Leadership
Leadership
Julie Cortés
President/Founder
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Copywriter by day. Freelance Rockstar by night. Julie Cortés lives, breathes, teaches, speaks, and coaches on all things freelance. She’s run her own business for nearly 25 years, is the founder of The Freelance Exchange of KC, and created a much-needed college-level course, Freelancing 101, for the world-renowned 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 media interviews, coaching, and speaking engagements. Julie is loving life, living out her passion for helping creative freelancers succeed.
Michelle Schneider
Vice President
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Michelle has done marketing and design for 15 years focusing primarily on email marketing and web design. She freelanced for several years on top of working full-time in various in-house marketing teams, including Sporting Kansas City, AMC Theatres, and as a Creative Director for Airshare. She recently transitioned to freelancing full-time and is excited to connect with others in the freelancing community.
Amber Monaco
Secretary
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Amber Monaco is the owner of You Need An Amber, LLC - an agency dedicated to backend operations. Her goal is to create efficiencies in businesses so owners can have more white space in their calendars. Amber graduated from the University of Maryland and attended The Johns Hopkins University. She lives in Gladstone, MO with her partner, Andrew, his two kids, one cat, some chickens, and more tomato plants to feed a small army. She is currently working on her first book based on her 2 year expedition as a digital nomad.
Holly Hempfling
Treasurer
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Holly has over eight years of design and marketing experience. She began her career as a freelance graphic and web designer and has worked on in-house marketing teams in the insurance and financial industry until returning to freelancing full-time in 2020. Holly is a fourth generation entrepreneur, and is committed to education and perfecting her craft. She is currently attending the Entrepreneurship Scholars program at the Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Holly joined The Freelance Exchange to get to know other freelancers in the community and share what she’s learned. In addition, Holly is training for her 200 hour yoga teacher certification and incorporates mindfulness and the philosophy of yoga into her marketing and design strategy.
Board of Directors
Kelly Ziegler
Communications Director
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Kelly is the owner of Numerical Tree. Kelly has been a marketing and advertising professional for more than two decades. 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, Numerical Tree clients are reaping the benefits of Kelly’s expertise and unique insight through digital marketing focusing on email, social media and SEO.
Wendy Purcell
Membership Director
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Wendy has been a graphic design professional for two decades working with the home building and home improvement industries in their corporate offices. She has a broad range of talents including page layout, graphic design, logo/branding, project management, fundraising and editing/copywriting. Wendy started doing freelance graphic design again recently, working with clients on print, digital, events and marketing. She also has a passion for working on yearbook and magazine design. Once nicknamed “Eagle Eye” for her meticulous attention to detail and organized process of working, she can anticipate what is needed next. Other things that bring Wendy joy are baking, taking pictures, coaching volleyball and softball, listening to rock music, working out, painting, singing, dancing and getting together with family and friends.
Shauna Clark
Programs Director
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With a resume resembling a pinball machine comprised of multiple sectors, various fields, and numerous industries the constant was always creative marketing. Trained in graphic design over 25 years ago, adding web design, digital photography, social media, and blog writing to the mix. She recently hung her shingle, Ess Factor Solutions, to share those creative talents with the rest of the world. A military brat, spending formative years in Hawaii, ultimately relocating to Independence, Missouri where her parents are from. 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.
Mike Sherry
Public Relations Director
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Mike spent more than 30 years as a print and online journalist, working for publications in Washington, D.C., and at East Coast and Midwest newspapers. His career brought him home to work for a time at The Kansas City Star, and he also spent several rewarding years at Kansas City PBS. But he was probably predestined to strike out on his own, given that both his parents were small-business people — Dad in the garment industry and Mom in advertising. Mike established OnPoint Communications in 2020 to specialize in storytelling for nonprofits. When Mike is not working, you will likely find him exercising at The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City or reading at home. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and two children.
Angela Van Holland
Social Director
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Angela has over 30 years of experience consulting with creative clients. She has spent the last ten years in her current role at NextPage. 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. NextPage has allowed her the opportunity to bring a great team to the table to assist in the ‘dream making’.
Rachel Addington
Special Events Director
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From a chic hotel and restaurants to socially conscious nonprofits and elite colleges, Rachel Addington has been elevating brands and crafting stories for companies and clients for over a decade. Committed to providing an in-house marketing experience with outsourced insight, Rachel excels at building the essential systems and structures businesses need to capture and retain their desired audiences and meet their long-term goals. An Ohio native, she lives with her husband and son in Kansas City and is the owner of RNA Consulting, LLC.
Linda Waterborg
Web Director
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Linda has been in marketing and journalism for 17 years. Her specialty is large-scale projects (catalogs, magazines, etc), but she’s experienced in all sorts of print and digital work, branding, web design, and copywriting. She considers herself a one-woman agency ready to help clients with all their marketing needs. She’s creative but also efficient and detail-oriented, and she loves getting to know the people she connects with in the small business community. Linda graduated from the University of Missouri and lives in Shawnee, KS with her husband, son, and dog.
Matthaus Klute
Web Special Projects Chair
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While working full-time in Kansas City, Matthaus found his real passion - solving problems for small and medium sized businesses, especially eCommerce! As a full-time freelancer, he's brought his knowledge of Web, IT, and Business to make life easier for owners, agencies, and fellow freelancers. Matthaus joined the FX's Board of Directors to meet fellow freelancers and to give back to the local freelance community. He loves mountain biking, watching sports, live music, cooking and getting together with friends.
Dania Kheder
Design Chair
Dania Kheder is an experienced graphic designer specializing in branding and visual design. Dania's primary goal is to create effective and functional designs by thoroughly understanding the user's perception and incorporating it into the design process. With over 6 years of expertise in branding, packaging, and printing, she is passionate about solving problems and crafting cohesive visual identities that are both aesthetically pleasing and easily comprehensible.