BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2012

Board President Heather Manley - On Demand Services Group, Inc. Heather Manley is the President of On-Demand Group, an IT services firm headquartered in Burnsville, Minnesota.  She established the business in 1995 to provide IT solutions in consulting, staffing, projects, and training.  Heather received the Young Business Woman of the Year Award in 2009 from NAWBO Minnesota.  She is a member of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Steering Committee and founder of WEM - Women Executives in Business.
Past President Jennifer Brigham - Brigham Group Jennifer Brigham is the President and CEO of Brigham Group Staffing, providing services in temporary and permanent staffing from entry-level to management and technical staff.  Jennifer founded the company in 1981.  The company has grown to several offices placing thousands of employees at hundreds of job sites throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.  Brigham Group Staffing has been recognized as a business leader in the industry many times over, including the list of the region's Top 25 Temporary Employment Firms.
Ex Officio - Past President Jill J. Johnson - Johnson Consulting Services Jill J. Johnson is president of Johnson Consulting Services and an award winning management consultant who has impacted over $2 billion worth of business decisions. Jill has a proven track record of dealing with complex business issues and getting results. As a consultant since 1982, Jill has worked with entrepreneurs, corporations, and non-profits located in 21 states, as well as in Europe and Asia. Jill was president of MN NAWBO in 1990 and served 3 years on the National NAWBO board. She has been on the Board of Directors of the many organizations including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Jill is currently serving on her second federal board. Jill was named Minnesota’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 1990 and she won the SBA’s National Women in Business Advocate of the Year in 1994. Jill was also honored as National NAWBO’s Women’s Business Advocate in the previous year. In 2010, Jill was named One of 25 Women Industry Leaders by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in 2010 and in 2011 she was named one of the Top Women in Finance by Finance and Commerce.
Treasurer Stacie Usem - Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company Stacie is a partner at Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP, an accounting and consulting firm providing a wide range of services for middle market companies, entrepreneurs, and high net-worth individuals. The firm employs over 100 professionals to offer sound business planning strategies and advice including tax planning and consulting, accounting and assurance work, back-office support, technology consulting, private investment banking, litigation, valuation, employee benefit and leadership consulting. Stacie oversees the firm's entrepreneurial services and internal accounting departments.
Marketing Director Stacey Stratton - True Talent Group Stacey Stratton is President of True Talent Group, specializing in staffing and recruitment services for marketing, creative, and interactive professionals.  True Talent is the only women-owned staffing firm in its niche certified by the WBENC.  Stacey is a Certified Staffing Professional (CSP) with an extenive background in sales an recruiting.  She strategizes with hiring managers to match top notch professionals to their open positions.  Stacey is a member of MIMA an Ad Fed and founder of Minnesota Women Empowering Women.
Executive Administrator Chris Bedwell - Collaborative Office Solutions Chris Bedwell is a Virtual Assistant and owner of Collaborative Office Solutions. She founded the company in 2003, leveraging her skills and experience gained during a career spanning over 18 years in the corporate environment. Her company provides association management services to a number of non-profit associations in the Twin Cities area. They also provide administrative, real estate, website maintenance, and bookkeeping services to a wide variety of clients ranging from large corporate clients to small business owners.
Special Events Director Caren Schweitzer - Creative Resources Caren Schweitzer is the President and founder of Creative Resources. Creative Resources was established in 1995 and sets out to deliver high impact promotional products – Creative Resources has led the industry in global supply chain innovation, peeling away unnecessary layers while saving clients time and money. The relationships fostered with overseas and U.S. manufacturers have proven instrumental in the ability to offer distinctive products, excellent pricing and superior quality. Caren has also made a strong commitment to greener business practices. Her team searches through an amazing array of eco-friendly product solutions to find the best of the best and incorporate them into every client presentation. Caren received the Wise Woman award from NAWBO in 2002 and was awarded NAWBO’s Established Woman award in 2009. Enterprising Woman of the Year award 2011 and currently sits on the advisory council of Enterprising Women.
Sponsorships Director Marnie Ochs-Raleigh - Evolve Systems Marnie Ochs-Raleigh is currently the CEO of Evolve Systems, a website development, merchant card processing and e-commerce website company. She has been a featured speaker for MEDA Pacesetters Program, a Panelist Speaker for Club Wow, Ltd. on strategic partnerships and an active member on the board of directors for NAWBO, Alexandra House and Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce. She is also a Community Service Activist by volunteering for over 5,500 hours for our local community. As Founder and CEO of Evolve Systems she established her business to give back to the community in a special way. Evolve’s mission states that, "It's not just about doing business, it's about doing business responsibly. It's about being responsible to our employees, our clients, our community, and to every life we touch. It's not about the bottom line, but about the legacy your leave."
Chapter Expansion Director Heather Hemmingsen - iGroup Financial Heather is a financial planner/agency supervisor at iGroup Financial, a financial services firm where she focuses on delivering common sense strategies to the financial challenges of business owners. She collaborated on the formation of the independent firm with a couple of collegues in March of 2010. Prior to iGroup Financial, Heather was a high performing advisor and trainer for AXA Equitable. After many accomplishments at AXA including, 'rookie of the year', she decided to venture on. Heather has an extensive background in financial services, and currenlty holds her series 7,66, life, health, disability and long term care licenses. Heather also oversees the hiring and development of new adviors.
Member Services Director Karen Lundquist - Attenza Law, LLC Karen Lundquist offers a unique blend of law, languages and cultural awareness to the clients of Attenza Law. Karen graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law and has experience working in employment law and business law matters with the firm’s small and medium-sized business clients. She speaks Italian and Spanish, and has lived abroad in both Italy and Chile for a combined total of almost 13 years. This experience has provided her a unique insight and understanding of these cultures that enhances success for clients as they venture into an international market. Karen is also an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law school where she teaches a course on legal writing to foreign attorneys studying at the school’s LLM program and at William Mitchell College of Law where she acts as the co-director of the Business Practicum course. For six years, was the coordinator of the Summer Institute on American Law, a study abroad program for foreign legal practitioners hosted by William Mitchell.