Board of Directors

Members of the Board of Directors of the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild are elected for two-year terms. Three board seats come up for election on even years, and three board seats and the Presidency come up for election on odd years. Elections take place in the spring at the Annual Conference. Terms start on July 1 and end on June 30.

The HSCG President and Board serve as volunteers and are not paid. Those who have chosen to serve on the Board have shown their true dedication to the HSCG and the handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry through their selfless service to and for the HSCG.

Julie Koenig, President

Julie is the owner of Kreative Kraftwerks LLC and Absolute Soap located near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. She has been an HSCG member since 2008 and is an HSCG Advanced Certified Soapmaker in both CP/HP and MP. She also received her Basic Cosmetic Certification and is an HSCG Teacher. Julie previously served on the HSCG Board of Directors from 2011 to 2017, was re-elected to the Board in 2019, and started serving as President in 2020.
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Stephanie Falsetta, Vice-President

Stephanie is the owner of Goats in a Coat, in Montgomery NY, and has been a member of the HSCG since 2014. She was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2019 to fill a vacancy, and was elected in 2020 for a two-year term.
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Beth Byrne, Secretary

Beth is the owner of Soap and Garden in Rochester, New York and has been a member of the HSCG since 2009. She began her experience with the Board of Directors in 2010 and served for 6 years until her third term ended in 2017. She was appointed again in 2019 to fill a vacated two-year position. Beth is certified in MP Basic and CP/HP Basic and Advanced.
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Tracy Heppes, Treasurer

Tracy was born and raised in Louisville/Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Her family was one of the first 15 settlers in Elizabethtown, KY! In 2004, she moved to Ohio where she met her husband, Jason. They, together with their 15-year-old son, live in Xenia, OH. In 2014, she was asked by a friend if she wanted to attend a Soapmaking Boot Camp. She fell in love with the process as well as the new art form as it satisfied both her inner chemist and artist.

Tracy owns Tracy Heppes Creations, is the Local Chapter President for the Kentucky So. Ohio chapter and has been a member of the HSCG since 2017.

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Felecia Favroth

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Joan Taylor

Joan is the owner of Cedar Ridge Soaps in Keedysville, Maryland and has been a member of the HSCG since her company’s inception in 2005. A registered nurse by profession, she began making handcrafted soaps in 2004 to treat severely dry skin. Her family, friends and coworkers encouraged her to sell her soaps after they tried them and a handcrafted soap business was born. Joan left nursing in 2006 in order to devote more time to the business. Her husband, Frank, a carpentry teacher by profession, helped out in the business as time permitted and then joined full time after retiring from teaching in 2016.

Joan served for a time on the HSCG Ethics Committee and is excited to be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors. She looks forward to giving back after benefitting so many years from her HSCG membership.
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Sister Cathleen Timberlake

In 2002, Sr. Cathleen started Monastery Scents personal care business, which is now Monastery Creations and embraces all the works done at the Monastery. Sr. Cathleen served as a Board member 2008-2010 and as President 2012-2013 and was re-elected to the Board of Directors in 2020. She was certified as a CP'HP Soapmaker in the very first group of certification testing.
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The following people have served on the Board of Directors of the HSCG*. Their dedication, participation and contribution has been greatly appreciated. They are sincerely thanked for all they have done to further the objectives and goals of the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild. (* since 2003)