Headliners

Kerry Ann Mendez, owner of Perennially Yours, is dedicated to teaching the art of high-impact, low-maintenance flower gardening and landscaping. As a garden consultant, designer, author and lecturer, she focuses on time-saving gardening techniques, workhorse plants and sustainable practices. She has been featured in numerous magazines including Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Garden Gate and Better Homes and Gardens' Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living.

Leslie Hart-Davidson is a nationally recognized professional interior designer, author, and owner of HDD Studios in Michigan. Leslie holds a B.A. in interior design and has nearly two decades of industry experience, but credits her family for the desire to enter the world of design. The Hart family practiced real estate flipping while she was a child, so her calling for home improvement came early.

Leslie lives and breathes interior design not only in her successful design business, but also through her extensive writing career. She has written two home improvement books full of snark and great content: Remodeling Your House without Killing Your Spouse in 2014 and It’s Not Your Room, it’s You in 2016.   Leslie’s most recent book is a combination kitchen design/memoir/cookbook titled Food is Love that will be showcased during the 2023 season’s seminars.

The design philosophy Leslie adopted when she started her business more than 20 years ago is straightforward: design is a democracy, not a dictatorship. This guiding principle helps audience members and clients better understand design language and the psychology behind how they live in their homes. Her innovative seminars include “Thing or Not a Thing: The Best and Worst of Today’s Design Trends,” and “Leveling Up from Live, Laugh, Love.  When she’s not on stage or on camera, you can find Leslie posting witty lifestyle content to her Facebook page and whipping up delightful meals in her charming 140-year-old Michigan farmhouse.

Amanda Liford- the Clutter Master, podcast host, author/illustrator, Certified Lean Specialist, and owner of Easy Life Organizing. Her passion for order is challenged by her ADHD husband and 4-year-old son. Amanda believes that anyone can be organized with the right support and resources. 

Easy Life Organizing specializes in decluttering and making unique organizing solutions for unique people. (and that means you!) Amanda’s experience in manufacturing and nonprofits has created an organizing business that incorporates LEAN and 5S systems in the home to make the most chaotic spaces functional. It’s stressful creating 10 new habits to be organized, Amanda’s approach creates organized systems where the mess is being made and aligns with existing habits. This makes spaces easier to keep tidy, saves you time, and lets you feel like the hero in your organizing adventure! 

Amanda has presented on the main stage for the American Society for Professional Organizers 2023 conference and has been featured in East Lansing Living, Studio 10, Home & Gardens, and RealHomes. Her podcast “Talk Clutter to Me” is an insider’s look into the life of being an organizer and what it takes to get organized. This podcast is chalked full of laughter, tips, and real-life experiences from across the country to cut out all the noise we see on social media. 

When we’re not saving you from your clutter you can find Amanda on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 

ABOUT CHEF JEFF: Jeff began his cooking journey in 1990 in Mt. Pleasant Michigan working for the LaBelle Restaurant group while attending CMU as a music major.   Finding himself "skipping class" to pick up shifts at the restaurant Jeff decided to change his major and his life .  He and his wife Amy moved to Grand Rapids where he attended and graduated GRCC (now the Secchia Institute ) and  graduated in 1994  with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts.    He spent the next 13 years "Chef-ing"  at various Catering and Restaurant operations in the Grand Rapids area , including the Scheldes Restaurant Group , Executive Chef for the Fredrick Meijer Gardens and Railside Country Club.   As his family started to grow Jeff made the switch to the Food Distribution side of the business and took a job with Superior Foods in 2007 as their Corporate Chef. Jeff and Amy live in Allendale and have 3 sons and a daughter in law. 2024 RECIPES: "Global Flavors" Togarashi Spiced Salmon with Hoisin Glaze and Bok Choy Ube’ Hash Shrimp and Manchego Salad with Spanish Chorizo Vinaigrette

The Wilson Talent Center (WTC), formerly known as the Capital Area Career Center, opened its doors in the fall of 1972 offering Career & Technical Education classes to high school juniors and seniors in the Ingham Intermediate School District  area. Today, nearly 80 percent of our students go on to further their education after high school with either a bachelor or associate degree, apprenticeships or additional training. Students have the opportunity to earn high school credit, college credit and both state and national certifications during their time at WTC.

On August 30, 2017, the former Capital Area Career Center was renamed the Wilson Talent Center in honor of longtime Ingham ISD Board Member, Rudolph (Rudy) Wilson. Wilson was the first African American salaried worker at Oldsmobile, served on numerous boards such as the NAACP, The National Caucus on Black Aging and the Westside Neighborhood Association to name a few. He was a graduate of Lansing Public Schools and Michigan State University. Wilson believed in the mission of our Career and Technical Education programs and regularly attended events at the former CACC. During the 2022-23 school year, the Wilson Talent Center celebrated its 50th anniversary of offering Career & Technical Education programs.