Debra Gano: CEO & President of "Be Your Own You"

Debra Gano is the CEO & President of BYOU ‘Be Your Own You’, a girls self-esteem apparel and educational company and the best-selling author of the Heartlight Girls series. Debra is also a former international model and actress who has been featured in print, film, and television, and on runways around the world.  Her career has included work with some of Hollywood’s top actors, as well as premier fashion designers worldwide.

A series of life-changing incidences, including a near-fatal car accident, shifted Debra's perspective from an external-focus to knowing that "it's what's inside that counts." Driven with a passion to teach this principle, she now dedicates her life to the empowerment of girls and women and is a popular national speaker and sought-after self-esteem expert for television, radio, and print media.

Her book, Beauty’s Secret, A Girl’s Discovery of Inner Beauty, is the recipient of multiple national awards, including a gold winner of the Mom’s Choice Award and USA Book News National Best Books first place in children’s fiction. Her work has been endorsed by best-selling authors Jack Canfield and Marianne Williamson, girls’ organizations such as the Girl Scouts and Smart-Girl, Inc., and educators, counselors, parents, and girls worldwide.  Debra is also a single parent to her nine year old daughter.