Donald Renz
When I graduated from a four-year STEM program without a job, I felt frustrated and lost. Fortunately, I found Career Resource Center through some family friends. In my first few weeks as a member, the resources at Career Resource Center gave me the direction, focus, and tools I’ve needed in the job search. It’s a supportive community — from the Executive Director, who always wants to chat when I visit, all the way to the other shy introverts I’ve met at casual networking events. My advisor, the workshops, and the tutors have all been instrumental in turning the scary prospect of being a first-time job seeker into an empowering and exciting time in my life. I used to be such a skeptic about job searching and networking, but the people here have not only shown me how effective I can be as my own agent, but have taught me tools and confidence to advance my young career.
Mick Byrne
Having being employed with one company for the past 18 years, the job search market place has drastically changed. Career Resource Center is providing me with the skills, tools, and knowledge to be successful in finding my next position.
Career Resource Center
About Career Resource Center (CRC)
Unemployed and underemployed workers are not just statistics; they are real people, seeking guidance and support. Whether seeking a career change, returning to the workforce after a break, having recently graduated from college, or experiencing the devastating effects of job loss, we cut through the turmoil and get families back on their feet assisting job candidates to find meaningful work.
We provide our community with the tools to search for their future, helping them remain positive and motivated. We teach self-reliance as the cornerstone of success. Members learn more about themselves, explore career options, and develop a focused plan of action through meetings with advisors and attendance at education and training programs. Job candidates learn to articulate their talents and successfully market themselves, maximizing their chance to find satisfying employment.
Transforming careers has remained constant throughout our 31 year history. Individualized counseling, career-skills workshops, and an array of informational material, provided now through a virtual setting, have accelerated the return to significant and productive career paths of over 14,000 individuals. Members span a range of disciplines, professions, experiences, and compensation levels. Keeping pace with changing marketplace demands, technological advances, employer expectations, candidate needs, and the economic environment, we deliver high-caliber employment assistance. Career Resource Center continues to transform careers with responsive, efficient, compassionate, and comprehensive employment resources and support.
Mission and History
Our goal is to Change Lives and Strengthen Communities with Confidence-Building, Results-Focused Employment Resources. CRC began 30 years ago as a religious outreach mission with an innovative approach to serving the needs of a few local individuals impacted by the “white collar” recession. With foresight and wisdom the original founders conceived of and established an organization that relied entirely on volunteers to oversee and deliver services.
Career Resource Center is now an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit career transition center. CRC continues to transform careers through responsive, efficient, compassionate, and individualized employment resources and support. CRC’s mission of Transforming Careers has remained constant over our long history.
Our high-quality services are specifically recommended to professionals in job transition by a significant number of community organizations including family services, libraries, local chambers of commerce, townships, city governments, religious communities, and the state job centers. Our network of 800+ organizations, all who receive our monthly Calendar of Events, allows CRC to use a community-based approach to help move people along the spectrum toward financial stability, working together to build communities of self-reliant citizens. CRC makes referrals to appropriate organizations for assessment testing, computer training, emotional support, financial assistance, emergency assistance and other needs.
CRC is able to leverage the strengths and resources of the surrounding communities by engaging our team of more than 100 volunteers, who offer their expertise pro-bono to serve on the Board of Directors, deliver education and training programs, coach candidates, greet visitors and candidates, and perform many of CRC’s operational functions. These talented cadres of volunteers, who reside in the surrounding communities, make it possible for CRC to fulfill its mission.
Volunteer advisors/coaches are vetted through a rigorous process to ensure that CRC recruits high-quality, experienced professionals. These volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, but what they all have in common is their experience with developing individuals in their careers, the hiring process, and experience with employees during the separation process. Advisors come from senior leadership roles at companies that include Kraft, Bank of America, Accenture, University of Chicago, FGMK, and Arthur Anderson to name a few, and others are professional career coaches.
Meet Our Team
Executive Director
Kristina Phillips
Kristina Phillips was appointed Executive Director of Career Resource Center in June 2017. She holds a BA, MPA, and is currently completing a PhD in Business Organization and Management.
Her professional experience spans public policy, workforce training and development, program design and implementation, donor management, event management, and grant writing. Kristina has been an active team builder, development expert, and leader with several area nonprofit organizations. She works closely with Career Resource Center's board, staff, and volunteers to seek and cultivate relationships with strategic partners, individual donors, private foundations, philanthropic entities, government organizations, and community agencies.
By utilizing her business and social service acumen, Kristina is able to guide the agency toward a more encompassing view of the job seeker. Throughout her directorship, she has incorporated a broader range of membership from more diverse populations who greatly benefit from the center's services. Kristina works to deepen and strengthen community bonds as well, by partnering with several neighboring townships and local businesses. Kristina has expanded programming to achieve a holistic and comprehensive approach to the job search.
Board of Directors
Tom Ratchford
President
Current: Financial Consultant; Board, Joseph Academy
Past: Director Finance, Billing Services Group; Vice President/Finance Chief Financial Officer, Stimsonite Corporation
Claire Thom
Treasurer
Current: Retired; Board of Directors - Inspyr Therapeutics; Scientific Advisory Board - Third Coast Therapeutics, Inc.
Past: Senior Vice President, Oncology Therapeutic Area Head, Astellas; Senior Vice President, Millennium Pharmaceuticals; Senior Vice President, Takeda
Brent White
Secretary
Current: Founder, Career Coach, and Job Search Strategist, Peoplefocus
Past: Senior Client Development Director, InsightsNow, Inc.; Vice President, Client Development, MetrixLab; Vice President, SmartRevenue; Executive Vice President, TNS North America
Mary Beth
Barrett-Newman
Current: Founder and President, 2nd Career Consulting
Past: Executive Vice President & Chief Sales Officer, Mullin TBG; Senior Vice President-Executive Benefit Consulting, Mullin Consulting; Trust Officer, First Chicago
Marilyn Clark
Current: President, Clark Consulting Group, Inc.; Executive Coach, Keystone Partners
Past: Career Management Consultant, Coach, and Trainer, Right Management; Adjunct Professor, National Lewis University; Adjunct Professor, Northeastern Illinois University
Hank Galatz
Current: Associate General Counsel, Employment and Labor Law, W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Lori Goldstein
Current: Employment Attorney and Owner, Law Office of Lori A. Goldstein; Board Member, New Trier High School Board of Education; Board Member, North Suburban Special Education District (NSSED)
Past: Attorney at Wildman Harrold; Attorney at Holleb & Coff; Board Member and Legal Counsel, Temple Jeremiah
Rich Jones
Current: Retired
Past: Director of Corporate Relations, University of Chicago; Vice President, Bank of America; Vice President for International Banking, Continental Bank
David Kahl
Current: Managing Partner, ValueSelling Associates
Past: Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Parlano, Inc.; Sales, Gartner, Inc.
Jody Perl
Current: Principal, Perl Career Consulting: Career Coach, Kellogg School of Management
Past: Admissions Counselor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
John Strauss
Current: Retired;
Highland Park Hospital, Volunteer;
Curt's Cafe, Volunteer
Past: Senior Principal, Accenture
Our Team of Advisors
Mary Beth Barrett-Newman
Mary Beth Barrett-Newman is an experienced executive, coach and mentor with 20+ years of her "1st career" spent in executive benefit consulting and financial services. Mary Beth's goal is to help each client present his or her "best self" in all aspects of a job search. To do that, she focuses on the unique needs of each client, partnering with them to develop a job search strategy and "tools" of the job search. Her experience includes: 2nd Career Consulting - President; Mock Interview Coach - Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, MullinTBG - Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer; Trust Officer - First Chicago.
Jack Bigelow
Jack Bigelow does not think the goal of networking is to get a job. Instead, the goal is to reach out to as many people as possible and develop relationships because everyone has a contact. "Getting a job is a by-product of good networking," says Bigelow, a former Principal at Arthur Andersen LLP and now a Communications Consultant. His experience includes: Pacific Institute for Research and Education-Facilitator, Communications Consultant; Arthur Andersen LLP-Principal, Communications Consultant, Global Human Resources.
Marla Gottschalk
Marla Gottschalk is an experienced executive, having recently left her position as Chief Executive Officer of The Pampered Chef, the premier direct seller of high quality kitchen and entertaining products. Marla led The Pampered Chef executive team for 10 years and was responsible for the overall direction and strategy of the business. Marla serves on the Board of Directors for Potbelly Sandwich Works, Underwriters Laboratories, and Big Lots. Her experience includes: The Pampered Chef-Chief Executive Officer; Kraft Foods-Executive Vice President and General Manager of Post Cereals, Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Investor Relations, Vice President Marketing and Strategy Kraft Cheese Division, Vice President Finance Kraft North America; KPMG-Auditor.
Charles Gurian
Charles Gurian spent the last 25 years in the professional services arena, filling senior management and human resource roles, primarily for law firms. He recently retired as the Chief Human Resources Officer for a large Chicago based national law firm. Earlier, he was a consultant focusing on finance and operations in governmental and healthcare fields, while also providing these services for closely held business clients. His experience includes: Brinks Gilson & Lione-Chief Human Resource Officer; Tribler, Orpett.
Bruce Handler
Bruce has 36 years of Human Resources experience in multiple leadership roles, including serving as Head of Employee Relations for Discover Financial Services. He’s had the difficult task of having to oversee reductions in force and position eliminations; however, he took pride in ensuring that employees were treated with the utmost respect and with hands-on support during those challenging times. Bruce has also personally experienced having his job eliminated and knows what it’s like to be unemployed and going through a job search. He’s a certified professional Life and Leadership Coach, with expertise in career coaching. He’s also highly driven to help others, is an active listener, easy to talk to, and has the ability to inspire action.
Rich Jones
Rich Jones postulates that securing the right job is the most important and complex sales challenge a job candidate faces. "The key to a successful transition is in matching one's own experience and passion with the needs of the hiring organization." To do that, candidates need an honest appraisal of their aptitudes, experience, and preferences, as well as a realistic understanding of the needs of the hiring organization. He believes job seekers need to create a positive, forward-looking narrative that matches their skills to the needs of the employer. His experience includes: University of Chicago-Director of Corporate Relations; Bank of America -Vice President; Continental Bank-Vice President for International Banking.
Carol Letofsky
Carol Letofsky shares her expertise with those facing job transition since retiring from a successful tenure as a Human Resources executive. She understands that looking for a new position or switching career directions requires focus and knowing how to apply one’s strengths to the position sought. Individuals re-entering the workforce especially need to concentrate on strengths and nontraditional work-related experiences as transferable experience. Her experience includes: Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) - First Vice President Human Resources and Administration; Human Resources Consultant – Options Clearing Corporation (OCC).
Ruth Miller
Ruth is a seasoned HR professional with a concentration in career development, change management and employee relations. Ruth has spent over 20 years in various positions at Comcast supporting employees at all levels of the organization. Ruth understands that looking for a job can feel like a full time job. Confidence, networking and tenacity will lead the job searcher to find that right next position. Ruth has had three very different careers, Special Education Teacher, Managing a temp/staffing service and Human Resources. She knows it is possible to change careers and be able thrive.
Hugh Mazza
Hugh Mazza characterizes our impact on job seekers as exceptional. Career Resource Center is strongly results focused, assisting members in designing a strategic yet individualized approach to their search, along with the quality of advising and targeted training to effectively execute those strategies. His experience includes: Kraft Foods Inc.- Vice President Human Resources and Administration; BASF Corporation -Director of Human Resources; SFM Corporation -Director Corporate Administration and Human Resources; United States Department of Labor-Economist.
Don Nemerov
Don Nemerov knows that being able to clearly articulate your skills and how you can add value is critical to a successful job search. "Each person needs to be able to say, 'I do this really well, I've done it here and here and I can do it for you."' He also considers positive thinking to be crucial for candidates. "There may be many people with the same qualifications as you so you need to be able to connect with others and present yourself as someone people want to work with." His experience includes: FGMK-Managing Director; Grant Thornton -Managing Director; Price Waterhouse Coopers-Director; Deloitte Consulting, LLP-Director; Arthur Andersen -Principal.
David O'Brien
As a human resources executive for more than 20 years, David O'Brien has capitalized on career growth opportunities several times. "From manufacturing to healthcare to employer services for business processes and to high technology software, even though I stayed in human resources, I purposely made the choice to challenge myself and meet new sets of employees by exploring different industries." David O'Brien counsels those he has mentored to go after growth opportunities as well. His experience includes: HydraForce-Global Director of Human Resources; Sun Coke Energy-Manager, Staffing and Organizational Development; Infogix, Inc.-Human Resources. Leader; ADP-Area Human Resources Director; Abbott Labs-Human Resources Manager.
Richard Preves
Richard Preves feels each component of a job search needs to be evaluated and addressed. "A one-size-fits-all approach does not benefit job seekers. A thorough understanding of each job seeker results in a tailored plan to maximize their success." As the founder and president of an architectural and planning firm, Richard learned that each project had a particular set of personalities and challenges to consider. In addition, by interviewing, hiring, training, and mentoring professionals for his firm, Richard learned that employees benefitted from a personalized approach to develop their skills. His experience includes: Richard Preves & Associates Architectural and Planning Firm - Founder and President.
Keith Smiley
Keith Smiley's philosophy is that employees need to take ownership of their own career. "The most satisfying part of my job was helping employees to move their careers forward." Keith Smiley's recent experience includes managing a large operational organization that provided opportunities to coach employees at many levels. His business experience includes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, human resources, and finance. He also mentored new college graduates entering the workforce as they adjusted to the "real world." His professional experience includes: Abbott Laboratories-Information Technology Director; Kraft Foods-Information Technology Consultant; William M. Mercer-Systems Analyst.
Ron Taylor
Ron Taylor's first employment lasted 15 years and he loved it. Soon thereafter, Ron learned for the first time how to look for a job. It required a lot of skills he was rusty at, but it was well worth the effort. In the course of 40 years, Ron experienced mostly good career changes. Therefore, he vowed to always help others to more effectively pursue career changes. He accentuated the power of proactively networking, targeting and figuring out the employer needs. His experience includes: general management, profit and loss, sales and marketing, strategy and corporate development, and project management. Ron has worked across myriad industries like construction, engineered systems and software, healthcare, nonprofit and financial services.
Bridget Toon
As an award-winning Talent Management, Coach and Organizational Effectiveness Leader with a proven track record of building and executing best-in-class talent management processes, career development programs and improving employee engagement with a Master of Arts degree in Counseling, Bridget is an asset to CRC. She has spent over 15 years helping Fortune 500 companies advance talent management, organizational effectiveness and overall business objectives. Bridget started her career at Washington University’s Career Center as a Career Development Specialist and Academic Advisor and have a strong passion for helping others realize their potential. Her experience includes: Director, Global Talent Management, Stepan Company; Associate Director, Talent Management Lead, AbbVie; Associate Director, Enterprise Organizational Effectiveness, Shire: Senior Manager, Business HR & Talent Management, Baxalta
Brent White
For Brent White, exhibiting an attitude of confidence throughout the job search is key. "To build this confidence, I work with members to ensure they have a firm grasp of the key strengths they bring to a business, a resume focused on quantifiable accomplishments, and a realistic plan that leverages their ability to secure those sought-after interviews." Brent spent more than 35 years in sales and sales management and held senior leadership positions at Taylor, Nelson, Sofres, one of the world's leading market research firms. Over the years he has been a mentor to many young talented professionals by providing career advice. His experience includes: Peoplefocus-Career Coach and Job Search Strategist; InsightsNow, Inc.-Senior Client Development Director; MetrixLab-Vice President, Client Development; SmartRevenue-Vice President; TNS North America-Executive Vice President.
Staff
Kelly Clark
Director of Programs
Kelly Clark currently serves as Career Resource Center's Director of Programs. Kelly was hired in 2009 when she returned to the workforce after 10 years raising her son. Kelly's responsibilities and title have evolved in the last 9 years and now include creating and developing new programming and services, recruiting volunteers, and event planning. Kelly holds a BS in Marketing from DePaul University. Previous experience includes client services roles at MCI Telecommunications Small Business and Baxter Healthcare- Renal Division. Her experience also includes corporate event planning for Starbucks as a contractor with Creative Group in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
Karen Bowen, Development Coordinator
Karen Bowen serves as the Development Coordinator assisting the Executive Director with grant proposals. She studied Modern Languages at Wheaton College, and afterwards, worked as a day trader in the S&P market at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. After leaving the workforce for 13 years to raise her three daughters, she earned a certificate in Grant Writing from DePaul University. Karen worked for a year as an intern, writing grant proposals, at the Career Resource Center before joining the staff.