FLORENCE ANN ROMANO

Florence Ann Romano is a personal growth strategist, author, philanthropist, and businesswoman with a sparkling personality. With an eye for marketing, Romano flourishes as both an advisor for and the vice president of business strategy for Yakkety Yak. Florence is a proud member of the board of directors at the Children’s Research Fund as well as Female Strong. She is also a founding member of Sesame Street’s Leadership Council. After spending more than fifteen years as a childcare provider, during which she was known as the Windy City Nanny, Romano is the authority on childcare and family support in this new millennium and has more than five hundred media appearances discussing these topics. Born and raised just outside of Chicago, Romano wants to show people that not only is the saying “It takes a village” true, but also how important the need for community is.

She is the author of Build Your Village: A Guide to Finding Joy and Community in Every Stage of Life (Beyond Words, February 2023).

Short Book Synopsis

Build Your Village by Florence Ann Romano Everyone has heard the phrase, “It takes a village,” but how exactly do we find our village? Who is in it and what does it look like? Rethinking the relationships in your life, you may realize that even if you have a calendar filled with social plans, you still might not have your “village.” In Build Your Village, philanthropist and businesswoman Florence Ann Romano answers these questions and more, helping you to build lasting relationships with those in your life, dispel isolation, and improve your overall happiness and health. Each chapter helps you to foster the villager qualities within yourself and to find others who display these qualities. From identifying the six types of villagers needed to complete a fully functional village to what to do when you’ve lost your community, this book serves as a step-by step guide complete with quizzes, gutcheck questions, and action steps as you learn the importance of support systems as well as how to nurture them and find meaningful connections. Your village is waiting. Now it’s time to go and find it.   Available on Amazon

For more information about Florence Ann Romano and, “Build Your Village,” at: www.FlorenceAnnRomano.com

Social Media Links:

 • Instagram: http://instagram.com/florenceann.romano 

 • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlorenceARomano/ 

 • Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/florenceannromano/

 • Milkshake Link In Bio: http://msha.ke/florenceannromano 

Maria Mantoudakis is a best-selling author of the book, Tsunami to Greatness, award winning inspirational speaker, and a personal development trainer of more than twenty years. Maria previously spent fifteen years as a certified instructor of the Dale Carnegie course, and is now a Certified Trainer of the Jack Canfield Success Principles Program.  Maria is currently a Client Lead at British Telecom, while writing, speaking, and teaching her course Life Transformation Mastery.  Her company, ReCreate Success Now, offers training, speaking engagements, and personal life coaching to empower her participants to experience life transformation and the life they dream of.   

Dr. Virgie Ellington is an internal medicine physician and medical billing expert who helps patients learn how to advocate for themselves and avoid financial devastation from crushing medical bills, and today she’s sharing three steps to take to ensure you never overpay on a medical bill again!

Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr, the state's first transgender lawmaker, was barred by the Republican-controlled House from participating on the House floor for the remainder of the 2023 session. Zephyr called the decision "a disturbing affront to democracy" and vowed to stay committed to serving her community.

Zephyr has spent much of her adult life working as a community advocate. She has worked to help integrate diversity, equity and inclusion. She has worked with the city of Missoula to draft human rights legislation tailored towards making justice more accessible to people who have experienced discrimination.

​Zooey is fighting for human rights — from voting rights to trans rights to working towards dismantling the cruelties of the prison-industrial complex. She is also working to address climate change, health care, housing inequality and infrastructure.

Ben Murrey serves as Independence Institute’s Director of Fiscal Policy, working to promote fiscal responsibility in Colorado government and to defend the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in the state’s constitution. Prior to his role with II, Ben spent seven years as a United States Senate staffer in Washington, D.C. and a legislative aide for Senator Ted Cruz. While in Washington, he participated in numerous legislative and policy battles, including those over the 2014 effort to defund Obamacare, passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, and passage the CARES Act in 2020. He also took on other fights to stop federal bureaucratic overreach, limit the size and scope of the federal government, and restore fiscal order in Congress. Before moving to D.C., Ben coordinated grassroots and get-out-the-vote efforts for 45 east Texas counties for the Ted Cruz for Senate campaign during the 2012 runoff election. He served as Deputy Director of Operations during the general election. A graduate of Hillsdale College with honors from both the Politics and German departments, Ben has been steeped in the principles and precepts of limited government, free market economics, and individual liberty. He did two stints as an exchange student in Germany, first on a State Department scholarship where he spent a year living with a German family and attending a German high school (Gymnasium) in Bremen and later for a semester at the University of Saarland. He speaks fluent German. A native Texan, Ben spent his formative years vacationing in and falling in love with Colorful Colorado. Years working the D.C. swamp left him with the strong conviction that most of America’s governing should happen at the state and local level. He finally put his money where his mouth was by moving with his wife and son to Denver and joining the Independence Institute staff.

Prior to his role with II, Ben spent seven years as a United States Senate staffer in Washington, D.C. and a legislative aide for Senator Ted Cruz. While in Washington, he participated in numerous legislative and policy battles, including those over the 2014 effort to defund Obamacare, passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, and passage the CARES Act in 2020. He also took on other fights to stop federal bureaucratic overreach, limit the size and scope of the federal government, and restore fiscal order in Congress. Before moving to D.C., Ben coordinated grassroots and get-out-the-vote efforts for 45 east Texas counties for the Ted Cruz for Senate campaign during the 2012 runoff election. He served as Deputy Director of Operations during the general election.

A graduate of Hillsdale College with honors from both the Politics and German departments, Ben has been steeped in the principles and precepts of limited government, free market economics, and individual liberty. He did two stints as an exchange student in Germany, first on a State Department scholarship where he spent a year living with a German family and attending a German high school (Gymnasium) in Bremen and later for a semester at the University of Saarland. He speaks fluent German.

A native Texan, Ben spent his formative years vacationing in and falling in love with Colorful Colorado. Years working the D.C. swamp left him with the strong conviction that most of America’s governing should happen at the state and local level. He finally put his money where his mouth was by moving with his wife and son to Denver and joining the Independence Institute staff.

https://i2i.org/about/our-people/ben-murrey/

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-murrey-40500426/