Business, social-media, and marketing strategist. Publisher. Book and magazine writer. Blogger. Interviewer. Autism activist, speaker, and trainer. While my professional work has always involved creating — writing, editing, publishing — my best successes and satisfaction invariably come from partnership: partnering with colleagues while listening to customers and community; creating a holistic vision and plan; and then getting the job done. I’ve run businesses successfully and believe wholeheartedly that’s because I put people first: the people who work for me and the customers for whom we work. That’s the model for any meaningfully profitable business. That’s the why. My emphases, accordingly, include relationship-building, community, a basic commitment to excellence, and, always, the professional development and general well-being of my colleagues. I’ve worked at a newspaper (sports reporter, copy editor), a magazine (various editorial jobs ranging from book-review editor to, ultimately, editor in chief), and a book publisher (senior editor for three years, and then team lead and business manager for the founding three years of Lark Jewelry & Beading, which became Lark’s most profitable sub-imprint under my acquisitions, creative, business, and marketing planning and direction). I have also performed business consulting and then HR, social media, and marketing functions as part of the management team of an environmental consulting firm. I serve on the boards of businesses and numerous community organizations. I’m particularly active in the autism and special needs community, supporting people by volunteering, training, and serving on educational panels and even a human-rights committee. I authored a Publishers Weekly 2012 Best Book of the Year, along with a couple of dozen other well-reviewed books. I’m more pleased, though, by the far greater number of books I’ve gotten to publish and champion, and the authors, creatives, and publishing professionals I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with in that work. I have interviewed excellent mind/body/spirit and spiritual teachers — Eckhart Tolle, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Sakyong Mipham, Thomas Moore, Judith Orloff, Doreen Virtue, David Zeller, R. Carlos Nakai, and Chan Khong among them — along with many musicians, artists, authors, and business leaders. I’ve done trainings and seminars, led panel discussions, and conducted interviews on stage at conferences and trade shows. My work and, I hope, my blog hold together by a consistent mission of supporting people in their lives — this informs my business strategy, my leadership approach, my writing, my personal explorations, and, at least in my honest intent, my life. I currently live in Asheville, North Carolina, with my remarkably sweet and heart-centric 16-year-old son. I invite you to connect with me at linkedin.com/in/rayhemachandra/ or facebook.com/RayHemachandra.