Barbara Ryan is an award-winning writer whose quest to help build a kinder, more gentle world inspired her to found the Church of the Higher Self. Renowned for her creative achievements in literature and commerce, Barbara has inspired thousands with her lectures and workshops on creative thinking and "Living Juicy."

She is the founding publisher of Women’s Business Journal, Cultural Quarterly Magazine, Promenade Newspaper, and St. Marys Magazine, among others. Most recently, Barbara was honored by the American Advertising Federation with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and authored God as a Woman, a pictorial art book featuring works by renowned photographer Peter Langone.