EXTRAordinary PEOPLE

Nikki Nash is a podcast host, Hay House author, motivational speaker, and creator of the Genius Profit Society, a training and development company on a mission to equip entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to share and profit from their message.  She supports a community of women entrepreneurs in getting clients and customers.  Her book, Market Your Genius, is now available for pre-order and will be released on August 24..

Ace Marrero, a New Jersey born actor/producer, holds a BFA from Stephens College for Women (yes, you read that right).  

Recent credits include Action/Sci-Fi thriller, INTERPRETERS, HBO’s reboot of PERRY MASON, a national Facebook commercial as well as RIDE ALONG 2, SLEEPY HOLLOW, SCORPION, CRIMINAL MINDS, THE LAST HEIST & ROADSIDE,  to name a few.  As a producer Ace has developed and sold films internationally through his company SWIM WITH THE FISH PRODUCTIONS.  One of his most recent projects, SHAME OF THRONES: THE MUSICAL, an original stage show parodying the hit show GAME OF THRONES, had a multi-city run, including an extended viewing bat the Jerry Orbach Theatre, in NYC.  Ace toured with the production and originated the the role of KHAL DROGO. Ace and his wife, Erin Stegeman, live in Los Angeles with their two children, Adolfo, Alma, and their dog, Wolfy.

Passionate about herbs, Gert Coleman loves, grows, eats, and reads avidly about them. Retired Associate Professor of English at Middlesex County College in New Jersey, she lives on 106 acres in Middlefield, New York where she and her husband are fixing up another old house, training a new puppy, and planting herbs, flowers, trees, and at-risk native plants. She edits the IHA Herb of the Year™ books (Cilantro & Coriander; Hops: Brewing and Beyond; Agastache: Anise Hyssop, Hummingbird Mints and More; Rubus; currently working on Parsley), and frequently writes about the legends, lore, and poetry of herbs. 

Three times president of the Staten Island Herb Society, she helped to maintain the Colonial Herb Garden at Conference House Park for over 30 years and has started herb gardens at various locations. As a naturalist, she developed and taught parent-tot nature programs at the Staten Island Zoo and local parks, introducing children and adults to local plants, animals, and geology. In addition, she completed a medicinal herbal apprenticeship with internationally acclaimed herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. 

Gert is a board member of the International Herb Association and co-chair of the IHA Horticultural Committee; member of the Herb Society of America, North East Herb Association, American Botanical Council, and United Plant Savers. She frequently lectures on various aspects of herbs and teaches workshops on nature writing. Gert is also a GCNJ speaker (Garden Clubs of New Jersey).

Julia Gaona has been an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in Irvington, New Jersey for the past sixteen years. A first-generation immigrant, born and raised in Moscow, Russia, she came here as a student and earned her second Master's Degree in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) from Arizona State University on a full-tuition scholarship. In addition, she teaches writing classes to ESL students at Kean university as an adjunct faculty member, and is studying in a post-Masters Graduate program at Kean. She and her husband are raising ten-year-old twins, and she is also the mother of a son who resides in Philadelphia with his fiancée. During the Covid crisis, she has been balancing these demanding roles, and like so many other teachers, Julia is one of our unsung heroes.

Bernard Rothenberg is a proud military veteran who was raised in Brooklyn, New York.  After starting as a young teen working in supermarkets, he later served in World War II and was in Leipzig, Germany at the time of liberation, April 19, 1945. He served his country for 21 months. Upon returning to the States and meeting his future wife, Evelyn, he married and the couple went on to raise two children. After 41 years of marriage and his wife’s passing, Bernie retired and became actively involved with Jewish War Veterans in Brooklyn, fundraising and educating students. He currently resides in New Jersey where he continues to speak in schools about his military experience and the lessons he has learned while serving this country. Even during the Covid crisis, this inspiring veteran has given talks to students via Zoom-- impressive for an almost 95- year- old!

We are sad to report that weeks after this interview was recorded, Bernie passed away on December 23, 2020. A brave veteran, beloved family man, he was truly an EXTRAordinary person. This is his last interview.

B. V. Marshall’s plays have earned recognition from HBO New Writers Workshop., New York’s Theatre for a New City, Chicago’s public radio station WBEZ and in play festivals from Alaska to Australia. Recently Plainfield Audiences have seen his plays  Five Husbands and Incident at Willow Creek.  His awards include five Playwriting fellowships from NJ Council on the Arts, Fellowships from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, VCCA, NEH, and the Robert Chesley/ Victor Bumbalo foundation. Recently he received the Bauer-Boucher Award and the Stanley Drama Award for Incident at Willow Creek.

Eva (Safier) Wiener was one of the youngest passengers on the ship, St. Louis, on its famous Atlantic crossing of 1939.   Eva’s parents, seeking escape from Nazi persecution in Germany, obtained passage to Cuba but were denied entry.  Eva and her parents were fortunate to be admitted to England, where they survived the war.

 This headline-making trip was the subject of the book and movie (released in 1977) “Voyage of the Damned”.

Amy is a heart-centered creative, a leader, a business owner, a culture changer, and an idea generator.

Together with her best friend of 16+ years, she co-founded Rowan Tree, a coworking and cogrowth community space for women, open to ALL. Here she has created an environment that is warm, inspiring, and inclusive. She leads with empathy, love, and grace and she harnesses the power of women supporting women to create a space like no other in the Northern Virginia region.

Hailed for the natural ease of his conducting and the compelling insight of his musicianship, James Gaffigan continues to attract international attention and is one of the most outstanding American conductors working today.

James Gaffigan is currently the Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, recently extended for the third time. Since becoming Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester James has made a very significant impact on the orchestra’s profile, both nationally and internationally, with a number of highly successful tours and recordings.

James is in high demand working with leading orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe, the United States and Asia.

In North America he has worked with New York Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, Baltimore and Toronto, among others. Born in New York, James was named first prize winner of the 2004 Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition. In 2009, he completed a three-year tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, in a position specially created for him by Michael Tilson Thomas. Prior to that appointment James was Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, where he worked for Music Director Franz Welser Möst.

Charlie Wachtel is a Producer and Writer who earned the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for BLACKkKLANSMAN (2018). He is also the recipient of the BAFTA , the British version of the Academy Awards. Charlie is currently working on several writing projects with co-writer David Rabinowitz.