Tom Ratchford

President

Current: Financial Consultant; Board, Joseph Academy

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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.

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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

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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

Tywnia Brewton

Current: Director, Human Resources, Astellas Phrama US

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Past: Director of Human Resources for North America, Glanbia Performance Nutrition; Senior Manager, Human Resources Global Functions, Baxter Healthcare; Manager, U. S. University Relations, Baxter Healthcare

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)

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Past: Attorney at Wildman Harrold; Attorney at Holleb & Coff; Board Member and Legal Counsel, Temple Jeremiah

Rich Jones

Current: Retired

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Past: Director of Corporate Relations, University of Chicago; Vice President, Bank of America; Vice President for International Banking, Continental Bank

Jody Perl

Current: Principal, Perl Career Consulting: Career Coach, Kellogg School of Management

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Past: Admissions Counselor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

David Kahl

Current: Managing Partner, ValueSelling Associates

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Past: Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Parlano, Inc.; Sales, Gartner, Inc.

John Strauss

Current: Retired;

Highland Park Hospital, Volunteer;

Curt's Cafe, Volunteer

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Past: Senior Principal, Accenture

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 time 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; Turst 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.

Wendy Bremen

Wendy Bremen brings to her coaching practice more than 15 years of leadership in the executive search, consulting and publishing industries and an MBA from The Wharton School. In addition, Wendy has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs rigorously evaluate their business ideas as a Practice Leader at The Wharton Small Business Center, has interviewed scores of senior executives in both executive recruiting and staffing functions for management consulting roles and has worked as a management consultant herself in the Strategy Practice of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Her experience includes: Windale Group-Principal; HighPoint Associates-Advisor, Head of Network Development; WMB Advisors-Consultant.

Monty Edson

Monty Edson believes the key to a successful job search is having a plan and breaking it down into smaller bites. While teaching at the graduate level, Monty has worked with many students in transition and has helped them to be successful by figuring out what they want and what their plan is. He enjoys helping job seekers at Career Resource Center to do the same. "Candidates really need to consider what a job offers and what it requires, then compare it to what they have to offer and what they require from a job. His experience includes: Peak Performance-Action Coach, Business Coach; Lake Forest Graduate School of Management-Faculty; Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company-Senior Vice President; Gurley-Ortman, Inc. -Vice President.

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.

Melissa Jensen

Melissa Jensen works with members to effectively market their unique skills and experience to potential employers through their resume, cover letter, elevator speech, and interview preparation. "It is important to customize the resume to match the employer's needs and communicate how your previous successes will benefit the employer." We also prepare members to make new connections and network regularly. She advises members in the office, and is part of the Career Resource Center virtual coaching pilot program. Her experience includes: Real Estate Investment Business-Owner; Grainger-Director, Employee Development, Program Development Manager.

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).

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.

Marshall Smith

Marshall Smith holds that a good resume with a solid value statement is key to getting the attention of an employer. "You really need to develop your own personal narratives so, when you're in an interview, you have a repertoire of success stories to go to." Also crucial for success is constructing a plan of action and being accountable to this plan, which requires discipline, energy, and flexibility. Having spent much of his professional career in management, Marshall devoted significant time mentoring people toward success and helping companies to be successful. His experience includes: Dutch Ophthalmic USA-US Director of Sales; Alcon Surgical-Senior Division Manager, Division Manager, Vitreo-retinal Manager/Field Trainer.

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.

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.