Christine Ha is the first ever blind contestant and season 3 winner of the competitive amateur cooking television show, MasterChef USA on FOX, with Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, and Joe Bastianich. She defeated over 30,000 home cooks across America to secure the coveted MasterChef title, a $250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal.

“The lady has an extraordinary palate, a palate of incredible finesse. She picks up hot ingredients, touches them, and she thinks about this image on the plate. She has the most disciplined execution on a plate that we’ve ever seen. But the palate is where it’s just extraordinary. And honestly, I know chefs with Michelin stars that don’t have palates like hers.” –Chef Gordon Ramsay, MasterChef judge

Christine also has a Master of Fine Arts from University of Houston’s nationally acclaimed Creative Writing Program. During her time there, she served as Fiction Editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. She is currently working on a memoir.

Christine’s first cookbook, Recipes From My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food (Rodale, 2013), was a New York Times best-seller. She has been featured on NPR and the BBC; made guest appearances on “MasterChef” Vietnam; and travels around the globe to give inspiring keynote addresses and cooking demonstrations, including a TEDx talk at University of California, San Diego, in May 2015. Her latest foray into television is a Canadian cooking show on AMI called Four Senses (Varner Productions), on which she is a co-host with Carl Heinrich, season 2 winner of “Top Chef” Canada. “Four Senses aims to encourage visually impaired individuals to get cooking in the kitchen and will begin production of its third season this fall.

Christine received the 2014 Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind, a recognition formerly bestowed upon Ray Charles, Patty Duke, and Stevie Wonder among others. Christine resides with her husband and two dogs in Houston, Texas.

Fran Siederer Bio

I’m a sixty something year-old wife of my wonderful husband Marty (34 yrs.), a calligrapher for over 30 years, and mother of three wonderful children – Dave (32), Emily (26) and Ariel (22).

My story is about our second child Emily. My pregnancy and her birth and the months and years of struggle that followed have all been worth every minute of our time, love, effort and positive attitudes. She has grown into an amazing young woman. I mean to speak of the journey we have been on for these 26+ years, especially the pregnancy that I chose to continue with, even though my doctor was not very encouraging.

Love, the support of so many people around the world, positive attitudes, and real efforts to get through, and also help Emily through, difficult times have strengthened both our marriage and our belief in the power of love.

We have been fortunate to have a huge support system – loving family, wonderful friends, and even strangers who heard of our trials during my pregnancy and Emily’s years since. The journey continues.

Emily Siederer Bio

When I was born at 25 weeks, and a very low birth weight, the doctors said I wouldn’t live.

When I did, they said I wouldn’t function properly. I challenged them. They also said I wouldn’t walk. I didn’t walk, I danced.

At age 2 I began ballet, got along with people very easily, did well in dance class. Then reality hit. The “nice girl” was too nice, too much of a pushover.

At age 10 I began puberty, I gained weight and was shunned by all my peers. My friends didn’t want to play with me anymore, shows you how cruel children can be.

I then began to take on different “characters”. At age 12 I was a cheerleader, at age 14 I was a Wiccan, at age 16 I was an anorexic, at 17 I was a bulimic, by age 18 all I was, was an eating disorder. It had taken over, kept me stuck at age 16.

By age 18 (which I don’t even remember most of) I was bingeing, purging, restricting, over-exercising, blacking out when I stood up, and I wasn’t even underweight.

At age 19, I went for help, I went to outpatient treatment. I encouraged others in group therapy. I completed all my meals, but I was not filling out my food journal for my nutritionist. Consequently I was kicked out.

I stayed with my therapist from treatment, who is basically the only reason I am staying in recovery. She believed in me. Sometimes all it takes is that one person who you really connect with to make you believe in yourself.

I am now 26 years old and am at a job I love in fashion, my favorite activities include shopping, watching Netflix, hanging out with my friends, or just cuddling with my dog.

"Hold your power. speak your truth. come from love." - Anita Roberts

Anita has been working in the field of violence prevention and women's empowerment since 1976.  She is the founder and guiding force behind SafeTeen’s internationally acclaimed Community Violence Prevention Programs. Chosen as a Canadian representative on Violence Against Women to the United Nations, Roberts is visionary, inspirational speaker, and award winning author. Her book, SafeTeen: Powerful Alternatives to Violence has been translated into Japanese and Chinese. Roberts has traveled to five continents to empower women, train educators and parents, and teach youth to hold their power, speak their truth and come from love.

Anita Roberts is a dynamic speaker who brings personal narrative, an engaging sense of humour and a passionate presence to her work.

Anita Robert’s TEDxTalk: http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxIsfeld-Anita-Roberts-The-Tr;search%3Atag%3A%22TEDxIsfeld%22

Chris Cole Founder of eDocHome 

Chris Cole had the concept of eDocHome in 2011.  He developed that concept into reality in 2013 when eDocHome launched.  Since then he has led the company through tremendous growth and brand recognition. Chris has been a leader in the development and implementation of affordable telehealth packages including discount healthcare services. This has allowed eDocHome to gain market traction and consumer/employer acceptance throughout the United States.

Chris started his career in healthcare when he was a partner with a medical alert company focusing on keeping seniors at home, living independently. During this time, Chris built relationships with providers that included a managed telephone medical advice line staffed by registered nurse, which was the building block for eDocHome.

Chris is a very active speaker for the advantages of telehealth throughout the United States and works with other healthcare providers to implement eDocHome into their services.

“Every man [and woman] I meet is my superior in that I may learn from him [and her]”. - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

In his freshman year of College, Elias Scully discovered his passion.

Instead of studying computer science and following the path that had been designed for him by family and society, he switched majors and decided to study Philosophy. 

The experience of finding his passion prompted him to pursue his love for philosophy in the academy where he stayed on that path for about 10 years.

Among the many questions that captured his attention in his graduate school career was finding out how thoughts affected action.

- What drives people to the make the choices they make?

- What moves them to want to excel?

- Why do some people overcome challenges and some give up?

- What strategies and techniques can one use to better manage their mindset and attitude?

- How can one effectively motivate and inspire oneself to keep going despite personal and financial complications and setbacks?

Elias sought answers for these questions from within the field of philosophy. But he didn’t stop there. He also looked for answers in other fields of thought; reading and studying books from clinical psychotherapy, religious studies and even pop psychology. He also spent time observing and studying the way professionals kept themselves in top mental and physical condition. And in this process, he discovered fundamental principles of thought and action that have allowed him to use his energy consciously and to purposefully direct it toward achieving his personal and professional goals.

Despite the results he experienced and shortly before writing his PhD dissertation, he recognized a deep desire in him to do something different. He knew he had a gift to impact people – to move them to actively direct their lives, change their habits and live their purpose. He also realized that the academy was no longer the right place for him to see the full fruition of this gift.

He began to experience this feeling with greater and greater intensity each day until one day the answer he was looking for was there. So he quit his Ph.D and started a personal development website

On his website, Elias writes articles to help people make conscious decisions in their lives and grow in their personal lives and their businesses. And he uses his own example to demonstrate the effectiveness of his strategies and techniques. He does so by taking on personal development challenges and writes about them on his blog. In fact, he is currently in the last quarter of his 90,000 Words in 90 Days Challenge. In this challenge, Elias has been writing 1000+ words every single day on various topics within the discipline of personal development. And he has been publishing those articles every day since August, 1st 2015.

So tune in to the interview to learn how to take your life to the next level.

Jimmy Duggans is a speaker, personal trainer, and wellness coach. He received his M.A from Christian Bible College in Independence, Missouri. He has also completed his requirements for his Doctorate in Theology from Friends International Christian University in Merced, California, (awaiting conferment). He is currently enrolled in Lipscomb University M.S. Exercise and Nutrition Science Program. He served his country proudly for 9 years in the United States Air Force and was honorable discharged. He has also pastured 2 churches, in Mississippi and Tennessee. He has also done mission work in Jamaica and Kenya. Jimmy is an avid fitness enthusiast, and has 31 years fitness experience. He is the author of a book entitled: Faith and Fitness after 40 and has his own personal training business. He has a interest in practical healing, and has a passionate interest in natural, nutrition based Diabetes and cancer cures.

Education:

Friends International Christian University , Doctorate in Theology (awaiting conferment)

Lipscomb University, M.S. in Exercise and Nutrition Science. (Graduate Summer 2015)

Christian Bible College and Seminary, M.A in Biblical Studies and B.A in Theology (2004

Esther Hunter is a gifted orator, lifestyle & business coach, author and  ordained minister, with over 15years of experience hosting women’s conferences and workshops designed to holistically lift women out of the ashes of life into beautiful new beginnings.

As a local church communicator, television, radio media guest, and radio personality, she gives practical demonstrations and strategic leadership insight conveying the dynamics of how faith and action lead to fulfillment of destiny.  Esther’s passion is to bring awareness to society of the immense value of the individual, shifting the lives of people from pain to progress, from shame to success, from negative to positive outcomes. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Counseling degree.

Email: estherhunterministries@yahoo.com

FB: Esther a Hunter, MBA

Twitter: @BeauTfulYou