Celebrity Personal Assistant workshop and conference to be held January 14, 2004

Networking event, panel discussion and educational workshop for personal assistants.

Dionne M. Muhammad, President and CEO of Celebrity Personal Assistants, Inc. and author of the forthcoming book titled "Beyond the Red Carpet: Keys to becoming a successful personal assistant," will be joined by the following dynamic panelists for the "Beyond the Red Carpet" Conference and Workshop to be held January 14, 2004 in Atlanta:

*BONNIE LOW-KRAMEN has been the Personal Assistant to celebrity couple Olympia Dukakis ("Moonstruck", "Steel Magnolias") and Louis Zorich ("Mad About You") for the past 17 years. She is a co-founder and former President of New York Celebrity Assistants (NYCA), the networking and support organization for NY-based celebrity assistants. Currently, she serves on NYCA's Board of Directors as Programming Co-Chair and is also on staff at New York's Learning Annex teaching a class called "Become a Celebrity Assistant". Ms. Low-Kramen is a passionate spokesperson on issues concerning celebrity assistants, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, NY Post, Entertainment Tonight, Good Day New York and Vanity Fair, among others. Ms. Low-Kramen worked to create NYCA in 1996 with seven other celebrity assistants. It is the only organization of its kind on the East Coast and has grown to over 90 members. Ms. Low-Kramen's work with Olympia Dukakis has included close involvement with the Academy Award win for "Moonstruck," the Presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis (Olympias brother), travel around the world to places such as Sydney, London, Juneau, Alaska and Prague and numerous awards shows and benefits. A New Jersey native, Ms. Low-Kramen holds a B.A. from Rutgers University in English and Theatre. She worked in Public Relations and Marketing for not-for-profit theatres in Chicago, Atlanta and Houston before returning to New Jersey where she became Public Relations Director at Olympia Dukakis' Whole Theatre in Montclair, NJ. Ms. Low-Kramen's experiences as an administrator, manager, publicist, marketer and working mother provide many valuable real-life examples of "what it's really like" which she is eager to share as a professional speaker. She is also author of the soon to be published book: "In a New York minute: A celebrity assistant's secrets to success"

*BRENDA L. THOMAS is the author of the national best selling novel, "Threesome Where Seduction Power and Basketball Collide." People, women mostly, often ask her how she rose to the position of personal assistant to NBA All-Star, Stephon X. Marbury. Once she set a goal of working for a celebrity, she claims it was easy. Brenda came up through the ranks of the business world as a career secretary and administrator. After spending 12 years at IBM, she began her own administrative and marketing consulting firm, Admin Ink, through which she continues to provide support to professionals in various industries. After years in the corporate sector, she took a position at AND 1 Basketball as its Manager of Product Placement and Player Relations. In this position, she worked to place AND 1 product on television sitcoms, movies, celebrities and athletes. She also supported the needs of their seven NBA players by coordinating appearances, providing game shoes and other apparel. Once Brenda and her marketing and management skills were recognized in the league, it wasnt long before Stephon X. Marbury requested she be on his team exclusively. After she tired of the frenetic pace of personal assistance, she endeavored as a marketing professional at one of the 10 largest global law firms. Throughout her adult life, she has maintained her passion for writing--it was born from her love of reading as well as her desire to pass on her life stories and lessons to others. Her novel, Threesome, reflects some of those experiences. Brenda has now dedicated herself exclusively to writing. She is currently working on a sequel titled, FOURPLAY. You can usually find Brenda at home in Philadelphia where she resides with her two children, three granddaughters and a wealth of family and friends. Buy her book, "Threesome" here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0970380313/blinksnet

*PEGGY DUNCAN is a "Productivity Trainer" and time management expert who uses her expertise as a professional organizer, project manager, and computer trainer to save her clients as much as two man-months a year in wasted time, labor, and energy. Peggy is an energetic speaker, and her passion motivates her audience to change how they work and live. Peggy conducts productivity workshops on land and at sea, and is the author of two books (Just Show Me Which Button to Click! and Put Time Management to Work); the editor of an online magazine, (C-O-P-E); an adjunct college professor; a writer for business publications; and a former radio and TV talk show co-host. She is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and serves on the board of Women in Technology International (WITI). Peggy received a B.S. degree in Marketing and a Train the Trainer Certification from Georgia State University, and was formally trained at IBM (productivity) and Georgia-Pacific (computer training).
For more information and lots of free tips, visit Peggy online at http://www.peggyduncan.com. Subscribe to her free, monthly Webzine, COPE, with tips on organization, time management, and technology.

*CHRIS HILSABECK began his film and television career with a stint as associate producer for LOS MINEROS, a Hector Galan film about turn-of-the-century copper miners in Arizona, which aired in 1990 on the PBS series The American Experience. He also served as associate producer on THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN (Galan Productions), a one-hour segment about race relations in the U.S. military, which first aired on PBS's Frontline in 1991. He went on to produce the 1995 independent feature DEEP IN THE HEART, a film based on the Southern characters and stories depicted in a series of Richard Avedon photos. Moving from Los Angeles to Austin to Atlanta, Chris has produced and directed television promos, commercials and corporate videos in more than 20 cities in the United States. He has also produced and directed projects in Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Canada. He is currently in development on several in-depth documentaries with Atlanta production company Glass Eye Projects.

LINDA LYON: A career Executive Personal Assistant has worked for Madonna, Patti Labelle, Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson and Dolly Parton to name a few.

The event will take place at Upscale Event Facility 6690 Roswell Road. Attendees will enjoy a wonderful panel discussion and Question and Answer Session, Networking and Lunch. Certificates of Attendence will be awarded. Panelists will also talk with attendees one-on-one in the "Networking Room" as well as exhibit their products and books.

For more info:
http://www.celebritypersonalassistants.com/workshops


BUY THE BOOK: "Beyond the Red Carpet: Keys to becoming a successful Personal Assistant." http://www.celebritypersonalassistants.com/nm/publish/news_34.html