Master Your Story

Eric Joseph Esoda is the President & CEO of the the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC). Eric joined NEPIRC in 1998 and, since that time, has held positions within the organization’s consulting, business development and financial management departments. Prior to joining NEPIRC, Eric worked with the New York offices of the accounting and consulting firms of Fust, Charles & Chambers, LLP and KPMG. Within those firms, his areas of specialization included manufacturing consulting, financial management, financial compliance and entrepreneurship. Eric has several professional publications to his credit and has been a contributing researcher and author to several statewide and national publications on the manufacturing industry, CEO learning behaviors, and the impact of various economic development policies and programs upon the business sector. As a regular presenter at national conferences, Eric has hosted workshops and keynote presentations on topics such as manufacturing innova

As a mom after Columbine I want to find a way to keep our schools safe and began designing a line of clear bags and backpacks. As business owners we know timing in the market places everything so I was actually about 10 years too soon.  In 2015 Safety Bags relaunched and in looking at the market place both professional and college sports require anything larger than the palm of your hand be clear which that was what led to the launch of stadiumbags.com in 2016.  We won The Family Choice Award for products 2016, 17, 18 and 19 with a perfect score of 110 out of 110 from all 12 judges. Our stadium bags have been seen in publications from USA Today and the World Series program, to the Super Bowl program, and we'll be in Yankee magazine and the Yankees year book, too.  Our mission has always been keeping our school safe, but I knew as far as marketing goes I had to look at what the market would bear. I also knew that if we shined the spotlight on our stadium bags bright enough that it would finally eliminate safe

Sweetie Berry is a hybrid strategist. She is an educator strategist who works with well able authors, speakers, and product producers. A Southerner, she can not only bring home the bacon but she can fry it up in a pan. A high creative and analytic her passion is to cultivate projects that empower people.  

Christian Frederick Martin IV was born on July 8, 1955. He then attended UCLA, majoring in Economics. In his free time, he helped in the guitar repair shop of Westwood Music in West Los Angeles, and this also gave him a valuable insight into the retail end of the music business. When Chris was small, he helped box strings, 6 to a box. In 1972 and 1973 he became more active in the business, helping in the office and attending the NAMM Trade Show in Chicago. He also worked in the machine room cutting out guitar neck blanks on the bandsaw. During the summer of 1973, Chris spent his time learning every operation and assisting with the construction of a D-28S guitar. This and his apprenticeship in the shop was an invaluable experience when he took his place in the family business. Chris joined the Martin Guitar Company full time after his graduation from Boston University in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the School of Management. Chris worked in many departments, learning h

Amy Miller Cohen, Ph.D. received her doctorate in Psychology in 1975 from Teachers College,  Columbia University and did post-doctoral work at the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy. She has previously taught at Brooklyn College for  several years and was a psychologist for Head Start in Newark, New Jersey while she lived in New York City. In 1979 Amy moved to Bethlehem, PA. She was widowed in December 2016 after a 42 year marriage. Amy has two adult children, two grandchildren and two golden doodles. Amy works with people of all ages and stages of life who come to her with a variety of concerns and challenges through her creative processes including SoulCollage, photography, and writing.

Cam Brown is the founder and CEO of King Fish Media, a leading marketing agency specializing in content based solutions. His broad range of experience includes designing and managing large scale integrated programs for a wide variety of industries. He also works with King Fish clients on increasing conversions for their customer acquisition, retention and sales strategies. Cam brings over 25 years of print, interactive, video, live events and marketing/ advertising experience with industry leaders such as Ziff Davis Media, Arnold Advertising and The Robb Report. At Ziff Davis, Cam founded and headed the first ever-custom media business unit at the company. Cam often provides strategic marketing consulting to the investment and venture capital community for emerging companies, advising them on their communication strategies. He serves on the Advisory Board of Give Us Your Poor, an organization that brings together the latest research, multimedia, celebrities, citizens, homeless people, and partner organization

The National Sierra Club was founded in San Francisco in 1892 by legendary naturalist John Muir, who helped create Yosemite National Park and helped save Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier Bay, Kings Canyon, Muir Woods, and many other natural wonders as national parks. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer-based environmental organization, with over 2 million members and supporters in 64 Chapters around the country. It has four primary environmental advocacy campaigns — Beyond Coal, Beyond Natural Gas, Beyond Oil, and Our Wild America — and sponsors more than 20,000 outings to our natural world in the U.S. and internationally. The Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club was founded in 1972 and comprises 26,000 members in 10 regional groups. It is governed by an Executive Committee of leaders from each group. Don Miles is the current chair of the Sierra Club Lehigh Valley Group.

Billy Staples was born and raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey and graduated from Phillipsburg Catholic High School.  During his childhood, Billy had the privilege of spending time in the Phillies, Mets and Yankees clubhouses. After graduating Kappa Delta Phi from East Stroudsburg University in 1993, Billy developed a unique style of teaching English that helped win him several awards, including 1998-2000 nominations for Disney’s National Teacher of the Year.  Through the support of Chicken Soup for the Soul author Jack Canfield, Staples and Rich Herschlag signed a book deal for Before the Glory.  Billy spent the next 12 years on the road promoting education and reading. Building on the success of Before the Glory, Billy, Linny Fowler, and Judy Tierney founded the scholarship group B.E.S.T.  The program has provided financial support and mentoring to over 70 college students and encouraged them to return to their communities to give back.

Most people have goals in life that consist of being successful, or to buy a house by the beach. There are many paths someone can take to reach their goals. Today, Tasha Uliano, from Sahl Communication, Inc.  speaks on the importance of keeping an open mind to get where you want to go in life, and to be happy with your choices. Tasha Uliano graduated with a B.A. in communications, journalism and public relations along with a minor of political science in December of 2017 from Shippensburg University. She was the first in her family to graduate from a university. She values her independence and determination as well as what the world has to offer. She finds joy in seeking out different worldviews and seeing new places. This is one of the many things she learned while studying international politics throughout Europe. She is also very passionate about politics, NATO and writing. Tasha is extremely open-minded while she continues on her journey of creating her own story. She said, “You never know where an opport

Juggling various roles in our lives can often be overwhelming and allow us to lose focus. We sometimes struggle to maintain our work and personal lives, while pursuing our passions and sustaining our deepest values. Today we speak with Sahl Communication’s PR Account Executive Ashley Achenbach about the importance of prioritizing your individual goals and using them to bring your story to life. Ashley Achenbach graduated with honors from DeSales University in 2017 with a B.A. in Communications. An avid supporter of animal welfare, Ashley has volunteered at a small non-profit animal shelter in her community called Pets In Need since 2009 - where she is active in fundraising, outreach, and animal care. Ashley has also advocated for animal rights on a larger scale, speaking at a 2018 NYC City Council meeting to reform Manhattan’s Animal Care Centers and end the euthanasia of New York City’s homeless animals. Ashley also has a passion for the arts, and enjoys hobbies such as painting, ballet, and playing the pia

We have seen great presentations showcasing how the most successful nonprofit marketers have incorporated storytelling into their organization’s communications efforts. Whether it’s a global organization like Water for People, a large US one like Outreach, Inc, or a small local nonprofit, the most successful organizations say they got where they are by first taking the time to identify their core reason for being – their core brand promise – and then sharing that brand promise through consistent, emotional storytelling. In this week's show we speak with Mandee K. Hammerstein - Founder & producer of New Feathers Productions, dedicated to providing a voice and welcoming forum for new, theatrical works is delighted to be introducing a new season now at the James A. Michener Art Museum this fall.  Known for her national, public relations and launching work of cultural institutions, artist-initiatives and new businesses, one of Mandee’s biggest missions is helping lead the effort to save and preserve Oscar Ham