Kesha Dreher

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Kesha Dreher
Dr. Kesha Dreher self-identifies as the Coolest Nerd Super She-ro on Planet Earth.  She believes if you can dream it and speak it, you can achieve it.  As a south side Chicago native and Iraq war veteran, she experienced her fair share of devastation.  However, Dr. Dreher chose to convert her devastation into her superpower; she encourages others to do as well.  Prior to retiring in Florida, over 25 years were toiled in editing legal and classified materials as a Senior Editor for Shepard’s McGraw-Hill, LexisNexis, and L3/Harris Technologies.  Dr. Dreher also loved sharing her pedagogical gifts and talents with students enrolled in local under-served Colorado community colleges as an English Professor.  To nourish her super she-ro inner-nerdy side, she earned a BS and MBA in IT, a Ph.D. in MGMT/HETL, and established Tri-Lakes Computer Services (TCS).  TCS offered her the benefit of enjoying her passions of “hands-on” computer engineering and tutoring underprivileged youth and young adults with “self-invented” game-based learning materials before it became a thing.  Besides her debut poem chapbook, Sifting Through The Dross, Dr. Dreher has also authored New Beginnings: A 25-Day Devotional, War Room Wednesdays: A 52-Week Devotional, and Exploring Strategies Leadership Need To Integrate Game-based Learning Into Higher Education: Ph.D. Dissertation (ProQuest).  Happily married 28 years to her husband, William; they lovingly share one daughter and a pup.  Her spare time is spent reading, writing, family time, watching sports, boating, and traveling around the U.S., Hawaiian Islands, and abroad (Germany, Iraq, Berlin, Mexico, and more).

Paul McFarlane

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Paul McFarlane

Mr. McFarlane finished a 34-year federal career in 2015. He resides in Millville, DE with his wife, Karen; their two adult sons live in Maryland. He writes memoir, fictional mysteries and enjoys family history research. He facilitates weekly FreeWrites for two other writing groups and plans to offer these to GCWA members.

Lisa Ellis

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Lisa EllisLisa Ellis, owner , operator of Boost Your Health Wellness Center.

Lisa has spent more than 2 decades assisting not-for-profit organizations and developing programs for personal and professional enhancement.

Lisa is proud to announce, her new book  “What’s Stopping Me From Being Happy?”
Now on sale!

She has assisted individuals with self-esteem challenges, overcome employment barriers and demonstrate the value of building bridges toward a healthier community through life skills coaching.  Lisa applies interaction and thought provoking messages to guide an individual toward self-discovery and self-awareness. Each step increases confidence through a personalized program enabling participants to explore new opportunities with clarity.

Clarity is the key to unlocking potential and recognition of personal drivers. Understanding and leveraging personal drivers can have a substantial positive impact on motivation and collaborative energy in our lives.

Lisa Ellis, Author of “What’s Stopping Me From Being Happy?”

Bilingual Facilitator (English or French).

Certified Life Skills Coach ~ Reiki Master/Teacher ~ NGH Certified Hypnotherapist ~ Energy Facilitator ~ Ancient Black Pearl Technique ~ CCMBA (Complete Cellular Mind Body Alignment) and so much more..

lisa@boostyourhealth.ca
www.boostyourhealth.ca

Lisa’s book

Ell Maldonado

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Ell Maldonado
Ell Maldonado is a two-spirit author and educator living in Florida with their family. Ell is passionate about teaching the Tainonaíki language and helping to teach others the Taíno culture. Ell is also a tribal member of the tribe Arayeke Yukayek.

JC Bruce

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jc bruce

I’m a journalist and author of a series of books recounting the misadventures of Alexander Strange whose weird news column is published by Tropic Press. The five books chronicling Strange’s adventures are are, in sequence, THE STRANGE FILES, FLORIDA MAN, GET STRANGE, STRANGE CURRENTS, and MISTER MANNERS. They are available as hardcovers, trade paperbacks and eBooks at all major online book retailers. MISTER MANNERS is also now available as an audiobook. Recently, STRANGE CURRENTS and MISTER MANNERS received top honors in the Royal Palm Literary Awards for Best Mysteries published by a Florida author.

When I’m not busy deciphering Alex’s notes and publishing his stories, I write and podcast regularly about current affairs, news of the weird, arts, culture, politics,, books, movies–basically anything that strikes my fancy. Those posts appear here and on other media including Facebook, Twitter, and Medium. I also capture the best of all that in my free newsletter. You should subscribe!

I first encountered Alexander Strange when we worked together at the Phoenix Daily Sun, which, sadly, like so many newspapers these days, has seen its shelf life expire. Alexander now lives in Naples, Florida aboard his fishing trawler, the Miss Demeanor. I live in a house. I was the journalist-in-residence at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and, earlier in my newspaper career, I served as an editor, managing editor, or reporter at, among other places, the Naples Daily News, the Dayton Daily News, the Austin American-Statesman, the Longview News-Journal, the Mesa Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Palm Beach Post, the St. Petersburg Times (now the Tampa Bay Times) and the Tampa Times (now deceased).

Once, I even served as the press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a congressman who ended up getting indicted and sent to prison. This job hopping has allowed me to experience varied swaths of our great country, sometimes without flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror. (Next to the law of gravity, my favorite statute is the one about limitations.) At various times along this journey, I nailed down a Master of Arts degree from Antioch University Midwest, a bachelor’s degree from St. Edward’s University, and I also served time at the University of South Florida.

A perpetual joiner, I’m a member of or have been a member of various professional organizations including the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, the American Society of News Editors, the Society of Professional Journaists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and the Société pour L’étude des Nouvelles E’tranges et des Phénomènes Paranormaux. (I just made that last one up.) I’m a former director of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and a former director (and lecturer) for the Antioch Writers’ Workshop. I’ve served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes and the National Journalism Awards, and am a member of American MENSA, which I like to mention so you’ll think I’m smart. And last week I scored a word worth 134 points in Word Chums.

J.C. Bruce’s website