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Women in Business invites a wide range of business professionals to come and speak to us
​Check out some of the speakers below!

Spring 2023

Samantha Aaron, Grace Pakula, Lauren O'Donnell, Tiana Noud, and Bella Hernandez
Wib memebrs

fall 2022

Ashland Wegman and Rachel Maggio
Growmark


​We all enjoyed having Ashland and Rachel visit from Growmark to share information about the company and all of the opportunities they offer. They also shared insights on their experience at Growmark and how they got to where they are now.

Jordan Washburn, Drew Butts, Maggie McNelis, and Matt Hornback
​Sales Excellence


​We enjoyed having Sales Excellence collaborate with us for our panel event discussing “How to Sell Yourself." We had panelists from Medix, Enterprise, ADM, and Stryker. We enjoyed hearing their great advice on selling yourself, succeeding in your career, challenges you may face in your career, and more. 

Megan Thorp and D&I CommitteE
​MoLo Solutions​


We had the opportunity to hear from Megan Thorp, from Molo Solutions, who spoke with us about Molo and how diversity and inclusion are a large part of Molo's workplace. Additionally, our D&I Committee educated us on the importance of being inclusive and accepting in the workplace. ​We played a fun game where we learned about all the different things that make us unique. We were able to find similarities throughout all those differences!
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Natalie bicknell and jane kapinos
​Northwestern Mutual

We had the opportunity to hear from Natalie Bicknell and Jane Kapinos, from Northwestern Mutual, who spoke with us about What College Doesn't Teach You About The Workplace. We learned about what employers value in candidates. Natalie and Jane also spoke about the importance of building relationships, self-care and continuing to expand our knowledge, ever after we graduate.  ​






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spring 2022

anna burdi
​addison group

We had the opportunity to hear from Anna Burdi, from The Addison Group, who spoke with us about Building Confidence. We gained advice on how to be confident within our abilities and confidence tips that can help us in the workplace and our everyday lives. 

dr. ishida and the d&i commitee

Our advisor, Dr. Ishida, came to speak to us about platform Handshake and Resume Advice. She showed us the benefits of Handshake, as it is an online recruiting platform for higher education students and alumni to search for job opportunities. Dr. Ishida, being a Professor of  Marketing here at Illinois State University, gave us insight on how to build the best resume and what companies look for in a resume.  In addition, we had our D&I Committee educate us on the purpose of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which will help us grow together as an organization and a community. 

kelsey bolstad and jess vogen
medix

Women in Business had the chance to hear from Kelsey Bolstad and Jess Vogen about How to Thrive as a Woman in the Workplace. They shared advice with us on how to stay motivated, push yourself to pursue a position you are passionate about, and how to build confidence as a women in the business world!

MINI WORKSHOP EVENT
MELISSA MUTTERS, JANE KAPINOS, RACHEL MAGGIO, AND EMILY & ELLIE

During our Mini Workshop Event, we had the opportunity to hear from Melissa Mutters (Northwestern Mutual) about Work-Life Balance, Jane Kapinos (Northwestern Mutual) about How to Dress in the Workplace and Affordable Office Clothes, Rachel Maggio (Personnel Specialist) about Post-Grad Life, and our President and Vice President (Emily and Ellie) on Resume Advice and How to Create a LinkedIn. It was great to learn advice on multiple different topics through this event!

aaron del mar
chief executive officer for adrenaline special events and chicago casino & poker rentals

We had the chance to hear from Aaron Del Mar who is the CEO of both Adrenaline Special Events and Chicago Casino & Poker Rentals. Aaron gave us insight on Building our Personal Brand and Enterprising. We were given valuable advice on how to incorporate entrepreneurial skills and motivated us to pursue a career we are passionate about. 

brooke rebecca
Talent acquisition specialist at sherwin williams

We had the opportunity to hear from Brook Rebecca from Sherwin Williams. Brooke is a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Sherwin Williams. Brooke spoke with us about Interviewing Tips & Tricks. It was great to learn more insight about the interviewing process from our corporate sponsor! 

Fall 2021

diversity & inclusion panel event

Our D&I committee, Madison Beltran and Nicole Herrera, had the opportunity to host a Diversity & Inclusion Panel event. We were able to hear from our corporate sponsors; Enterprise, Northwestern Mutual, and Addison Group. They gave us insight into what D&I means to them and how it is portrayed in their workplace. 

monica and amanda
recruiters from enterprise

We had the opportunity to hear from Monica and Amanda from Enterprise. Monica and Amanda are both recruiters for Enterprise and travel to different schools to find new talent! We were able to learn all of their tips and tricks on networking. 

ROBERTA TRITES
INTERIM CHAIR OF MANAGEMENT AND QUANTITIVE METHODS

We were honored to have distinguished Professor Trites as our guest speaker. Our members loved learning about all the aspects of leading with a passion. We were given amazing advice on how to always be true to yourself when making tough decisions about your future. Professor Trites stated a memorable quote, "Always believe in what your selling, believe in selling yourself with your dreams and goals in mind and you can accomplish anything."

spring 2020

groupon


​We had a few of Groupons team members come in to speak about the importance of emotional intelligence and how it is a skill that should be constantly worked on, as it is used every day. The speakers include Emma Horath (right), who was the pervious VP of Development, President and a 'founding father' of Women in business. Becky Jaynes (middle-right) was the pervious VP of recruitment for Women in Business and currently works at Groupon in Talent Development. Paige (middle-left) has been with Groupon for a few years and in that time has flourished into a young successful professional. Maytal Maor (left) is a recruiter for Groupon and has only been with the company for a short time, but had a lot of wisdom to share with our members. It was such a pleasure to hear these women speak and welcome out alumni back to their home! 

kim kaufman
award winning public speaker, writer, and storyteller

Kim Kaufman is an award winning public speaker, writer, and storyteller. Ranked one of the 10 best public speakers in the world by Toastmasters International, Kim has delivered motivational, thought-provoking speeches to audiences throughout the United States and Canada, including New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, and Vancouver, British Columbia. A former television news anchor and reporter, Kim’s storytelling has been featured on CNN as well as CBS affiliates. Trained in media and corporate communications, she’s received recognition for her work from the Illinois Broadcaster’s Association, the YWCA, Association for Women in Communications, the Public Relations Association and was honored as a 20 under 40 Leaders of Distinction winner in 2019. Her strong background in the dramatic arts led to an early career as a Walt Disney World cast member in Orlando, Florida where she made magic as an entertainer, while also serving as a tour-guide, and show host. As a public relations specialist and professional keynote speaker, Kim is known for inspiring audiences to achieve their potential through the power of creativity, imagination, and forward thinking. Kim is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Illinois State University and a 2007 Robert G. Bone Scholar.
 

FALL 2019

andy copenhaver and suzanne kosik
both work for edward jones

Andy Copenhaver is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones here in Bloomington.  He started in August 2008 as the stock market was starting to melt down.  That experience has helped him be a better advisor and behavioral finance coach for his clients. He really enjoys learning about his clients and prospects and understanding their goals and desires, and then partnering with them to help them achieve success, however they define it. He is a native of Bloomington-Normal, graduating from U High and Illinois Wesleyan. He is married to his wife Jill, and they have a triplet of kids; Keaton, Corbin, & Chloe. He is also a Cardinal and Blackhawks fan. 
Suzanne Kosik is an alumna of Illinois State with a Bachelor's in Public Relations and minor in Political Science. She spent the last 14 years of her career growing a four location health and fitness center. She started in marketing and sales, moved into leadership, and spent the last 9 years as a Regional Leader growing the business in operations, marketing, and process development. Eleven months ago, Suzanne made a decision to change the course of her career and grow her own business at Edward Jones as a Financial Advisor. She made the decision to join Edward Jones because she enjoyed working hard to grow the fitness business she came from; however, Suzanne wanted to see more benefits from the effort she put into the business.  Understanding what is important to her clients helps her find personalized strategies that gives them options and opportunities for themselves and their family. She grew up in the LaSalle-Peru area, about one hour directly north of Normal and moved to Bloomington-Normal for college and never left. Suzanne met her husband here at ISU and they have two girls who are 12 and 9. Her passion is boating with her family; skiing, tubing, and relaxing, but no fishing.

bella delatorre

Bella Delatorre graduated from Illinois State University in 2016, double majoring in Economics and Spanish. She has a passion for fashion and beauty, but also understanding how us humans operate and make our decisions. Being in commercial sales for the number one beauty organization in the world allows her to merge her interests for whirlwind of a career. 

tara bauman
​ceo of royal+reese

Tara Bauman started her career in automotive working for Bloomington-Normal Seating Company who built the car seat assembly for Mitsubishi. She moved on to a sales role covering a three state radius calling on used car dealers and training them on dealer management software. She later managed the sales team and became part of the executive team for Finance Express before it was sold to DealerSocket in 2015. She stayed on with the company for two years while Royal + Reese was born in May 2015 and worked full time while running Royal + Reese in her spare time. In 2017, she came on board full time with Royal + Reese as CEO where she now resides today. She is in charge of all the day to day operations and behind the scenes details of the business. She owns Royal + Reese with her two sisters, Whitney Strong and Kait Lawson. 

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jen blair
owner of core fitness personal training

Jen is the owner of Core Fitness Personal Training in Bloomington, IL.  Jen has been a certified personal trainer for 13 years now, as well as a youth trainer and boot camp instructor. She opened her own gym nearly three years ago, and she has loved every minute. She has amazing clients that have all become her friends and second family. Jen loves helping all of her clients meet their health and wellness goals, and she couldn't imagine having any other job. She loves going to work each day and feels so lucky to have her Core Fitness family and a job that she truly loves! Jen met her husband when she was just 17 years old, and they have been happily married for almost 23 years! They are raising three amazing daughters, 20, 17, and 15 years old and she loves being a girl mom! 

Brittany Turner
​Cintas

Brittany joined Cintas in 2014 as a Sales Scholar in Indianapolis, IN. Upon graduating from Ball State University, she joined the Sales Team as Sales Representative in Training and worked with Current Customer for a year Territories in Muncie and Indianapolis. In June of FY17 she was promoted to a New Business Facilities Services Sales Representative where she achieved multiple Summit Clubs. In December FY18, Brittany joined the Talent Acquisition Manager. Brittany is extremely passionate about Cintas and finding future leaders of Cintas. Brittany currently resides in Indiana with her husband, Jordan Turner, their daughter Reagan and rescue dog, Marvin. Brittany enjoys traveling to state parks to hike, canoe, and camp. She also enjoys reading, being a Chi Omega Advisor, and spending quality time with friends and family. 

caitlin roth
recruiter with coyote logistics

Caitlin Roth is a Recruiter with Coyote Logistics, a third-party logistics  company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career with Coyote in 2016, working in transportation sales as a Carrier Sales Intern. From there, she returned full-time and transitioned into a role in Customer Operations on the Kraft-Heinz account. In April of 2018, Caitlin began recruiting full-time for Coyote as a collegiate-focused recruiter. She is passionate about networking with students all over the Midwest and hiring top talent for the company she loves. Caitlin graduated from Miami University in 2017 with a degree in Strategic Communications and Professional Writing. 

Spring 2019 Speakers

felica shaw
certified life coach and international motivational speaker

Dr. Felicia Shaw is a Balance Expert, Leader of Purpose, certified Life Coach and International Motivational Speaker. She empowers high-achieving individuals to gain a sense of their priorities, achieve their goals and simplify their lives. Dr. Felicia has transformed thousands of people through her successful programs: “The 12 Purposed Protocols of Balance”, “Circle of Purpose”, and “Purposeful Entrepreneurs”. Dr. Shaw is a Tedx speaker on the topic of “Stepping Into Your Purpose”. She is also a Best Selling Co-Author of “Unbreakable Spirit”, which is presented by International Speaker, Lisa Nichols. This book of inspiration is listed in four best-selling categories on Amazon. She is also a co-author of “Breaking Free: Overcoming Self-Sabotage”, among our publications. In 2017, Dr. Felicia is releasing her newest book, “Stopping the Non-Stop Syndrome”, which teaches on caring for you in 17 minutes a day so you can operate from your overflow! Dr. Felicia has also hosted Simply In Your Purpose Conferences in the Bloomington area.

sarah peterson
natural light photographer

Sarah Petersen is a natural light photographer located in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. She graduated from Lincoln College with her Bachelor's Degree in Sports Management. Sarah started her journey as a photographer in 2011 as just a hobby. And in 2013 she got her first paying gig, which spear-headed her into becoming an official business in 2015. Although Sarah started her business, she still worked full-time in the retail industry. However, in June 2018 she left the industry and made her business her full-time career. She never thought in a million years that she would think to start a business, let alone a photography business. Photography is her happy place because she gets to capture memories for people who trust her to see the real them.

leanna bordner
​deputy director of athletics

Leanna Bordner is in her 26th year on the Illinois State staff. In her current position as Deputy Director of Athletics, Bordner directly supervises nine sports and handles day-to-day operations for two others. In addition, she serves on the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame Committee, is on the MVC Conference Marketing and Media Committee, chairs the MVC Sports Management Committee, and is the MVC liaison to the conference women’s basketball coaches. Previously, she chaired the MVC Women's Basketball Marketing Committee and served on the MVC Executive Committee as the Vice-President. She is also involved on the campus by serving on the Preview Committee; being a liaison to the Athletics Council and serving on the Gender, Diversity and Student-Athlete Well-Being Subcommittee; the Redbird Pride Committee; the Mental Health Task Force; and the Culture of Respect Committee.

tina thompson
assistant professor at Illinois State university 

Tina Thompson is an assistant professor, and she joined Illinois State University (ISU) in 2013. She earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at Florida State University. Tina has taught courses in Organizational Behavior, Decision-Making, and Cross Cultural Management. Outside of the classroom, Tina also works with registered student organizations and individual students on negotiation, impression management, and career planning. 
In her research, Tina examines the effects of underemployment, volition, and economic stressors on individuals and organizations. In addition to these topics, she has an interest in helping people (especially women) to defy stereotypes and to be unapologetically different. Before earning her Ph.D., Tina worked with Accenture as an information technology consultant. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family.

roberta trites
interim chair of management and quantitive methods

Distinguished Professor Roberta Seelinger Trites serves as the Interim Chair of Management and Quantitative Methods. She is on loan to the College of Business from the College of Arts and Sciences, where she has previously served as both associate dean and acting dean. While she was serving as an English professor, Dr. Trites was awarded the Outstanding University Teaching Award. She is also the author of several books, including Waking Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Voices in Children’s Literature; Twain, Alcott, and the Birth of the Adolescent Reform Novel, and Twenty-First Century Feminisms in Children’s and Adolescent Literature. ​

jeff secord
​has his own independent firm affiliated with
​ipi wealth management inc.

Jeff Secord, CFP®, CAP®, provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management services for affluent individuals and their families.  Over the past 40 plus years, Jeff has worked with a significant number of private individuals and educated hundreds of college students in all aspects of financial planning and investment management.  
In his early career, he worked at several firms including Integrated Resources, Drexel Burnham, and Merrill Lynch as a stock broker and financial planner.  While being in the Financial Services Industry, Jeff also taught Personal Financial Planning at both graduate and undergraduate level at Illinois State University. Currently, Jeff has his own independent firm, affiliated with IPI Wealth Management Inc. providing financial planning and investment management services to clients.  He is involved in community service organizations such as Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, Moses Montefiore Congregation Finance Committee, and is actively involved with Illinois State University.

jamie wieland
associate professor in the department of management and quantitative methods

Dr. Wieland is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management and Quantitative Methods. She obtained her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from Northwestern University. Her research interests lie in the development and application of statistical methods and probability models for prediction and decision analysis, with an expertise in Monte Carlo simulation. Wieland's current research involves assessing the operational and financial impact of portable technologies used for on-site analysis of forensic evidence during crime scene investigation processes. This interdisciplinary project is funded by the National Institute of Justice and was recently featured in the Chicago Tribune. 

Spring 2018

Rachel romba
​Marketing manager at Elo

Rachel Romba graduated from ISU in 2003 with honors. She completed a double major in finance and accounting. Today Rachel works as a Marketing Manager with Elo, a global technology company headquartered in Milpitas, CA. Rachel currently manages public relations, social media, and partner marketing. Prior to Elo, she worked at LinkedIn as a Customer Success Manager. She partnered with LinkedIn’s largest strategic Talent Solutions customers to ensure success and solution optimization through technology, consulting, and education. Although no longer an employee of LinkedIn, Rachel continues to be a passionate advocate of the network’s immense value for students and professionals.

Amanda drew
Associate training and development coordinator
​ for Illinois farm bureau

Amanda is the Associate Training and Development Coordinator in the Member Services & Public Relations Division at the Illinois Farm Bureau®. She assists in conducting technology trainings for this company and  plans and conducts the Onboarding session for all new IAA employees on their first day of employment. In addition, Amanda assists in conducting training programs such as Real Colors and other topics as needed. Amanda got her start with public speaking at young age of 12 when she joined the speech team at her junior high. She continued to participate in speech competitions through her high school career and into college. She currently volunteers as a public speaking judge for collegiate FFA.
 Amanda grew up in Heyworth, Illinois and graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science with concentrations in Curriculum & Instruction and Psychology. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Training and Development from Illinois State University. Amanda and her husband, Jon, and son Will, currently live in Bloomington, IL.

Abigal Smith
associate auditor at clifton-larson-allen

Abigail Smith graduated from ISU in 2015, with a completed double major in Accounting and Organizational Leadership. In high school, she knew she wanted a career in the Accounting field. Once she started class at ISU, she decided that a double major in Organizational Leadership would set her apart from her classmates and also give her the opportunity to work on her teamwork and leadership skills. Currently, she works at CliftonLarsonAllen as an associate auditor specializing in agribusiness. She specifically audits cooperatives, grain elevators, county Farm Bureaus, and implement dealers. She conducts routine audit procedures and also consults with customers on how to make strong business decisions in order to strengthen their bottom line in a tough agricultural market.
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