on numerous boards. A lifetime member of NOBLE, FBI NAA, and the NAACP, Fae lives in Bellevue with her husband. They have a blended family of 4 adult children, 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. And, anyone who knows her knows she loves taking early morning walks and she is a die-hard Seattle Seahawks football fan!
April 2024
Far From Home
Adventurous ladies roam. Our theme invites our storytellers to recall a time they were far from home. This might be literal distance from home base — an overseas vacation, year abroad, the experience of moving for college or their first job. Or this might be a metaphorical distance — getting far from the person they really are, losing sight of their values and sense of self. Maybe they’ll dive deep or maybe they’ll just make us laugh. Whatever they choose to share, humorous or heartfelt, we know it’s going to inspire and delight.
Our Storytellers
Team 20s - Tziarra (zee-air-uh) King is a professional soccer player in the National Women’s Soccer League. She was born and raised in South Jersey and currently plays for the Seattle Reign. Tziarra graduated Summa Cum Laude from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in Nutrition Science. Tziarra takes great pride in using her platform to advocate for social change and to make the world more inclusive for all.
​
​
Team 30s - Bianca Vasvani Bianca was exposed to Ayurvedic medicine at an early age. Her mother told her to put Hald (turmeric) on everything as a home remedy. She saw her first Ayurvedic Doctor a decade ago and resonated with the integrative medicine model of “the body’s inherent wisdom to heal itself, utilizing the most natural therapies.” She started her own business in 2013 to connect patients with chronic diseases to Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) and Ayurvedic Physicians. Her business quickly transformed into working with all types of integrative health care practitioners (HCPs) including Medical Doctors, Meditation Experts, Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, and Nutritionists. She was exposed to learning about various modalities of care for patients and became quickly fascinated by the products that were improving their quality of life. Since then, she has worked for a variety of nutritional supplement companies in both a full-time capacity as well as a consultant, primarily focused on probiotics, research around the gut, vaginal and oral microbiomes, mental health and liver support. She has been involved with the R+D formulations of over 50 products in the industry, with significant growth success in probiotic and stress and anxiety formulations. She recognized that opportunities for women in her industry were sparse and in 2020 she founded the Bee Inspired program through her business BeeHyve Marketing to offer pro-bono consults to help fellow entrepreneurs optimize their business strategies and find their why.
​
​
Team 40s - Tiernan Madorno
Tiernan was born and raised right here in the Pacific northwest. A true PNW-er, she doesn't use umbrella's when it rains, and loves a good outdoor adventure to the San Juan Islands or National parks. With an eclectic career spanning entertainment, media, tech, advertising and live event industries, she's had the chance to work with some of the coolest people, on the Awesomes projects. Hosting live events, building events, facilitating discussions is the stuff that gets her out of bed every morning. The people things. Some fun facts: Tiernan fancies herself 'geek chic' with a sprinkle of hippie on top. 80's glam rock speaks to her soul and Drag is one of her favorite art forms. She's excited to participate in her first Generation Women experience!
​
​
Team 50s - Shilpa Bratt
From starting my career launching an adult literacy program as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras to now working with others to keep the bad guys off the internet as part of Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, my professional journey has been a non-linear one. Between these two points, I have approached my career and life with a passion for human connection, helping others, and the belief that I can always learn something from those around me. I’ve sought out and explored these passions by living on four continents and traveling to places off the beaten path. Whether it was riding a tandem bicycle with my husband down the coast of Vietnam, collaborating with a microenterprise entrepreneur to launch her passion fruit liqueur business in Bolivia, road-tripping with my young family across Tibet, or leading a multi-cultural team in Singapore—all of these experiences have helped me step out of my comfort zone, see things from a different perspective, and grow as a person. I hope I can inspire others to do the same!
​
​
Team 60s - Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for domestic, local and seasonal flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that stimulates consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases. Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the online directory to American grown farms, florists, shops and studios who supply domestic and local flowers. With its 2013 debut, her weekly "Slow Flowers Podcast" was the first and continues as the longest-running flower podcast. Debra is editorial director and co-founder with Robin Avni of BLOOM Imprint, a boutique publisher that identifies and develops creative book ideas by and about members of the Slow Flowers Movement. In 2016, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farm-to-florist cooperative, honored Debra with the first Growers Choice Award for her "outstanding contributions to revitalizing the local floral community" and a recipient of American Horticultural Society's 2018 Great American Gardener Award. Debra is a 2016 inductee to the Garden Writers Association Hall of Fame and a 2019 inductee to Professional Floral Communicators International. Debra has authored 15 books, including Slow Flowers, The 50 Mile Bouquet and Where we Bloom.
​
​
Team 70s - Marcia Holland, CAE-retired, has extensive background in leadership training with a specialty in implementing change within the corporate and political arenas. She is currently retired, enjoying family and friends, and volunteering her leadership, strategic planning, and advocacy skills to both her church and on behalf of highly intelligent children.
Upon retirement from her association executive career, she launched Outcomes Unlimited, a leadership and strategic planning consulting firm that focused on helping associations and corporations identify and achieve key strategic goals on behalf of their stakeholders.