Read all about our Contributing Bloggers!

Nellie Akalp is a passionate entrepreneur, small business advocate and mother of four. As CEO of CorpNet.com, an online legal document filing service, Nellie helps small business owners form an LLC or incorporate a business in order to start and protect their new business ventures the right way. To access free guides, advice and informative videos on small business legal topics, visit here.

As an expat who loves to travel Janice Chaka has experienced living and working in different countries and cultures. She has worked for large multi-national companies as well as start ups and small businesses. All of this has mainly been in a Human Resources capacity and she has quickly risen due to her hard work, professionalism and gift for making long lasting friendships. She is starting her own consultancy JC Global Services which specializes in Human Resources, VA and translation services. You can connect with her on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Aurelia Flores is Senior Counsel for a Fortune 500 company and founder of PowerfulLatinas.com, a company that “Supports, Values, Honors, and CELEBRATES Latina Women!” Aurelia, former teenage single mother and domestic violence survivor, went to Stanford Law School and had a Fulbright Fellowship in Mexico City before moving to San Diego to work in international business law at a prominent law firm. Aurelia has now been in-house over 10 years and specializes in intellectual property law.

Aurelia is an alum of the National Hispana Leadership Institute’s Executive Leadership Program, and was awarded the Athena Pinnacle Award in 2011 for an Individual in Technology, in particular for utilizing the tools of the internet to provide visions of Latina role models and create community online through her website. Aurelia sits on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Museum of Art, as well as on the Board of Women of Color in Law, and is a member of La Raza Lawyers, MANA de San Diego and the National Latina Business Women’s Association – San Diego chapter. She also participates in competitive ballroom dancing and can be found on twitter as @LatinaLeader. Aurelia’s son graduated from Georgetown University in May 2010.

Far from being a novice to the Career arena, Francina Harrison has the capability of transforming an average employee into an awesome performer. She established The Career Engineer website as a way to provide career development for employees, business coaching, connections, procurement opportunities and job posting services. Seven years later, TCE has many success stories and holds Career & Business Meetups throughout the country.

But Francina does not only rely upon lessons learned while obtaining her Masters in Social Work from Norfolk State University. She takes a non-traditional approach of combining career and business performance with motivation. This gives the individuals she works with the ability to regain purpose and increase performance whether for an employer or in life. Widely recognized as The Career Engineer herself, TCE has received numerous awards and accolades. In addition, Francina serves on several boards/committees including Urban League-Hampton Roads, President of Jobs Network Ministry, and has built a host of domestic and international alliances and partnerships.

TCE will expand its presence again shortly with the launch of The Career Engineer Television later in 2010. Meanwhile, you can visit their website at www.TCENow.com to schedule your own transformation, or to purchase a personally autographed copy of the award winning book, A Mind to Work: the Life and Career Planning Guide for People Who Want Need to Work.

Kelly Hoey is an expert in understanding, monetizing and leveraging professional networks. Her insights come from working with a diverse client base from law firms to start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies. Kelly spent 18 years inside law firms, first as a corporate attorney then in legal management. Kelly speaks frequently at conferences and events on networking, building and engaging professional communities, and social media networking. Kelly can be found on Twitter @jkhoey

After earning a doctorate in Physics at Emory University, Oana Hogrefe pursued a nine-year career in the software industry. She began as a developer then moved into management, leading teams both locally and overseas. For the last 20 years, Oana had been involved in photography in parallel with her high tech endeavors. She set up a website for her photography in 2000 and earned a professional photography degree from The New York Institute of Photography in 2003. In late 2008, Oana has decided to take her photography business to a new level, by pursuing it full-time. She is now thriving in her role as an entrepreneur and dedicates her time to what she feels is her life’s mission: inspiring and encouraging people to see their own worth and beauty.

Oana Hogrefe is the creator and owner of Love It Be, LLC, an experiential source of knowledge and support for living with joy and growing with purpose. Oana Hogrefe Photography (a division of Love It Be) is a beloved Atlanta-based studio specializing in portraits of babies, children and women. Oana is passionate about using the power of images to help people count the blessings in their lives. See Oana’s work at shutterview.com, stay connected on Facebook and LoveItBe.com

Thaddeus Howze, known in his social media circles by his Blogtalkradio handle and twitter name, @ebonstorm, is a tireless advocate of information technology being used effectively and responsibly by everyone. His work on Blogtalkradio includes his science and technology show Wavefront which talks about the unintended consequences of technology use and the human condition. His BTR tagline “the Storm is coming” speaks to his forthright manner, impeccable research, a dedication to getting the facts right, and strong delivery in many of his appearances on BTR.

He currently manages an IT consulting firm, Have Flash Drive, Will Travel providing IT management and technical consulting for small and medium sized businesses on the California coastline. In an effort to support his clients better he created a technical guide called Technology and the SOHO, which helps his clients make informed decisions regarding technology trends, purchasing and the ever-increasing complexity of the computer realm.

An accomplished writer, his work appears in the San Francisco Examiner.com, Technology and Gadgets section and he maintains his own social commentary, politics and science blog called A Matter of Scale. Successfully completing his first National Novel Writing Month last November and the National Short Story Month contest this April, he will be releasing an anthology of science fiction and fantasy tales called Hayward’s Reach and expects it to be available in the fall of 2011 from Amazon. You can read excerpts at his fiction site, Tales from the Twilight Continuum.

Sasha H. Muradali is the founder of Little Pink Blog (formerly Little Pink Book PR), a federally trademarked blogzine touching on public relations, trends, social media and the ramblings of a Gen-Y. She has been featured in CNN, Forbes and Business Week for her insights and opinion, and the SymphonyIRI group named her as one of the millennials to watch. A graduate from the University of Florida (BSPR ’07) and the University of Miami (MAIA ’08), she is a Gatorcane who loves Twitter (@SashaHalima), Harry Potter, Paulo Coelho and the color pink.

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO & owner of MyCorporation, an online legal and business filing service focusing on entrepreneurs and the small business community. Connect with Deborah on Twitter @MyCorporation

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