The Apprentice: Martha Stewart Candidates Announced

For three seasons now, we’ve watched scores of hopeful moguls tackle challenges and fight it out in the boardroom in the hopes of being Donald Trump’s newest apprentice. But this fall, NBC will present a second version of the show, starring Martha Stewart. The show premieres on September 21, 8-9 PM ET/PT.

Although The Apprentice and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart have the same basic premise – sixteen top notch candidates battle it out for the big job – NBC is eager to draw distinctions between the two shows. While Trump’s candidates live in a suite, Stewart’s live in a loft. Losing teams on the Trump version of the show must face the boardroom, whereas on the Stewart version, they’ll head to the conference room.

Not much of a difference, is it?

If fans are looking to distinguish between the two shows, they need look no farther than the cast. The past three seasons of The Apprentice have given us candidates with impressive resumes, and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart promises the same. But while Donald Trump tends to attract a lot of candidates with a background in real estate, many of Stewart’s candidates have a background in creative fields. Even more interestingly, these candidates are not split between men and women – there are ten female candidates and only six male.

Martha Stewart says, “I am incredibly impressed with this cast. Their poise and creativity is balanced by a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit.” But not to worry – they aren’t so poised that we’ll be bored. Stewart also adds, “There are some explosive personalities among the candidates, and they really create a lot of tension in the conference room.” So who are these candidates? Let’s meet them.

Dawna, 37, magazine publisher, St. Petersburg, Florida: Dawna is the founder and publisher of Her Sports magazine. A former Olympic swimming hopeful, she has also worked as a Chief Marketing Officer, the president of PR*Nutricion, and a strategy consultant.

Marcela, 27, cooking instructor, Tijuana, Mexico: Marcela owns her own catering company and teaches cooking classes. She has worked as a guest chef on the Food Network and is a former food editor and recipe stylist for Bon Appetit magazine. She is also the mother of a one-year old boy.

Amanda, 30, attorney, Austin, Texas: An attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Amanda specializes in employment and medical malpractice law. She is a survivor of eye cancer and volunteers in projects benefiting cancer research.

Carrie, 31, creative director, Los Angeles/San Diego, California: Carrie is the owner and creative director of Drive Creative, Inc. She also has experience as a stockbroker and is a talented glass blower. Her dream is to brand her own contemporary glass line and produce documentaries about glass blowing.

David, 22, internet company owner, Maplewood, Missouri: At 22, David is the younges candidate, but he already has an impressive resume. He is the owner of an internet advertising company and a mortgage information services company. And as a high school student, David invented “AIM Talk,” a plug-iin that gave text-to-speech capabilities to AOL Instant Messenger.

Jim, 36, ad executive, Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania: Jim owns his own advertising and marketing company which targets overlooked regional venues in the Philadelphia area. Prior to that, he worked as a conceptual illustrator. Jim is the father of two girls.

Sarah, 25, event planner, Washington, DC: Sarah is a senior event planner at a healthcare consulting firm. She plans and runs over 30 large executive level events every year. Sarah is also an accomplished athlete and a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Bethenny, 34, natural foods chef, New York, New York: Bethenny runs a custom food delivery service that provides healthy meals for her clients, some of whom are celebrities. She also owns bethennybakes.com, a company that produces lowfat, wheat-, dairy-, and egg-free cookies. Bethenny has experience as well in event planning.

Ryan, 28, recent law graduate Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California: Ryan just graduated from law school and currently oversees marketing and advertising for his father’s employment law firm. He put himself through school by running a car detailing company, modeling, and teaching baseball camps.

Howie, 33, fashion company owner Closter, New Jersey: Howie owns a successful women’s clothing company earing over five million dollars a year. Prior to that, he had a successful career on Wall Street.

Chuck, 38, interior designer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chuck is an interior designer specializing in design and construction for residential and commercial projects. He also works as an artist, specializing in mixed media pieces.

Jennifer, 32, prosecutor, Los Angeles, California: Jennifer is a prosecutor in Los Angeles and has clerked for both a congressman and former mayor. She started working at her family’s Vietnamese bakery/café at the age of nine and eventually managed the business.

Shawn, 32, TV newscaster, Grosse Point, Michigan: Shawn should be comfortable on camera, because she has worked in local and network news. She recently worked at the morning anchor and entertainment host for an affiliate in Orlando, Florida. Shawn is an active volunteer in the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Jeff, 42, creative director, New York, New York: Jeff is the owner and creative director of a graphic design and consulting firm in New York. He has a variety of different job experience under his belt, including working as a window designer for Tiffany & Co.

Leslie, 36, marketing company owner, Alexandira, Virginia: Leslie holds an M.B.A. from Johsn Hopkins University and currently owns Impacto Group, a communications and markeet research firm. Hispanic Business magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanic Americans.”

Dawn, 33, PR consultant, Boston, Massachusetts: Dawn is the head of Red Wagon Communications, a marketing and PR agency. She is also the founder of The Secret Socialite, an organization that coordinates events for philanthropic young professionals. Like Shawn, she volunteers with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I have to say, I’m intrigued by these candidates. It looks like Stewart values a combination between creativity and business savvy that could make for some very interesting challenges. I’ll be up every Wednesday night, bringing you a full recap of each episode. See you in September!

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with any comments at betsywasser@gmail.com

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