Melinda Moore
Melinda Moore is the founder of the impact fund, Moore Ventures and is the co-founder of TuesdayNights, a female networking organization. She is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor and global speaker with over 20 years of experience, and two exits (STV Communications and LovingEco). Melinda is the author of How to Raise Money: The Ultimate Guide to Crowdfunding and has raised over 100 million via equity crowdfunding. She served as the Senior Vice President for Entertainment Media Ventures. Her work has been widely recognized by Digital LA (Top 50 Digital Women in 2015), the Green Business Bureau and the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Hall of Fame. Melinda serves on the Board of A Sense of Home and has a B.A. from UCLA.
3 words to describe Nature?
Alive. Grounding. Calming
3 things Nature taught you?
To be more present in this fast paced world
To see creativity and inspiration in all the shades of green in nature
To find strength and beauty being immersed and isolated in nature.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The coast of Big Sur
The jungles of Tikal, Guatemala
Floating along the rivers in Indonesia
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Expansive
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Small
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Alive
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Connected
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Alert
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
A little anxious
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I feel deeply connected to all but if I have to select one, the Ocean.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was a little girl, I loved riding my bike to an open field in my neighborhood and I would just sit and listen for hours to all the sounds of nature...the birds, the wind, the butterflies, the sound of the trees, and the bees.
Karla Ballard Williams
Karla Ballard Williams is co-founder and CEO of YING, a peer to peer skill sharing and global time sharing platform (IOS /Android App) engaging consumers and brands in a complimentary currency that supports community and individual benefits. Ms. Ballard Williams was formerly SVP of Participant Media’s TAG division, a social-action agency working with brands, foundations and the public sector to ignite compelling campaigns that drove impact in vulnerable communities. Prior to joining Participant Media she was with Ogilvy & Mather as the SVP and lead for The IMPACT Studio working on projects that ranged from the State of California to Sony Pictures Television. Previously Karla worked at One Economy Corporation where she led a vital division of a $51 million BTOP grant focused broadband adoption and became and appointee to the Federal Communication's Committee on Diversity in Media. In addition, she created and led corporate relationships with partners such as Comcast/NBC, Verizon, Participant Media, Sprint, City Year and others.
She is a current board member of Alliance for Women in Media and Co-Chair of the Gracie’s Awards Gala, the Marcus Graham Project, Hashtaglunchbag, A Sense of Home, and USC’s Next Gen Council for Stephen Spielberg’s SHOAH Foundation. She's been a visiting speaker at Harvard, UCLA and Georgetown University and is a former board member of the nation’s second largest Community College, Northern Virginia Community College. Karla is also the co-founder of the first Urban League in the state of Delaware, The Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and served as the first female national president of the National Urban League Young Professionals.
In 2012 Karla was awarded in NYC the Keeper’s of the Dream award from the National Action Network.
3 words to describe Nature?
Peaceful. Complex. Systematic
3 things Nature taught you?
To listen
To be seen
To observe the flow
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Point Dume, California
St. John's Parrish in Barbados
McKenna Beach, Maui, Hawaii
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Renewed
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Introspective
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Romantic and connected to God
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Well Exxxxxcuse me!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Grandma and the Big Bad Wolf
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
On the school grounds at Germantown Academy I had a secret place to escape along a little creek path on our 152 acres property. I would create mystical stories around what this play was and the creatures that lived there. The play was so imaginative yet so real. I could never in a million years recreate the love I had for this spot in the woods but going back to the memories takes me back instantly.