Meet Your Hosts / Facilitators

Connie St. John is President of the St. John Consulting Group and Founder/CEO of No Weapon Productions (NWP), a company that specializes in family-friendly film and television programming, along with stage plays and other live events that feature no gratuitous sex, profanity or violence. Through both companies, Connie and her teams use entertainment and other innovative techniques to create life change for individuals, strengthen corporations and nonprofits, as well as to address social issues, such as bullying.

As No Weapon’s primary writer and director, Connie has written more than 100 plays, films and television scripts. She wrote and directed the award-winning short film, The Message, and Asunder, both of which screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. She has written, directed and produced several successful touring stage plays and musicals. 

Connie has extensive nonprofit management experience, having served as President & Executive Director of the Neighborhood Music School in Los Angeles and as Regional Executive Director for Pacific Region OASIS, lifelong learning centers for older adults. Connie has also worked in Washington, D.C. as a meeting and convention planner for the Urban & Regional Information Systems Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

As a corporate and entertainment executive, Connie has worked with several high-profile companies in marketing and public relations, including Columbia TriStar (Sony)Television and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) in Los Angeles, Sara Lee Corporation and Harpo Productions, Inc. / The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago, and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. in Atlanta.

Connie’s specialty and passion is change your life entertainment™, followed closely by innovative education and business management. She serves as the president of Women in Film & Video (DC) and sits on the executive board of the LACHSA Foundation, which funds the arts programs at the prestigious L.A. County High School for the Arts. 

She is also fascinated by law. 

Connie is the proud mother of an amazing and talented singer/songwriter, Zora Grey.

 Mali Phonpadith is  the CEO of the SOAR Community Network, #1 International Bestselling  author, speaker, workshop and retreat facilitator, marketing strategist,  podcaster and the Executive Producer/Host of Tea with Mali  Cable TV Show. In 2015, Mali was selected as a Belief Team community  partner through Values Partnership for the Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network  BELIEF initiative.

She has been nominated for several  awards including Heroines of Washington D.C. Award by the March of  Dimes, twice for the Women of the Year Award by NEW – Network Executive  Women and recognized as the iBoss Capital Navigator in 2018 for helping  entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive.

As the CEO of  the SOAR Community Network, Mali leads a dedicated team of experts who  provide customized solutions to develop strategic plans, authenticate  brand messages, map shared values, develop conscious leaders, align  teams, assess operational/IT efficiencies, and implement programs that  ensure sustainable growth and healthy corporate cultures. SCN does this  by facilitating educational forums for leaders and entrepreneurs to lead  with intention, supporting talent management initiatives to drive  positive corporate culture and implementing marketing strategies to help  clients SOAR in the global marketplace.

Mali  has over 20 years of marketing, sales, and business development  experience. Mali also ran a financial services practice for seven years  where she created and implemented risk management strategies for  hundreds of clients. She is a  community champion for several local non-profits. Mali runs the SCN  Leadership Breakfast series, is the Founder of the SOAR Community Summit  and producer/host of the SOAR Community Podcast. Mali is a four-time  author, including A Million Fireflies, her memoir about her voyage from war-torn Laos to America. 

She is also the coauthor of Seen and Sustained: Best Practices in Communication that Increase the Visibility of Small and Diverse Businesses, a professional workbook written with Akia Garnett, Jane Lovas, and Tamecia Bradshaw. In 2017, Born to Be Me,  a compilation of authentic stories written alongside 18 international  female authors, made Amazon’s #1 International Bestseller List. In 2018,  The Balancing Act also hit the #1 International Bestseller List. Both compilations were published by Creative Publishing Group in Canada.

Mali has  shared her insights at TEDx Ashburn, The Library of Congress,  Smithsonian, University of Maryland, George Mason University, SAIC,  Southeast Asian Resource Action Center (SEARAC), Lao American Writer’s  Summit, American Association of University Women, Northern VA Women’s  Business Conference, VA Health and Wellness Conference, Network Nova  Women’s Summit, Vistage, and many other organizations. Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com,  Better Business Bureau (BBB) Trusted Magazine, BBB Podcast, Advisor Today Magazine, Asian Fortune Newspaper, WJLA DC, Radio Free Asia, WHUR Radio, Voice of America, Bliss Magazine and numerous blog talk radio programs have featured her work and journey.

 Libby Gill is the former head of media relations and communications for Sony, Universal, and Turner Broadcasting. After leaving the corporate world in 2000, Libby founded LA-based Libby Gill & Company, an executive coaching and leadership consulting firm.

Her coaching clients include Abbott Medical, ADP, Disney, Ernst & Young, Facebook, First American Insurance, Hyundai, Microsoft, Sony, Sutter Health, Viacom, Warner Bros., Wells Fargo, as well as non-profits and small businesses. A global speaker, Libby has delivered keynote presentations on three continents and in 36 US states for organizations including Acura, ADP, Bank of America, Capital One, Cisco, Disney, Honda, Intel, Kellogg’s, Marriott International, Medtronic, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, United Healthcare, Vanguard, and many more.  

A former Dallas Morning News columnist, Libby has authored five books including the award-winning You Unstuck and Capture the Mindshare and the Market Share Will Follow. Libby’s latest book is The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity at Work. Currently, she is co-authoring a book for Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders with former Brigadier General Thomas Kolditz, Ph.D. 

Libby has appeared on the CBS Early Show, CNN, Inside Edition, NPR, the Today Show, and in BusinessWeek, Time, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and many more. Libby lives in Los Angeles and is the proud mother of two millennials sons.

 Tricia Williamson is a Certified Professional Services Marketer with over 20 years of executive experience in training and coaching. 

She began her career in Atlanta, working in publicity for co-host Connie St. John at Turner Program Services, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Tricia’s extensive experience includes national franchise relations trainer, independent consultant and owner for PSM Strategies, and interview coach and strategic planner.  

Currently, she serves in the role of Geographic Sales Operations Manager for Jacobs Engineering.  In this role, she is responsible for coaching and training operations and sales professionals for strategic pursuits nationally.  

Active in the Austin community, Tricia is the Co-Chair and a certified trainer for the Urban Land Institute Austin Chapter / Urban Plan Exchange for Public Officials program.  She is also a former president of the Austin Chapter of Society for Marketing Professional Services. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Louisiana State University and is an avid Tigers fan.