Founder and CEO, Networlding
I created Networlding to help individuals and organizations learn how to network more effectively. Now I have created Networlding Think Tank to help others learn and leverage the power of social networking. To that end I have been licensing Networlding around the country and, soon, around the world, to people who have the attributes of great networkers-Networlders. Additionally, these people are so open to sharing and continuously creating new and better networking strategies.
Below you will get to meet some of the people involved in Networlding. You will also have the opportunity to experience their diverse and powerful wisdom. If there is a subject or person you would like to see become part of the Think Tank, let us know. In the meantime, happy Networlding!
Peter Balbus, Managing Director of Pragmaxis, LLC, has joined our Networlding ThinkTank faculty and will be launching a new blog called “Business Innovation”. Drawing from his more than 25 years as an innovation consultant, strategist and interim executive, Peter will address a broad range of compelling topics concerned with the successful creation, management and commercialization of market-disrupting innovations. Prior to launching his independent executive consulting and advisory practice in 2000, Peter held senior practitioner and national practice management roles with top-tier consulting firms including Anderson Consulting, KPMG Strategic Services and CSC Index, culminating in his position as a vice president with Booz Allen & Hamilton. Peter is also an active speaker and panel moderator at industry conferences, serves on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations, and is the founder and executive director of the international Business Innovators Group.NetwoN.
Amy Franko- Certified Networlding Facilitator
Amy Franko joined the Networlding team in March 2009. She is a small business coach, learning designer, and owner of Amy Franko Consulting.
Amy has several roles on the Networlding team:
- As a Networlding facilitator, she helps women entrepreneurs cultivate values-based networks and more meaningful connections – ultimately empowering them to create transformational business opportunities.
- She is also part of the Networlding publishing team, helping authors create additional readership connections and revenue opportunities with guidebooks, workshops, and virtual learning events.
- Within the Networlding think tank, Amy will be contributing her thought leadership on topics such as sales and marketing, networking, and learning design.
She is a certified Book Yourself Solid ™ coach, and is most passionate about working with women who are solo service professionals. She helps them get out into the world and bring more ideal clients into their business, even if marketing and selling isn’t something they like to do!
Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Dayton. She’s a member of American Society for Training and Development and currently oversees the Programs and Professional Development offerings for the Central Ohio chapter. She’s also a member of eWomen Network and Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD).
Get to know Amy by visiting her website, her LinkedIn profile, or by following her on Twitter.
[note: I created hotlinks in this word doc, but in case they don't copy over, please enter them in]
http://www.linkedin.com/in/amyfranko
http://twitter.com/AmyFranko
Kerry LaCoste – Visual Strategist
Principal and Creative Director of LaCoste Design, Inc., a Chicago based design firm with expertise in corporate and brand communications. In my seventeen year career, Kerry has experience in all aspects of design and production, including annual reports, corporate collateral, promotional campaigns, web sites, trade shows, branding and positioning, identity systems and advertising for international institutions, nonprofit organizations and leading corporations.
Kerry believes that every client, from Fortune 500 to local start-up, can benefit from good design. It has the power to deliver strategic messages, influence a given audience, facilitate understanding, change people’s perceptions, demonstrate value and reflect the unique attributes of a client’s product, service, brand, company and culture. Clients such as Abbott Molecular, Ace Metal Crafts, Appleton Coated Papers, The Bon-Ton Stores, Brown Shoe Company, Courier Corporation, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Fine Arts Engraving, Jones Lang LaSalle, The Joyce Foundation, Kemper Insurance, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Motorola, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Simpletech, Quiksilver and The University of Illinois at Chicago have all benefited from his insightful design solutions.
Jon Malysiak – Chief Publishing Officer (CPO), Networlding Publishing
Jon Malysiak co-founded Jonathan Scott, Inc., a Chicago-based literary agency in 2005. Over the past four years, he has built a client list of 25-30 authors, predominantly within non-fiction categories. Some of his clients include:
- Spike Mendelsohn – contestant on Bravo TV’s top-rated show “Top Chef”; international chef and television personality; owner of the Washington D.C.-based Good Stuff Eatery; author of the upcoming The Good Stuff Cookbook (Wiley, 2010)
- Harvey Walden – fitness expert on VH1’s top-rated show “Celebrity Fit Club”; author of Harvey Walden’s No Excuses Fitness Workout (Rodale, 2007)
- Tim Dahlberg – award-winning Associated Press sports-writer co-author of America’s Girl: The Incredible Story of How Swimmer Gertrude Ederle Changed the Nation (St. Martin’s Press, 2009)
- Christine Louise Hohlbaum – author of the upcoming The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World (St. Martin’s Press, 2009)
- Wes Moss – certified wealth manager, contestant on Season Two of “The Apprentice”; and author of Starting from Scratch (2nd edition published by Kaplan Publishing, 2008) and Make More, Worry Less (Financial Times Press, 2008)
In his capacity as literary agent, Jon has worked with a number of top publishing houses, including Wiley, St. Martin’s Press, Rodale, Jossey-Bass, and Adams Media, among others.
Prior to opening the agency, Jon was the acquisitions editor in charge of the general business and management lists at Dearborn Trade Publishing (now Kaplan) where he achieved 125% of his annual signing goal. Among the authors Jon acquired were Jack Stahl, CEO Revlon Cosmetics; Wesley Moss, entrepreneur and Apprenticecandidate; Phil Romano, renowned billionaire restaurateur and founder of the Fuddrucker’s and Romano’s Macaroni Grill chains; Luc de Brabandere, senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group and Europe’s best-selling author on creativity and innovation in business, and others. Prior to his employment at Dearborn, Jon was an acquisitions editor at Sourcebooks, where he acquired titles for its MediaFusion imprint. Jon got his start in publishing in 1998 as an Associate Acquisitions Editor at IDG Books/Hungry Minds (now Wiley) where he acquired titles in the categories of personal finance and small business, including the one million-copy bestseller Personal Finance For Dummies. In his spare time, Jon enjoys soccer, horseback riding, physical fitness, Bollywood films and music, photography and travel. He is also in the process of writing his first novel.
Jon holds a Master’s Degree in Literature from DePaul University (2000) and a Bachelor’s in Music from Knox College (1993.)
Lisakay Smith, Inspiring Purpose – Certified Networlding Facilitator
Lisakay Smith is a Certified Master Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner, as well as a life coach specializing in relationship and communication exchange and a certified facilitator of Networlding. Her passion is teaching others about inviting, engaging and expanding relationships and win-win opportunities through POWER-filled conversation. Lisakay defines POWER-filled conversations as those with Purpose, Open-mindedness, Wisdom anchored in values, Energized exchanges, and Respect.
As the owner of Inspiring Purpose, she provides coaching, training, and keynotes designed for individuals, teams or organizational environments needing to improve relationships and engagement with transformational communication that is heard, motivates and leads. www.LisakaySmith.com.
Alonzo Russell, MBA President and Marketing Director,
A. L. Russell & Associates
Licensed Professional Business Coach, Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach Founder of A. L. Russell & Associates, Alonzo began college right after high school but then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he received numerous commendations. While in the Air Force and then afterward, Alonzo continued to pursue his degree until he completed his BS in Electronic Engineering. Working for a small electronics company in Tempe, Arizona, Alonzo quickly moved up and was instrumental in assisting the CEO, who coached Alonzo, to position the company for a multimillion-dollar sale. Armed with the knowledge of how to build a small business and sell it for a large profit, over the next 20 years Alonzo built three companies and sold them. He then earned his MBA, with the sole purpose of founding A. L. Russell & Associates as a way to help small business owners and entrepreneurs drive their businesses to greater success. Alonzo has lead seminars and workshops on business and financial topics for more than 20 years. He now uses his formal education and lessons learned in the trenches to help other small business owners avoid the inevitable mistakes, thereby achieving the vision they had of their businesses when they started them.
Mai-Lin Garcia Rangel – SPHR Vice President of Human Resources
Mai-Lin Garcia Rangel, Business Coach of A.L. Russell & Associates, Arizona, has over 20 years of business experience including Human Resources Management. During that time she has coached and trained individuals and teams across a wide spectrum of industries to achieve their desired results. As a Human Resource Manager Mai-Lin coached and trained managers and supervisors to improve sales, operations and financial management. She leads, equips and helps position people to be extraordinary leaders, producing intentional results in their business and personal life. Companies note the integrity of her character, relational and motivational skills, values, loyalty and commitment to growth. She has assisted individuals and companies achieve excellence through a deep and empathetic understanding of growth, creating a process for maturation, molding a vision and developing skills and new approaches in individuals to achieve their goals. Her commitment is unmistakable; assist people in discovering who they are, develop their potential, help institute new attitudes, create a vision, and direct actions toward goals that support their vision.
Through her experience, Mai-Lin has developed the accountability and in-depth understanding of the challenges facing leaders in their business and personal lives. Mai-Lin learned and practiced her successful coaching techniques as a Human Resources professional with some of today’s largest and globally known corporations to include;; Waste Management, Milgard Windows and Doors, and Aspenhome. Additionally, she is an active member of SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management), SMA of Greater Phoenix, and The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She earned her Senior Professional Human Resources Certification (SPHR) in 2006 and graduated with an MBA in Human Resources Management from the University of Phoenix.