Los Angeles

Deanna Utroske is a life-long writer and an advocate for the success of women in and beyond business. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, Deanna writes text articles and produces video interviews that cover daily beauty business news in the Americas region, spanning brand innovations, consumer behavior, lifestyle trends, emerging science, digital technologies, financial dealings, and much more.

Stephanie Kim has been in the beauty industry for her entire career (she was one of Birchbox’s first interns). She’s also worked for Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, Obliphica, and L’Oréal-owned Kérastase and Shu Uemura. With her former roommate and Parsons School of Design colleague, Kriszta Matyi, Moonlit was launched in 2017.

Stephanie Ross Leshney is the Founder and President of Dabble & Dollop. She dreamed up Dabble & Dollop as a way to bottle the sense of magic, experimentation and imagination she witnessed during her former company’s annual “Kids Science Day”, where she turned the office into an interactive laboratory where kids made their own shampoos, bubble baths and more. Her twenty years of natural and specialty ingredient experience allowed her to create the simple, safe, exceptionally clean formulations behind Dabble & Dollop. Stephanie Leshney ran one of the largest and preeminent ingredient suppliers in the Western US- Ross Organic, the business her father founded. A two-time Finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2016 & 2017), Stephanie Leshney helped Ross Organic double revenues and triple profits in her six years as President & CEO. This momentum attracted plethora strategic buyers, therefore in January 2017 the company agreed to sell to one of the largest global ingredient distribution companies, Azelis. In 2017 she was elected as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and remains an active member today. During the span of her twenty year career she took dozens of skin biology, chemistry and cosmetic science courses. Stephanie has a BS in Communication from the University of Tulsa where she played Division I Women’s Soccer. Currently she is working toward an executive MBA from Harvard Business School as part of the (YPO) Presidents Program. She joined the prestigious Young Presidents Organization Los Angeles Chapter in 2012 and is an active Board Member today. Additionally, Stephanie is a long-term member and past board member of Beauty Industry West and Cosmetic Executive Women. In 2018, Stephanie was elected a member of the Board of Trustees for the California Science Center. Stephanie lives on Naples Island in Long Beach with her husband, Tyler Leshney, and their three children, Nora & Parker, both 10, Paige, 9 and the family dog, Boo.

For over 25 years, Miriam’s career in scent spans “Industry to Indie”. She has worked behind the scenes developing fine fragrance, whole body personal care and ambient home & candle scents for global beauty brands, wellness companies and celebrities. From years within NYC based International Flavors & Fragrance (IFF) and French based Robertet Group, to creating & launching her award-winning niche collection 40notes Perfume from the west coast, the hats she has worn include scent evaluator, fragrance trainer, creative director, sales & marketing, olfactive consultant, indie perfumer, and now ceo of her own natural perfumery ingredients company. Along the way she created the signature workshop “A Journey through the Genealogy of Scent”, an intensive olfactive training highlighting the spectrum of natural materials and language used in perfumery. Miriam has taught this course to creative teams within large beauty and haircare companies, product development chemists, Indie perfumers, creative artists and even brewmasters. In addition to founding Palette Naturals, Miriam advises beauty entrepreneurs, established brands and cosmetic development labs in the design & development of scent for all end-uses. As always, her emphasis is on truth-in-materials and transparency.

An LA-based beauty editor and makeup artist of 20 years, Merrady switched to green beauty products in an attempt to heal persistent breakouts. What began as a last-ditch effort to clear her skin became a passion for finding high-performance, non-toxic cosmetics, household, and wellness products, spurred further by an endometriosis diagnosis. It’s her mission to prove that anyone can use clean beauty—especially the beauty obsessed—and that you can do it with balance and joy. She lives in Los Angeles where she spends any free time doting on her three rescue dogs.

A southern California native, Rebecca attended Utah State University and graduated with a degree in Journalism and Communications. After a stint in North Carolina where she worked at a start-up haircare brand, Rebecca moved to New York and joined Base Beauty Creative Agency. She enjoys combining compelling copy with captivating images to tell unique brand stories on social media - all while trying to crack the code on ever-changing social platforms. In her spare time, she likes to escape the city to hike, write and discover charming coffee shops.

Deanna Utroske is a life-long writer and an advocate for the success of women in and beyond business. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, Deanna writes text articles and produces video interviews that cover daily beauty business news in the Americas region, spanning brand innovations, consumer behavior, lifestyle trends, emerging science, digital technologies, financial dealings, and much more.

A year ago, Odette Bohan de Vleeschouwer joined MS Beautilab (previously known as Strand Cosmetics Europe) as Sales Director for the U.S. and Canada. MS Beautilab is one of the most well established coloured cosmetics and skincare contract manufacturers in Europe for over 50 years. Prior to moving to Los Angeles in 2017 from Belgium, Odette had her own business for 16 years in hospitality, protocol and organization of EU conferences. So with more than 35 years of experience in the service industry and as a former industry outsider, she brings on board the ‘think out of the box attitude’ that is very relevant to today’s disruptive innovation in the cosmetic industry. The biggest challenge for the cosmetic industry today, is to reinvent itself. Odette has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Hull and a Master’s degree in Leadership, Innovation and Change from the York St John University.

Ashley Prange left her work as nuclear analyst in D.C. to solve an even bigger challenge: to create a line of bold, long-lasting color cosmetics without the harmful chemicals that led to her chronic breakouts, irritation and toxic load. A trailblazer at heart, Ashley saw an opportunity to fill a hole in the market: women often wear clean color during the day, but turn to conventional cosmetics when they want full spectrum color payoff and long lasting wear. Finding no clean color line to meet this need, Ashley transformed her coffee grinder into a mineral mixer and set out to create makeup that would leave her skin as happy as it was after a week of going au naturale. Her mission was to use exclusively healthy, natural & ethically sourced ingredients to replace each and every product in her former beauty routine. The success of her initial lab samples (her skin's newfound glow stopped people in their tracks, leading to a waitlist of personalized orders) evolved quickly into a full product range that launched in 2011. Since then, Au Naturale has gone global while remaining local. Ashley built a proprietary lab in Wisconsin to ensure the highest standard in quality assurance, and established partnerships with fair-trade farmers across the globe to ensure the highest standard in ingredients and transparency. Coming full circle, Ashley heads back to D.C. regularly to lobby for the Personal Care Act, a movement to demand stricter regulation of cosmetic products in the United States. A brand and a cause, Au Naturale doesn’t just fight for transparent regulation, they show the industry how it’s done. Viva la Clean Color Revolution!

Deanna Utroske is a life-long writer and an advocate for the success of women in and beyond business. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, Deanna writes text articles and produces video interviews that cover daily beauty business news in the Americas region, spanning brand innovations, consumer behavior, lifestyle trends, emerging science, digital technologies, financial dealings, and much more.

Michael is the CEO & Founder of LA LA LEAF a manufacture of all-natural CBD infused skincare products. He launched the company in August 2019. In December 2019 LA LA LEAF won the Market Impact Award for package innovation & design from NJPEC and was nominated for two best in show awards by IBE. Before starting LA LA LEAF Michael helped start a Financial Technology Company which he helped grow to $500mm in 4 years. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from The University of South Carolina in Finance.

Melissa Hago is the VP and Creative Director of Beauty at Fashion Snoops and has been in the trend forecasting industry for over 13 years. She launched the Beauty section within Fashion Snoops in 2011 after seeing a need for specific beauty, wellness, and food focused trend forecasting. As an industry insider, she is constantly exposed to the latest innovations and trends from tradeshows and street style to runway. Hago has been involved with several presentations, including the opening of CEW's Sexual Wellness event and Fashion Snoops Trend Immersion tour. She has served on the jury and panel for ADF and PCD's Plastic's in Turmoil packaging panel speaking to the future of sustainability. Hago collaborates bi-annually with Cosmo Fragrances to create bespoke scents that speak to shifting cultural trends. She also serves as a trend forecasting contributor to publications like Teen Vogue and Dazed Beauty, providing industry insights through her expertise. Melissa has traveled extensively to over 50 countries, immersing herself in various global cultures. She serves as the brand ambassador for Mirembe Jewelry, a nonprofit organization helping women in Uganda. Hago has worked and lived in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Florence, all while continuing to lead the Beauty team at FS New York HQ. Hago is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and holds a certificate in Fashion Makeup Artistry from Makeup Designory.

Dan O’Neill is the Vice President, Sales Group Leader of the Personal Care Division at Charkit Chemical Company, LLC in Norwalk, CT. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from St. Bonaventure University and has been a supplier of ingredients to the Personal Care/Cosmetics industry for nearly 30 years. Early on, he worked for an importer of specialty oils for the food and cosmetic markets. He then started a new specialty, natural ingredients division for a large, international import company in New York City before joining Charkit 22 years ago. Dan has spent his time at Charkit helping to grow the Personal Care Division, working closely with key accounts and developing several supplier relationships and product lines as well identifying new ingredients and technologies in the ever expanding cosmetics industry. He is responsible for managing the Personal Care sales force and marketing the various product lines Charkit offers to their customers on a national level through regional account reps. Dan and his family live in Wilton, CT and he regularly participates in industry events & tradeshows and looks to continue to grow the Personal Care Division at Charkit.

Gabe Kennedy is the Co-Founder of Plant People. The award winning chef turned entrepreneur grew up in Boulder, Colorado where he developed an affinity for plant-based nutrition, sustainability and alternative wellness approaches from an early age. He began his career at the age of 14 working in local restaurants and his passion for health led him to graduate from The Culinary Institute of America and Cornell University. A rising talent in the culinary world, Gabe won ABC’s primetime cooking competition series, The Taste, was named Visiting Executive Chef of Bon Appetit magazine, and reimagined The Little Beet restaurants as Director of Culinary and Innovation. Gabe drew upon his upbringing, experience in food and CPG brand consulting background to create Plant People, alongside co-founder Hudson Gaines-Ross. Both friends discovered the healing benefits of hemp to treat their traumatic spinal injuries and were inspired to introduce effective, accessible and natural wellness solutions that support the health of people and the planet.

Deanna Utroske is a life-long writer and an advocate for the success of women in and beyond business. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, Deanna writes text articles and produces video interviews that cover daily beauty business news in the Americas region, spanning brand innovations, consumer behavior, lifestyle trends, emerging science, digital technologies, financial dealings, and much more.

Cindy is the co-founder of Indigo Private Label. Cindy has over 30 years of experience in the cosmetics industry. From retail sales, brand founder and manufacturer. Cindy found it difficult to differentiate a color brand using private label cosmetics and even more difficult to find a clean private label color cosmetics manufacturer. Indigo Private Label was created to make it easy for brand founders to launch a clean color cosmetics brand and differentiate the brand in the market with unique packaging.