Featured Speaker Mindy Abovitz Monk Founder|,Tom Tom Mag Mindy Abovitz Monk is an award-winning entrepreneur and social activist, committed to diversifying the music industry. Through her media company Tom Tom, Mindy inspires a global audience of musicians to play with power, pride and to be seen. This year, she was recognized by the Grammys as a Change Agent.
Grace Bonney Founder & Editor In Chief, Design*Sponge & Good Company Grace Bonney is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Design*Sponge. She is also the founder of our new print magazine, Good Company and its weekly podcast of the same name. She authored the New York Times best-selling book, In the Company of Women, in 2016. Grace was named one of The Frederick Douglass 200 by The Guardian in 2018. She has been called a “Martha Stewart for Millennials” by The New York Times and was named a Top Home Influencer of 2017 by Forbes Magazine. Grace lives in the Hudson Valley with her wife and their three pets.
Melissa Falkowski Faculty Adviser & Teacher, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Melissa Falkowski is the faculty adviser of The Eagle Eye newsmagazine, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which she has been advising for the last four years. She has been teaching for 15 years at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Melissa advised the MSD Aerie yearbook for nine years, and currently advises the school literary magazine, Artifex. In addition to newspaper, she teaches English and creative writing courses. She holds a Bachelor’s in English Education from Florida Atlantic University and a Master’s in Journalism from Kent State University. Journalism has long been a passion of Melissa’s. She began as a student journalist on her middle school yearbook staff and continued to pursue that passion throughout high school. She became a teacher to empower students and help them find their voices through student journalism. She credits her high school journalism teacher, Jeanette Johnson, for inspiring her to become a journalism and English teacher. When Melissa is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family - her husband of 14 years, John; her 7-year-old son, John Thomas; and her 1-year-old daughter, Evangeline. Her other interests include trips to Disney World and reading.
Lauren Alexis Fisher Editor, Harper’s BAZAAR Lauren Alexis Fisher is a digital editor at Harper’s BAZAAR where she covers fashion news, trends, shopping, and more for BAZAAR.com. In addition to writing for BAZAAR, she also oversees the site’s e-commerce and SEO initiatives. Before landing at BAZAAR.com, Lauren studied fashion and business at LIM College in New York where she gained industry experience while interning at Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, College Fashionista, and Harper’s BAZAAR.
