Lisa Montanaro, Certified Professional Organizer, Business & Life Coach, Motivational Speaker

January 29, 2012 By 2 Comments

Lisa Montanaro realized early on that she did not like the practice of law even though she had given it her all for 9 years. She loved law school, and later teaching law, but the practice of law was never an ideal fit.

Like many lawyers, Lisa spent time at a large law firm learning the trade and working 90+ hour weeks.  She was working in New York City where the legal field is intense and competitive and Lisa was able to move from her firm to an in-house counsel position that seemed to be a better fit. This was 1999 and the Y2K craze was consuming all business sectors including the legal field and Lisa started thinking seriously about finding a different career that honored her passions while still playing to her strengths. [Read more...]

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Jacqueline Edelberg, Author, Advocate: How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance

August 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

An academic by training, Jacqueline Edelberg earned her PhD in Political Science and taught at the University of Osnabrück in Germany as a Fulbright scholar. After the international teaching stint, Jacqueline returned to her beloved Chicago with her husband, Andrew ready to give birth to their first child. After a very complicated and difficult delivery, Jacqueline was relieved and fortunate to have a healthy baby.  The experience ignited her maternal instincts and she wanted to focus completely on nurturing her infant daughter for the next six months. [Read more...]

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Ginger, Hodge – Author, Motivational Speaker

August 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Born the youngest of five children in the small town of Sumter, South Carolina, Ginger Hodge was a bit shy as a child.  With the love and support of her 3rd Grade teacher, Ginger found the confidence to embrace her imagination and create unique ways to entertain herself and those around her.  Those who know her best love that she always seems to have a new song, game, joke or story to share.

Ginger landed her first job performing singing-balloon-a-grams while attending the College of Charleston. After graduation, she struggled to find her own way by dabbling with a few restaurant, real estate, and ad agency jobs. When she finally found her niche, in the movie industry, she was able to use her unique passion for entertaining others to market family-friendly films. But Ginger’s true passion for living wasn’t fully ignited until she published her first children’s book: When Donkeys Fly. [Read more...]

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Joni McGary, Playwright

April 24, 2011 By 1 Comment

Pegged early on as a math and science kid, Joni McGary distinguished herself in her upstate New York high school with National Science Foundation accolades and planned to attend medical school after college. A mentor introduced her to Food Science, an academic discipline that would provide all the prerequisite classes and distinguish Joni amongst the sea of applicants vying for competitive spots in prestigious medical school programs.

After earning an undergraduate degree from Cornell with a major in Food Science, the career path lured Joni out into the world-of-work and the thought of medical school soon faded. A renaissance woman, Joni has always blended her aptitude for math and science with a love for the arts and a passion for theatre. Who knew the seeds of her artistic passion would later lead to a career change and the beginning of a new chapter in her professional life. [Read more...]

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Claire Chew, Grief Recovery Specialist

March 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

At 19, Claire Chew went for a check-up to diagnose and treat what she thought was tennis elbow. It turned out to be Stage 4 cancer in her Humerus bone and her parents and doctors determined her every move for the next year and a half. Claire was in the hospital every 3 weeks for 18 months with immediate surgery, aggressive chemo therapy, and radiation. Her hair fell out and she lost the use of her right arm. [Read more...]

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Sue Heltzel, Putting on the Fix

May 10, 2010 By 2 Comments

At age 53, Sue Heltzel made a major career change that took her 1,000 miles away from home and into a new profession she knew nothing about. A successful car saleswoman for 10+ years in South Dakota, Sue left the comfort of her secure job and surroundings to join her two sons as co-owner of a remodeling company – Putting on the Fix. [Read more...]

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Plan B Job Search Strategies – Radio Interview

February 11, 2010 By 1 Comment

In November I was interviewed by Chicke Fitzgerald on Transition Solutionz blog talk radio.  I discussed identifying your personal brand, playing to your strengths and the power of networking in the job search process. Check out the archived interview online http://www.blogtalkradio.com/resumelive/2009/11/10/transition-solutionz-series

Transition Solutionz has a theory. They believe that being in career transition is not a “lesser state of being”.  In fact, they love the term “on sabbatical”. This show is for those that are unemployed, under-employed, self-employed and needing encouragement and those that may still be employed but looking for a change. It is time to reinvent yourself, to toot your own horn and to learn to focus on what you love and how to leave your legacy. Truly, the money will follow. I applaud Transition Solutionz for their empowered approach to career transition!

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