The Allies Network is a startup organization that connects qualified Allies with households in need. Allies help households get clean and organized, make fresh & healthy meals, and live with passion & purpose. The word "burnout" - it's been all over the news for the last few years. Workers are burnt out. Parents are burnt out. Homeowners are burnt out. Managers are burnt out. People are burnt out.Burnout isn't a new phenomenon, but the recent scale of it is notable - we have more to do, and less time to do it. At the same time, we're becoming more and more socially isolated at all times, and neglecting our health, happiness, and serenity.At the same time, accepting help from strangers can be hard. Gig apps have sprouted up in every major sector, but you never know who you're going to get - and who you can trust. Anybody can sign up for a gig app.That's where the concept for the Allies was born. Having done multiple gig app stints herself with no real qualifications, and at the same time hurting for help as a parent, worker, and person, Sarah wanted to create a small, local network of qualified individuals to support the overall health of her neighbors. A clean, organized household, combined with support for a healthy lifestyle, could be achieved without being a superhuman - it just takes an Ally.

The original Allies brand stemming from 2014, Event Allies was re-founded in September 2024 with a new focus on empowering individuals hosting household events to have reliable, qualified event-day help.

Household Allies helps households get clean and organized through housekeeping, aromatherapy, and organization services. HA supports single-family households, Airbnb sites, and estate sales, focusing on matching the best-qualified ally to the job site.

Wellness Allies helps households be fulfilled and well through providing onsite meal planning and preparation, personal assisting, event assistance, and KonMari-certified home organization.

Wheeling Park District, incorporated in 1961, is located in northern Cook and southern Lake Counties, and is 27 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The Park District serves a population of 42,828 residents living within the Village of Wheeling, and small portions of Prospect Heights, Buffalo Grove, and Arlington Heights. It encompasses an area of just over 8.5 square miles. The Park District is considered to be a primary government – providing a full range of recreation activities, public open space, recreational facilities, a full-service country club, and districtwide events for its communities.

The Buffalo Grove Park District is a Distinguished Accredited Agency, accredited in 1995 by the Joint Distinguished Park and Recreation Agency Committee of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and Illinois Association of Park Districts. It is the primary park district governmental agency for the Village of Buffalo Grove as well as small portions of neighboring Wheeling and Arlington Heights. At present, the total land area of the Park District is approximately 9.04 square miles.

Moved from Salem to ExecuTeam as part of a leadership change in May 2022 - retained the same supervisor.Full-service, full-cycle recruiting for top-tier candidates in an agency setting.

The Salem Group is a collection of specialized high-volume staffing services focusing on administrative and professional talent in the Chicagoland area.Developed new candidate pipelines for short- and long-term roles with client companies in the industrial, pharmaceutical, environmental, government and customer service industries. Successfully placed employees weekly while working on 15+ requisitions at a time. Onboarded employees including completing i-9 and tax documentation; managed weekly payroll of over 50 employees.

Panera Bread is an established fast-casual restaurant company valued at $4.2b with over 2,000 locations in the United States and Canada focusing on freshly-made bakery items, soups, salads, and sandwiches.Developed and executed associate training curriculum, resulting in highest training metric compliance for the region. Managed Cornerstone on-demand LMS & all reporting for all training and leadership training candidates. Recruited and hired new candidates and facilitated orientations and schedules.Continued training excellence by redeveloping a training location post COVID-19 closures to support Chicagoland markets.

Developed and executed recruitment and training plans for staff of Panera Bread corporate locations. Facilitated all new employee orientations for the Chicagoland area - north shore & west. Completed onboarding compliance tasks including I-9s, benefits, etc. using Workday HRIS. Propelled the training location to become Gold Star Operations-certified, a regional training cafe, and an operating partnership location all within 7 months. Developed and coached a team of 13 trainers and directly facilitated the training of all new leaders for the region. Managed employee lifecycle including performance management and employee engagement. Managed recruitment and referral programs.Served as interim General Manager for a critically understaffed location to redevelop staffing, quality, compliance and safety at said location.

Meatheads is an Illinois-based chain of fast-casual restaurants specializing in high-end hamburgers, hand-cut fries and other specialty items.As General Manager of the Lake Bluff location, managed all operations of the facility including hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating staff; managing inventory and promotions; building a client base for catering operations; and community outreach and development. Implemeted a new drive-thru model and drove sales through promotions including providing lunches to day camps, reading programs for children, and partnerships with other catering businesses.

Verts Mediterranean Grill (now defunct) is an Austin-based fast-casual restaurant started in 2011 by two students looking to recreate some of the street foods they missed from their native Germany. It emphasises fresh, seasonal ingredients and made-from-scratch sauces, ensuring that every bite is as good for your body as it is for your taste buds.In first 7 months as General Manager of Verts – Pearland, launched the store from #36 to #3 in operations efficiency (measured in bonus), reflecting a 157% same-store sales growth. Trained /re-trained all store staff, established new SOPs for more efficient labor usage and waste reduction, later implemented district-wide. Implemented new local store marketing techniques to drive sales; liaised directly with community partners and stakeholders.

Peppers Steak and Seafood is a family owned and operated full-service steakhouse that has served Pasadena for nearly 20 years. It specializes in hand-cut USDA Choice steaks, fresh caught seafood, and unique daily chef creations, Peppers features a full cocktail bar and lounge and on-site and off-site catering.Supported management & training of management of a full-service casual restaurant, including dining, bar, banquet and kitchen areas. Inventory and quality control, staffing, training, hiring, and customer service. Developed local store marketing and in-store promotions to increase sales. Created new website and online presence; trained staff in increasing in-store sales through specials and suggestive selling; trained staff in local store marketing.

YNPN is a national 501(c)3 grassroots nonprofit organization that engages and supports future nonprofit leaders through professional development, networking, and social opportunities.Served as the Internal Chair of the Board of Directors for YNPN's Greater Houston Area chapter. In managing overall chapter operations through the board, relaunched the chapter successfully in 2014.

The Mission Continues is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which empowers veterans to serve their country after the military through community service. By promoting volunteerism and providing leadership development and training, veterans are propelled into new missions of education, employment, and continued service.Oversaw operations of the Programs teams, including Fellowship Program and Admissions staff, to ensure the transition to education, employment, and service of over 250 military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan era. Led approval of candidates worth over $2,500,000 of funding including the approval of partnerships with over 150 nonprofit organizations across the United States. Built strategic direction for the 2 programs and teams, and coordinated partnerships to support overall recruitment and programmatic efforts for 2014 and 2015. Ensured legal compliance in program documentation and programmatic execution, and created new standard operating procedures to ensure compliance across multiple programs, teams, and disciplines. Developed online curriculum system and built and managed Learning Management System for content delivery to program participants and staff.

Managed Fellowship Program operations for the Central Region to ensure individual veterans accomplish their goals of education, employment, and continued service within the 6-month timeframe of the program. Accomplished this goal with 96% of clients. Created stipend distribution system aligning with Operations Team and incorporating best-in-practice methods of distribution to ensure over $1.4 million in stipends awarded directly to clients. Managed relationships with over 200 nonprofit partners, to drive recruitment, program execution, and outreach goals; achieved over 200% of recruitment goal. Opened first full satellite office in Houston, Texas and managed partnerships, supporters, and operations for Texas-based operations.

Oversaw the launch of the organization's first public service announcement, serving as the primary outreach and point of contact for inquiries into the organization.Processed all incoming donations; streamlined the donation processing operating procedure in the midst of a massive influx due to end-of-year operations, annual ask, and PSA launch.

Managed all aspect's of the organization's Challenge Grants program, which offered micro-grants to non-profits to support service projects bringing together veteran and civilian volunteers for a community good. Supervised volunteer recruitment, managed project and program planning and logistics, and served as liaison for funding partners (worth over $6.4 million to the organization) for 2010 Veterans Day activities, culminating in 22 projects in 11 cities with over 2,200 volunteers serving in a single day.

Served multiple management roles at Crazy Bowls and Wraps, a privately-owned restaurant chain in Missouri, California, and Illinois. Crazy Bowls and Wraps emphasizes balanced, sensible eating, promoting the use of fresh ingredients to support healthy lifestyles. It provides a healthy, convenient alternative to highly-processed and fast foods.Responsible for overall store operations, including ordering, budgeting, training, and staff management. Managed budgets up to $350,000 yearly and staffing at multiple locations. As GM of West Oak location, propelled store's sales into the black for the first time since opening. Trained new store managers, assistant managers, and shift leads, including training operations to launch the brand in two new markets - California and Illinois.

Served as a summer Project Management Associate for the office of Eric Greitens, a Navy SEAL, award-winning author, and Rhodes Scholar as well as the founder and CEO of award-winning non-profit organization The Center for Citizen Leadership/The Mission Continues. The office has published and promoted New York Times Bestsellers "The Heart and the Fist" and "The Warrior's Heart" as well as "Strength and Compassion" and the newly-published (2015) "Resilience." Eric was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in its April 2013 issue. Managed a three-part marketing campaign for a recently-published book, driving sales as well as traffic to attached non-profit organization. Oversaw public relations activities, tracking media opportunities and supporting promotion of organizational materials successfully to local outlets such as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and national outlets such as the NBC Nightly News.

Served as an Office Assistant for Banner Day Camp, which serves children aged 4-13 for the summer session just north of Chicago, Illinois. Banner prides itself on providing a transformative experience, ensuring campers make new friends, accept challenges and develop self-esteem in a nurturing, positive environment. Managed STARFISH program for about 200 campers, rewarding positive positive behaviors in campers and ensuring stronger camper-counselor relationships. Completed budgeting and ordering for the camp's full-service kitchen and support areas, and coordinated logistics for transportation of campers, counselors, and support staff for daily operations as well as weekly special events.