Val is a geek of all trades: artist, writer, illustrator, and general IT lackey. Being a cancer survivor, some people would now be writing the inspirational part of this bio and giving you an uplifting message -- something about angels and sunsets is usual -- but as far as Val is concerned having cancer sucked fetid goat testicles, and she's damn glad that hers has been gangpressed and sent packing off to some lab for posterity.

She considers having kicked cancer's ass one of her most notable accomplishments, right up there with winning 11 AMR awards for her designs, being accepted to grad school in eight minutes, and being the Mammoth Lakes Oktoberfest Women's Log-Sawing Champion two years in a row.

~ Theresa Grant: Marketing Director ~

Who am I and why am I involved with the Lime Project?

I'm a REALTOR®. I help people find the right place to call "home" heading up a team within the Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty organization.

I'm a Community Activist. I've been both Vice-President and President of our local PTA. I was a Girl Scout leader long before I married. I help provide major home repairs for low-income families via the Christmas in April foundation. I knit blankets for The Linus Project, which donates baby blankets to children who need them. I volunteer my time as needed for a variety of smaller projects and tend to weigh in wherever I am needed, for even the smaller things.

I'm a Friend. I try to listen and pay attention, give good comfort and advice, and try to be generous when I have too much and you have too little.

I'm a Daughter, a granddaughter, a cousin, a sister. My family depends upon me to be the best person I can be.

I'm a Wife, a partner to my husband, his best friend. That says a lot.

I am my son's Mother. I am his parent, which means I teach him, love him, guide him, and am the first and last line of defense if he ever needs help or protection. There is no greater joy in my life than being my kid's Mom.

I am a woman. I can be strong, I can be soft. I can lead, I can follow. I can wear leather as well as lace. I can host a dinner party or swing a hammer. There is no limit to what I can do.

I am not a cancer survivor. Please, God, let me never have cancer. I have a history of cancer in my family via several grandparents, and I know this thing is like Russian roulette. But if I ever do have something that threatens all that I am to myself and my family, and all I could ever be, I would want to have something like the Lime Project behind me.

That's why I am involved. I want Heather to know that all that she is to herself, and all she ever could be, is not going away gently in the night. So long as we can help her, give her support and encouragement, and assist her in finding a way to achieve healing and strength, the Lime Project will be here. And I will be with it the entire way.

~ Mara Alexander: Website Design ~

Mara is a Computer Programmer/Web Developer and the owner of Hello World Web Design and Hosting. She hopes to do her part to show that computer geeks can be sexy, too, and that "brains and beauty" are not mutually exclusive traits.

Mara became involved in this project because she is a cancer survivor. The experience profoundly changed her life. Mara wants people to know, "Sometimes having cancer can be a beginning and not an end."

After you've helped Heather kick cancer's ass by ordering a calendar, contact Mara for a kick-ass website for your business or organization.

~ Marianne Kirby: Editor ~

Marianne Kirby is a writer, an artist, and an editor. Her favorite punctuation mark is the comma. She does not think it strange to have a favorite punctuation mark.

Marianne thinks cancer sucks. She believes in interdependent human communities and that everyone benefits when people help support each other. She is not a feel-good, squishy hippie, but agrees that local actions can have global impact. That's why she volunteered her mad editorial skillz and then let people take her picture.

If you are a creepy stalker, leave Marianne alone. If you are a culture-savvy lover of handmade items, visit her at www.ofdoomproductions.com and buy things from her.

~ Tina: Proofreading, Copy Editing ~

Tina is half British and half Ukranian Jewish. This means she will hold a grudge for a very long time. She currently resides in Southern California because she is violently allergic to snow.

People pay her to spend all day on the Internet. In her spare time, she swings swords at people for fun and profit. She is only half as scary as legend makes her out to be, except before her first cup of coffee, in which case she is twice as scary. Please do not mistake her for either Xena or a Swedish blond super model.

~ Richard: Copy Writing ~

I teach. I occasionally write something to amuse myself.

People have paid me to do both; I'm not sure which group contains the bigger fools. I'm me and otherwise unremarkable.

~ Kathleen: Fact Checking ~

By day a Human Resources manager, by night a silly woman with a vintage-bicycles fixation. In between, a voice actor and singer. Kathleen tries to make the world a better place on the micro-level, and "showing one's butt for cancer" seemed a wonderfully absurd way to do that.

~ Janice Zimmer: Photographer for Liz ~

Janice is a 40 year-old amateur photographer who has been taking photos for over 20 years. She has been married 16 years to her wonderful husband Gerry. They are owned by 3 cats and happily reside in southern Pennsylvania.

Janice has a BA in Psychology from California University of Pennsylvania. Her interests include photography, cats, tattoos, U2, Pink Floyd, and renaissance faires.

You can visit her at autumncat.com and see her photos at: www.flickr.com/photos/93467467@N00.

~ Ray Cole: Photographer for Beth ~

I'm married to Beth, the April model. She is my favorite subject for my photography, so when I got the chance to take pictures of her for a good cause, as well as a chance to share them, I jumped on it. So far I'm strictly an amateur photographer. I've taken pictures most of my life, mostly vacation type pictures, though lately I've been taking my pictures a bit more seriously.

My current camera is a Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D digital SLR, which has allowed me to transition away from film, something I thought I would never do. I can be emailed at ray@limeproject.org.