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SummerWorks Career Sneak Peek Speaker Series
Do more this summer. Invest in your future!
Career Sneak Peek Speaker Series is Monday, August 9 - Friday, August 13.
We have 20 featured speakers volunteering their time and talent to share their experiences with Southeast Michigan young adults aged 16 - 24 years old! Each talk will last approximately 1 hour and give great insight into a variety of career trajectories across numerous Michigan-based organizations.
Explore our webpage to learn more about each speaker, organization, and schedule below. Register now as spots are limited!
Have questions? Email amy@amycelltalent.com.
A big thanks to Amy Cell Talent for coordinating SummerWorks Career Sneak Peek Week!
Click here for Monday, August 9th schedule.
Click here for Tuesday, August 10th schedule.
Click here for Wednesday, August 11th schedule.
Click here for Thursday, August 12th schedule.
MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021
ABOUT MARC: I am a Husband, an Author, an Entrepreneur, a Motivational Speaker and many more! My Personal Mission Statement is "To Love, Lead And Live A Successful Life in Every Aspect And To Help Those That I Encounter To Do The Same." Most importantly I am Happy. We all have various leadership roles that we either hold or have held, but the joy that I continue to hold is what makes me who I am..... Marc D. Alexander.
ABOUT JEFFREY: Jeffrey A. Rinvelt serves as Principal for the Fund. Mr. Rinvelt’s tenure began with the establishment of Renaissance Venture Capital, spanning RVCF I, II, and III. Mr. Rinvelt has a diverse background in venture capital and technology plus extensive experience working in start-up ventures.
Mr. Rinvelt was previously part of Ardesta, where he served as Director and engaged in sourcing, evaluating, and conducting due diligence on investment opportunities, as well as monitoring and providing assistance to the companies in Ardesta’s portfolio.
Prior to joining Ardesta, Mr. Rinvelt was a co-founder of GrapeVINE Technologies, providing Product Management and Marketing for their knowledge management product, eventually resulting in an acquisition by Sun Microsystems. Mr. Rinvelt was Vice President of the start-up team for MAXfunds.com, an Internet company providing complete coverage of the mutual fund industry. In addition, Mr. Rinvelt spent five years with Ernst & Young’s Information Technology group.
Mr. Rinvelt serves on the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees, where he spent two years as chair, oversaw the hiring of a new President, and is a member of the Audit Committee. He serves on the Michigan Venture Capital Association Board and is Chair of the Membership Committee. In addition, Mr. Rinvelt is quite active in the Michigan start-up community, volunteering his time to mentor young entrepreneurs, judge pitch competitions, and guest lecture student classes and organizations.Mr. Rinvelt graduated magna cum laude from the Honors College of Western Michigan University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Finance and a minor in Computer Science (1991).
ABOUT ERIN: Erin Khang received her MSSA social work degree from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. After approximately a decade working as a clinical social worker in Pediatric Nephrology, she took on the role of project manager within the health system social work department. That role afforded opportunities to lead diversity, equity and inclusion departmental and institutional initiatives as well as provide subject matter expertise as the department’s electronic health record representative. In 2016 she became the Director of Graduate Social Work Education at Michigan Medicine and an adjunct professor at the UM School of Social Work in 2017. In addition to this work, she is currently one of the Pediatric Social Work managers overseeing staff in the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
ABOUT ALAN: Alan is the Central Maintenance Manager for Toyota Motor North America Research and Development in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Toyota has designed, tested and manufactured vehicles in the United States for over 35 years. Prior to joining Toyota in 2017, Alan spent 23 years working in Caterpillar manufacturing plants throughout the US. Alan graduated from Southern Illinois University with a BS degree in Advanced Technical Studies with a focus in advanced electronics. Throughout his career, Alan spent many years maintaining or managing technical staffs that maintained automation and highly technical equipment in manufacturing and testing environments. Alan currently lives in Ypsilanti with his wife Allyson.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021
ABOUT YEN: Yen Azzaro is an artist, illustrator, and graphic recorder. Graphic recording is the practice of drawing and writing what people say in real time on large sheets of paper or digitally on an iPad. Her clients include University of Michigan, Ford Motor Co., Fair Food Network, and Planned Parenthood. Over the last eight years Yen has collaborated on three Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs grant-funded projects. Yen believes that we are most powerful when we are equipped with information and art is an impactful way to get people to pay attention.
ABOUT DANNY: Danny is the CEO and cofounder of SkySpecs, a company focused on making wind energy the most affordable form of electricity by automating asset management, operations, and maintenance through advanced robotics, data analytics, and software platforms. Danny is a two-time graduate of the University of Michigan with a BSE and MSE in Aerospace Engineering. He is a Techstars alum, Endeavor entrepreneur, and recipient of the Forbes' "30 under 30" award in 2016.
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ABOUT MEGAN: Megan Torrance is CEO and founder of TorranceLearning, which helps organizations connect learning strategy to design, development, data and ultimately performance. Megan has over 25 years of experience in learning design, deployment and consulting. A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Communication and an MBA, and an eCornell Facilitator in the Women's Executive Leadership curriculum, Megan lives and works near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
ABOUT ANNA: Anna Shelton is the Membership Experience Manager at ICPSR, where she supports institutions using data to make a difference. Shelton's previous experience includes UCLA where she worked with students to convert theoretical learning to practical application, and the American Red Cross where she worked in Disaster Response. She received her BA from California State University, Northridge and her MA in Social Entrepreneurship and Change from Pepperdine University.
ABOUT WAYNE: Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Wayne Doyle is the director of the Veterans Student Support Services (TRIO program funded by a grant through the Department of Education) at Eastern Michigan University. The objective of the program is to increase retention and graduation rates for student veterans. With over 20 years of military service, Wayne is able to connect effectively with the student veteran population. Wayne completed his BS in civil engineering from the United States Military Academy, and has an MA in land warfare from American Military University.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021
ABOUT DALE: Dale Fay grew up on a dairy farm 40 miles from Ann Arbor and trained as a welder at the county career center, then proceeded to work his first factory job at 16. After a few years of factory work, Dale was motivated to study social science and environmental advocacy at the University of Michigan Residential College and computer science at EMU. Now, Dale spends a lot of his free time helping young people get started in information technology and cybersecurity, with his experience as a research programmer, lead network operator, network operations center (NOC) manager, application developer, system administrator, security analyst and penetration tester.
ABOUT JIM: Jim Hume, owner and principal, founded Phire Group in 2004. Under his leadership, Phire Group delivers complete research and brand strategy, creative and comprehensive digital and traditional capabilities to uncover a brand’s full potential. Hume is known for working closely with brands to create a meaningful and sustainable impact. With more than 20 years in the industry, he has a wide range of experience working with clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to startups.
ABOUT STACY: Stacy Zousmer received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her Masters of Physical Therapy from Oakland University. After spending 15 years as a PT at the Beaumont Center for Children’s Rehabilitation, she transitioned to practicing in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District in 2015, primarily working in the Early Childhood Special Education preschool program. Additionally, she holds a certification in Pediatric Neuro-Developmental Treatment (C/NDT) and is a Certified Kinesio Tape Practitioner (CKTP).
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ABOUT CYNTHIA: As Executive Director of Growing Hope, Cynthia combines her love of gardening and growingthings with her professional management, operations, and leadership abilities. She came to Growing Hope after having launched and grown her own garden products company, through which she gained a tremendous amount of experience successfully managing financials, people, and operations. It’s a dream come true to be able to use her skills and experience leading a team of passionate individuals that are working to empower all people, particularly those with barriers due to race, class, culture, language and ability, to grow and prepare their own harvests, and may earn a living as a food grower, producer, or entrepreneur in the local food system. Cynthia has had a passion for gardening since working as a child on her family’s acre-large vegetable garden in Flint, MI. While she still enjoys vegetable gardening, she is happiest tending her perennial flower garden when not keeping up with her four children and husband of 27 years.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021
ABOUT CHRIS: Chris Rizik is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund (www.renvcf.com), a first-of-its-kind network fund formed by a consortium of Fortune 1000 and major private corporations. Renaissance works to invest in and strategically connect venture capital funds and start-up companies with major corporations. Chris is also the founder and publisher of SoulTracks.com, America’s most popular soul music online magazine. He began his career with Coopers & Lybrand, after passing the Certified Public Accounting examination.
ABOUT CHRISTIE: Christie Ayotte Baer is the Assistant Director of the University of Michigan’s Center on Finance, Law & Policy. In that capacity, she also serves as program director for the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP). DNEP is an interdisciplinary program that provides one-on-one wrap-around services to Detroit entrepreneurs by pairing small businesses with teams of students from the Law School, the Ross School of Business, the Stamps School of Art & Design, the Ford School of Public Policy, and the College of Engineering. Ms. Baer received her JD from Emory University School of Law and her BA in Sociology from Smith College.
ABOUT ATHENA: A native of Flint, Michigan, Athena holds the title of the Flint Connector for the University of Michigan’s Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) Community Engagement (CE) unit. In this role she is able to empower both community and academics to conduct research in a participatory manner that is equitable, transparent, and bi-directional. She attained her bachelor’s in business administration, with a dual major of computer information systems and business management from the Detroit College of Business and received her master’s degree in scientific administration from Central Michigan University. Athena runs and operates a 501c3 non-profit organization called, Flint Innovative Solutions (FIS), as the Executive Director. FIS strategically enriches the well-being of the residents of Genesee County, and boosts access to community resources. She also serves on several community boards and is a licensed minister. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, horseback and motorcycle riding and connecting vision to tangible outcomes.
ABOUT LARRY: I joined the Library in 2008 as the Digital Conversion Production Manager, and currently manage book, audio, and moving image digitization projects for the Digital Conversion Unit, both inhouse and vended projects. My current committee memberships are: Audio/Moving Image Digitization Team (co-chair), Brave Space Dialogues on Anti-Racism (facilitator), LIT Coordinating Group (member), and LIT Tools Committee (member). If you have a collection that you want to digitize and don't know where to start, feel free to contact me. If physical conservation, digital preservation, metadata, copyright, or putting a collection online using Library resources come into play, we'll involve those folks as well.
Two things I find enjoyable are workflow diagrams and reviewing digitization equipment. Workflow diagrams reveal hidden processes and labor using graphic design and concise visual communication. As for digitization equipment, I've worked with a wide variety, enjoy reviewing technical specifications, and like sharing what I find.
Before getting involved in book and image digitization in academic libraries, I studied art history and received a master's degree in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts. Before that, I was a graphic designer, with a bachelor's degree in art.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021
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ABOUT SUZANNE: Suzanne Morrison was appointed Director of Marketing, Hatch Stamping Company, in October 2014. Suzanne is a seasoned marketing and sales professional with extensive experience in bridging marketing and sales through effective communication and marketing. In her role at Hatch Stamping Company, Suzanne has developed and directed the corporate marketing organization. Prior to Hatch Stamping, Suzanne held executive positions at Vertafore and Geac. Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Cleary University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
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ABOUT SHAUN: Shaun Manning enjoys telling the stories of the University of Michigan School of Education community in collaboration with faculty, staff, and students. Before joining the School of Education, Shaun spent ten years with University of Michigan Press, U-M’s scholarly publishing division, in marketing, sales, and outreach roles. He has also written for U-M News Arts & Culture. Outside of U-M, Shaun writes comics and other fiction, including the historical fiction epic Macbeth: The Red King.
ABOUT PERRY: Perry is excited to share insights around resume best practices and the GM hiring process. He will also share a bit of his background from a library technology company to the automotive industry.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Perry says that he was still unsure of what he was passionate about and his career aspirations. He immediately accepted the first job opportunity offered to him in Finance. With a few student loans coming due, it was tough for him to turn down the opportunity. As a sophomore in college, Perry completed an internship in HR, which he really enjoyed. After doing his research and learning more about the field, he decided to ask his employer if he could take on some stretch assignments in HR. After doing so, Perry also decided to pursue a MBA in Human Resources, which has led him to where he is today.