Meet the Team of Experts ...
Stacy Braack is a full-time real estate agent with Baird and Warner's Lincoln Park office. She was a member of the Founder's Club in both 2004 and 2005 and was ranked number 37 out of over 1900 agents in 2005 with sales of almost $14 Million. She is a member of the Chicago Association of Realtors, and participates in training and mentoring new agents. She began her career in real estate as an investor and rehabber in 1996. Her work is focused on the central part of the City, ranging from Hyde Park to Roger's Park, and west to the suburbs.
Julie Cassens
“The future in sales belongs to women”, says Julie Cassens, president of corporate sales. Julie has spent the last 10 years speaking to companies all over the world. Her mantra is ”It is about the money -if you're going to spend 8 – 10 hours a day away from your family at least make some good money!! The key is to stop being a walking generality and start doing everything with specific intent! When you try to be everything to everybody, you end up being nothing to anybody, including yourself!”
Kristin Brown has lived and worked throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East and speaks four languages fluently. Facilitating communication is the thread that weaves her diverse career together. Her proficiency in cross-cultural communication has helped her facilitate inter-departmental communications while managing projects to automate business processes. Ms. Brown worked for several years managing multi-national sales and marketing projects in industries ranging from health care and pharmaceuticals to academic publishing and elevator maintenance. In addition to Italian, Arabic and French, Ms. Brown is fluent in both "TechSpeak" and "End-User."
Rita Burgett
After becoming a wife at 18, mother at 20, and college graduate at 33, Rita Burgett founded A Woman’s Place, in Nashville, Tennessee to provide life-change workshops and coaching for women. During the seven years it was open, over 11,000 women attended classes at the Center. In 1992 Rita began offering change consulting to organizations. Since then she has led change initiatives for Fortune 500 clients in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. Her clients include Chevron, Cisco, Siemens, PG&E, Washington Mutual, Genentech, and Lyondell Chemical Company. Rita lives in Sausalito, California and is the proud mother of two daughters and a granddaughter.
Kristen Engelman
Kristen has worked in the cosmetics industry for 15 years. She has trained with some of the country’s premier celebrity makeup artists and has been recognized as one of Chicago Magazine’s “Top 50 Hairstylists and Beauty Experts”. As a makeup artist, Kristen specializes in using makeup to naturally enhance the appearance of her clients. She is dedicated to researching and finding the most effective products and techniques so that she can share them with her clients. Kristen is currently finishing her studies in aesthetics as well as educating future makeup artists and image consultants at the International Academy of Design and Technology.
Jinnie English is the President of English Consulting, Counseling and Therapy Services, an exclusive mental health maintenance firm for High Achievers. There are six offices in Chicago, Northfield and Calumet Park, IL. She is also the Founder and President of the Chicago’s High Achievers, a think tank and self-sustaining environment for bright and ambitious individuals. Membership is by invitation only and the members work together to function as a support structure and tool to advance the businesses and careers of fellow members while making conscious tradeoffs.
Merit Gest
Merit Gest has been invited to speak all across America including American Library Association, Young Entrepreneurs Forum, CBS Radio, American Express and Microsoft. Merit has trained hundreds of business people to collectively increase sales by millions of dollars across a wide variety of industries, though her most treasured "sale" was on her wedding day. Now Merit has founded "Marriage Means Business" and helps business people marry successful business strategies with personal relationships to create a unique approach to making marriage work. She recently co-authored a book called "The Masters of Success" with Ken Blanchard (One Minute Manager), Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and John Christensen (Fish).
Sheri Jeavons, President of Power Presentations, Inc., is a highly regarded communications consultant, dynamic speaker and entrepreneur. Realizing that effective communication is the key to success, Sheri has successfully trained over 10,000 professionals from many of America’s best known corporations. Sheri’s coaching helps professionals close sales and get management recommendations approved, while persuading, motivating and educating others. Sheri received numerous awards including three consecutive years as the Case Western Reserve School of Management Weatherhead 100 Award. She is the author of Tips for your Talk® and is active in numerous professional organizations.
Michele Lukovich
Michele Lukovich has been performing on stage, television and radio as well as in front of corporate audiences for years and has worked with people who’ve made it their business to make her look and sound great. Her education in communication and public relations has given her a strong grasp on the art and science of communication. This combination makes her uniquely qualified to help others find ways to make a fabulous first and lasting impression and create their own endless possibilities.
Jennifer Mounce
Energetic, business savvy, and passionate describe Jennifer in action. She is the Leadership Sherpa™ Coach at Coach Effect, a leadership & organizational effectiveness firm. As an author, speaker, and coach she works with people that desire to move to the next level. In 2005 Jennifer created the Women’s Teleconference. The first multi-day virtual women’s conference Athena International recognized Jennifer that year. Jennifer’s background includes 13 years of corporate experience; a Bachelor’s in Speech Communication; a Master’s in Human Resource Management; and a graduate of Coach University. She is active with Empowering Women Network and the Chicagoland Chamber.
Denise Norton
Chef Denise Norton graduated with highest honors from The Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago. Prior to becoming a Chef, she spent over a decade in the corporate arena as a certified public accountant. She entered the culinary world with a determination to partner two things she loved – teaching & cooking. Denise owns Flāv´our Cooking School in Forest Park. She instructs cooking classes, hosts private events & provides a retail venue for gourmet products. She has appeared on The Food Network’s Recipe for Success & has filmed several cooking segments on local news programs.
See class calendars & general information at www.flavourcookingschool.com.
Nancy Plummer
Image Consultant, Nancy Plummer, brings over twenty years experience in the retailing industry. Her consulting firm, Fine Threads, Inc., has assisted individuals express their personality through their clothing by offering one-on-one fashion analysis, closet consultations, and personal shopping. Additionally, Fine Threads, Inc. offers corporate workshops and seminars ranging from Dressing for Business to Wardrobe Planning. Nancy’s retail career positions began after her graduation from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a BS in Retailing. Nancy is an Instructor/Faculty Advisor at The International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT) in the Merchandising Management department. To find out more please visit Fine Threads, Inc. www.finethreadschicago.com
Mary Pennington Ralston
Mary’s coaching methods are designed to close the gap from where you are to where you want to be, even if you don’t know what that is. Her coaching style is unique in that it adds the element of foundation work which is only used by coaches trained by CoachInc. In addition to her responsibilities as marketing manager at a law firm, she teaches Personal Foundation workshops. She studied Marketing at the University of Wisconsin and is a graduate of CoachInc. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, National Association of Women Business Owners and 2006 president of the Chicago Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association.
Shari Greco Reiches is a co-founder and principal of Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, LLC, which offers customized global investment management and financial planning solutions to individuals, families and foundations. Shari's diverse experience in both the investing and banking professions give her a broad-based planning perspective. Prior to starting her own firm, Shari was a Vice President at Bernstein Investment Research and Management, a Wall Street money management firm, and prior to that, President of the Private Banking Division of Firstar Bank. She began her professional career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co.
Catherine Riddick
Catherine began her career as a CPA after graduating from law school in1983. While working in the tax department of one of the major accounting firms, she learned tax planning strategies for businesses of all sizes. She noticed that she had a particular love for small business owners and that their needs were not being met. She started XPonent Group in 1994 specifically to address those needs. Over the last twelve years, she has advised closely held businesses in all areas including entity choice, what tax savings strategies would make sense for them and how they can manage cash flow for profitable growth.
Alona Sussman
Alona launched her career in the financial planning industry in 1983. From the beginning, she has helped her clients achieve their financial goals through careful planning, sophisticated strategies and continued guidance through regular reviews. She works with individuals to help them achieve their desired lifestyles, accumulate wealth and protect their assets from unanticipated setbacks. She also advise owners of closely-held businesses regarding succession planning, key-man insurance, buy-sell agreements, and employee benefits. One of her areas of expertise is divorce planning
Cathie Tardy started her real estate career in 1985 after being home for 13 years raising a family. "I couldn't see myself behind a desk from 9 to 5 yet I wanted to earn a six figure income." In 1991 Cathie became the manager of the Fox Valley office and it soon became the number one office in Baird & Warner Real Estate with 90 full-time agents. She has been honored as the Realtor of the Year by the Realtor Association of the Fox Valley and runner-up for the Illinois Realtor of the Year. Cathie is a licensed Illinois Instructor in Real Estate, teaching pre-license classes.
Sharan Tash
As a single mom of four children, Sharan learned the value and skill of networking at an early stage of her children’s lives. (Although her father and mother will say that she was a true networker when she was born.) Sharan networked with her children’s friends, their families and the school system. Three of her children are now college graduates working and living in Chicago, while her fourth son will be attending college in 2007 and following in his siblings' footsteps. Always a role model for her children, she returned to college in 1990 to earn her degrees and graduated summa cum laude from Northeastern Illinois University.
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