Experts & Guests

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    FACILITATOR

     

     
    Isisara Bey JOURNEY AGENT
    ISISARA BEY is VP of Programs & Education for Count Me In, Journey Agent for its live events and workshops and is the creator of the Leadership Institute.  Prior to joining CMI, she was the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for SONY BMG Music Entertainment, Managing the company's corporate philanthropy, strategic non-profit relationships and employee enhancement activities.  Isisara began her career as a radio personality and television news producer and received several national and regional media awards for her work.

     

     
    EXPERTS & SPEAKERS

     

     
    Hilary Blair HILARY BLAIR is the Teaching Artist and Voice Coach with the Denver Center Theatre Company, and has worked with finalists and awardees of the Make Mine a Million $ Business program since its inception. She is an award-winning professional stage and voice actor with over 25 years experience sharing her skills as an actor, drama teacher, voice and public speaking specialist with individuals, organizations and audiences across the country.

     

     
    Christine Buscarino CHRISTINE BUSCARINO is the Senior Director of Direct Sales for Office Depot.  Christine has responsibility for marketing and promotions for Office Depot’s catalog and web business, which includes website marketing and product promotion, email, online search, direct media relationships, mobile marketing and viral marketing.  Her team supports these online marketing efforts for both the direct and retail shopping channels.  Office Depot operates one of the world’s top-rated websites, generating sales of $4.3 billion.  Since joining Office Depot in 1997, Christine has held numerous positions within the Company ranging from retail (store management positions) to Online Marketing (Senior Director, Online Marketing) and Direct Marketing (Senior Director, Direct Sales).

     

     
    Bill Dueease BILL DUEEASE is the President of The Coach Connection (TCC), which he co-founded in May 2001. Over 96.5 % of TCC’s approximately 1,500 clients have achieved their initial life and career goals by connecting with their personally matched TCC Member Coach. In addition, Bill has successfully bought, started, and sold more than six businesses on two continents during the past 30 years and has helped others do the same as both a business broker and coach.

     

     
    Belle Frank BELLE FRANK is Executive Vice President and Director of Research & Strategy for Y&R She co-leads the Brand Planning Department for Y&R, and directs communications strategies for many of its clients.    Starting her career in Account Management, she joined the Y&R Account Research Department in 1984.  From 1993, Belle was assigned to develop Y&R’s BrandAsset® Valuator (BAV) model.  She has worked on key brands including Campbell’s , Dannon, Xerox and Vanguard;  developed youth strategies for Y&R’s Reckless Driving and the  LG “mobile bullying” initiatives; and now works on Wyeth and Bayer Women’s Health.   Belle is an active board member, has co-authored several published research pieces and received an Advertising Women of New York, Trailblazing Working Mother of the Year award in 2007.  Belle blogs, “Rated R for Research” and Tweets, @BelleResearch.

     

     
    Alicia Marie Fruin ALICIA MARIE FRUIN, a Member Coach with The Coach Connection, brings a wide range of experience to training, consulting and coaching.  Alicia has designed over 80 training programs and led custom programs for hundreds of business owners in a variety of industries across the country. She has successfully trained owners, managers, presidents and sales people on how to build a business truly worth having!

     

     
    Tom Gallman JAMES T. “Tom” GALLMAN currently serves as the U. S. Small Business Administrations’ Senior Area Manager for Area 2 in the South Florida District which encompasses 9 counties. He is also the Florida Small Business Development Center Project Officer for the SBA. Tom has been employed by the SBA for over 25 years as a specialist in Lender Relations, Business Development, Portfolio Management and Marketing & Outreach.  He’s worked in the Jacksonville, FL, Charlotte, NC and Nashville, TN district offices..  Prior to that, he was in banking in Northwest Florida for seven years.  Tom graduated cum laude from the University of West Florida, Pensacola with a BA in Economics with minor course studies in finance and marketing.

     

     
    Monica Luechtefeld MONICA LUECHTEFELD is Office Depot’s Executive Vice President of E-Commerce and Direct Marketing, overseeing global E-Commerce strategies and Direct Marketing in the Office Depot North American Business Solutions Division, including Advertising, Creative Production, Creative Services, Circulation & Analytics and Online Marketing. She also leverages her numerous relationships with women’s organizations to expand Office Depot’s marketing efforts towards women business owners.  Luechtefeld is committed to lending her expertise to the office supply industry as well the community in which she lives and works. She serves on the Department of Homeland Security’s Private Sector Senior Advisory Committee, is a member of Florida International University’s Business Advisory Board and a trustee of Mount St. Mary’s College.

     

     
    Liz Lynch LIZ LYNCH is founder of the Center for Networking Excellence, and a top networking strategist and speaker.  Liz has taught tens of thousands of professionals and entrepreneurs worldwide how to get 24/7 networking results WITHOUT the 24/7 effort. She's the author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008) and has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN among many others.  Liz holds an engineering degree from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University.

     

     
    Nell Merlino NELL MERLINO is Founder, President and CEO of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources for women to grow their micro-businesses into million $ enterprises.  Throughout her career, Nell Merlino has been inspiring millions of people to take action. She is the creative force behind Take Our Daughters to Work Day, which moved more than 71 million Americans to participate in a day dedicated to giving girls the opportunity to dream bigger about their future.  Through Count Me In, she is now leading a national movement to empower women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses to a million dollars and beyond by providing tools, resources and a supportive community of their peers. Nell is also the author of "Stepping Out of Line: Lessons for Women Who Want it Their Way in Life, in Love, and at Work", which is available from Amazon.com.

     

     
    Nancy Michaels NANCY MICHAELS  the President of Impression Impact, which she launched in 1990,  and Founder of the Grow Your Business Network  She is also Lead Consultant and host of Office Depot.com’s Web Café Series of on-line seminars geared toward small business owners.    Nancy’s extensive career highlights include winning the first Tom Peters WOW! Project Personified Award (2002); serving as Small Business Editor for US News & World Report and Small Business Marketing Expert for Entrepreneur magazine.  She was publicist for TV journalist Matt Lauer, has been featured in numerous national print publications including the Wall Street Journal, Success Magazine and Fortune Small Business, and is the author of five books on marketing for small businesses including, Perfecting Your Pitch, Off The Wall Marketing Ideas,  How To Be A Big Fish In Any Pond.

     

     
    Karen Mitchell KAREN MITCHELL is an audit partner in KPMG‘s Florida Business Unit. She started her career at KPMG in 1987, was promoted to partner in 1998 and in 2007, she became the Office Managing Partner of KPMG‘s Fort Lauderdale Office, with over 100 profesionals.  Over her 22 year career in audit and advisory, she has served various clients including public and private healthcare entities and the public services industry.  Her specialties include financial statement audits; and corporate and regulatory compliance.  She has been Chair of KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) in South Florida since its inception in 2005,  the 2020 Broward County Cultural Planning Steering Committee and was named one of the 2008 Women Who Mean Business by the South Florida Business Journal.

     

     
    Deborah Owens DEBORAH OWENS is a sought-after speaker and expert on the topic of entrepreneurship and financial empowerment.  She is the Wealth Coach on My Generation TV, which airs in 30 million homes, and the host and executive producer of Wealthy Lifestyles, a personal finance radio talk show.  Deborah tours nationally, providing financial literacy for military personnel, and has been featured speaker with the B.E.S.T. tour featuring Bishop T.D. Jakes and Magic Johnson.  Her company, Owens Media Group LLC, creates financial empowerment programs for companies and organizations, and her newest book “A Purse of Your Own” (Simon and Schuster) will be in book stores in December.

     

     
    Stacey Schieffelin STACEY SCHIEFFELIN, founder and president of ybf (your best friend), has engineered a 14-year record of success in direct sales on the Home Shopping Network (US), QVC (UK) and The Shopping Channel (Canada) that has built a loyal, worldwide consumer base of women with cosmetic and apparel sales in excess of $150 million! Stacey forges a highly personal relationship with her consumers, guiding them on their journeys to self-actualization and fulfillment using the power of beauty. As a former Ford Model for 20 years, renowned beauty expert and highly successful entrepreneur, she is frequently sought by national magazines such as Allure, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire and Fitness, and has been featured and quoted in countless beauty books. Stacey was named one of “America's Power Women" by Ladies' Home Journal.

     

     
    Mary Beth Shewan MARY BETH SHEWAN, M.S., MCC, is a Member Coach of The Coach Connection, and has been a business/career coach for 11 years. Mary Beth holds degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Career Development Counseling.  Her professional experience includes organizational developer, career counselor, manager, speaker and trainer for business.  She’s worked with an international client base, both one-on-one and in organizations, helping professionals accomplish their goals and transforming work environments to improve performance, business value and overall success. 

     

     
    Yalmaz Siddiqui YALMAZ SIDDIQUI is Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot, responsible for guiding Office Depot’s global environmental vision, including its industry-leading environmental programs that span  from the supply chain (buying green) to internal operations (being green) to business and consumer markets (selling green).  Siddiqui also oversees Office Depot’s five-year Forest & Biodiversity Conservation Alliance (www.forestryalliance.org), which develops critical information, standards and tools for global forest and biodiversity conservation.  Siddiqui joined Office Depot from IBM Business Consulting Services in Canada.  Prior to that, he was a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  He holds a Master’s Degree from Cambridge University in England and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from McGill University in Canada.

     

     
    Michelle Thompson-Dolberry MICHELLE THOMPSON-DOLBERRY helps American Express OPEN support the success of small business owners by overseeing community-based marketing efforts and strategic alliances with Count Me In, NAWBO and the Center for Women’s Business Research.  Michelle was previously a director in Human Resources at American Express, specializing in employee advocacy, change management and leadership effectiveness.   Prior to joining the company, Michelle served in financial services organizations, and spent time living and working in London and Paris.  She has a degree in French from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Penn State.

     

     
    Mary Wong MARY WONG was named President of the Office Depot Foundation in 2007, after seven years as he company’s Director for Community Relations.  Her tenure includes creation of the Office Depot National Backpack Program, through which more than 1 million backpacks containing basic schools supplies have been donated to disadvantaged children since 2001.  Under her direction, Office Depot has received top awards from such renowned organizations as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Civic Leadership Center, the Center for Companies That Care (for four consecutive years), the American Red Cross, and America’s Second Harvest, among many others.  Ms. Wong is a frequent speaker to nonprofit organizations and business groups. Earlier this year, she was an invited participant in “Compassion in Action,” a roundtable presented by the White House Office of Faith Based Initiatives. 
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