Client Refferal

Rob Klein

CEO, Klein Partners

Russ Pratali

Executive Director, River of Light

Having missed our flight from Rome to Yugoslavia, we assumed we would return to the US with all our young people and adults traveling to this sacred site. My daughter heard that Mother Theresa was approaching our area of the airport, so we had the honor to meet her and asked for her prayers to help us make another connection. She was true to her word and asked us to pray for her journey as she prayed for ours. After her miraculous visit, we were able to make another flight and complete our journey. Meeting Mother Theresa inspired me for the rest
of my life to want to imitate her devotion to the poor.

On our return to Chicago, our Medjugorje pilgrims help establish the John Paul Eucharistic Adoration Chapel for the Missionary Sisters of Charity in Chicago at 18th and Allport Streets. One day, I was asked to help deliver large boxes of cookies to those sisters. As I observed the humility of these Sister serving the poor in the Soup Kitchen, I knew that the needed more than cookies. Soon after that time in 1989, I became certified to delivery fresh meat, produce and other grocery items from generous donors like Mariano’s and Trader Joe’s grocery stores. Using my car and a truck with a volunteer staff we began River of Light, twenty-five years ago, our mission began to serve the soup kitchens, food pantries and Veteran Centers in Chicago with food, furniture and other items they request.

Today, River of Light delivers food six days a week to over 25 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters around the Chicagoland area in the poorest neighborhoods. Mother Theresa gave me a blessing that fateful day in the airport and it transformed my life forever. I have never turned back from the mission to serve the poor. Mother Theresa is our patron saint who blesses the work we do every day while serving those in need.

“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”
– Mother Theresa

Julie McDevitt

CEO, Grace Integrated

What makes my work is effective is my personal journey.  My experiences as a mother of four, and wife of 11 years lends itself to being very relatable. Family life is definitely a journey with a lot of unexpected twists and turns.  Nothing prepares us for the self-sacrifice, continuous demands and busyness that comes with the transition to family life.  As a result, many of us find ourselves running from thing to thing while losing ourselves and our purpose in the shuffle.  You are not alone.  Therapy is a quiet and safe space to reflex on your purpose of life, where it may have got off track, and how to get back to living with intention.  We can work on the past for the purpose of making a wondrous future.  You are worth it!

Scott Filer

CEO & Co-Founder, Force Diagnostics

Skilled and entrepreneurial business executive with a reputation for building companies from concept to commercialization, strengthening financial performance and brand equity, creating innovative programs, generating, adjudicating and measuring go-to-market strategy, streamlining operations and oversight across vast geographies, and providing long-term organizational health and stability.

Uncanny ability to ‘boil down’ complex operational challenges into clear-cut strategic initiatives (with flexible tactical features) that are readily understood, actionable and measurable throughout the entire enterprise.

Specialties: Executive leadership, sustainability and performance improvement, strategy/planning & execution for myriad science & health-related industries, regulatory approvals (specifically US FDA), management and leadership of complex systems and organizations, advocacy – particularly in disabilities space, global health and international development, pharma and biotech research as well as market analysis, healthcare technology and instrumentation, and disease vector and population health research.

Mike Cemeno

Founder, Fishers of Men

Tim Kenny

Partner, Kenny & Kenny CPA

Tim has to experience teaching a variety of subjects, including Self Employment Training, Small Business Taxes, and youth catechism. In addition to volunteering his time to teach youth catechism, Tim volunteers for Spirit Hockey Camps, a series of religious retreats structured as Catholic Hockey Camps that assist children in deepening their relationship with Christ. Tim is a current board member for the Golden Apple Foundation and served as their Treasurer and Finance Committee Chairman from the fiscal years 1996-2000. Additionally, Tim served as the Vice President of the Phi Kappa Psi Corp. Board from 2005-2008.

In his free time, Tim dedicates his time to his family and athletics. Tim has completed 23 marathons and two Ironman Races, and he has coached five AYSO soccer teams, three Western Springs Little League Teams, and five Elmhurst YMCA hockey teams.

Tim achieved the NACVA designation of a Certified Valuation Analysts (CVA) on June 20, 2003, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants. He earned a B.S. in Accounting with Honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Joseph Janusonis

Partner, The Law Offices of Janusonis and Szudarek, P.C.

Prior to family law I practiced commercial litigation. I litigated in Cook County and the collar counties on behalf of creditors and banks. 

Sean Tierney

Co-Founder, Trustee, & Board President, Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family. Physician, Heart Care Centers of Illinois

After medical school, Dr. Tierney completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Loyola University Medical Center. He then completed fellowships in Adult Cardiology and Clinical Electrophysiology, also at Loyola. He is currently Board Certified in Cardiology and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. He has previously served as Assistant Professor at Loyola University Medical Center prior to joining Heart Care Centers of Illinois in 2004. He currently is Director of The Electrophysiology Lab at MetroSouth Medical Center (formerly known as St. Francis) in Blue Island since 2005.

Dr. Tierney performs implantation of pacemakers, defibrillators and biventricular devices used to improve congestive heart failure. He also performs catheter ablations to help cure fast heart rhythm conditions. His research interests include applications of biventricular device therapy and prevention of sudden death along with the diagnosis and treatment of syncope or passing out.

He is the father of 5 children and enjoys spending time with his family when out of the hospital. Dr. Tierney and his wife recently co-founded a new high school in the western suburbs of Chicago named Chesterton Academy of The Holy Family dedicated to teaching a classical curriculum education using the Socratic method.

Currently seeing patients at our Merrionette Park, Palos Park , and Mokena Facilities.

Angela Chang

I/O Psychologist

Angela Chang is a senior learning and organizational development professional with over 14 years of progressive experience in learning and development, talent strategy, change management, management consulting, and executive coaching.

Angela achieved a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Sciences from UC Irvine and will graduate in December 2021 from Northwestern University with a Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change Management.

Having worked for organizations such as Hulu and Resources Global Professionals, she is excited to serve as a resource to your organization in assessing and evaluating Transformational Leader talent.

Christopher Max Gomez

CEO & Executive Search Practice Lead

While trying to better your organization through filling an empty executive position, it is normal to feel overwhelmed. The stakes are high and you want to work with someone who follows through on their commitments to you in a timely manner.

Christopher Gomez is a consulting professional with fifteen years of industry experience. He currently serves as the leader of the Executive Search service line and leads the firm’s operations as Chief Executive Officer. Christopher has earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Illinois and Master of Business Administration from DePaul University.

Christoper is committed to finding your Transformational Leader. He understands the value of relationships with his clients; and is timely while staying true to his word. Chris has seen how other consultants don’t follow through with their promises and don’t treat their clients like family. This is why he is determined to serve his clients no matter what it takes.

In recognition of his accomplishments as the CEO of a leading Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), he was honored in 2020 as CEO of the Year by CEO Monthly and a Top 40 under 40 by Negocios Now.

Choosing to work with Christopher will allow you to get back to the work you love while he takes care of your imperative search and finds your Transformational Leader.

Matthew Thibeau

Strategy Practice Lead

As a management consultant, he has worked across various industries advising C-Suite executives on organizational development, strategic planning, and culture and change management. His diverse list of client engagements includes various associations, higher education institutions, publishers, private equity firms and faith-based organizations. His roles have included project management, group facilitation, and keynote and workshop presentations.

Specifically, he has lead acquisition teams in identifying, negotiating, and integrating of five businesses ranging from $1M to $18M in valuation. These efforts where strategic acquisitions for existing publishers and separately for two private equity firms. His deep understanding of the religion market has benefited clients in knowing which deals to execute and those from which to walk away.

For over twenty years, Matt held leadership roles in educational publishing with McGraw-Hill and Harcourt Brace, culminating as President/CEO of the largest catechetical publisher in the US. He also served as Senior Vice President—Strategic Planning and Development for a national healthcare association. Matt’s most recent publication—Plan the Work, then Work the Plan—on Catholic parish-based strategic planning appeared in the Fall 2013 issue of Human Development Magazine. Matt has published a number of articles and has spoken at industry conferences and seminars.

Matt, a former high school teacher, and football coach served as Treasurer and Board member of Ministering Together, a nonprofit organization seeking to enhance and facilitate collaboration among Church ministries. Previously he has served on the Board of Directors for the Catholic Book Publishers Association and the National Catholic Educational Exhibitors. He also served as a founding board member of the Kucera Center at Loras College. He was the founder and director of the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Education Foundation, an organization that seeks to identify, acknowledge, and empower the work of classroom teachers.

He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Loyola University of Chicago and a Master’s of Divinity Degree from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL.

Daphne Smith

Industrial & Organizational Psychology Practice Lead

Daphne possesses significant experience in talent attraction, recruitment, behavioral and competency-based interviews, talent assessment, and selection. She is also experienced in leadership and management coaching, cultural coaching, onboarding programs, workplace diversity and inclusion, retention, and job analysis, in addition to organizational needs assessment. Additionally, Daphne has an effective mix of organizational effectiveness, organizational cultural audits, change management, workforce engagement, and employee satisfaction.

Daphne has experience working in a multitude of industries, including corporate, higher education, healthcare, nonprofits, and cultural institutions, and she has held various positions from recruiter, human resource business partner, corporate talent acquisition manager, regional talent manager, diversity and inclusion director, and industrial and organizational psychologist.

Daphne’s entrepreneurial experience has provided a strong foundation that allows her to engage and build alliances with management and leadership in change management environments to gain buy-in and commitment to execute on talent management strategies in order to improve organizational effectiveness and performance.

During her time working at DePaul University, Daphne retained DG&A and partnered with Christopher Gomez on various search assignments, and the seed of their relationship was planted. Most recently, that seed has blossomed as Daphne and Christopher have implemented and made progressive improvements in hiring processes through their Executive Search and IO Psychology work at Duke University Health System.

Daphne holds a Master’s of Arts in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL. In addition, she has earned a Masters of Jurisprudence & Employment Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Since 2016, Daphne has been working to complete her education by obtaining a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Northcentral University.

Mary jo smith

HR Consulting & Executive Coaching Practice Lead

Mary Jo has a solid history of success in:

• Creating an inclusive work environment that recognizes and leverages diversity, unique traits, talents, and experiences of the people and their teams;
• Transforming the organizational culture by creating an engaged workforce dedicated to operational excellence;
• Creating a world-class, customer-focused HR function that optimizes service delivery;
• Developing flexible, fully competent leaders at all levels while building high-performance teams that effectively/efficiently execute plans and allocate necessary resources.

Mary Jo also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago educating future public health leaders in human capital strategies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and obtained a Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Lewis University. Mary Jo is certified in health care human resources (CHHR), and just completed the Lewis University certification program in executive coaching. In her spare time, Mary Jo loves spending time with her husband and twins, traveling, and fundraising for the Mulliganeers and Special Olympics Chicago.

Jill Geehr,PHD

Work Psychology

As a consultant to both organizations and individuals, Jill has provided a wide variety of human resources services to a range of industries. She has been a human resources executive with a fortune 500 company, an assessment and career consultation firm, and has been the President of her own HR consulting firm. Additionally, she has served as an adjunct professor at Tulane University, University of North Florida, and Flagler College.

Jill has presented several papers at events including: HR Florida, Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Treasury Management Association. Her knowledge of human resource best practices is sought for group meetings as well as organizational planning retreats. She is constantly looking for opportunities to improve best practices in human resources management.