Leadership
Leadership
Julie Cortés
Founder
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Copywriter by day. Freelance Rockstar by night. Julie Cortés lives, breathes, teaches, speaks, and coaches on all things creative self-employment. She’s run her own business for more than 25 years, is the founder of The Freelance Exchange of KC, and created a much-needed college-level course, Freelancing 101, for the KC Art Institute, where she teaches as an adjunct professor. Awarded dozens of times over for her work, leadership, volunteerism, and community involvement, she’s regularly sought out for business coaching, media interviews, and speaking engagements. Julie is loving life, and living out her passion for helping creative freelancers succeed.
Kelly Ziegler
President
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Kelly is a digital marketing strategist with more than two decades of experience. In that time, Kelly has worked with a wide variety of industries and clients, from consumer goods to manufacturing. What’s more, Kelly has worked on both the client side and the agency side, giving her an excellent 360-degree view of the entire marketing cycle from strategy development through execution all the way through the sales cycle. Today, as the owner of Numerical Tree, Kelly’s clients are reaping the benefits of her expertise and unique insight through digital marketing focusing on paid digital media, social media ads, and SEO.
Katie Proberts
Secretary
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Introducing Katie Proberts, the driving force behind Enchanted Dawn. With her expertise in unique story-driven digital marketing and operational management that is catered to her clients, Katie is a catalyst for turning your business aspirations into reality. From revitalizing your social media strategy to implementing cutting-edge CRM software that fuels a strong lead funnel, Katie has the hands-on experience to guide you beyond mere advice. She specializes in breaking through the barriers that hold business owners back, ensuring that you achieve your goals and propel businesses to new heights.
Board of Directors
Ryan Hembree
Marketing Director
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Ryan is a strategic creative and builder of brands with over 25 years of experience working in a variety of roles. He founded, built and operated his own design firm for over 16 years; has worked on the client side in sales and marketing; and built the creative capabilities and design team at a fast-growing full-service agency. Today he is an independent creative working directly with business owners, leaders and other marketing professionals to enhance brand awareness and solve complex business and marketing challenges. Ryan is also an educator and speaker in the areas of design and design entrepreneurship, as well as a published author.
Shauna Clark
Programs Director
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With a resume resembling a pinball machine comprising multiple sectors and numerous industries, a constant activity throughout was always creative marketing. She founded Ess Factor Solutions to share her creative talents in graphic design, web design, digital photography, social media, and blog writing with the rest of the world. When not working on contributing to world peace, you can catch her between adventures, at a Kansas City Royals game, spending time with her husband of 18 years, waiting for a text from their four adult children, or most importantly, hanging out with one amazing grandson.
Angela Van Holland
Social Director
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Angela has over 30 years of experience consulting with creative clients. She recently moved to Harvest Graphics so she can better meet client budget needs. She uses past experience to help clients explore the possibilities, while always being mindful of the goal and the budget of the current opportunity. She thrives on integrating marketing communications into a revenue-generating strategy–to work smarter while protecting budget and brand. Harvest Graphics has allowed her the opportunity to bring a great team to the table to assist in the ‘dream making.’
Alesha Goldberg
Social Media Director
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Alesha is the founder of Goldie Digital LLC, where she provides tailored social media strategies and management services to help businesses grow and connect with their audiences. With a decade of experience in social media, digital strategy, communications and content creation, she has enhanced the social media presence of numerous businesses. Before freelancing, she held roles such as Senior Digital Marketing Strategist at Ketchum and Digital Media Strategist at Kansas City University. She has earned multiple awards for innovative PR and social media campaigns. Outside of work, Alesha enjoys exploring Kansas City, traveling near and far, and spending time with her husband, Kellen, cat Finley, and pug Carol.
Terese Grossnickle
Special Events Director
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Terese is the vibrant force behind Strategic Renaissance. Beyond her effervescent personality, her unique resume seamlessly blends marketing strategy and operational prowess with design skills, ensuring outcomes that go beyond mere aesthetic appeal. Terese prefers close collaboration with clients, infusing a creative revival into their visual identities, publications, and digital assets. Embodying a modern Renaissance spirit, she extends her passion beyond graphic design by creating mandala art, singing tenor in a community chorus, performing in a handbell ensemble, honing her disc golf game, and occasionally indulging in dance classes. Terese isn't just a graphic designer; she's a dynamic, multifaceted partner.