Hi! My name is Kadia. I'm a Jamaican-American writer, editor, and creative strategist from the Bronx with over a decade of experience in digital media and storytelling. My work has been published in outlets like HuffPost, Jezebel, and Complex, and in 2018 I published my first book, Casual Musings, a collection of essays and poems. In 2019, I wrote, produced, and starred in Lea the Late Bloomer, an award-winning comedy web series. I love writing about the human condition and telling stories rooted in emotion, whether that's personal essays, screenplays, comedic writing, or poetry. As your mentor, I can help you develop your ideas, strengthen your storytelling, and bring more clarity and structure to your writing. I look forward to working with you!

Lu Chekowsky, Author, "Don't Buy What I'm Selling: On Breaking Up With Advertising and Finally Learning to Love My Whole, Fat Self" out from Little, Brown, June 2026. Emmy-winning, former television exec and advertising creative director at Wieden+Kennedy, MTV, Comedy Central, Facebook. Likes cats, reading, swimming and meeting fellow writers and artists and talking about the process of making art! 

Elizabeth Cholis is a communications advisor with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations navigate complex and often high-pressure situations. Over the course of her career, she has worked across several consulting firms, partnering with a wide range of clients – from global companies to startups and nonprofits – on moments that require clear thinking and careful communication. Elizabeth has helped clients prepare for and manage challenging situations, including litigation and government investigations, executive transitions, workplace and employment matters, and business disruptions. She believes that clear communication, thoughtful questions, and careful listening are essential to building trust, shaping strategy, and helping people navigate difficult situations and put their best selves forward. Mentoring has been a central part of Elizabeth’s career. She has helped people at all stages navigate job searches, the workplace, and professional development, and has also spent time advising students and parents as they think about college—what to look for in schools, how to approach the process, and how the college experience can lead to future opportunities. Outside of work, she enjoys planning her next trip, discovering new restaurants, and following soccer and film. 

Stephanie Golden is an award-winning author, collaborator, journalist, and book doctor in Brooklyn, NY. Her book “The Women Outside: Meanings and Myths of Homelessness” was a finalist for the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and received Honorable Mention, Emily Toth Award (Popular Culture Association). She also wrote “Slaying the Mermaid: Women and the Culture of Sacrifice” and eight books with experts, mostly on medicine, fitness, and health. And (since freelancers need a lot of skills to make a living) she’s also written websites, grant proposals, newsletters, training manuals, and reports.   She’s published articles and essays in Tricycle, Yoga Journal, The Startup, Aeon.co, Salon, Tricycle, Curator Magazine, The Manifest-Station, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, and an anthology, Loving Arrangements: Stories About Modern Living and Loving,” and fiction in The Summerset Review.

Creative Director | Brand Strategist | Author | Executive Mentor Gailanne Grosso is an award-winning creative leader, brand strategist, and author with a distinguished career driving impactful marketing and public relations campaigns. As the Principal and Creative Director of grossoworks, she leverages decades of top-tier agency experience to build powerful brand narratives. Grosso is renowned for spearheading high-profile initiative campaigns. As part of the team that won a Cannes Lion for the historic Always "Like a Girl" campaign, she also spearheaded the American Heart Association’s "Go Red for Women," which was named by PRWeek as one of the top campaigns of the last 20 years. She is also the author of the critically praised book The Other Side of Nice. Beyond her commercial success, Grosso is deeply committed to executive leadership and education. She is a member of Chief, the premier private network for women executive leaders. A passionate educator and advisor, she regularly mentors the next generation of talent across major academic institutions, serving as an advisor for Horn Entrepreneurship and an executive mentor at the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business. She also dedicates her time as a student mentor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Pace University, bridging the gap between creative discipline and business strategy.

I am a retired New York City Reading Teacher. I have been the Literacy Coach and/or Director of Literacy Instruction in several charter schools in Bronx, NY, Washington DC, and Newark, NJ throughout my career as an educator. My writing credits include many years of both my poetry and prose selected in the United Federation of Teachers Reflections Anthology, where I attend writing and publishing classes at the UFTRTC. I maintain https://sharonsdiary.blog, my blog of poetry, prose and photos. I perform my poetry at spoken word engagements. I created and host a Devotional Writing and Journaling Connect Group sponsored by Times Square Church. And am a pre-published author of a children’s picture book while completing a memoir in vignettes, poetry and photographs.

Anne Hellman’s debut novel, The Indecipherables, will be published by Bantam Books in January 2027. She has contributed stories and essays to Catapult, Tertulia, and Hyphen, among others. Anne has been an associate editor of Fiction magazine and was a recipient of the New York Times Foundation Fellowship in Creative Writing. Anne grew up in Northern California and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her family. She is an identical twin. As a mentor, Anne loves to help with fiction, nonfiction, personal statements, poetry, journalism, and college essays. She also has an art background and is happy to consult on fine art projects. Outside of writing, Anne loves to read (Samanta Schweblin, Helen Oyeyemi, Ali Smith, Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and Stephen King are some of her favorites), run in the park near her house, practice yoga, watch movies, and spend time with her family, which includes her husband, two sons, and a grumpy shiba inu named Rocky. 

Nicole Hoey is Robb Report’s deputy digital editor. While studying at Boston University, she read, wrote, and read some more as an English and journalism major. A class taught by a Boston Globe copy editor and a stint as head copy editor of a BU publication sparked her love for the craft. Now, she spends her days writing, editing, and reading about all things luxury for Robb Report. When she’s out of the office, she loves sifting through Brooklyn’s best thrift stores, sojourning through Prospect Park, and attempting to visit every museum in NYC. 

Marci enjoyed a 44-year career working for both global and local ad agencies. She began her career as a junior copywriter and ended it as a SVP, Executive Creative Director and Creative Strategist at Omnicom’s DDB, leading creative teams of writers, art directors, designers and producers to develop and execute award-winning work for both consumer and corporate brands. In between her ad agency stints, she worked as a film editor and co-founded a catering company. She currently consults with several of her former clients on creative and brand strategy. She holds both a BSJ and MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. As a first and only in many rooms, she has always been a staunch advocate for women’s advancement. She has served as co-chair of the Chicago Chapter of Omnicom’s OmniWomen ERG helping launch the pilot of their mentorship program. Her advocacy for workplace equity extended to the LGBTQ+ community as a board member of the OPEN Pride ERG. With deep experience in marketing/advertising/communications, she has a wealth of knowledge in creative writing, message strategy and talent development that she is excited to use in service to GWN.

I'm a 29 year old technical writer employed at Bloomberg. I've been working in my field for seven years and am eager to help young working women navigate their careers with more confidence and ease. I have helped many friends with application materials and resumes for internships, undergrad programs, grad programs, PhD programs, jobs, gigs, and more. A lot of these friends were successfully admitted to their respective schools or gigs after receiving my support. My strength lies in helping people express their skillset and interests in a precise, clear manner that doesn't come off as robotic or unoriginal. I'm here to help your personal voice shine through and make a strong, successful case for why you should be admitted or accepted. I'm also quite friendly and easy to talk to, so don't be shy! Let me make the most of your one hour with me so you can walk away feeling great about your own professional skills.

Annie Werner Preston is a writer and editor with a background in content and social media marketing. Her short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines and her byline can be found in the Wall Street Journal, ELLE, Texas Monthly, and others. She previously worked on the content teams at AWAY and Tumblr. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, and loves all things food, art, books, and knitting. 

Tom is a retired educator. For 30 years, he worked in the Greenport School District as an English/Journalism teacher, school counselor and administrator. During that time, he advised the school’s award-winning school newspaper, The Quill. As Special Education Director, he helped create and supervise the District’s Special Education inclusion program. After retiring from Greenport, Tom served as an Admissions Counselor for Stonehill College and Sarah Lawrence College. His responsibilities included recruitment, interviewing and reading applications. As a former school counselor, he brought a unique perspective to the college admissions process as an individual who had been on “both sides” of the process. Tom is a past president of the East End Counselors Association and the Suffolk County chapter for the Council for Exceptional Children. He holds a master’s degree in School Counseling from Long Island University and is a New York State certified English Teacher, School Counselor and School District Administrator. He is a member of The East End Counselors Association, The New York State School Counselors Association and The National Association of School Counselors. He recently published an article in The Edge, a publication on best practices by NYSSCA entitled On Bees and the College Admissions Process: Identifying and Strengthening Non-Cognitive Skills in our Students. He is a volunteer for Girls Write Now, a New York City organization that mentors underserved young women to find their voices through the power of writing and community.

Regina Sommese is a seasoned media and subscriber growth executive with over 15 years of experience in digital marketing, paid media strategy, and customer acquisition. She currently leads Subscriber Acquisition at HBO Max (Warner Bros. Discovery), where she drives growth through innovative, data-informed strategies. Her career spans both agency and in-house leadership roles at Warner Bros. Discovery, Discovery Inc., and PHD (Omnicom Media Group). Regina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from The College of New Jersey and a Master of Science in Media Management from Fordham University. Beyond her marketing expertise, Regina is a passionate advocate for early-career mentorship, crediting her own mentors as a key part of her professional journey. She lives in New York City and, in her free time, loves to travel (70 countries and counting!) and is an avid hiker.

Ellie Stimpson is the John DeWitt Gregory Writer-in-Residence at the Bronx Academy of Letters and the director of WriteNYC, a youth writing education program supported by Teachers & Writers Collaborative. She holds a BA in English Literature from New York University and an MFA in poetry also from New York University. She co-hosts the DGN Reading Series in Brooklyn and serves on the Youth Education Advisory Committee at Poets House. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Beloit Poetry Journal, Narrative Magazine, Boulevard Magazine, and elsewhere.

Ashley Naomi St. Preux (she/her) is a YA writer and first-gen eldest daughter. Ashley earned her Writing, Literature, and Publishing BA with a minor in Women & Gender Studies from Emerson College. Her undergraduate thesis was about the themes of Melancholy, Love, and Time in Ancient and YA Literature. Ashley's creative work features Black female main characters, unapologetic perspectives, and fabulist elements. She recently completed the first draft of her current manuscript. Follow her writing journey on Instagram @naomi.st.preux.

Rosalie Turner holds a B.S. in Policy, Planning, and Law, with a minor in Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, NY. She currently is working as an Environmental Compliance Manager for the City of Saco in Southern Maine, working to protect waterways through efficient sustainable planning methods. Additionally, she is a Communications Chair for the Maine Water Environment Association where she bridges her passion for advocating for the environment through scientific communication via various mediums including newsletter curation, social media management, and assisting in writing and editing articles for environmental based journals.  Rosalie also has been songwriting for over ten years and is currently in a band based out of Portland, Maine. Rosalie’s writing strengths are based in environmental and scientific communication, college essays, resume building, cover letters and interview prep.