2023 Speakers & Celebrities

Netflix & HGTV Star, Ati Williams

Ati Williams is a renowned Design-Builder and the engaging TV host of Netflix's “Hack My Home.” As the creative mind behind Honeycomb Design Build, she wears many (hard) hats expertly balancing her roles as a designer, general contractor, real estate developer, business innovator, and philanthropist. Ati is also the Founder of the residential real estate brokerage firm DC Home Buzz (recently acquired).

Ati became interested in renovation and real estate when she purchased her first home in 2004. After making minor renovations, she resold her home. Since then, she was hooked. With over two decades in real estate and construction, Ati has revitalized numerous spaces, tackling everything from subtle makeovers to extensive rehabs. As one of the few black women in the construction realm, her passion is a driving force, inspiring the next generation of female builders and entrepreneurs. A dedicated advocate for women in business, she actively contributes to the Entrepreneur's Organization and Pipeline Angels, championing initiatives that support female entrepreneurial endeavors.

 Ati was born and raised in Kenya. She later ventured to Canada, attending York University in Toronto, followed by pursuing her MBA at McGill University. Her influential work and insights have been featured in various esteemed publications and media outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and ABC. Awarded the Jones New York empowerment award, she has developed a groundbreaking financial literacy curriculum aimed at supporting homeless women.

When she's not immersed in blueprints, Ati is hanging out with her very cool 9 year old kiddo. She has a beyonce lyric for every life happenstance, and is lobbying for taco Tuesday to be everyday.

See Ati on the Rose Farm Inspiration Stage Friday at 6pm & Saturday at 12pm!

HGTV's Patric Richardson, "The Laundry Guy"

Before there was a TV show, and before there was a book, Patric Richardson loved laundry.  When he was barely 3 years old, Santa brought him a toy washing machine, fueling a passion already inside him and presenting itself when he helped hang clothes on the clothesline or fold the sheets with his beloved Granny Dude.

As a child, he loved clothes, both wearing them and their care.  Voted best dressed in 8th grade and in high school, the path was set. He studied Merchandising Apparel and Textiles at the University of Kentucky then left for an incredible career in luxury fashion at McAlpins, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.  Time in these legendary stores taught him 2 major lessons, that incredible clothes are fun, and that all clothing, regardless of price can be cared for at home.

Opening his designer vintage store, Mona Williams, in 2013 Patric embarked on the next step in his journey.  The store carried a small, but curated collection of fine laundry products, sparking the curiosity of the Minneapolis/St Paul community.  This curiosity only grew when the Twin Cities newspaper, the Star Tribune, featured Patric and his love of laundering everything, from cashmere sweaters to tailored suits at home.  This publicity completely changed his direction into the world of laundry and clothing care.

Patric started sharing his expertise at his much talked about, and often sold out, Laundry Camps, teaching people new and better ways to care for all of their apparel and home textiles.  These camps sparked a revolution, prompting a book Laundry Love, now in its fourth printing and a television show, The Laundry Guy on HGTV and Discovery+.  Patric has been featured in both local and national media including  Live with Kelly and Ryan, the Washington Post,  Better Homes and Gardens, Good Morning LA, the Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, The New York Times, WGN, Twin Cities Live, the Pioneer Press, GMA3, Martha Stewart Living, The Tamron Hall Show, and internationally with the BBC, The Globe and Mail and Die Welt.