Connecting People and Building Community

Tisha Marie Pelletier, Tisha Marie Enterprises

Tisha Marie Pelletier is President/CEO of Tisha Marie Enterprises. She took the entrepreneurial leap in 2004, has run four different businesses, planned hundreds of events and facilitated over 300 masterminds.

Tisha empowers entrepreneurs to make their business happen through 1:1 mentoring, personal brand strategy, her online course, the Startup Entrepreneur Academy, and her special events: the Social Connect Business Happy Hour and Success over Struggle speaker panel. Tisha is host of the Success over Struggle Podcast, an inspirational keynote speaker, author, and mentor at ASU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department. She is also a partner in Last Hour Media,a full-service video and digital media production company helping businesses Valleywide stand out in a saturated market through branded videos that evoke emotion and move their audience to take action. Her newest book, What Are the Odds, can be found on Amazon and Audible.

Connect with Tisha Marie Pelletier on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow Tisha Marie Enterprises on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jen McIntyre, Multi-Purpose Mama

Jen McIntyre, the founder of Multi-Purpose Mama, is an unschooling mama of two energetic boys, a creative entrepreneur at SquishKit.com, and a community leader and coach who inspires other “multipurpose mamas” to design and live amazing lives.

Jen’s fun-loving attitude, extraordinary communication skills, and deep commitment to a healthy, active lifestyle enhance her work in individual and group settings. A former workshop leader and coach, her clientele of adventurous “goal getters” has included personal trainers, yoga instructors, police officers, moms, small business owners, government employees, artists, electricians, chiropractors, insurance salespeople and real estate investors.

To hear more of her story, listen to Jen’s previous appearance on Valley Business Radio in June 2019.

Connect with Jen McIntyre on Facebook and Instagram, and join her Facebook group for busy moms, Jen’s Healthy Meals Made Easy

Transforming Leaders and Reinventing Organizations from the Inside Out

Seela Farani-Simmons

Seela Farani-Simmons is an Organizational, Learning, and Leadership Development professional and Director of L&D at Northcentral University / National Education Partners. Northcentral University was founded in 1996 with the goal of offering higher education to working professionals around the world, and today is a proud affiliate of the private, nonprofit National University System based in La Jolla, California. NCU delivers a premier online educational experience with doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business, education, and psychology, as well as doctoral and master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy, technology and health sciences.

Seela’s career spans nearly 20 years across a variety of industries, including finance, retail, hospitality, and health care. She is dedicated to understanding organizational behavior and performance. Throughout her career, Seela has worked with business leaders and HR professionals in organizations ranging from small start-up environments to large-scale Fortune 100 organizations. Regardless of the industry and company, what sets Seela apart is that she approaches her work with vision, passion, and authenticity.

Seela holds a Masters degree in the Psychology of Leadership from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelors in Technical Communication from Arizona State University. She is also a member of the Association for Talent Development, the National Speakers Association, and the International Coach Federation.

Connect with Seela Farani-Simmons on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Jonathan Keyser

Jonathan Keyser is the founder of Keyser, the largest commercial real estate tenant brokerage firm in Arizona and one of the fastest growing in the country. Keyser is dedicated to exclusively representing the global real estate needs of office, industrial, educational and medical space users, helping them with all real estate matters including lease renewals, relocations, build-to-suits, acquisitions and dispositions. Through Jonathan’s disruptive focus on selfless service, he is reshaping the commercial real estate industry, and his firm represents thousands of companies globally across multiple industries.

Jonathan Keyser’s book, You Don’t Have to Be Ruthless To Win, details his transformation from a former ruthless, cutthroat commercial real estate broker who used to do whatever it took to win into a man on a mission to reinvent and transform the commercial real estate brokerage industry through selfless service.

A Wall Street Journal #1 Best-Selling Author, national speaker, regular media contributor, and strong supporter of the Conscious Capitalism movement, Jonathan is actively working toward the upcoming launch of The Keyser Institute to inspire, train, and equip the next generation of selfless leaders.

Connect with Jonathan Keyser on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow Keyser on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos

Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos is the Founder and Principal of LifeManaged, a values-based financial planning and fiduciary wealth management firm that works with individuals and families to build their best financial lives. LifeManaged helps clients gain an understanding of what it is about money that is important to them and uses the client’s values and life aspirations to guide their decision making and behavior.

The millennial generation is often overlooked and not currently considered a profitable group in terms of financial advising. But LifeManaged recognizes millennials as a generation of emerging wealth that if properly coached, will have the means to invest and grow their portfolios. They are focused on working with young professionals earning over $200,000 per year to build a financial road map that puts them in position to make work optional.

Traditionally, a financial advisor sits down with a client, reviews their finances, and makes recommendations on investment products. But LifeManaged takes a more holistic approach by using a behavioral financial model to prepare clients for future success. Using this behavioral approach, LifeManaged helps clients navigate many aspects of their lives, including finances, career decisions, personal development and family goals. Whether needing to save for kids’ college, or wanting to pay off a mortgage, they understand that every client’s needs and goals are unique and deserve an individualized approach.

As fiduciary advisors, LifeManaged does not sell products or take commissions. Rather, they work on an up front, agreed upon flat fee. This removes the conflict of interest between advisor and client and allows the advisor to make recommendations that are in the client’s best interest and focus on them keeping more of what they earn.

Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos is a native Phoenician, born to an immigrant Greek Family. He grew up in North Central Phoenix and was schooled in the Madison Public Schools before he moved on to Brophy College Prep. Thanasi played Division 1 Basketball on Scholarship at the Univ. Of Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference. After a short professional stint, he moved home and started his financial career at Wells Fargo Advisors. After getting the first-hand experience at a major Financial Institution, he is building a firm that is not your ordinary conflict-ridden public banking experience. He is married to his wife, Melissa and is a Father to his daughter, Sophia, and son, Marco. In his free time, Thanasi enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, eating and playing basketball and golf.

Connect with Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos on LinkedIn, and Facebook, and follow LifeManaged on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Nick Suwyn

Nick Suwyn is President of Promineo Tech, a technology school and education as a service provider whose mission is to make education affordable, accessible, and low-risk. They currently offer vocational programs in software development with future plans to release programs in other related technologies which may include cybersecurity and data engineering. One of the most powerful ways in which they accomplish their mission to make technology education affordable and low-risk is by only charging students ten percent of their tuition upfront until they land a job in the industry. This way, students can focus on their education rather than student debt. Promineo Tech believes that education should be an outcome based industry.

Nick is an entrepreneur, software engineer, and educator whose love for technical education developed at a young age when he started learning how to code and teaching private music lessons around the same time. Years later, after graduating from DeVry University in under 18 months with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, Nick transitioned into a career in software development. A few years later he joined a coding bootcamp as an instructor where his teaching skills and programming knowledge were able to merge nicely. Nick soon found himself leading a team of around 20 faculty and mentors as his hard work as an instructor led to a promotion to Director of Academics. A year later, in 2018, he launched Promineo Tech to help people find access to affordable and low-risk technology education. When he isn’t helping students and running a school, Nick enjoys writing and playing music, coaching wrestling, and spending time with his lovely wife and two young children.

Connect with Nick Suwyn on LinkedIn and Facebook, and follow Promineo Tech on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Susan Ratliff

Susan Ratliff is the owner of Susan Ratliff Presents, a consulting and training company specializing in trade show marketing and industry trade show and public consumer show exhibitor education services.

Known in the industry as The Exhibit Expert, Susan has unique insight into how to generate leads and maximize profits from a booth. For 30 years she’s worked both sides of the exhibit aisle, gathered knowledge, discovered shortcuts and made mistakes she teaches her audiences to avoid.

Susan started her career in the trenches selling personalized children’s books at craft fairs and family expos. She’s produced sports related consumer shows and women’s business conferences. Susan is an author, award-winning entrepreneur and founder of a reputable trade show display company where for 16 years she helped thousands of companies polish their presence and produce profits at industry trade shows and public consumer shows.

She knows what attendees want, how exhibitors think, and what they both need to be successful. Her personal experiences and exhibit marketing strategies will educate and motivate both novice and veteran exhibitors leaving them with keys to a competitive advantage and the knowledge to work a show like a pro.

Connect with Susan Ratliff on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

LaCoya Shelton

LaCoya Shelton is CEO of Revolutionary HR Consulting, an Arizona based firm that partners with organizations of all sizes and industry to create alignment between HR systems and business strategies. By strengthening HR’s ability to build the capacity to align people, structure and process in a sustainable way, businesses gain a competitive advantage improving their ability to build and maintain the workforce needed today and in the future. Revolutionary HR Consulting specializes in helping conscious businesses operate consciously recognizing that high-impact HR is critical to this end. Revolutionary HR Consulting captures what HR does, compares it to what you need, to create the HR that you want.

Revolutionary HR Consulting also provides consultative support in all aspects of talent management for small businesses and start-ups and provides expert HR witness services for both plaintiff and defendant cases arising from various employment scenarios across industries.

Prior to launching Revolutionary HR Consulting at the beginning of this year, LaCoya spent many years in the C-suite. She served as Vice Chancellor for Human Resources with Maricopa Community Colleges, the largest community colleges district in the nation. Her previous roles include Chief HR Officer overseeing the full delivery of HR services for 70 Arizona state agencies, boards and commissions, healthcare and private sector human resources. She specializes in the design and execution of high-impact, transformational HR recognizing that HR is the intersection between business strategies and the human beings responsible for its success.

LaCoya also serves as an expert HR witness providing expert HR opinions in a variety of legal matters involving employment given her background and expertise in Human Resources. She teaches HR management and leadership part-time at Grand Canyon University, serves on the City of Surprise Personnel Board and is a member of the Conscious Capitalism Arizona Chapter leadership team. LaCoya is a graduate of Arizona State University.

Connect with LaCoya Shelton on LinkedIn, and follow Revolutionary HR Consulting on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Nancy Shenker

Nancy Shenker is CEO & Founder of theONswitch and nunu ventures. theONswitch is a different kind of marketing and branding company. Serving as a full-service strategic marketing department, they’re focused on innovative ideas and fast, significant results.

Nancy founded theONswitch in 2003 after leaving the C-suite of major brand companies. Over the past 16 years, she and her virtual team of marketing superheros have been creating tipping point moments for 100s of businesses, helping them launch, scale, and rebrand. Nancy also runs nunu ventures, a publishing and media company. She has written four books and produces five blogs — on topics ranging from multigenerational collaboration to human aspects of technology to business travel.

Connect with Nancy Shenker on LinkedIn and Facebook, and follow theONswitch on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sarah Dawn

Sarah Dawn specializes in coaching entrepreneurs and small business owners to design a business that works FOR them. Whether the it’s a start up, or scaling to the next level, she can help you grow your organization in a way that meets your lifestyle goals, and is sustainable for the long haul.

Sarah is an attorney and entrepreneur who has built 7-figure businesses from the ground up. She has the technical, legal, and networking know-how to strategically design a power house biz! With that, she’s MOST interested in helping you design a business that you truly LOVE, and provides the lifestyle you dream of!

She knows what it’s like to create a business based in reaction mode and overwhelm. She also knows what it’s like to reject that model, connect with what’s true to yourself, and demand what you really want from your life and business. THIS is where you truly shine, have the most to offer, have the highest potential for PROFITS! Seeing her clients achieve these things in their own life and business completely lights her soul.

Connect with Sarah Dawn on her website LinkedIn, and follow Sarah Dawn Consulting on Facebook and Instagram.

Coaching Executives and Rethinking Coworking

Monique Daigneault

Monique Daigneault, founder of MD Consulting, is an executive coach for senior leaders who want to fast track their career by becoming more influential. A seasoned Human Resource professional with over three decades of corporate and entrepreneurial experience, Monique is known for her directive, yet collaborative, approach to leader development. She has the unique ability to build immediate trust and quickly get leaders into alignment with their true values and desired direction.

Monique has developed an enhanced intuition based on years of corporate lessons learned and, coupled with her strong listening skills, guides leaders to solve their core pain points, be more influential, and have a higher impact in their organizations. Leaders benefit from practical and behavioral changes that are sustainable and measurable.

Monique coaches senior leaders who want to become more influential so that they can lead by example and have a higher impact on their team and within their organization. She is committed to working with those who are technically superior but desperately need to improve their soft skills. Monique’s approach helps C-suite leaders align first with themselves then with their organization and team while also improving health and work life balance.

As a lifelong learner Monique has achieved seven industry specific certifications, a Bachelor of Science in Management, and a Master of Science in Industrial / Organizational Psychology. She is the graduate of an ICF recognized coach training program and an Accredited Senior Coach. Monique is a contributing author to the Random House best seller, Ophelia’s Mom. The depth and breadth of Monique’s knowledge gives her a unique perspective into the development needs of senior leaders.

Monique is originally from Michigan and now resides in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. She has two adult daughters and four grandchildren. As a former competitive bodybuilder Monique enjoys weightlifting, hiking, yoga, and Pilates. She has accomplished nine tandem skydiving jumps across the United States. Monique is committed to paying it forward and, as such, volunteers for two months each year in Europe where she teaches Business English to foreign business executives.

Connect with Monique Daigneault on LinkedIn, and follow MD Consulting on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Cheryl Packham

Cheryl Packham is the founder of Codobe, a smart, get-work-done space. Founded on the premise that nontraditional workers should have more options then working from coffee shops or commuting downtown to a coworking space, Codobe believes in offering a technology driven yet minimalistic space to enhance productivity. To do this they find innovative ways to solve problems to keep prices low and value high.

Codobe is the first of its kind in the Phoenix Valley offering a tech driven and automated customer experience. Codobe is fully automated, allowing guests to book space, submit payment, and open the door all from their smartphone. The technology platform that Codobe uses also offers flexible and remote work opportunities for the Codobe team.

Codobe’s mission is hidden in its name which stands for “Connected, we’ll do more and be inspired.” The space exists to make sure that everyone has access to professional space and internet connection needed for online education or remote work opportunities. Codobe is also deeply rooted in the spirit of entrepreneurship and offers accessible infrastructure for small business and entrepreneurs.

Cheryl is also a real estate investor and automation enthusiast. Her objective in life is to pursue her passions and inspire others to do the same. She enjoys helping people and finding creative solutions where everyone wins. She believes that good relationships with people have more value than money in the bank. As an Army Veteran in the Iraq war and a mother of a preemie, Cheryl understands how to adapt quickly to challenging situations.

Cheryl started Codobe in 2018 after coming back from invisible wounds from her deployment to Iraq. She spent several years prior, working on personal and professional development while staying at home and raising her daughter. Cheryl grew up in Wyoming and graduated in 2016 from the University of Wyoming with her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

Cheryl lives in Surprise, Arizona with her husband, daughter and husky dog. She also has four bonus kids, 3 kids-in-law and several grandchildren. Cheryl adores her family and enjoys the flexibility that she has achieved with her work/life integration.

Connect with Cheryl Packham on LinkedIn, and follow Codobe on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.