I'm a Founder & CEO, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a SBA lender and a 2023 GlobeSt.com Woman of Influence. Let me break it down for you: I'm the founder and leader of Team Akrete, where we delight our clients articulating and amplifying their ideas and thought leadership, primarily in the sectors of financial services, professional services and commercial and multifamily real estate. Our 30-person national team offers deep experience developing and executing content-rich marketing and PR programs and delivering services such as ghostwriting, thought leadership writing and development, media relations, corporate communications, crisis communications and general PR, marketing and content advisory services. Outside of that role, I also personally advocate for strong Board governance as well as the expansion of opportunity for entrepreneurs from all walks of life including women, minorities, and veterans through leadership on several Boards of Directors. Currently I am the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SomerCor, Chicago's leading SBA CDC lender, and I also serve on the IMEC (Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Council) Board, including the Executive and Governance committees. I also count in my experience membership on the JLL (NYSE: JLL) Supplier Diversity Council; advisory board member of the Drawbridge Community Revitalization Foundation and through other community memberships and contributions. I was awarded the distinction of being a GlobeSt.com 2023 Woman of Influence, a national awards program that recognizes women for their leadership in the commercial real estate industry. I'm also a member of CoreNet Global, the Urban Land Institute and CREW (commercial real estate executive women), and a Vice Chair of the 2023 Goldie Gala, a program of the Goldie Initiative supporting women in commercial real estate. I am a member of the global Urban Land Institute Marcom Forum and write a regular column for the Forbes Agency Council. I've spoken at the JLL Supplier Diversity Council annual summit; for Alliant Credit Union; as a visiting expert for professor Matt Ragas of the DePaul University Department of Communications; and as a moderator for multiple national Bisnow events.My Why: My family always comes first. Next, I care that companies are well-governed; that economic opportunity expands; that the workplace supports the whole person; and that I am a good steward of the planet. I'm blessed to work with a group of rockstar storytellers that move these goals forward for me, our clients, and my other spheres of impact.
Listed skills include Public Relations, Marketing Communications, Social Media, Marketing, and 42 others.