Sharon Macaluso is an Area Director for The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in metro-Atlanta. Sharon has been providing consulting and training services for Georgia businesses through the UGA SBDC since 1994, and has consulted with over 2000 entrepreneurs and business owners. Her areas of specialization are in strategic planning, marketing and sales, customer service, business plans, and leadership development. Sharon comes from a corporate, as well as, entrepreneurial background. She held various management, marketing, training and customer service positions with Eastern Airlines and with IBM. She grew up in a family-owned business, working for her father and grandfather in a hosiery manufacturing plant in North Carolina, and she has run a small real estate business. Sharon holds a Master’s of Business Administration Degree with an emphasis in Marketing and has written several articles and publications on marketing and marketing research, brand development, customer service, leadership and strategic planning. She also holds a special interest in women-owned businesses and has led development of several conferences and other initiatives for female entrepreneurs, including GWEN (Georgia Women Entrepreneur Network) Conferences and annual Woman-Owned Business Expos.
Connect with Sharon here.
Since 1999, Casey Sanders has provided leadership to men throughout the Atlanta area in a discipling “1 on 1” relationship via Jesus Spoken Here Ministries. In the mid-nineties as a Pharmaceutical Sales Executive, Casey discovered his identity in Christ and began to share the joy that comes from walking in intimacy with Jesus. Leaving a paycheck from the corporate world to walk by faith in discipleship ministry has been the most fulfilling thing he and his wife, Christi have ever done. They are the the very blessed parents of of 3 amazing sons; Travis (aka “Teddy”), Troy, and T.J. Casey, a business school graduate of Florida State University, spent 15 years working in sales and marketing with Motorola, Nursefinders, Johnson & Johnson, and CIBA Vision. He helped grow CIBA Vision Ophthalmics from small start up to a $100 million company as its first National Sales Director. He is one of the founders of Jesus Spoken Here Ministries which ministers to men, couples, business owners, companies, and churches. Ultimately, the goal of Jesus Spoken Here is helping believers fall in love with the Person of Jesus Christ. Casey has led (ISI) Iron Sharpening Iron, a monthly Christian Business Owners Forum, of 45 men for 12 years.
Connect with Casey here.
Jackie Hutter has been creating business value from IP for companies of all sizes at The Hutter Group since 2008. During this time, and probably not coincidentally, Jackie has been named by her peers as a top global IP Strategist. Prior to going out on her own, she was a senior IP lawyer at Georgia Pacific and a shareholder at an Atlanta IP law firm. She started her non-legal career as a research scientist at an innovative hair and skin care company. Jackie lives the Decatur area in a groovy Mid-Century house with her husband, daughters, and far too many pets.
Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Bryan Miles is CEO & Co-founder of BELAY. Bryan (alongside his wife, Shannon) lead a US-based virtual solutions company that has over 550 people on payroll, all working from home, virtually. Prior to starting BELAY, Bryan worked for companies in the tech and construction industries. Bryan obtained his B.A. in Business from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, OH, which is also where he met his wife, Shannon, who also co-founded BELAY.
