AZHCC is especially blessed with talented and powerful people and May’s spotlighted member, Kathleen Malone, is a perfect example of that.  You might know that Kathleen, one of our newest Board members, is the guiding force behind the AZHCC Sampler Platters, but do you realize just how much experience and success this dynamic young woman has in the fields of public relations and marketing?

Kathleen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1981, she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in English and got married. For the next two years, she taught freshman composition at the University. Then, thirty years ago, “my ex-husband dragged me down here,” Kathleen quips. “Although I lived in London, Ontario for nearly 4 years, I’ve never really left Phoenix. I like the winter weather. Now my friends and my business base are here and I’m close to my sister who lives in L.A.”

From 1982 to 2001, Kathleen immersed herself in “Corporate America” as Director of Human Resources and conducting Business Process Improvement for mid-level companies. In 2002 she created a corporate consulting company that would eventually morph into her Phoenix-based Sundance on Success.  From 2002 to 2006, she lived in London, Ontario, as Senior Vice President of Operations and Human Resources for a printing and manufacturing company that manufactured high-end educational materials for National Geographic, LeapFrog and several others.

Arizona, however, was like a magnet pulling her back. Her return in 2006 opened new doors for Kathleen.  Dr. Teresa Ramsey who “has been a dear friend and my physician for fifteen years” asked Kathleen to promote her new book, hot off the press, called Healing 101: Creating the Foundation for Complete Wellness. The result was that Dr. Ramsey has been the medical expert on Channel3TV’s Your Life A to Z each Tuesday at 10am for nearly seven years and has been voted Phoenix Magazine’s ”Top Doc” two years in a row.

Out of this experience, Kathleen founded her business “Sundance on Success” six years ago.  She specializes in PR and marketing for authors, speakers and entrepreneurs.  She has attracted many high-powered clients. For example, Caroline Sutherland, internationally recognized medical intuitive, speaker, best selling Hay House author and Louise Hay’s personal health coach, has been a client for the past six years. Kathleen has worked with such diverse clients as Austin Vickers, author, speaker and writer/producer, whose movie People vs. The State of Illusion is currently in national distribution with Samuel Goldwyn Films; a well known literary agent in Manhattan; Dr. Michael Vandermark, corporate psychologist, selected expert in the feature film People vs. The State of Illusion as well as the former Director and Master Facilitator for the Chopra Center in La Costa, CA.; Linda West, internationally recognized Psychic Medium; a world-famous artist from Manhattan; and Kathleen is delighted to be working with a well known literary agent also from Manhattan!

“It’s a new world of business,” she enthuses. “It’s about community.  There’s a new energy now that is focused on healing and communication.  People are looking for new voices, and our members have those skills that need to be featured.”

Out of this passion, the “Sampler Platter” concept was born.  AZHCC members who would like to share some facet of their knowledge are invited to sign up. One Saturday morning a month, several of these speakers share a stage to give listeners an inspiring, educational, fun “sampling” of what their business has to offer.  If you haven’t tried a Sampler Platter yet, you’re missing out on a lot of wisdom.

“The process is based on the Hay House model of marketing,” explains Kathleen.  “It helps the members learn stage skills and how to market both their product or service and the event itself.  They get experience in setting up events for themselves and also in how to network through others which also gives access to being presented to other’s loyal databases.”  Definitely a win-win situation!

“I’m here to feature people,” Kathleen emphasizes.  “My sister’s a stuntwoman in Hollywood and she uses the expression ‘find your mark’.  I say to people, ‘Find your mark. Find your voice. Find where your spotlight is.’  Stay focused on your passion and let someone who knows it, do the marketing for you. Otherwise the marketing piece will suck you dry.  Build community.  That way we all help each other.”

In addition to the Sampler Platters, Kathleen is also willing to help AZHCC members with other facets of their business.  She is an expert in social networking, special events, building a winning, foolproof business foundation architecture and system, branding and creating expert status.

She can also help you if you want to write and publish your book. “The old model of self-publishing meant that you ended up with a thousand books in your garage and then wondered what to do.  I can show you how to publish your book or e-book and get it into the hands of the people who most want it and need it.  I’m here to help you go where you want to go.  I’m here to answer questions and be a coach and a guide.”

Kathleen says she went to her first AZHCC meeting about 6 years ago, but it wasn’t the right time.  She attended another luncheon in May 2011 and now, she’s on the Board of Directors...and are we ever glad she tried again!

What would Kathleen have if it was her last meal on the planet (and if gluten wasn’t bad for you, she adds)?  “I’d have my Grandmother’s chocolate cake with white boiled frosting -- the whole thing -- with Dom Perignon as an accompaniment.”

What most people may not know about her is that Kathleen was undefeated in 5 years of high school swimming.  In the 12 years she competed in swimming, she traveled the United States and Canada competing on a national level.  “I still hold a couple of the Minneapolis swimming records from my high school days, and that’s a long time ago” she grins.

She’s also the proud owner of Lillie, a rescue dog.  “I am Lillie’s 4^th owner,” Kathleen sighs.  “She was terribly abused.  Her chain was so tight from the last owner that it was growing into her neck.”  Today, Lillie – a Schnauzer-dachshund combination –or as Kathleen says “a long Schnauzer” is thriving.  “She’s a previous dog of mine who has come back to me.”

Kathleen encourages AZHCC members to contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . “I also like to work with those who are in transition to business and entrepreneurial practice to help them build a good business foundation.  I’m passionate about spotlighting new voices, products and services for the highest good.  If you have an idea, let’s get together and kick it around.  We’ll look at it and examine the most advantageous avenues of getting you out there, on your mark!” So email Kathleen or say hello to her at an AZHCC event and check out the Sampler Platters, too.  Expertise and opportunities are knocking at your door.  All you have to do is respond.

 

AZHCC members seem to be multi-talented, and charter member Andrea Sherman is no exception.  Andrea not only has a successful accounting business, but she is also a certified herbalist.  How is that for using both the analytical and the intuitive side of her brain?  And the AZHCC is especially blessed because Andrea also donates her time to keep our books as well…for which we all are truly grateful.

 

Andrea was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.  She says she “grew up on junk food and canned or frozen veggies.”  As a youngster, she had terrible sinus headaches three or four days a week.  “I had bronchitis, strep throat, and asthma – I was always sick.  I ended up taking ten different medications on a regular basis.”

 

Then at age 26, she went to a naturopath for the first time and was told she needed to get off all her medicines.  “Okay, I’ll do anything,” she remembers saying.  He started her on a regimen of vitamin I.V.’s and she started to feel better.   “After all those years,” she sighs, “It was the medicines that were keeping me sick.”

 

Andrea got even more involved in natural healing when she was working on her Bachelor’s Degree at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.  “It took me fourteen years to get my Bachelor’s,” she laughingly recalls.  “I tried elementary education, psychology, and exercise physiology.  Finally, I graduated with a degree in General Studies with a minor in English.  That worked because they let me tailor my program to what I needed for business and what I was interested in.”

 

Toward the end of her program, the Director of Health and Wellness at Oakland U. told Andrea about a graduate program in complementary medicine and wellness.  It focused on psycho-neural immunology and gave her a chance to study “every kind of natural healing method’. She went through the program and completed with a graduate level certificate in Complementary Medicine and Wellness. Andrea was required to give lectures in every class and so she expanded her knowledge of several different natural medicine techniques even further.

 

Andrea had visited Phoenix in the 1990’s on a vacation get-away and fell in love with it.  “I loved the sunshine,” she smiles. “It was 80 degrees in March!”  So when she divorced in 2002, Phoenix seemed like the perfect place to make her new home.  “All the stars aligned for me to move here.  There is sunshine every day – I need that.  It was always cloudy in Michigan.”

 

In Arizona, Andrea continued to enhance her knowledge of natural healing.  First, she did a six-month internship in EEG biofeedback with a local doctor.  Then she discovered the Chakra 4 Herb and Tea House on Camelback and 20th “It was meant to be, just like me moving here…just incredible.”

 

Andrea spent the next two and a half years in their program which she describes as an herbal pharmacy school.  “We learned about both medicinal and culinary uses for herbs as well as how to identify them, grow them and harvest them.” She learned about Chinese medicine, Native American medicine and Aryuvedic medicine and the role of herbs in each approach. “For instance, according to Native American spiritualism, you offer a plant something when you pick it,” Andrea explains – a practice she uses in her own garden and when she wildcrafts.

 

She also worked with the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine. “I traded my bookkeeping skills to help them get ready for accreditation as a certified school.

 

Although Andrea is a certified herbalist with her own herb garden and makes formulations for clients, she says she does most of her herbal medicine and nutritional consulting for free because she passionately wants to change the world.  “I hit rock bottom with regular medicine, but when I discovered the natural approach, it healed everything.  I gave up dairy and reversed my headaches.  I cut down on sugar and started taking probiotics and eliminated my yeast infections.  I’ve been off my inhaler now for eight years after docs told me I would never be able to cure my asthma and I’d be on inhalers the rest of my life.  I guess you go through all that stuff and suffering to know how to get out of it,” she explains.

 

“People complain that they don’t want to take the herbs because it costs money, but really, they don’t want to change their habits.  I take away that excuse.  When the time is right, the herbal consulting will become what it needs to be.”  One of her dreams is to create a business called “Grow Your Own Medicine” which would be garden designs tailored to a family’s needs.  The garden would include culinary herbs as well as anti-bacterial herbs. “They are often the same,” she explains.

 

In the meantime, Andrea’s accounting business is expanding through word of mouth. She keeps the books for over twenty different businesses and manages an office building.

 

Andrea found the AZHCC when she was sitting at a coffee shop reading the AZ Net News.  She saw an ad for the chamber and went to the first meeting.  Co-founder Meredith found out she did bookkeeping and asked if she would handle to chambers books pro bono…and she’s been doing the books ever since. “I thought the idea of a holistic chamber was so cool that I wanted to be a part of it.”

 

So what would Andrea have for her last meal on the planet.  “I’m a seafood lover,” she enthuses, “so I’d have lobster and crab legs and sushi and oysters and mussels – with hot sake to drink. And if it was really my last meal, I’d have strawberries dipped in dark chocolate that was sweetened by agave.”

 

Andrea describes herself as pretty much “an open book”, so she struggled to find something that others might not know about her.  “I guess it’s that I get fed up with mainstream America sometimes – the politics and people complaining about being sick and vaccination issues – and I want to sell everything and buy a farm in the middle of nowhere.  I’d have goats and sheep and be away from everyone else.  Just thinking about it can make me feel better.” Right now, with all the political campaigning going on, a lot of us would probably move with her.

 

Andrea is passionate about keeping the immune system strong so the body can use its natural defenses to fight infection.  She tries to be a good role model for her two and a half year old daughter, Jasmine.  Jasmine has been raised without processed sugar – only honey, agave and maple syrup.  Andrea also likes to go to the local farmers markets to get her foods.  “I go to the beekeeper to get pollen and honey,” she says. “And things are so meant to happen.  One day, I needed a source of raw goat milk.  I went to visit an urban farm, and a lady who was also visiting the farm announced that she had raw goat’s milk for sale.”

 

If you’d like to consult with Andrea about herbs for your kitchen, your garden, or your medicine cabinet or if you’d like to hire her as an accountant for your business, feel free to contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call her at 248-877-4577.  She’d love to share her knowledge and expertise with you.