Jean Hill is Executive Director of Infrastructure for the Retail Division at Morgan Stanley.
Prior to her role at Morgan Stanley, Hill headed up infrastructure services for Merrill Lynch's Institutional business and served as a consultant at Credit Suisse First Boston. Prior to those roles, she founded and later sold a startup company which sold Kosher meat by mail-order.
Jean Hill received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her law degree from Fordham University.
Laurie Joslin has been the president of Unlimited Coaching Solutions since its formation in 1999. Her specialty is training and coaching to enhance performance in teambuilding, leadership, customer service and sales.
Laurie Joslin graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the State University of New York at Cortland.
Meg Southerland began Gardenworks at MacClan Farms with her father when he retired from the family dairy farm in 1992. The Gardenworks farm now produces U-pick blueberries and raspberries, in addition to growing flowers used in floral arrangements. Their fall harvest produces pumpkins and specialty winter squashes, and winter offers fresh evergreens, wreaths and Christmas trees. Inside the store, Southerland offers handcrafted gifts, specialty foods, and an area where stained-glass and soap-making workshops are held. Meg Southerland holds a Bachelor's Degree in plant science from Cornell University and a Master's Degree in botanic garden management from the University of Delaware. As a student, she apprenticed at the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in London and the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens in Scotland.
Sandy Arnold worked in the nursery industry before buying rural land in 1984 to begin Pleasant Valley Farm. Her background includs retailing, business, and agriculture. Much attention to marketing facilitated sales of her diverse organic fruits, vegetables, and perennials.
Elizabeth Ryan developed a passion for agriculture from earlier generations and is CEO of Breezy Hill Orchard.
Developed for and sold to thousands of New Yorkers in the Union Square Green Market, their products include apples, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, and the value-added products that come from these fruits. The most significant of these value-added products is draft cider, for which the company aggressively raised private equity to launch a national product.
Elizabeth Ryan is a graduate of Cornell University.
Carushka Jarecka is founder of Carushka Bodywear. When she started her own company in 1978, at the age of 25, with only $3,000, Carushka knew that to be a success in the competitive fashion industry, she would need to create a niche that reflected how women feel about themselves. "My greatest strength as a business woman is originality. Our corporate slogan, 'Expect the Unexpected' is what I always want to provide the customers with."
Carushka Jarecka earned a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 1973, as well as a couture diploma from the Trippon School of Design.
Karen Davies is a Commercial Loan Officer with Crestar (which was acquired by SunTrust right before the interview).
Julie McPeek has over eighteen years experience in Sales and Marketing at Procter & Gamble, covering a wide array of product categories and retailing venues. Her expertise is in forming long-term partnerships with clients, identifying critical business issues, and designing appropriate business solutions to address those issues. Specializing in executive-level management relationships, Julie has personally sold to CEOs and executive officers of many of the companies comprising the Fortune 500.
Julie McPeek received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Joanne McKinney is Chief Strategy Officer for the Burns Group, an independent Branding and Advertising Agency based in NYC. She has worked in innovation, advertising and marketing on diverse and global brands both in the U.S. and abroad. Joanne started her career at Grey Advertising, and joined the Burns Group following her role as Interim Director of Integrated Marketing for Kraft Europe. Joanne McKinney received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.