Kristen Roach began a career in the real estate industry in 2013 as an office assistant for a property management company. She then joined Keller Williams as the first location-specific operations coordinator for an expansion team that grew to a team of more than 30 by the time she transitioned to her most recent career advancement by joining Your Realty Leverage, an international woman-owned and woman-led company as the recruiter and career consultant. She is most proud of the impact she is able to make in the lives of others. She credits her success to having a servant’s heart and the passion to make a difference. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her family including her amazing husband and beautiful daughter, anything water sports based and writing.

Amanda Benedict is the owner and designer of Blue Jean Boutique. “After more than 12 years in retail, I left my job to launch my own t-shirt and opened my own boutique,” said Amanda. “We just celebrated our one-year anniversary. I have been able to grow this business enough over the last year, and we are currently searching for a vehicle to launch a mobile boutique this fall.” Amanda has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “I’m a single mom with two young kids who love to go on adventures with me,” said Amanda. “When I’m not busy with the kids, I love to paint and work on new designs for the Blue Jean Collection.”

Kristal Provencher is the owner and creator of Daily Comfort by Kristal, natural skincare for the soul. “I went to the Elizabeth Grady school of Esthetics in Boston and earned my certification in 2011,” said Kristal. “As a little girl, I loved nothing more than spending my time with my Italian grandmother collecting herbs from her garden and enjoying the encouragement she gave me to create my own recipes. So, I suppose it was inevitable that one day I would take those tools and apply them to my background in skincare to create my own all-natural skincare line. I choose each ingredient very carefully to not only nourish your skin but to comfort your soul, as well. I truly love creating recipes of my own and am so proud to share what my grandmother taught me with my three children.” In her spare time, Kristal loves spending time by the water with her three children and her best friend, her husband.

Reverend Dr. Linda P. McRae is the President/CEO of HOPE Counseling & Consulting Services, Inc. (HOPE), a clinical practice that provides programs and services that seek to promote hope and healing. HOPE opened in Winston-Salem in September of 2013. Some of the services that HOPE provides are mental health and behavioral health services, outpatient substance use disorder treatment, DWI/DOT services and mental health services in WS/FCS. In addition, she and her husband founded More Than Conquerors, Inc. (MTC) in 1997. MTC’s is a nonprofit where the focus is three-fold – to inspire, to educate and to transform lives. Dr. McRae, is an author, teacher, spiritual leader, life coach, professional counselor, motivational speaker and cancer survivor. She has degrees from Winston-Salem State University, Wake Forest University, A&T and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro as well as a professional degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation. She is married to Rev. Ronald McRae (COO of HOPE Counseling & Consulting), and they have a blended family of eight children (four boys and four girls), six of which have graduated from college. In her spare time, Linda enjoys cooking and spending time with her 11 grandchildren.