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  PRIMA POW·WOW

2019 Speaker Bios

Liz Heller, Attorney, Goldenberg, Heller, Antognoli, P.C.
       ​Some of her closest friends have told her that she is too competitive. For better or worse, she has been a competitor all her life. After graduating from Beloit College in 1980, she worked for May Department Stores Company in St. Louis before deciding to leave in 1989 to train full-time for a place on the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team. Her fallback plan was law school.
She graduated from Washington University Law School in 1991 and joined what is now Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli as an associate that same year. She became a partner in 1997.

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Barb Sherer, Sherer Family Law
      Barbara has been practicing law in the St. Louis Metro East area for over 25 years, concentrating in the areas of family law, real estate law, criminal defense and general civil practice.
She completed both her undergraduate degree and Juris Doctorate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. During law school, she clerked on the Court of Appeals in Eastern Missouri and worked at a personal injury law firm.
After graduating, she worked at the Law Firm of Lucco, Brown, and Mudge in Edwardsville, Illinois. Additionally, Barbara was the lead attorney in the Domestic Violence/Child Support Enforcement Unit of the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office for over 2 years.
Barbara opened her own practice in Edwardsville, Illinois in April, 1993. Her practice encompasses being in-house-counsel for Abstracts and Titles, a position she has held for almost 25 years.
Barb volunteers at several philanthropic organizations in the community, including being a member of the board of the Edwardsville Arts Center.
While Barbara projects a confident and assertive attitude in the courtroom, her instinctual approach in cases is to attempt a settlement. Her many years of experience have taught her that parties are infinitely happier if they make the decision about the resolution of a case themselves instead of having a Judge decide.

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Jeanne Cleveland, M.D. 
Cardio Thoracic Surgeon
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Deedee Lahamon
​Founder / Operator - The Covering House
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Dana Adams
Founder / Operator - Restore Decor

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Mitch Meyers, Queen of Everything!
Before retiring and taking on my role as mother of the year, I was the Co-Founder and President of an award-winning marketing and communications agency, which employed 350 people, with offices in 5 states, and revenue exceeding $42 MM annually.

AdWoman of the Year, CEO and Pilot of the famed Zipatoni, and the mother of Bud Light, my 25+ years in the marketing and communications space has been spent building, launching, and consulting for brands of major Fortune 100 companies, startup businesses, various advisory boards, and non-profit organizations.

My latest business ventures include my role as Co-Owner and Partner at The Proof Agency, an agency specializing in launching and developing brands in the adult beverage and cannabis space, as well as Co-Owner and Partner at the Nature’s Care Company and BeLeaf Company, two medicinal cannabis providers.


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Cassie Celuch
Cassie Celuch is an entrepreneur, mother of 3 girls, an advocate for human rights and a champion for kindness.

​She took a rather non-conventional way of chasing her dreams. Now, almost 20 years after she began her journey (moving to Hollywood with a couple of suitcases and a couple of hundred dollars), she opened a boutique Hair Salon in downtown Edwardsville and is rapidly expanding her Beauty and Lifestyle brand, byCassandra.

She is launching her beauty/lifestyle blog in the coming months, using the same name, byCassandra. She also has plans this year to expand her “one chair” to include luxury Salon Spaces as well as a resale and one of a kind clothing boutique.
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Amy Stack
Amy Stack is the Founder and President of Extraordinary Events, a local organization that consists of volunteers who visit area group homes. Extraordinary Events does small events for residents at the homes they visit. Events examples we have proudly completed include Bingo at Nursing Homes, cards and snacks to VA Hospitals on Veteran’s Day, and partnering with Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine.  She is a former Judges’ Coordinator and Board Member of Butterfly Dreams, a pageant for adults and children who are disabled.

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Cindy McGrew
Owner, Traveling Tails Inn

2018 Speaker Bios

Speaker List
​·Ann E. Callis, First Female Chief Judge in Madison County, private law practice
   
·Amy Stuttle: Owner, Victory Men's Health

   
·Dr. Kristen Jacobs, Owner, Ooh La La Spa

   
·Katherine L. Opel, lawyer, Weinheimer Law Firm

   
·Megan Pashea, Owner 1818 Chophouse restaurant group

   
·Dee McDonald, CFO Fowler Management Services / DonCo    

   
·Venessa VanSchalwyk, Financial Advisor, Mass Mutual Financial Group

   
·Honorable Sarah Smith, Third Judicial Circuit Associate Judge, Bronze Star recipient

·Pat Shannon
    Owner, Mike Shannon's Grill, Executive Director of Business, Hire Level Co.
Various Bios
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Ann Callis

Ann Callis was the first woman Circuit Judge in Madison County, Illinois and was the first woman Chief Judge in Madison County, where she served for 18 years. She has served in every division in the 3rd Circuit Court where she presided over hundreds of jury and non-jury trials including complex litigation, environmental, personal injury, professional negligence (legal and medical), and many varieties of criminal cases. In addition to handling a full civil docket, Judge Callis was instrumental in creating the nationally recognized Veterans Treatment Court, whereby Veterans involved with the justice system are given necessary assistance and counseling to become once again productive members of society. She also established the Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Program that has saved hundreds of families their homes.  

As Chief Judge, she helped foster the creation of the Legal-Aid Self-Help Center, a program conveniently located at the courthouse, where indigent and pro se litigants can navigate the court system. She created a program that allowed incarcerated individuals to conduct visitation with their children through video access. As an attorney, Judge Callis chaired the committee that created Child-support Accountability Court, a public/private partnership that helps unemployed parents become gainfully employed. Judge Callis was appointed to the Special Supreme Court Committee for Mental Health, where she helped educate judges in the State of Illinois on problem-solving courts and was also appointed to the Illinois Education Conference (Technology Committee) as well as the Electronic Access Committee.

She has received many awards and recognition for her community service including an Achievement Award from the Alton Branch of the NACCP, the Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Alton Chairman Award (for promoting Justice for All), the Community Counseling Center Mental Health Hero and an award from the St. Clair/ Monroe Counties Salute for Protecting the Children from the Storms of Life.

Judge Callis obtained her B.A. Magna Cum Laude from St. Louis University in 1987, and went on to earn her law degree from there in 1990.  She also completed a public managers program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard College.  She is currently a partner with the Edwardsville, IL.  firm of Goldenberg, Heller & Antognoli, P.C.  concentrating her practice on mass torts and commercial litigation.

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Dr. Kristen Jacobs

Dr. Jacobs is considered one of the top providers of anti-aging treatments in the Greater St. Louis area. She has the distinguished honor of being selected as an Allergan and SkinMedica Certified Trainer and Educator traveling across the country – this is an honor only offered to the most experienced and trusted aesthetic physicians. She has been practicing medicine for more than 17 years, and in 2008, shifted her practice to focus solely on Aesthetic Medicine. Learn more about Dr. Jacobs here.
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Hon. Sarah Smith 

A lifelong resident of Madison County, Sarah has been a Third Judicial Circuit Associate Judge since 2015. She presides over the child support accountability court and the domestic violence accountability court, and is a member of the Third Judicial Circuit’s Family Law Division.
Sarah began her legal career practicing civil litigation. She has also worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney and was the prosecutor for the Madison County Veteran’s Treatment Court. She is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard. She has two combat deployments and on her second deployment to Afghanistan Sarah was awarded the Bronze Star.  She is the highest-ranking Judge Advocate General in the Illinois Army National Guard.  Recently she was selected to serve as Illinois’ first Military Judge for the Illinois Army National Guard under the Illinois Code.
Sarah serves as a Board Member for the Jennifer Wynn Vancil Foundation, the Madison County Alternative Treatment Courts Foundation, the Illinois Judges Association, and as a Military Affairs subcommittee member for the Illinois State Bar Association. She also serves as Secretary for the Illinois Judges Foundation, the Madison County Bar Association, Chair of the Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Veterans Subcommittee.
She is Senior Vice Commander of her local VFW, and a member of the American Legion. She is a member of the Edwardsville Gun Club, the Madison County Historical Society, the League of Women Voters, the National Guard Association of Illinois, the National Rifle Association and she is involved with Butterfly Dreams, Inc. an organization that holds yearly pageants and events for children and adults who are differently abled.  She lives in Edwardsville with her husband who is a three-time combat veteran and their three little boys.
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Venessa Van Schalkwyk


BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY
Preparing for that next step in life isn’t always easy. My combination of experience, professionalism and access to a wide variety of products and services can help you meet your financial goals, estate strategies and insurance needs. Whether your goals include preparing for milestone life events like retirement or college, or whether you’re simply looking for life, disability income or long-term care insurance protection, I will provide you a high level of attention, insight and capability.


My background, experience and commitment to providing you with the resources you need to make financial decisions, can help make your financial future as successful as you need it to be. I pride myself in getting to know each client so that I can understand their individual needs and what matters most to them. This helps me recommend products and strategies designed to meet their current needs, and more importantly, their future needs.
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Kathie L. Opel


Kathie Opel joined the Weinheimer Law Firm in 2015, after working for several years at a large St. Louis firm. She focuses her practice on business entity formation and governance, real estate law and contract drafting, negotiation and review, as well as wealth and estate planning. Kathie works with a variety of closely-held and family-owned businesses. She regularly assists nonprofit organizations in obtaining and maintaining 501(c)(3) status.
Through her continued community involvement and years of work in the advertising industry prior to her legal career, Kathie focuses on placing the values of her clients first. In providing excellent service to the individuals and businesses with whom she works, Kathie develops close relationships with her clients, many of whom are her neighbors and businesspeople in and around the Edwardsville community. She acts as a great resource for these clients and takes their goals on as her own, as she works to assist in the legal matters they face.
Outside the office, Kathie loves spending time with her daughters and husband, whether it’s going out to eat or entertaining at home, as long as she doesn’t have to cook. Kathie and her husband, Chad Opel, also run Edwardsville Neighbors in Need, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping local families suffering from a medical or emergency crisis.
Bar Admissions

-Illinois
-Missouri
-U.S. District Court: Southern District of Illinois
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U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Missouri

Education
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Saint Louis University School of Law, J.D.
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Civil Litigation Concentration
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Dean's Scholarship; Madison County Bar Association Scholarship
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, B.S.
    
Mass Communications

Professional Associations
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Illinois Bar Association
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American Bar Association
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Madison County Bar Association
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The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

Community Involvement
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Edwardsville Neighbors in Need – President and Co-Founder
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Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education – Board Member
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