Cindy Sample is a former corporate CEO who decided plotting murder was more entertaining than plodding through paperwork. Her national bestselling mystery series, described as Erma Bombeck meets Agatha Christie, features single soccer mom, Laurel McKay. The series, set in the California Gold Country, includes Dying for a Date, Dying for a Dance, Dying for a Daiquiri, Dying for a Dude, Dying for a Donut and Dying for a Diamond. Cindy is a four-time nominee for the LEFTY Award for Best Humorous Mystery and winner of the NCPA Best Fiction Award. Cindy loves her research!

Larry Mandelberg is a consultant, speaker, and author. A natural problem solver, Larry represents the 5th generation of his family’s business.

Larry is an effective catalyst for change and has published 80+ columns. His first book, Businesses Don’t Fail, They Commit Suicide, is scheduled for release in early 2018. A sought-after speaker, he has delivered more than 60 business-changing keynotes and workshops.

He has been a guest on television and radio programs talking about business and entrepreneurship. Through his consulting practice, he provides leadership development, executive coaching, ethics training and strategic planning to mid-sized B2B organizations in multiple industries.

Larry has launched 4 start-ups, led a merger, and performed a successful turnaround. He wrote a monthly column in the Sacramento Business Journal called Eyes on Business from 2004 to 2014 where he had over 80 published columns.

In addition to his roles as a consultant and chairman for IEM, Larry has provided communication training for Cooperative Personnel Services, taught team building classes for the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, and received his MBA from Drexel University. He has been married to his wife Nancy for 35 years and been a member of the IEM board since July 2001.

Author of two books and District Champion at Toastmaster’s International, Linda Champion knows how to invite people into her book.

With her husband Ken, a poet and musician, she has participated in dozens of book and craft festivals. Among her appearances: Orange County Children’s Book Festival, Great Valley Bookfest, Fairytale Town’s Children’s Book Festival, and the California Author’s Invitational-State Fair. She has made several TV and radio appearances.

Linda’s Fairy Tales for Life:  A Collection of Fourteen Original Short Stories won First Place in Children’s Books at the 2015 San Francisco Book Festival and First Place in Children’s Books, at the 2016 Amsterdam Book Festival.  Earlier this year she was invited to visit the Hans Christian Anderson Museum in Denmark, with which she maintains a close relationship.

A retired high school teacher, Linda (ChampionWritingCreations.com) is a CWC Sacramento board member and District Winner of Toastmasters, International Club, “Spellbinders.” She has made several presentations on the subject of fairy tales, most recently at the North State Writers Branch of CWC

Linda is currently working on a second book of fairy tales. She has also written a memoir called Conversations with My Auntie Margaret About Sporty Dog.