Our Keynote Speaker

Allison Vaught                Alimar Labs

Allison Vought, a leading figure in the skincare industry, returns as an our keynote speaker at the Come Celebrate Lavender Conference. As the founder and CEO of Smell No Evil, Ltd. (dba BathBodySupply.com) and Alimar Private Label, Allison is a seasoned Private Label Skincare Expert and Cosmetic Formulator with nearly two decades of experience. Specializing in aiding small businesses and skincare professionals, Allison's passion lies in helping entrepreneurs effortlessly launch their own branded skincare lines. Her dynamic presence at the Lavender Conference promises attendees valuable insights into the art and business of skincare, making her a sought-after authority in the field.

Debrena Gordon

Blue Spring Run Farm

Debrena Gordon and her husband, John, own Blue Spring Run Farm just south of Covington, VA. Over the years, this family farm has evolved from a vegetable farm to an agritourism venue with plantings of herbs, perennials, and lavender for the bees. They manufacture a bath, body, and soap line for their farm and provide wholesale and private-label products for other farms and small businesses. They offer a variety of classes for the public as well as other small business

Erin Simmons 

Laurel Ridge Studios

Erin lives in the Appalachian mountains of Southwest Virginia where she makes handcrafted brooms and brushes. She loves educating others about the rich history and culture of broom making, watercolor and pressed flowers.

As an art educator and advocate for eighteen years she discovered her  passion for broom making about five years ago and began making them almost three years ago.

She offers whisks and brooms bound by hand, start to finish, and woven with a non-electric process. Many of the handles are harvested in the woods behind my studio or come from repurposed and discarded objects like croquet mallets or deer sheds.

Her brooms are created to carry on the tradition and culture of Appalachia, as well as, to create beautiful and functional pieces of art that help instill a sense

Lisa Gray

Purple Llama

Dr. Lisa Gray has a small, young lavender farm which was started with the intention of creating lavender-derived products.  Her background in chemistry, biology, and medicine led to an interest in the steam distilling process and is utilized to produce essential oils.  The essential oils are combined with locally sourced materials including honey, herbs, and dairy for a variety of products.  Lisa also has interests in community, small business, and education.   

Calvin and Julie Spears

High Flight Herbs and Heirloom Lavender Farm

Cal and Julie Spears, both veterans of the U.S. Air Force, have operated High Flight Herbs and Heirlooms Lavender Farm for the past 8 years in Englewood OH. The operation is primarily a small batch farm and has been successful selling products at vendor shows. Cal and Julie have big plans to scale up to open to the public within the next couple of years. 
Julie leverages her RN nursing background and MS in Herbal Medicine on the lavender ("Herbs") part as well as teaching about herbs, while Cal uses his extensive woodworking skills to craft high-quality handmade wood products ("Heirlooms"). Both of us combine our military skills to run the business end of things, and it's definitely our superpower!
Cal is also the mastermind behind our adventures in culinary lavender. Lavender cooking guru, Nancy Baggett, recently gave his chocolate lavender bark a taste test at the 2025 USLGA conference and gave it "two thumbs up"!' 

Andrea Haubner

Family and Consumer Services 

Andrea currently serves as the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Wythe County in Southwest Virginia. Her undergraduate degree is in Crop and Soil Science with a concentration in International Agriculture from Virginia Tech and she is currently working to complete her Master’s in Public Health from Eastern Tennessee State University. Andrea has worked in many areas of extension programing. While she is from Virginia originally, life took her to Texas after college where she served an AmeriCorps member in the 4-H CAPITAL program in Austin, a SNAP-Ed program assistant in Bell County, then the Family and Community Health Agent in Williamson County. She is happy to be back home serving the Appalachian area she grew up in. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

Jess and Brenton Underwood

Certified Pour 

With a combined 30+ years of bartending experience, Brenton and Jessica Underwood turned their passion for craft cocktails into a thriving small business, Certified Pour. Launching at the start of COVID, they began by creating handcrafted cocktail mixes and delivering them throughout the New River Valley. As demand grew, so did their vision. Today, Certified Pour specializes in crafting unique cocktails for special events, providing top-tier bartending staff, and supplying everything needed to elevate any celebration. With a commitment to creativity and quality, they bring the art of mixology to every pour.

Liz Fulcher                       

Copperstills and Aromatic Wisdom Institute

Liz brings 34 years of experience, research and education to her work as a Clinical Aromatherapist, Hydrosol Therapist and Educator.  Liz is the Founder of the Aromatic Wisdom Institute, a NAHA qualified school.

She has served as the Pennsylvania Regional Director for the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy since 2000 and has served on the Board of Directors for the Alliance of International Aromatherapists. 

Liz hosts the acclaimed Aromatic Wisdom Podcast in which she shares 3 decades of aromatic knowledge through tutorials, personal stories, DIY recipes, and tales from her aromatherapy practice and classroom. 

Jessica Kidwell                        

Floral Fox Farm 

Jessica lives in the heart of Central Kentucky in Nicholasville, where she grows garden mums and heritage mums, lavender plants, luffa sponges, fresh cut flowers and produces many value-added products. She has the heart of a teacher and loves to educate her customers on growing plants and flowers.

She doesn’t come from a farming or horticulture background, but has discovered there is virtually nothing you can not accomplish if you become a lifelong learner. After attending a Master Gardener training in 2009, she began growing new varieties of plants. In 2016, her family moved to 5 acres in the country and she began farming commercially in 2019. Each season she grows and sells out of over 2500 fall mums, and several hundred luffa sponges, value-added products, as well as lavender plants.

She has developed a strategy to add unique and profitable crops during the shoulder seasons before and after lavender has finished blooming. With approximately ½ acre in production between her mum, Lavender, and luffa fields as well as a 72 x 30 high tunnel, she encourages others to grow on their land and demonstrates that it is possible to have a high ROI in a very small footprint.

Russell Bird                        

Lester Insurance

Russell has been in the insurance industry for 25 years. The first 23 years was with Virginia Farm Bureau in Bland County. The last two years he has been with Lester Insurance Group in Wytheville, VA as an independent agent. As a life long insurance agent he has been involved with both farm insurance as well as Agri-Business.
Russell holds LUTCF, FSS, FSCP & CASC designations. He and his wife Jennifer enjoy a work /life balance with their children Finley, 12 years old and Keatley, 10 years old.

Zakia Ringgold

Zakia, a seasoned entrepreneur and digital marketing maven, brings over two decades of expertise in Instructional Design to revolutionize small business owners' digital presence. Launching her entrepreneurial journey with Natural Soap By Zakia, she not only crafted handmade soap but also mastered the intricacies of live streaming and online marketing, setting the stage for her subsequent ventures.

Seamlessly transitioning, she founded the Virtual Experience Design Agency, strategically intertwining live streaming and digital marketing to create compelling online brand experiences for libraries, universities and non-profit organizations. 
Now, with Business Tech Lab, she offers tailored training and solutions to make digital marketing simple and effective for small business owners.  Zakia stands out as a prominent figure at the intersection of entrepreneurship and the dynamic world of digital marketing.

Ellen Reynolds

Beagle Ridge Herb Farm

Ellen opened Beagle Ridge in 2001 and has been specializing in Lavender for over 20 years. She is a recognized speaker at lavender and herb events up and down the East Coast, and is a Charter member of the USLGA serving on several committees over the years.

Beagle Ridge is a thriving Herb and Lavender Farm and agritourism destination  in Wytheville VA. Her passion for teaching other growers has created a thriving workshop series known as Lavender Academy. The academy teaches novice and expert growers how to grow Lavender and grow their lavender business. Since beginning the Lavender Academy in 2019, students from 32 states have come to take these weekend long workshops. Ellen said, “when we began, we never imagined this.” Ellen and Gregg encourage new growers to start small and to know what you like and want to do, before you get in over your head.