12.18.21 Tayna Chernova Co-Founder of Courageous Living

Tanya is an engaging and charismatic expert in human behaviour and the neuroscience of success. She is an award-winning speaker, #1 best-selling author and certified consultant and Business Success coach who has inspired emerging leaders, Fortune 100 and 500 companies for over 2 decades in over 60 countries around the world. Her clients consistently win the highest awards and receive recognition and praise from their industry and their consumers. She is a graduate of MIT in the Neuroscience of Business and has been published in Forbes, Inc. Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, plus many more.

Tanya has been Awarded WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Iconic Women Leaders of the Decade Envisioning a United World by the Women’s Global Economic Forum and Global Leadership Excellence by Brilliant Minded Women.

Tanya is the co-founder of the ground-breaking global empowerment organization Courageous Living. Since 2006, Courageous Living has guided thousands of people to recharge and reconnect to their inner compass and write the next inspiring chapters of their lives.

Tanya began her career in the wellness industry and became an internationally awarded entrepreneur at the age of 27 when she formulated her own brand of products, reaching 1 million dollars in sales her first year. Her degrees in business, neuro-psychology and dozens of teaching certificates in public speaking, business development, sales, leadership and world class customer service combined with her vast expertise in human behavior and the realm of neuroscience, make her uniquely suited to help entrepreneurs and their teams achieve breakthroughs in their business and their lives. Experience a fresh, engaging and scientifically proven approach to creating change, accelerating success, and increasing your Joy Per Minute (JPM).  

12.1.21 Alex McClelland Owner of Golden Owl Book Shop

My name is Alexandria Danielle McClelland. I was born and raised, for the most part, in Mesa, AZ. I own, with my eldest son, Broden, Golden Owl Bookshop. We are a mobile bookstore that operates out of a box truck lined with bookcases filled with an array of books for all ages. My love of books began at a young age. My family would frequent our local libraries on a regular basis, bringing home bundles of books that we would spend the following week digesting. In elementary school I preferred reading at recess to playing with my fellow classmates, and my summers were spent in the back of my grandmother’s barbershop reading, putting together jigsaw puzzles, or pretending to be a teacher to imaginary students. In 2019 I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, and soon after, with hell of my husband, Kyle McClelland, started work on bringing to life Broden’s dream of owning a traveling bookstore. Come this January, I will be working towards a Masters in English and Creative Writing and look forward to a future filled with books and reading.

12.4.21 Kristen Dermer CEO of Spohn Ranch, Inc.

Kirsten is Southern California born and raised. While attending Venice High in the early ‘90s she and her

brother Mark befriended their new neighbor Aaron Spohn, joining him in his relentless pursuit of skating

and building ramps at his house.

It wasn’t long before that house transformed into a community dubbed “Spohn Ranch”. And with

ambition and drive, it wasn’t long before Kirsten transformed from one of Aaron’s first employees into

the CEO/CFO that would help Spohn Ranch, Inc. evolve from a small family business into an awardwinning,nation-wide design/build firm with 50 employees and over 1000 parks constructed. In 2002, Kirsten and Aaron recognized a need in many cities for professional skatepark management, and they founded Action Park Alliance (APA). The APA operates skateparks nationwide, creating safe and thriving community spaces where skaters of all ages can hone their skills, participate in events, buy skateboard supplies, or just hang out with their mentors.

Intimately involved in the action sports industry for 20+ years, the breadth of Kirsten’s experience is

vast. In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from UCLA, she has developed

expertise in every facet of skatepark design, construction and operations. Kirsten oversees all financial,

legal and administrative matters, ensuring her design/build team can focus on what they do best –

design and build. This includes review and execution of contracts, insurance certificates, cash-flow

management, payroll, HR, invoicing and sub-contractor documentation.

Kirsten’s current and former clients include municipalities throughout the United States, the U.S.

Military, ESPN X-Games, NBC’s Dew Tour, Red Bull, the City of Los Angeles, Vans Triple Crown, Virgin

Airlines and the Gravity Games, among many others. Groundbreaking projects include designing and building the world’s largest action sports facility for the Boy Scouts of America and the design and

construction of the world’s first portable bowl for professional competition.

Kirsten is the glue that holds the company together. While under her leadership, Spohn Ranch has

earned a number of awards and industry recognition, including being named to Inc. Magazine’s list of

5,000 fastest-growing private companies 5 years in a row.

Kirsten has twice served as President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization, an

internationally renowned association of successful business owners. Through this affiliation, she is able

to interact with many of the world’s top minds on a regular basis, leveraging this knowledge of business

best practices to every project Spohn Ranch undertakes.

Kirsten has recently entered the retail food space. She is the CEO of Blue Star Donuts, Los Angeles – the

Los Angeles franchise of the Portland gourmet donut chain known for cutting edge creations such as its

Blueberry Bourbon Basil donut. She currently oversees three locations and the business continues to

expand.

Kirsten has been happily married to Jeff for 9 years. They enjoy traveling to Greece every year, tending

their vegetable garden and cooking its proceeds, and spending time with their dogs and cats.

11.27.21 Gift Giving and Budgeting for the Holidays with Mike Bosma

Mike founded Keystone CPAs after a four-year stint with CliftonLarsonAllen as principal in January 2017 when the Bosma Group, PC, joined the firm. He is the principal-in-charge of the Reno office. Mike has been in public accounting, specializing in taxation for more than 27 years. He is dedicated to assisting taxpayers attain higher levels of success through proactive tax planning and creative restructuring, as well as strategic business solutions.

11.20.21 Andrea Guzman Owner of Ice Box

Andrea Guzman:

• Born in Prescott, Arizona

• Licenced Esthetician with 18 years of experience

• Interests include skin care, health & wellness, hiking & being outdoors, and of course Cryotherapy

• Is an reader of physical books with an ever growing collection at home

• Animal lover 

Chris Guzman:

• Born in Bronx, New York

• Associates degree in Aviation Technology

• Technical and Visual Effects Artist with over 20 years of experience

• Currently employed by Meta (formerly Facebook) Reality Labs

• Interests include: video games, technology, anime, health & wellness, and of course Cryotherapy

• Cat lover

11.13.21 Kyle McClelland President of Have Lights will Travel

Kyle McClelland is the President of Have Lights Will Travel. Becoming the sole owner in 2017, Kyle has taken a local hometown company to new heights. Expanding operations into California and now Utah and Idaho, Have Lights Will Travel is rapidly growing, while adding more electrical services and now Sign Manufacturing and Installation. Kyle is a Member and past president of the Entrepreneurs Organization and has also taken his experience in leadership and business and provides Business Coaching to fellow entrepreneurs that are looking to grow, expand and improve their businesses. In addition to his work, Kyle is a father of 4, a devout Christian, a Loving Husband a Huge fan of the Atlanta Braves and an avid Reader. Through Covid his wife founded the Golden Owl Bookshop, Northern Nevada’s first and only Mobile Independent Bookstore and Kyle helps her with that as well

11.06.21 Brian Gifford President of Blue Peak

An expert in enterprise information technology innovation and architecture, Brian Gifford brings nearly 20 years of technical leadership to his role as Founder and President of BluePeak Technology Solutions.
 
As President of BluePeak, Brian has built a track record of driving technical innovation, creating high performance teams and lasting relationships. He is responsible for leading the company and guiding clients through complex technology initiatives while continually working to improve BluePeak’s capabilities and value.
 
His experience spans all aspects of the industry, from consulting with and then leading the IT team of a publicly traded startup, then as a product and presales engineer, to working with large corporations through infrastructure modernization and multi-billion dollar merger and acquisition projects, as well as small private companies while helping to maximize the ROI of their IT infrastructure. He has passed several technical certification exams, including the Cisco CCIE R&S written exam and is regarded as an expert in datacenter and network infrastructure.
 
Previously, Brian was a senior network engineer at Bally Technologies (now Scientific Games) where he was responsible for the design and global implementation of the revolutionary Bally High Speed Network solution, which has been installed in dozens of countries and is used by many of the largest casinos in the world.
 
Brian has appeared as a panel speaker at multiple industry conferences, is a member and former board member of the Entrepreneur Organization's Reno-Tahoe chapter. When not working, he enjoys the outdoors near his home with his wife and three children.

10.30.21 Cat Hoke Co-founder of Hustle 2.0

As the only girl on the high school wrestling team and as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, Cat mastered the art of “breakfall”: how to prevent injury when you get taken down. Breakfall proved to be a transferable skill in her career as a three-time entrepreneur, disrupting the American prison industry. Cat works with gang leaders in the most notorious prisons, leading gang intervention programs. She has survived career-ending threats and devastating takedowns. 

 Over 17 years, her efforts have led 7,000 executives, entrepreneurs, and investors to volunteer as mentors and employers. 8,500 incarcerated men, women, and youth have graduated from her programs. The programs reduce violence and have produced industry-leading recidivism rates of less than 8%. Cat created training, incubators, and financing programs that have equipped 650 graduates to launch businesses.

 Seth Godin published her best-selling book, “A Second Chance: For You, For Me, and for the Rest of Us,” a powerful reflection on the struggles and triumphs of her journey and her graduates’ journeys. 

Fast Company named Cat one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business.” Forbes named her on “40 Women to Watch Over 40.” She received the MDC Partners Humanitarian Award

10.23.21 Devon Mix founder on Nevada Premier Valet, Inc.

I'm Devon and I am a Reno Native though I was raised between here & Burbank, CA. While in LA which was my permanent home for my my late teens/twenties I went through small business ventures & experiences as being an entrepreneur of sorts is all I have really done. I had originally planned to reach the professional soccer level but as soon as I got to the college level I quickly realized how much better everyone was and promptly dropped out to pursue any venture that came my way. After a random visit to Reno about 6.5 years ago my wife and I moved our family here as quick as we could as we could sense the area was heading in an exciting direction and figured it could be a great business landscape. While I lived in LA, all while I was either succeeding or failing at one business idea or another, I learned an extremely niche version of Private Event Valet working for an awesome company named Chuck's Parking. Name may sound silly but this is the Louis Vuitton of valet if you will. Presidential type of stuff. I saw every movie star, musician, producer, business execs, billionaires, etc. up close & personal day in and day out for years! Which is where the inspiration for my business came from.

In 2015 I founded Nevada Premier Valet, Inc. We just had our 6th birthday. When we were first starting out, I won $10k in a national business plan contest run by some random Millionaire on instagram named Shawn Thomas which was used for most of our initial funding! Though our starting days were slow, sales wise, as we were such a new kind of service for the area our catalyst event that really gave our business recognition was the Grand Opening of the Tesla Gigafactory in 2017 where we had 55 valet attendants service over 500 cars. Fast forward now we are the premier go to parking service for large and small events for the greatests list of clients like The Prospectors' Club, UNR, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and the list goes on with all the great people and companies we get the opportunity to work with. If you go out on the town to big events, chances are you've come across our blue vests!

Naturally having one of the only private parking companies in Reno, other opportunities began to arise which is how I began to branch into Parking Lot management in late 2019. Over the past 2 years we have really started to grow that model as that is now turning into its own business, Reno Text2Park, which will continue to grow into more lots and areas over the years as we use a unique model to continually improve & manage each property. We have unique partnership with a SAAS company that allows us to actually one of the more innovating services in the country when it comes to basic surface lots like ours. Being an appless service you don't have to download is one of our more stand out features. 

Also in 2018/19, I began working on a gelato franchise concept after some basic inspiration from a random TV show. The brand is called DipDee Stix and this is our gelato pop concept that is set to be open for catering before the year end and then our grand Food truck opening will be Late March 2022. Around my birthday probably, ha. We serve gourmet gelato popsicles where you dip them in chocolate and then rolled in a topping of your choice. We have 9 flavors, 3 signature dips, and 9 classic toppings. They are amazing as they are made by a great Italian Partner in San Francisco. We were set to open in 2020 and had a date set that April but pulled the plug as I didn't want to take any huge risks while already having to save one business in the Pandemic. Ironically, the thing that stopped it from opening this summer was the huge rush of Nevada Premier Valet & Reno Text2Park returning to normalcy and beyond. Which is now on track to have its best financial year yet. 

 The golf tour is just the fun stuff. A little tournament series that I ridiculously over produce and maintain and hope It doesn't ever stop. Just a fun unique experience that is somewhere in between drunk charity scramble and super serious golf tournament. Good Vibe. 

10.09.21 Brock Marquez with Dickson Realty

Brock Marquez has lived in the Reno-Sparks area for over thirty years and for the last thirteen years has been a Realtor with Dickson Realty. Brock found a passion during that time for giving back to the same community that has gave him so much. Brock has served on several different charity and non-profit boards but now sits on the board for Young Professional Network(YPN) and involved with Sports 4 All NV. YPN keeps him busy as he chairs the Professional Development committee, where they put on a different speaker monthly, that helps provide different opportunities for networking and growing personally. Now the other organization that Brock is part of, just got off the ground a few months ago. It’s called Sports 4 All NV and we have partnered with Think Kindness to help manage it. As a product of the Washoe County School District and someone that played youth sports growing up, Brock understands the importance of what team sports can do when you are child and the lesson’s you will learn from it. We provide scholarships for youth to play sports, who may not have been able to otherwise. During these last 18 months, it has been hard on everyone but have hit our youth in so many ways and really gave us a wake-up call to address it. All our youth needed to have access for youth sports. It is more than the physical aspect, but the mental aspect is huge. We have started to reach out and speak with organizations that could utilize our help and look forward to serving more kids and programs

10.2.21 Jessica Fialkovich Founder of Exit Factor

Jessica is the founder and CEO of Exit Factor, the first of its kind consulting firm that educates business owners on how to buy and sell companies. She became a first-time entrepreneur at the age of 25 and since has been able to successfully establish, develop and sell multiple small businesses in a number of different industries.  In the last ten years Jessica has also built the top producing business brokerage firm in the country with offices in Colorado, Texas and Nevada. Under her leadership, the team has been recognized by publications like Inc Magazine and the Financial Times. 

As an entrepreneur, Jessica is passionate about small businesses driving our economy. Because of this, she has committed to educating and supporting entrepreneurs and the small business community. She is active in Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and the Fight Back Foundation, a non-profit focused in small business support. Jessica is originally a Jersey Girl that now splits her time between Denver and Dallas with her husband and two dogs, Moose and Sailor. When she’s not working you can find her either enjoying the outdoors or attending a Bruce Springsteen concert. 

9.25.21 Mark Genung VP of Flight Operations at Iris Automation

Mark served in the US Navy for 30 years as a Surface Warfare Officer where he commanded two warships, and employed and coordinated crewed and unmanned aircraft for a variety of missions including maritime security. He is a FAA qualified private pilot and remote pilot. An enthusiastic recreational radio control pilot since 2002, he started his post-naval career in the commercial sUAS industry in 2012 as a founding member of HAZON Solutions where he served as Chief Pilot and Chief Engineer responsible for developing procedures, integrating aircraft, training and leading sUAS flight crews that conducted precision infrastructure inspections of high voltage power transmission lines, railroad bridges and telecommunication towers. In 2016, Mark joined Flirtey, one of the world's first drone delivery companies as the Field Operations Manager where he conducted a number of first ever delivery operations in the US and abroad. Mark has worked at Iris Automation for over three years, and is responsible for the safe and efficient testing of the Casia detect-and-avoid technology on our fleet of drones and general aviation aircraft.  His flight crews have flown a wide variety of missions including BVLOS flights demonstrating Iris Automation's Casia technology with ASSURE partners and the FAA's UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) and Beyond Program.

9.18.21 Michael J. Bumann Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Red Dot Management, LLC

Michael J. Bumann is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Red Dot Management, LLC.

Mr. Bumann has led the company since its founding in 2014, executing on his vision to change how motor vehicle accident claims are resolved in healthcare. Mr. Bumann sets the vision and strategic direction of the company to ensure Red Dot Management executes on its mission to improve bottom-line revenue for hospitals and help self-pay patients avoid the negative effects of debt collection activity.

Prior to founding Red Dot Management, Mr. Bumann founded and led TPL Healthcare Solutions, a company focused on the same liability claim patient population at the rehab and clinic level.

Mr. Bumann has served his community as a volunteer Firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician, and continues to do so in a variety of Emergency Medical Services related roles. He currently volunteers his time and skill domestically and internationally. His domestic focus is on supporting disabled military veterans. When not executing on Red Dot’s vision, he can be found either snowboarding with his family at Squaw Valley or engaged in some kind of rescue training activity.

9.11.2021 Michael Bosma Managing Partner at Keystone CPAs

Mike founded Keystone CPAs after a four-year stint with CliftonLarsonAllen as principal in January 2017 when the Bosma Group, PC, joined the firm. He is the principal-in-charge of the Reno office. Mike has been in public accounting, specializing in taxation for more than 27 years. He is dedicated to assisting taxpayers attain higher levels of success through proactive tax planning and creative restructuring, as well as strategic business solutions.

9.4.21 Justin Smith with BeaverFit

BeaverFit was established in the United Kingdom in 2010 as the offshoot of a family bridge-building business - Beaver Bridges - and began with a simple functional fitness rig, custom-built for British SAS paratroopers. In collaboration with the British Army, BeaverFit released the world's first fully functional containerized gym solution in 2012, rewriting the script for outdoor fitness training and creating an entirely new product category. In 2013, BeaverFit partnered with former US Navy Riverines to introduce the container gym to the US military and establish operations in North America. As a result of this unique partnership, BeaverFit exploded globally, quickly growing to be the worldwide leader in human performance solutions for American, British and allied military forces.

Building on the success of their expeditionary Human Performance equipment and combined with their expertise in military operations, BeaverFit introduced a robust line of Special Operations Equipment (SOE) in 2015. These solutions are modular, deployable and reconfigurable container-based rappel towers, shoot-houses, air delivery platforms, urban combat villages, breaching trainers, and assault courses.

Today, BeaverFit manufactures thousands of container gyms per year for military forces and designs and builds SOE solutions for special operations teams. In addition to supporting military forces, BeaverFit supplies Fortune 100 corporations and major fitness clubs with unique indoor and outdoor training solutions and continues to innovate and create new products to meet emerging requirements around the world.

8.28.21 Mike Bosma & Rich Tower with Keystone CPAs

Rich has over 20 years experience in assisting companies develop their accounting and financial policies and procedures. He has created modeling and forecasting tools for measure fiscal performance to ensure timely and effective actionable information to managers and owners.

8.21.21 Matt Freeman & Tony Gurule with Sierra Mattress Company

Matt and Tony are the owners of Sierra Mattress Company. They were voted Best of Reno in 2018 in the Reno Gazette Journal’s annual reader survey. The company was founded on 2014 but opened doors January 19, 2015. Since they have opened their doors, they have been committed to ensure that there are no surprise up charges. They have also tailored their business model toward the wise and savvy consumer who is looking for the best overall value in a new mattress set.

8.14.21 Josh Greenbaum with River City Logistics

River City Logistics is a 3PL company based in Reno, NV with offices in Dubuque, IA and Chicago, IL. Offering dedicated fleet services as well as a full-service brokerage, we offer top tier service, competitive pricing and an unmatched level of ethics and transparency. Josh is their VP of Sales, overseeing the entire sales team in all 3 offices, as well as running all of the day to day operations in our flagship office based in Reno, NV.

8.07.21 Mike Bosma Managing Partner at Keystone CPAs

Mike founded Keystone CPAs after a four-year stint with CliftonLarsonAllen as principal in January 2017 when the Bosma Group, PC, joined the firm. He is the principal-in-charge of the Reno office. Mike has been in public accounting, specializing in taxation for more than 27 years. He is dedicated to assisting taxpayers attain higher levels of success through proactive tax planning and creative restructuring, as well as strategic business solutions.

7.31.21 Eric Christianson with Nutrient Survival

Eric Christanson is the CEO of Nutrient survival that launched in 2020 after nearly 25 years. Prior to Nutrient Survival, Eric was the Chief Marketing Officer of Perdue Farms, and he also led branded portfolios at Campbell Soup Company and Procter & Gamble. Eric Graduated a Distinguished Graduate in the Top 1% of his class from West Point in 1991 and earned his MBA and graduated with Honors from Xavier University and served in the U.S Army. He currently lives in Reno with his wife of 28 years, their two children, and their dog.

7.24.21 Mary Hagy with Moon Mark

Mary Hagy is the Founder of Moon Mark, a creative entrepreneur, a storyteller, and a civic enthusiast. Mary conceives, capitalizes and executes profitable projects that have inspirational, entertainment, and educational impact across broad audiences, but mainly high school students. The start-up space is her sweet spot! From creating experiences to capturing the unscripted stories for distribution across multiple platforms, including television, digital, mobile, and the next-generation media. Mary’s current project will capture global audiences with the stories of six teams of high school explorers who compete to become the final two that will design, build, land, and race two autonomous vehicles on the Moon. They will communicate peer-to-peer with young people who will become explorers in space and on Earth, and open a talent pipeline for the next workforce of the future.

7.17.21 Lisa Slook with The Ant Space

Lisa Slook is the Co-Founder of The Ant Space, a coworking center in Sparks, Nevada.  Lisa grew up in Juneau, Alaska and has made Northern Nevada home for the last 13 years.  She has a Bachelors in Human Resources Management and a passion for business and helping business owners succeed.  Growing up Lisa's family owned multiple businesses which taught the values of hard work, dedication, grit and grace.  Values she is instilling in her 10 year old Son, William.  Lisa's other half is Allan Zane who is a Co-Founder of The Ant Space and the Broker of Atlas Red Realty.  Lisa, Allan and William enjoy traveling, camping, kayaking and hanging with their three pups.

7.10.21- Rusty Shaffer with Nevada Telecommunications Association/Seat Amigo Inc. CEO/30+entrepreneur

Rusty was the brainchild behind the Fretlight Guitar (www.fretlight.com). Rusty invented the guitar in 1989, patented it and founded Optek Music Systems, Inc. Rusty went on to secure funding for Optek and in 2010, sold a majority stake in the company. Rusty has been the CEO of Optek for over 31 years and left the company in February 2019 to pursue other interests. Rusty was the first person to incorporate an on-board lighted learning system into a real guitar. During his tenure, Rusty engineered the product from simply connecting to a wall outlet and displaying chords and scales in 1989 to connecting the Fretlight guitar via Bluetooth to mobile devices and desktop/laptop computers where the Fretlight guitar display songs note for note, tablature and interactive video lessons. Rusty is highly experienced in all aspects of business from start-up, to overseas manufacturing, to software creation and digital marketing. The company successfully sold over 500,000 units worldwide under Rusty’s supervision. Rusty is the named inventor on 8 patents regarding the Fretlight technology. Rusty has a law degree from Northeastern University Law School, Boston, MA and an undergrad graduate dual degree in mechanical engineering and economics from the University of Connecticut, Storrs CT. Rusty is currently the Executive Director of the Nevada Telecommunications Association. Rusty is also an FAA certified instrument instructor pilot and is currently the Deputy Director of Flight Operations at the Reno Air Races for 2021. Music being his number one passion, Rusty has played on stage over the years with various music greats and multiple times with the Grammy award winning band America. Rusty has started a new venture with several of his millennial children. Rusty is the founder and Chairman of Seat Amigo (www.seatamigo.com). The company has developed an app which recently launched in late 2019, that allows Southwest Airlines passengers to connect, meet and sit together on their flight in order to take the randomness out of the Southwest Airlines boarding and open-seating process. Rusty is active in the Reno/Tahoe area with various entrepreneurial organizations. He is a mentor and Board member of Biz Assembly, a statewide non-profit group that mentors early-stage entrepreneurs. He is also currently an adjunct professor in the Entrepreneurship department at the University of Nevada Reno, Truckee Meadows Community College and Western Nevada College.

7.3.21- Jade Bogan with InMotion Mechanical, Jade Moana Interiors, and Grafted Whiskey & Wine Bar

My husband, Chad & I just celebrated 25 years together and I’m pretty dang proud of that! We have 6 children, 4 adopted and 2 biological.  We are very passionate about the need for foster parents and adoption in our community. I spent a lot of time with my grandfather growing up and he taught me so much about business and I definitely got my entrepreneurial spirit from him! My husband and I opened InMotion Mechanical in 2014 and its grown from just the two of us to a team of 10 people that serve the Truckee and Lake Tahoe area. We specialize in complicated hydronic heating and cooling systems as well as HVAC service.  I opened Jade Moana Interiors in 2018 and its my creative outlet! I love designing spaces with should and I’ve been privileged to remodel beautiful homes in both reno & Truckee and I’ve designed several spas. I’m currently designing our new Whiskey & Wine Bar set to open this summer at The Village at Rancharrah. Grafted Whiskey & Wine Bar will be a high-end offering of whiskey and wine with a full restaurant indoor and outdoor dining offering as well as over 100 wines and whiskey to enjoy on-site, full bottles for sale in our retail are and a quarterly membership program with exclusive offerings sourced by our in-house sommeliers.  We will have tasting events, private parties and a VIP locker system for your favorite wine and whiskey.

6.26.21- Walter Gloshinski with Smiling with Hope Pizza

You will feel like you are back in a NJ/NYC pizzeria circa 1968 when you enter the Smiling with Hope Pizzeria. It is modeled on the small family pizzerias/Italian cafes Walter grew up with. The pies are prepared as they were 50 years ago and baked in 1960’s gas deck ovens which are still considered the Holy Grail for NY pizza. Walter began his culinary training at home in New Jersey in the 1950’s. His mother and her family were great cooks from Italy, and he became fascinated with their dishes as a young child. His passion for NY pizza is going on 60 years and has won over thousands of fans around the world. Walter makes all the dough/preps on his own, shops every day for produce, and personally hand stretches and bakes every pizza direct on the oven stones which creates the ideal NY crust. His wife Judy works the phones, makes every salad, runs the register, does the books. This model of a owner operator/mom & pop shop is almost extinct today. All this creates a pizza and vibe guaranteed to satisfy the NY pizza connoisseur. For 25 years Walter created award winning pizzeria/bakery businesses in CA/TX/OH public schools that trained students with disabilities for competitive work. These programs gathered international attention and the mission continues with the Smiling with Hope Pizzeria. The pizzeria employs/trains people with Developmental Disabilities who currently make up 30% of our employees. Walter teams with his wife Judy (school counselor) on this project and both hold master’s Degrees in their fields. Walter has collaborated with an eclectic group of chefs from around the world.

6.19.21- Cam Bannister with Freebyrd

Cameron Bannister, CEO and co-founder of FreeByrd, is on a mission empowering creatives to do what they love while making money online. After spending 13-years as a traveling hair stylist to NYC, LA and Dallas, Cameron was inspired to help her creative peers, many of whom are extremely talented, but lack the tech savviness required to grow a business online. She believes in helping even the most tech-averse professionals “fly free” in today’s tech-centric world. When Cameron’s not helping FreeByrds spread their wings, you can find her with her family (including three dogs in tow) adventuring in nature.

6.12.21- Jaime Velez with Keller Williams

Jaime Velez is a real estate broker and operating principal of Keller Williams Southern Nevada and Keller Williams Realty Southwest in Southern Nevada. Jaime and his staff, leadership and agent associates, approximately 420 strong, represent buyers and sellers of residentials homes and commercial properties as well as provide property management. The company completes about 220 real estate transaction per month. Jaime is also a licensed mortgage lender, real estate instructor certified in Nevada to teach real estate pre-licensing, post-licensing and CE courses and an expert witness for real estate litigation cases. Jaime has served in numerous Las Vegas Realtors Association committees and has been an elected member of the board of directors of LVR as well as other groups and charities. A licensee since 2003, real estate is Jaime's second career and during that time he has completed over 3,500 personal transactions and brokered more than 25,000. Jaime was borne in TX and grew up in Puerto Rico. He attended The Ohio State University graduating in 1987 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and The University of Nevada Las Vegas where he obtained an MBA in 1994. Jaime is fully bilingual and conducts his business both in Spanish and English as necessary. In his free time Jaime enjoys coaching club baseball, coaching and teaching new real estate professionals, flipping houses, investing in other areas, traveling, college and professional sports and relaxing with friends and family.

6.5.21- Stacy Ojers with Seven C’s Manufacturing

Seven C's Manufacturing, Inc. was incorporated late in 1993 in Nevada, and open its doors 6 month later.  I came to work for the company in 1997 as the accounting person.  I worked for my father's company in So. California, (Equipment Design - which is still in business there run by my two brothers)  when I was 18 until 23.  I set up the office procedures from the time a quote is made through purchase order received to production, shipping and billing, and that processes is still in place there today. My husband and I (36 years married) have 3 children and 1 beautiful grand daughter.  I enjoy traveling, wine tasting...or just wine drinking LOL.  I find peace in painting on canvas, but I'm not very good at it.  But my favorite thing in the world to do is to watch my kids do an activity - play tennis, water ski, golf, etc.  All of the things that I used to enjoy, but now, because of various health issues, I can not. I am currently the President and CEO of Seven C's Manufacturing.  My background is finance, working in some sort of accounting situation for over 40 years.  I am currently hands on with all aspects of funds for Seven C's. And, by the Grace of God, and with the assistance of my managers I am able to successfully operate the business as a whole. I coached soccer for over 15 years here in town, and had several very successful travel teams.  I thoroughly enjoy teaching or "coaching" about anything I feel I know enough of to comment about. If asked, I will offer my opinion, and sometimes without being asked . I believe that my employees stay around because of the environment that I like to offer here; we don't offer the best pay, or even benefits, but we DO treat every employee with respect, we do not micro manage or oversee them continually, we trust them to do the job assigned to them.  We promote TEACHING them more aspects of the business so that they can do more than just 1 thing for us here.  They become more valuable to us, they have more confidence in themselves, and we can offer increases in the wages.  I treat all of my employees as a valued family member, and try to show them what they mean to me and how much I appreciate them every day. Seven C's is a job shop, meaning that we do not have our own product, we are a precision metal manufacturer that quotes jobs from blue prints that are sent to us to bid.  We manufacture sheet metal and machining.  Sheet metal is just that - sheets of metal of different thicknesses or gauges that are put though different processes to manufacture various items for our customers; like head walls for hospitals, "the cloud" for data storage, etc.  We also offer machining manufacturing - machining is different by way of the material used.  Still metal, but could be billet, or tubing, or a block of metal instead of a sheet.  We have manufactured items for robotic arms etc.   

5.29.21- Darren McBride with Highly Reliable Systems and Sierra Computer Group

Darren McBride is CEO of Sierra Computer Group, an IT services provider in Northern Nevada. His degree is from the University of Nevada, Reno in electrical engineering in 1983. In addition to many computer networking and security credentials, Darren has hosted the Computer Bytes Radio show and is proud to be the oldest surviving EO Reno Tahoe member, having joined as one of 6 founding members in 2001. Recently he has had a ring side seat to the work being done in the Machine Learning group of Microsoft via his fiancé, Patty Ryan. In this talk, he will discuss machine learning and artificial intelligence and tell of some the interesting projects and research happening in this space. Some of those advances are astounding for not being know by the general public and the implications are amazing for society.

5.22.21- Lindy Martini with Trademark Jewelry

Both born and raised in Reno, Nevada, local owners Todd and Lindy Martini, are thrilled to bring a tasteful and honest jewelry experience to their community. With over 24 years of experience in the jewelry and repair industry, Trademark Jewelry provides unparalleled craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. Trademark Jewelry & Repair offers a variety of services which include: repair, custom design, fashion, bridal, men’s wear, watches, estate, and appraisals.  When owners, Todd and Lindy Martini, first toured The Village at Rancharrah, they knew immediately that this is where their store belonged. The ambience displayed throughout the Village of Rancharrah is a unique scene, which the Reno area has been hungry for. Trademark is excited to be surrounded and supported by some of their favorite local restaurant and shop owners such as Perenn Bakery, Chuy's, Dorinda's Chocolate/Rolled Creamery, and of course, (being bourbon lovers), Grafted. Currently, Trademark is under construction with hopes to be open June 1, 2021. In their spare time (what’s that?), you will find them golfing, biking, and enjoying time with their four children and new puppy (and shop dog!), Griffin. For updates and progress, follow Trademark on Instagram @trademarkjewelry. 

5.15.21- Greg Martin with Inc Authority

Greg Martin has been a successful entrepreneur and proven leader since launching his first entrepreneurial venture in 1986. He co-founded and served as President, CEO and Chairman of a consumer product company that was twice recognized in the top 10% of Inc. Magazine’s annual Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held businesses in America (#44 in 1996 and #15 in 2002) and was also a two time E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Finalist. Following a career in Private Equity, in 2020 he became the President of Inc. Authority, a market-leading new business incorporation services provider. Fluent in Japanese, Mr. Martin has also had significant international business experience as his companies operated in over twenty-five foreign markets.

Mr. Martin is a graduate of Brigham Young University and an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program. He has been an active member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 1994 and served as a member of the International Board of Directors from 2007-2009, including Board Vice Chair in 2008 and 2009.

5.8.21- Loral Langemeier- Selling Author & Financial Expert- Owner & CEO of Integrated Wealth Systems

Loral Langemeier is a money expert, speaker, entrepreneurial thought leader, and five-time best-selling author who is on a relentless mission to change the conversation about money and empower people around the world to become millionaires. The CEO and founder of Live Out Loud, Inc., Loral shares her best advice without hesitation or apology. Loral has created, nurtured, and perfected a 3-5 year strategy to make millions for the “Average Jill and Joe.” The company has served thousands of individuals worldwide and created hundreds of millionaires through wealth building education keynotes, workshops, products, events, programs, and coaching services.

5.1.21- Chase Harmer with Pay Certify

As the Chief Executive Officer, Chase Harmer is the visionary and true north at Pay Certify. Having started in banking at the age of 19, Chase has built portfolios processing billions globally and created several patents through his two decades of experience. Pay Certify founded back in 2014 has been focused on the future of our digital economy while creating more value for merchants through innovation. This mindset has inspired truly unique market differentiators, enabling new profit centers for e-commerce merchants, online travel providers, and marketplaces of scale.

4.27.21- Tucker Monticelli with Design on Edge

Tucker Monticelli is an 8th generation Reno native and TMCC graduate. Tucker began his career as an intern and then was hired as a junior designer in 2016, he is currently the studios Senior Designer, and assistant creative director at Design on Edge. Tucker’s personality brings a balance to the team, his educated and skilled approach to solving creative problems helps refine and perfect client solutions. Tucker is skilled in editorial design, web design, branding, and campaign development. He has a meticulous eye for illustration and motion graphics. Tucker has been recognized by the Nevada Press Association as one of the State’s top Designers, and a NCET Tech Star recipient, and he has received numerous awards from the American Marketing Association, and the American Advertising federation on a local and district level during his time with Design on Edge. Tucker’s work with the studio has brought National recognition in industry journals and showcased amongst notable photography and print annual competitions.

4.17.21- Tiffany Novich with Full Tilt Logistics

Tiffany Novich is the co-founder and CEO of Full Tilt Logistics. She is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno where she was the Captain of the Women’s Rugby Team. She grew up in Southern Nevada competing in High School Rodeo throughout the state. After graduating from UNR, Tiffany spent time fighting wild land fires where she met her husband and Co-Founder of Full Tilt Logistics, Nic. Tiffany is very passionate about fitness, nutrition and being physically active. She cultivates a positive work environment and encourages her employees to be who they are and build upon their strengths to be successful. She loves traveling, hiking, and exploring the nature around us. Tiffany loves being a Mom and spending time with her children, Avrie and Luke. Tiffany has a strong drive for life and work and strives to achieve a happy balance between them. She loves being involved in the community and helping people. Her focus is on growing the company, giving back to the community, and raising two wonderful children.

4.10.21- Abbi Whitaker with The Abbi Agency

Abbi Whitaker combines deep roots in Nevada with nationally recognized accomplishments in the fields of marketing and public relations. A graduate of Fallon High School and the University of Nevada, Reno, Abbi is co-founder and president of The Abbi Agency, a marketing communications firm headquartered in Reno. The firm, which employs 35, also has offices in Las Vegas, New York City and London. During her 25-year career, Abbi has developed and managed marketing campaigns for top tourism destinations, industry-leading technology firms, economic development agencies and dozens of entrepreneurial companies across the United States. Abbi has worked closely with key players in Nevada’s economy — from tourism to small business, from government to healthcare, from economic development to technology. She has been a respected advocate and served in volunteer leadership roles with business and economic-development organizations, schools and community nonprofits in Nevada. Nationally, she serves on the Forbes Agency Council and the INC Magazine Masters group. Her professional and personal accomplishments been honored by educational institutions, community organizations and national corporations. Most recently, PRNEWS honored Abbi as a 2020 Top Woman in PR. Abbi also was recognized in 2020 by Chicago-based Lawrence Ragan Communications Inc. with its “Community Giver Award” for her tireless contributions to the State of Nevada.

4.3.21- Krista Phillips with The Cheese Board

Krista Kintop Phillips, owner of The Cheese Board with her sister Caitlin Fletcher, purchased the business from creator and longtime owner, Debbie Branby in 2017.  The Cheese Board has been an institution of the Reno area since 1981.  It started as a small cheese and wine shop and over the years expanded into the lunch bistro and catering company it is today. Krista was born and raised in Reno, Nevada and received a Bachelor of Art degree at the University of Nevada, Reno.  She began working at The Cheese Board in 2006 as a bartender on special events and became the Corporate Sales and Special Events manager in 2008. After getting married and starting her family, she and her sister decided it was time for a new chapter in their lives.  At the same time, Debbie was ready to retire, and in 2017, the Kintop sisters bought The Cheese Board. Krista enjoys living in Reno with her husband and three children.  When not working or bussing her children to their multiple activities, she likes to sleep and do yoga.  She can’t live without coffee and prefers dinners when there is wine involved. Before the pandemic, Krista and Caitlin created a podcast called The Good, The Bad and The Drinking where they talked about parenting, business ownership, life and of course their preferred beverages to carry them through it all.  Fingers crossed; they’ll get back to it once the restaurant is fully operational again.

3.27.21- Eddie Feriance with The Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory

Ed Feriance has been part of his family’s Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory since they opened their first candy store in Washoe Valley in 1983. The third-generation candy company was originally founded by his Grandpa Frank in Akron, OH in 1936. The family then moved to Nevada in 1982 where The Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory was born. Ed was involved in every aspect of the business for years including the actual cooking of his Grandpa Frank’s candy recipes. He then decided to move in 1997 to pursue a career in insurance until his father Dan passed away in November of 2019. This led Ed to once again be a part of the family business alongside his two brothers in January of 2020. The family continues to run a successful third generation candy company that prides itself on using only the finest quality ingredients.

3.20.21- Monica Pappas with Finger Printing Express

Monica Pappas, Owner of Fingerprinting Express, specializes in startups in underdeveloped industries and thrives being a disruptor in industries she grows. Monica franchised Fingerprinting Express and has four stores throughout the state of Nevada. Monica has dedicated her adult professional and personal life to protect children, seniors, the disabled, aged out foster care kids and homeless youth. Monica founded Community Lifters, a Grassroots Volunteer Group that encourages volunteerism and has thousands of volunteer hours. Monica is also on the Citizen Advisory Board for St Jude’s Ranch For Children.

3.13.21- Mark Goodman with Goodman Law Center

Mark Goodman received his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkley in 2001 and his law degree in 2005 from the University of San Francisco. He is licensed to practice law in both Nevada, California, and nationally in proceedings before the United States Patent Office. In order to achieve this designation, he was required to demonstrate a high level of understanding of United States patent law and regulations and hold a degree in a scientific or technical discipline. Mark opened the Goodman Law Center in 2007, motivated to provide a unique approach to law practice. Mark strives be friendly, approachable, thoughtful, creative, and cost-effective. Mark sometimes even makes dealing with a legal problem fun. Mark’s practice focuses on Patent Law, Trademark Law, Copyright Law, and Business Law related to innovation. Most of Mark’s clients are small to mid-size businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs. Mark and his wife, Dr. Robyn Goodman, have 3 adorable children. The whole family loves to travel, ski, raft, hike, and do just about anything outdoors. Mark is also a former intercollegiate ice hockey and soccer player and continues to compete in recreational leagues.

3.6.21- Matt Jacobson with Sizzle Pie

Sizzle Pie opened its first pizza shop on East Burnside in Portland in 2011. In 2021 we have 3 Portland locations plus 3 concession stands at the Moda Center sports arena. We have also expanded outside of Portland with a restaurant in downtown Eugene, OR and one in Reno, Nevada. We have been voted, “Best Pizza,” or “Favorite Pizza,” in Portland five times in our and we have received acknowledgements from national press and organizations such as USA Today, Playboy, Buzzfeed & PETA.  Because we have developed such a strong brand and overall identity, we also sell thousands of t-shirts, stickers, hats and other merchandise to visitors of our shops as well as via the web to customers from places as far away as NY, Italy, Sweden & Australia. He has learned that he is a serial entrepreneur. Themes that run through many of the projects and organizations that I have been involved with include music, food, art/design/culture & community. These include: 1990-2018 Founder and President of Relapse Records, 2009- Founder RXE Industries, 2011- Co-Founder of Sizzle Pie pizza, 2013-2015 Co-Founder White Owl Social Club, 2016- Co-Founder of Wayfinder Beer, 2016-2017 Co-Founder of Mini Mini convenient store, 2017-2020 Open Signal Board of Directors, 2019- Co-Founder of Bar Bune