Whether she is directly improving the lot of workers in her contract factories around the world, or developing and conducting seminars to train other entrepreneurs in business leadership programs internationally, Marilyn Tam always gives back. She is committed to the belief that philanthropy is integral to and provides an essential balance and relevance to her work.

Background

Marilyn Tam's distinguished background includes executive roles at numerous world-class companies, including CEO of Aveda, President of Reebok Apparel & Retail Group and Vice President of Nike. She is also a successful entrepreneur, having developed and built four companies in fields as diverse as a corporate consulting & training company, a web portal company, a supply chain software company and an integrated health and wellness company.

She served on the international board of The Reebok Human Rights Awards, along with former President Jimmy Carter; renowned musicians Peter Gabriel, and Sting, Rafer Johnson, Chairman of the Special Olympics; and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center, and Paul Fireman, Chairman of Reebok International Ltd. In 1994, she was awarded The Reebok Human Rights Award for her humanitarian work. She was an advisor to the country of Bhutan, working with the Ministers and government officials to transition the country into the 21st Century while retaining their cultural and environmental heritage.

Marilyn Tam's work has also included numerous appearances on television, radio and Internet as well as in international conferences. She has developed and presented to a wide range of audiences in corporations, governmental and non-profit organizations.

Honors

Marilyn Tam was recognized as one of the Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs in the USA by Fempreneur magazine. Jack Canfield detailed her work in his book on the strategies for success, "The Success Principles". She is featured as in the best selling book, "Fearless Women, midlife portraits" by Alspaugh, Kentz, and Halpin. Daryn Kagan, former CNN anchor spotlighted Marilyn Tam as one who dared to dream that they can make a difference, in her book, "What's Possible". According to Brand Channel, she is one of the four most prominent names in brand ethics globally.

She was honored with the Artemis Award for her business and humanitarian work by the Greek government and the Euro American Women's Council in Athens, Greece, with her likeness on a Greek postage stamp. eWomenNetwork presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award. Marilyn is featured seven inspirational documentary movies including GLOW Project, The Compass, Vitality and The Gratitude Experiment for her remarkable accomplishments and inner wisdom. Marilyn Tam is a lifetime member of Who's Who World Wide and is listed in Who's Who in American Women.

She was honored with a Ph.D. in Humane Letters by Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA.

Current work

Marilyn Tam consults and speaks globally with Fortune 500 companies, governments and non-profit organizations and on leadership, diversity, change management and how to integrate social & environmental concerns into businesses profitably.

She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Us Foundation, whose mission is to facilitate global action plans and dialogue to address social, economic and environmental issues. Us Foundation is one of the partners for United Nations Habitat-II, and was nominated as a candidate for the "Best Practice Award" from the United Nations' Habitat II. She is a director on the national board of SCORE Association, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneurial education and the development, growth and success of small businesses nationwide.

She regularly serves as producer and Master of Ceremonies for events around the world, including acting as the spokesperson and keynote speaker for Universal Forum of Culture's conference on the Role of the Corporation in the 21st Century in Barcelona, Spain, presenting at the United Nations Habitat-II Conference in Torino, Italy, as well as organizing the inaugural Season for Non-Violence Event commemorating M.K. Gandhi and M.L. King in 30 countries.

Background

Julie spent 16 years in corporate America as a Senior Vice President at Best Buy, creating and leading several large industry-changing businesses at Best Buy and Deloitte. To serve the high-end male segment, she led the creation and scale of Magnolia Home Theatre (still the largest home theatre business in the world). Prior to this, she was an industry leader by co-leading a new business serving teenagers/youth by bringing Virgin Mobile into the US. And, all the while her focus is building business and creating sustainable capabilities. She utilized these skills to reinvent all of retail training for Best Buy by creating “Learning Lounge,” an innovative reinvention of retail training, among others.

Julie Gilbert built and proved WOLF’s powerful financial and cultural results while working at Best Buy, generating an incremental $4.4 billion revenue increase by women consumers and many other significant financial and cultural wins.

In 2009, she hung up her Best Buy title to lead WOLF, separately enabling companies in all industries to reap similarly eye-popping results.

Honors

Julie has accumulated many awards and honors in her career. She has been profiled in Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, IMD Switzerland, Business Week, Global Pulse, USA Today, and many other publications. Julie’s most recent awards include being named Entrepreneur of the Year award from Huffington Post and PINK magazines Top 15 Women in Business in the United States. Other recent honors include the EPIC Award from The White House Project and one of the 100 Most Successful Women in Business by Profiles in Diversity Journal magazine.

Julie has both her Master’s in Business and Bachelors of Science degrees from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business, and is a certified public accountant in the state of Minnesota.

Current Work

She frequently teaches at New York University, IMD in Switzerland, Cass Business School in London, and the University of Minnesota. Julie serves on the board of directors for the Harvard Business Kennedy School Women’s Board and The White House Project. She also is active on an international scale with Susan G. Komen.

Julie is regularly called upon as a noted speaker and spokesperson for media such as CNN, ABC News, Fox Business News, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal and many others.

She authored and published C Sweets - Desserts from the Executive Suite, a collection of dessert recipes and stories from women leaders, co-founded a multicultural media company and is completing her M.A. in Leadership.

She is a recipient of the “Woman to Watch” award from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and is actively involved in the American Red Cross-Twin Cities Chapter Tiffany Circle, womenwinning, Minnesota Women’s Consortium, Honoring Women Worldwide, The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis and the White House Project Leadership Circle.

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Sisters Michelle Meyers and Kay O'Neil have created and taught college, university and seminary courses, retreats, in-service seminars, and workshops throughout the United States. They bring years of experience and their energy and enthusiasm to each seminar. Their primary interests are communication, self-esteem, assertiveness, spirituality, and peacemaking. With their philosophy that "life is too short not to have a good time," participants can expect a dynamic, educational experience.

Sisters Kay O'Neil and Michelle Meyers have created and taught college, university and seminary courses, retreats, in-service seminars, and workshops throughout the United States. They bring years of experience and their energy and enthusiasm to each seminar. Their primary interests are communication, self-esteem, assertiveness, spirituality, and peacemaking. With their philosophy that "life is too short not to have a good time," participants can expect a dynamic, educational experience.

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