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GNFCC Strategic Leadership Visit 2025: Scottsdale and Mesa

November 20, 2025 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

GNFCC Strategic Leadership Visit 2025: Scottsdale and Mesa

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GNFCC Strategic Leadership Visit 2025: Scottsdale and Mesa Through North Fulton Eyes (GNFCC 400 Insider, Episode 110)

On this edition of the GNFCC 400 Insider, host Rebekah Anderson recaps the Strategic Leadership Visit 2025 to Scottsdale and Mesa, Arizona, through the eyes of two key North Fulton leaders, Chris Burnett of the City of Sandy Springs and Kristin Winzeler of True North 400. Each year, the Chamber convenes elected officials, business leaders, and civic partners for an in-depth look at another high-performing region, then brings those lessons home for North Fulton. Chris and Kristin share why trips like SLV matter for long-term economic competitiveness, relationship building, and a shared vision across city and county lines.

The conversation walks listeners through highlights of the Arizona visit, including Mesa’s approach to incubators and entrepreneurship support, higher education and workforce partnerships, library and mall redevelopments, and the role of intentional placemaking in creating vibrant districts. They also explore how sports-anchored assets such as spring training facilities can drive tourism, community identity, and volunteer engagement, and which ideas might translate most directly to North Fulton.

Chris and Kristin talk about the sessions that surprised them, the off-agenda moments that helped North Fulton leaders build relationships with each other, and what they learned most from seeing Scottsdale and Mesa up close. They close by updating listeners on current economic development priorities in Sandy Springs and major mobility and infrastructure projects along the Georgia 400 corridor and how regional collaboration can turn SLV insights into concrete wins for North Fulton.

The GNFCC 400 Insider is presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and produced by John Ray and the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.

Key Takeaways from This Episode

The importance of the GNFCC Strategic Leadership Visit in fostering relationships and a shared vision among North Fulton civic and business leaders cannot be overstated.
Mesa’s business incubators and education partnerships offer valuable insights that could guide talent and entrepreneurship initiatives in North Fulton.
The redevelopment of SkySong’s dead mall serves as a model for innovative mixed-use projects and has a significant long-term economic impact.
The insights from Scottsdale’s placemaking and the Chicago Cubs spring training complex shed light on tourism, volunteer engagement, and community identity.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

0:00 Introduction to the GNFCC 400 Insider podcast
00:28 Annual Strategic Leadership Visit (SLV) Overview
01:13 Meet the Guests: Chris Burnett and Kristin Winzeler
01:34 Understanding Economic Development and Community Improvement Districts
04:35 Insights from the SLV Trip to Scottsdale and Mesa, Arizona
07:37 Mesa Business Builder and Economic Impact
10:27 SkySong Innovation Center and Regional Collaboration
15:32 Arts and Culture: A Surprising Economic Driver
22:02 North Fulton’s Entertainment Scene
22:30 Strengthening Relationships on the SLV Trip
23:49 The Value of Personal Relationships
25:15 Organic Moments and Key Takeaways
26:24 Fanboy Experience and Baseball Stories
28:09 The Importance of SLV Trips
32:53 Economic Development in Sandy Springs
35:13 Exciting Developments in North Fulton
38:14 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Kristin Winzeler, Executive Director, True North 400

Kristin Winzeler is the Executive Director of True North 400, an organization dedicated to enhancing the North Fulton business district that includes Alpharetta, Roswell, and Milton. She originally joined the organization in 2012 and has played a pivotal role in its growth and rebranding from the North Fulton Community Improvement District to True North 400 in 2023. As Deputy Executive Director, she helped generate more than $30 million in infrastructure improvements that spurred over $217 million in new investments throughout the district. Winzeler manages and oversees both small and large projects, focusing on increasing area investment and improving mobility and access in the North Fulton region.

Her deep commitment to sustaining organizational growth and advancing regional development marks Winzeler’s leadership. She resides in Woodstock, Georgia, with her husband and three daughters. Her extensive experience in managing civic improvement projects and community economic development makes her an influential steward for True North 400’s vision of fostering a vibrant and accessible business environment in the North Fulton area. Kristin is known for her hands-on approach and strategic vision, which continue to benefit the region’s ongoing development and prosperity.

Website | LinkedIn

Chris Burnett, Director of Economic Development, City of Sandy Springs

**Chris Burnett, City of Sandy Springs**

Chris Burnett is the Director of Economic Development for the City of Sandy Springs, appointed in 2024. With over 40 years of experience in community banking, he has served as President and CEO of multiple Atlanta-area banks, including founding the Bank of Sandy Springs in 2013. Burnett has played a key role in the city’s economic growth initiatives, focusing on redevelopment projects such as the North End and City Springs Phase II. He previously served on the Sandy Springs City Council from 2016 to 2021 and remains actively involved in local organizations like the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce and Special Olympics of Georgia. A longtime resident, he brings extensive knowledge of the community’s business environment and a strong commitment to its continued prosperity.

Before joining city government, Burnett dedicated decades to building and leading financial institutions, leveraging his expertise to foster business development and support local entrepreneurs and real estate ventures. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Georgia State University and completed graduate banking studies at Louisiana State University. His leadership combines financial acumen with community engagement, aiming to enhance Sandy Springs’ economic vitality and quality of life through strategic planning and collaborative initiatives with businesses and local stakeholders. Burnett’s blend of banking experience and civic service uniquely positions him to advance the city’s economic development goals.

Website | LinkedIn

About GNFCC and The GNFCC 400 Insider podcast

Kali Boatright, President and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC) — **Kali Boatright, President and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce**

The GNFCC 400 Insider is sponsored by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC), and the host of the show is Kali Boatright, President and CEO of GNFCC.

The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, member-driven organization comprised of over 1,400 business enterprises, civic organizations, educational institutions, and individuals. Their service area includes Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Sandy Springs. GNFCC is the leading voice on economic development, business growth, and quality of life issues in North Fulton County.

As a five-star accredited chamber, GNFCC’s vision is to be the premier organization driving member and community success across the region, and they are dedicated to pursuing this vision based on the guiding principles of advocacy, inclusivity, and operational excellence.

GNFCC promotes the interests of their members by assuming a leadership role in making North Fulton an excellent place to work, live, play, and stay. They provide one voice for all local businesses to influence decision-makers, recommend legislation, and protect the valuable resources that make North Fulton a popular place to live.

For more information on GNFCC and its North Fulton County service area, follow this link or call (770) 993-8806. For more information on other GNFCC events, follow this link.

Strategic Hiring and Data-Driven Decisions: Business Success with Jackie Lord and Michael Erath

January 25, 2024 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Strategic Hiring and Data-Driven Decisions: Business Success with Jackie Lord and Michael Erath

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Strategic Hiring and Data-Driven Decisions: Business Success with Jackie Lord and Michael Erath

In this Phoenix Business Radio episode, Karen Nowicki explores the key to business success with Jackie Lord, CEO of Elevate Consulting Group, and Michael Erath, Founder of Next Level Growth. The conversation delves into strategies in hiring an A-Player Team, Culture Index integration, defining success for all employees within the organization, and the critical need for proven measurement tools. Michael and Jackie highlight the importance of data, clear expectations, and a people-first approach in driving successful business transformations, expressing their shared passion for positive change, navigating tough conversations, and strategically focusing on people and data for organizational growth.

Ready to transform your business with a strategic focus on people and data? Tune in to this episode with Karen, Jackie, and Michael for insights into driving organizational success.

Today’s CEOs report 80% of their company’s challenges are people related, taking up critical time, money, and resources.

With the mantra of Analytics over Instincts, Jackie Lord is passionate about guiding Chief Executives, Presidents, and high-performance Visionaries to exponentially grow and streamline their talent strategy and the trajectory of their businesses.

Her insights and strategies have transformed businesses worldwide and changed the way leaders think about people for the rest of their lives. Leveraging laser-accurate data, Jackie uses a process she calls Aligning People with Profit™ to get the right people in the right seats to make businesses more productive and profitable.

She specializes in revitalizing employee engagement, reducing turnover, uncovering hidden talent, and increasing bottom-line revenue. But most importantly, she makes businesses unstoppable.

Jackie is a well-respected and sought-after trusted advisor to CEO’s and leadership teams of growth-focused businesses. She has over 20 years of experience working with Fortune 100 companies including Amazon, Boeing, and JP Morgan Chase to over 60 mid-size companies and start-ups.

She is the Founding Principal & CEO of Elevate Consulting Group, a firm dedicated to infusing the human element back into business. Leveraging laser-accurate data, she uses her personally developed process to get the right people in the right seats for radical scalability and growth.

Jackie attended UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and USC Marshall School of Business. She holds multiple degrees in Statistics, Business, and Entrepreneurship.

Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn.

Most entrepreneurial leaders achieve success, to some degree, at the expense of their relationships, their time with family, their physical health, or emotional health. We believe it doesn’t have to be this way. We believe you deserve more than a return on investment from your business, you deserve a meaningful Return on Life.

This belief drives our daily purpose of Helping Entrepreneurial Leaders Build Elite Organizations™ through what we refer to as the Five Obsessions of Elite Organizations®.

The entrepreneurial world is full of “Business Operating Systems” that do some things well but often fall short in other key areas. The problem is that they typically offer a one-size-fits-all approach and are more about the system than the user. When you’re growing, one size doesn’t fit well for very long.

The Next Level Growth approach focuses on YOU and RESULTS over purity to a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all system. We meet you where you are and help bring the right tools and concepts, at the right times, regardless of the source.

We do this based on YOUR individual needs, to help YOU and YOUR team excel at each of the Five Obsessions of Elite Organizations®, to ensure YOU reach the summit of the mountain YOU are climbing.

In the first 15 years of his career, Michael Erath took over an $8M family manufacturing business which he grew to $45M in revenue with over 200 employees during his 15 years as President & CEO.

Being tied closely to the housing market and due to a significant betrayal from a business partner who eventually served prison time for embezzlement and fraud, during the financial collapse of 2009 Michael lost it all.

Late in 2010, Michael leveraged all that he had and started a new business. It was during the startup of his new business that Michael was introduced to the book Traction®. Shortly thereafter, Michael began implementing EOS® as the basic foundation in his new business.

With EOS® as the foundation, Michael then used his past experience with other systems to plug the holes that he found to exist in EOS®, layering on strategy and cash management tools from Scaling Up; recruiting and hiring A-Player playbooks from Topgrading; and other advanced business tools he had learned over his career and from his time in YPO. This customized approach allowed him to grow the business rapidly and in 2015 make the Inc. 5000.

Running the business on a complete and custom-tailored system gave Michael the entrepreneurial freedom to eventually exit the business and focus on his true passion: Taking all that his entrepreneurial life has given him, sharing it openly and vulnerably, and in doing so giving it all back as a full-time business guide.

Since 2015, Michael has been a record holding Certified EOS Implementer®, a Certified Scaling Up Coach and a Certified Pinnacle Business Guide. As the only business guide in the US to have simultaneously held all three certifications, Michael shares from his vast knowledge as well as his more than 20 years of experience in the trenches of the entrepreneurial world to help his clients bring their dreams to reality.

Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, Michael guides them in implementing a customized, holistic operating system that can only be done by someone who has lived through it all.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and follow Next Level Growth on Instagram.

Nicole Myden with Nicole Myden, LLC and Lisa Boettcher and Sage Aubrey with House of Nectar

September 21, 2023 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Nicole Myden with Nicole Myden, LLC and Lisa Boettcher and Sage Aubrey with House of Nectar

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Nicole Myden with Nicole Myden, LLC and Lisa Boettcher and Sage Aubrey with House of Nectar

Nicole Myden, LLC – a boutique shop, run by PR industry veteran, Nicole Myden, on a mission to help small business owners get the press coverage they deserve.

Nicole Myden has been connecting people and brands with the media for 23 years. Her career began in 2000 in Los Angeles working in entertainment publicity for Disney, FOX on American Idol, and films for Sony Pictures Classic.

Since then, Nicole has produced publicity campaigns in every niche with popular and well-known brands in the arenas of fashion, beauty, consumer products, lifestyle, health, wellness, tech, food, hospitality, medical, entrepreneurship, and more.

Her clients have been featured across an array of media outlets including Forbes, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Los Angeles Business Journal, Phoenix Business Journal, Women’s Wear Daily, Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Marie Claire, and USA Today. Additionally, Nicole has held upper management executive roles at some of the most prestigious and award-winning agencies in the industry and had the honor of receiving company awards from both the industry and her peers.

Since relocating from Los Angeles to Scottsdale in 2016, Nicole has a great passion for mentoring and helping small business owners discover they are worthy of press opportunities and teaching them step-by-step systems and principles to garner those opportunities on their own.

She has mentored thousands of small business owners through in-person workshops, conferences, and one-on-one mentorship sessions. Her clients have experienced a variety of results, including landing magazine covers and features, local and national television segments, podcast and radio interviews, newspaper and online features, industry awards, and speaking engagements.

Nicole has been featured and seen on stages, at masterminds, trade shows, and conferences, and in the media teaching small business owners. Nicole prides herself on teaching through energetic alignment, a positive mindset, and practical tactics, to deliver results and buzz.

Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn and Instagram.

House of Nectar is the world’s first creative wellbeing brand to fuse energetic healing with brand mastery.

They believe that brands who transcend, cut through the noise and shift cultures can no longer be built with conventional methods—so they take an unconventional approach instead.

They build the talent behind the brand to find their truest calling, and then, the brand alignment follows.

Their method is holistic, intuitive and highly strategic. It’s a journey of inner work and brand discovery where they arouse authenticity, resurrect brand identity, story, strategy and positioning. The methodology is unorthodox, highly intentional and part of a creative awakening.

The House is here to guide brands, hold sacred space for them, and push them past the status quo.

Sage Aubrey is a cult-followed fashion entrepreneur, visionary and personality, featured in Vogue, WWD and Purse Blog, low key style icon, and mom to three cool AF little girls.

Sage founded her first accessory business when she was 15 and built nationwide distribution. She was recognized as a 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur at 26 for her success in women’s brick & mortar & online retail businesses and scaled Sage Aubrey Handbags to a globally distributed brand––with a successful Omni-channel sales strategy––coveted by celebrities and street style mavens the world across.

Sage’s career is built on her instinct, fortitude, and relentless self-expression. Her mission is to use her 20 years of bootstrapping to champion the next generation of brand owners with creative direction, vision and leadership.

Sage’s twin passions have entwined into her business, House of Nectar, a multi-dimensional creative wellbeing brand.

Lisa Boettcher is an ultra-efficient Creative Brand Strategist and mom of 4 tiny humans. Lisa’s career is built on her strong sense of strategy and the intuitive, futuristic approach she takes to her work––some of which has been featured on Target, in Forbes and Vogue.

Lisa founded, bootstrapped and sold a niche accessory fashion brand in under 5 years and with a decade of experience helping female founded brands scale through strategy, visuals, communications, community building, product design and development, she’s now guided by her desire to share creativity and the inner workings of identity with her community, whether through experiential offerings, with clients or on her social channels.

Lisa carries a high frequency of energy, a sixth sense and hard-won wisdom to further the impact brands of all sizes have on culture. Running alongside her career, she is a deep-rooted exponent for personal wellbeing practices and the process of unleashing yourself to discover the truest, most authentic version within.

Follow The House of Nectar on Instagram.

Mycal and Nicole Anders with Next Level Performance Consulting

August 22, 2023 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Mycal and Nicole Anders with Next Level Performance Consulting

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Mycal and Nicole Anders with Next Level Performance Consulting

Mycal Anders is Founder of Next Level Performance Consulting with 3700+ leaders coached since 2011. Mycal is a Performance Consultant, Marine Corps veteran, husband & father of two.

As a Marine Corps veteran with nearly 25 years of strategic leadership experience backed by multiple graduate degrees from Arizona State and Thunderbird School of Global Management, he realized the plight of leaders, people of influence, and high achievers is losing themselves in pursuit of momentous achievement.

In 2011 Mycal founded Next Level Performance Consulting to build the fittest leaders by empowering Next Level men & women to prioritize their health, eliminate stress and create alignment between their habits and behaviors! Making space to be present for the things that matter: health, wealth, relationships and time.

Mycal has been featured on the Radio Business X Podcast, Barbell Shrugged, Barbell Business, Gym Lords, Theta Wave, Paradise Valley Lifestyle Magazine, Team Red, White & Blue’s “The Eagle” Podcast, and is a regularly featured speaker for Charles Schwab and Amazon.

The Next Level mantra is “Progress Always” because the journey is ongoing and the greatest stories are told through the process that is life. The story is in the logo. Why the 4th Star incomplete? Firstly, the stars are representative of Mycal’s military roots and service to others before self. The highest rank one can achieve in military service is symbolized by 4 stars.

The Next Level stars also represent what we should all be trying to achieve: our highest and best self. Stacked upon the foundation of your physical body, emotional, mental and spiritual states of being. The 4th star is broken because we will forever be a work in progress. This is a never ending journey.

Nicole Anders, CEO of Next Level Performance Consulting, excels in leading the organizational process, coordinating the chaos, and assisting her husband and business partner to help executives and high performers make themselves a priority again by using the Next Level Method. Her value is in her exceptional attention to detail, strong communication skills, and the ability to take a vision and project from the starting line to the finish line.

For the past 10 years in various executive and personal assistant roles, Nicole coordinated and managed everything from travel, corporate meetings and conferences to cocktail and dinner parties, to founder’s dinner’s for top donors at multi-million dollar charity galas, by executing a discovery process of a team’s ultimate vision and making it become a reality.

Nicole is a former Division 1 basketball athlete and graduate from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee with a degree in Elementary Education.

Connect with Mycal and Nicole on LinkedIn and Instagram, and follow Next Level on Facebook and Instagram.

Dollars & Cents (and Sense) E15

November 9, 2022 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Dollars & Cents (and Sense) E15

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Dollars & Cents (and Sense) E15

This week’s show is all about female wall smashers in male dominated industries! Carla chats with Jackie Yoder of Wilde Wealth Management Group about what it’s like to love math, earning respect in an office full of guys, setting great examples for their kids, giving back, and helping to bring more women into the fold.

Wilde Wealth Management Group provides comprehensive retirement, investment, real estate, insurance, legal and tax planning services all under one roof.

A fee-based firm with in-house Senior Financial Advisors, Certified Financial Planners, Certified Public Accountants, attorneys, and mortgage and insurance specialists all working together toward clients’ diverse goals, the firm has been recognized by Forbes and has been named to Barron’s “List of Top 1,200 Advisors” annually for 14 years, most recently ranking No. 2 in Arizona.

Currently, Wilde Wealth Management Group has several offices across Arizona located in Scottsdale, Glendale, Mesa, Tempe, Sedona, Tucson, and Payson as well as affiliates and partners in Indiana, California and New Mexico.

Jaclyn Yoder, 36, is COO of Wilde Wealth Management Group, which provides retirement, investment, real estate, insurance, legal and tax planning services under one roof.

Yoder took on the executive position in March 2020, days before COVID-19 gripped the nation at which time she also became the pandemic director as well. (Prior, she worked as an advisor for Edward Jones since 2017). Resolute, Yoder helped grow the business from $1.2 billion in 2019 to $2.83 today.

The single mother of two also expanded the brand, which at the time had offices in Scottsdale, Tempe and Glendale, bringing on offices in Sedona, Tucson and Payson as well as additional partners statewide and in New Mexico.

Yoder also doubled the size of the Scottsdale headquarters to accommodate their growth and opened a wholly new office in California. Yoder serves as chair of Wilde for Arizona, the firm’s community outreach arm, overseeing all volunteer efforts, sponsorships and fundraising.

Outside of Wilde, Yoder sits on the board of Chrysalis and was previously a mentor at New Pathways for Youth. Yoder has both a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and MBA. She also holds her Life and Health License, Series 7 and Series 66 registrations.

Follow Wilde Wealth on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About the Show

Smashing Through Walls is geared toward a guide through complex commercial real estate and finance topics while adding humor and anecdotes along the way. Discover what is going on in the valley and beyond with host Carla Magee, broker at MHG Commercial.

About Our Host

Carla Magee’s background is designed with the investor in mind. After obtaining her finance degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, she worked for large corporations like Boeing and Microsoft. With a critical eye and flair for analytics, she was able to shave millions in lost profits, managing cross-functional teams by utilizing her Green Belt in Six Sigma and Masters Certification in Project Management.

Ultimately she realized that she couldn’t be contained in an office environment working for the corporate world. Being an investor herself, she came into real estate as an investment & multifamily property specialist, effectively applying her education & skillset. Carla excels in helping investors make sound decisions for their financial goals, in real estate negotiations, and takes deep pride in educating homebuyers and sellers.

On a personal note, Carla is a busy wife & mother to two daughters. In addition to an ever growing career and podcast, she also enjoys volunteering and being active in the community. She has a deep love for Arizona and although she travels whenever possible, she always finds her way back to the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

Connect with Carla on LinkedIn.

About Our Sponsor

MHG Commercial emerged from the highly successful and innovative residential brokerage: My Home Group. MHG Commercial’s vetted and experienced advisors have a wide range of complementary professional expertise that span over 100 years of cumulative experience.

Encompassing every aspect of commercial real estate from office to industrial development, raw land to luxury commercial, and multifamily to subdivision development. We excel at out of the box thinking and transactions that require a more hands-on approach and ingenuity.

No matter the property type or service need, our commercial advisors are committed to your objectives. Combined with business finesse and unsurpassed market intelligence, MHG Commercial brokers help you determine and surpass your business goals.

Follow MHG Commercial on Facebook and Instagram.

LEADERSHIP LOWDOWN Robert Anderson with Prisma Graphic and Kate Tanner with Kidstop Toys and Books

October 16, 2019 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

LEADERSHIP LOWDOWN Robert Anderson with Prisma Graphic and Kate Tanner with Kidstop Toys and Books

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LEADERSHIP LOWDOWN Robert Anderson with Prisma Graphic and Kate Tanner with Kidstop Toys and Books

Since 1980, Prisma evolved from a boutique printer to a full spectrum of marketing solutions with a streamlined approach to power their customer’s Message to Market with speed, quality, and control.

In 2000, the privately held company transferred ownership to Bob Anderson, and since developed proprietary, cutting-edge technology that has taken them from a million-dollar company to a $47 million company.

Thriving under Bob’s leadership, Prisma has grown from 30 employees to 270 employees serving 250-plus top brands.

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, they have a 190,000 square foot facility that allows them to increase workflow efficiencies of projects from concept to completion. Better yet, Prisma’s continuous investments in state-of-the-art machinery help their clients save time and money.

During his 19 years as owner of Prisma, Bob Anderson has led the company through an evolution from a traditional, high-end boutique printer to an all-inclusive commercial print and direct marketing solutions provider.

A third-generation native Arizonan, Bob earned a degree in Advertising and Journalism from Northern Arizona University.

Before purchasing Prisma, Bob gained tremendous experience working for two large commercial printers for 15 years.

Bob cites changing the public perception of Prisma from a traditional commercial printer to a more comprehensive marketing solutions provider as one of his biggest challenges. However, his never-say-die attitude has been a driving force behind the company’s ability to reinvent itself to meet the changing needs of the marketplace.

Follow Prisma on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Kidstop Toys & Books is a locally owned and independent toy store in Scottsdale, Arizona featuring all-ages children’s books and toys that will challenge a child’s intellect and stretch their imagination.

After 20 years in business it has consistently been named the best toy store in the state, as well as one of the top remaining toys stores in the nation.

A magical and fun place for the entire family, its wall-to-wall selections includes thousands of toys – from dollhouses, Barbies and Legos to building sets, dinosaurs and scooters.

Ages 1 to 100 will find something to enjoy, reinforcing owners Kate and Scott Tanner’s belief that families that play together, stay together. Kidstop Toys & Books is also a proud member of Local First Arizona, the Executive’s Association of Greater Phoenix, The Good Toy Group, and ASTRA, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Assoc.

Kate Tanner opened Kidstop Toys & Books in 1999 with her husband Scott, with one goal in mind: to create a different kind of toy store; one that is magical and fun for the entire family.

Twenty years later, Kidstop is the last remaining toy store in the greater Phoenix area and Kate has become known as a national industry leader.

She has chaired as well as served on the Board of Directors for ASTRA (the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association); is a longtime member of the Executive’s Association of Greater Phoenix, where she served on the Board of Directors, was a president for one term and also named Executive of the Year in 2017; and also served on the board of directors for Local First AZ for over 10 years.

Her passions include kids, dogs and chocolate. And you can often find her furry family members, two adorable Springer Spaniels named Dierks and Murphee, escorting guests around the store.

Connect with Kate on LinkedIn and follow Kidstop on Facebook and Instagram.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Jodi Low is an accomplished corporate trainer, inspirational speaker, and the Founder and CEO of U & Improved. Jodi has trained thousands of entrepreneurs and executives on how to build a booming business, master a mindset for success, and achieve the lifestyle they desire through heart-fueled leadership.

Through U & Improved—an award-winning personal and professional leadership development company based in Scottsdale—Jodi has redefined traditional leadership training by creating a sustainable and actionable model that is personal, challenging and meaningful to each and every individual who enrolls in any of the two-and-a-half-day experiential training classes. She and her elite training team have advanced the charge in heart-based leadership
development and empower U & Improved graduates with knowledge, tools and awareness to immediately be more effective and responsive leaders at work, home and within their communities.

Among her many accomplishments as a Valley leader, Jodi launched a teen leadership program in 2014 to empower young adults to become more confident, motivated and focused stewards of our future. In 2016, she founded a non-profit arm of the company—the U & Improved Leadership Foundation—that makes the program more accessible to deserving teens.

Jodi has been recognized by industry publications and organizations for her work in leadership development and serves as a source of inspiration within the community. In 2015, she was honored as an “Outstanding Women in Business” by the Phoenix Business Journal and by the Phoenix Suns and National Bank of Arizona with the “Amazing Women” award. She has received both the prestigious “Diversity Leader of the Year” and the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce’s “Sterling Award.” She was also awarded a Silver Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 and was a finalist for the Junior League of Phoenix’s Valley Impact Award. Jodi is a devoted single parent who volunteers her time at her daughters’ school programs and with organizations such as Angel Mamas, where she’s served on the board for three years.

SLW Realty Group with Owner and Designated Broker Sabrina Walters

July 11, 2018 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

SLW Realty Group with Owner and Designated Broker Sabrina Walters

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SLW Realty Group with Owner and Designated Broker Sabrina Walters

SLW Realty Group, LLC is a general real estate company handling both residential and commercial real estate. They are also involved in multi-family and investments. No matter what your real estate needs are, they can handle it. The company was founded in 2012.

Sabrina Walters found her passion with real estate. She has been licensed since 1983, and truly enjoys every aspect of representing clients. She has sold everything from residential condos to a commercial industrial building. For 5 years she was involved with doing fix and flips. She came to a point in her career that she decided to open SLW Realty Group,LLC. Sabrina has always be self employed and loves it.

Sabrina has been very involved in the community and has been involved in several fundraisers over the years. She feels with her knowledge and connections she can help other people, and give back to her community. She also has served on several board of directors for the Real Estate community. She presently serves on the Women’s Council of Realtors of Scottsdale as Secretary, Chairs the commercial committee and serves on the finance committee for Scottsdale Area Associations of Realtors.

Sabrina is originally from Indiana and moved to the Phoenix metro area three days after graduating from Indiana University. She co-founded a tour business right after graduation, and traveled all over the world. For fun she likes golf, snow-skiing and being with friends. She feels that Arizona is the greatest place to live, and is very happy she made the move.

Connect with Sabrina on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.