Pamela Bartlett is the Owner/Director of Fun at Pinot's Palette in Naperville. She serves as the owner, marketer, and operator of the paint-and-sip franchise, utilizing her networking, business management, people, and leadership skills. Bartlett's franchise has received a number of awards, including Naperville Magazine's Best of Naperville, Glancer Magazine's Reader's Choice Award for Customer Service, and several Pinot's Palette's Golden Brush Awards for top sales. Pinot's Palette prides itself on giving back to the community by hosting and donating to fundraisers. Prior to owning Pinot's Palette, Bartlett spent more than 25 years working in a business environment with experience in marketing, sales, database management, and social event management.

Mary Degner is the founder of MJ Degner Photography, based in Naperville, IL. A professional photographer who is passionate about creating impactful natural light portraits, landscapes, and nature, her interest in photography began in high school when she started capturing images on family vacations. She continued to pursue photography as an avid hobbyist while growing her corporate event management career. After experiencing a reduction in demand for corporate event management due to Covid, Mary decided to take the leap and open her own photography business in 2020. Coming from a very entrepreneurial family background, she was more than familiar with the positives and challenges of managing a small business. But, by combining her corporate business and client services experience as a solid base with her love of photography, the journey has been rewarding and enjoyable. MJ Degner Photography prides itself on providing professional portraits for some of the most important events in her clients’ life: Senior Portraits (high school and college), legacy Family Portraits, Maternity Portraits, Engagement/Couples Portraits, and small Personal Events. In addition, the studio offers Headshot Sessions for both corporate and creative professionals, as well as a variety of corporate projects, including seminars, conferences, and client appreciation events. Her sessions are personalized, fun, and relaxed; she makes it a priority to listen to and understand her client’s needs and ideas. She then crafts the tailored experience, and walks her client through all of their session details from beginning to end, making the process as easy and carefree for them as possible. In addition to portraiture, Mary loves creating landscape and nature fine art images that are vibrant and dramatic. Each fine art image is created with the purpose of intimately connecting the viewer to her image’s subject - whether it be a majestic mountain range or the close-up of a vivid floral - inspiring enjoyment and reflection. Conveniently, her fine art is available for purchase directly through her website. MJ Degner Photography also offers commissioned fine art projects to enhance a home and/or business environment. Travel, Nature, Life: her business tagline signifies how all of her images are meant to convey a story, and to inspire and transport the observer into a joyful frame of mind.

Steven P. Eschbach, CBI, CFA, CFC, is the President of Eschbach Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Transworld Business Advisors of Naperville (www.tworld.com/naperville).

Outside of this business ownership, Steve is a Senior Commercial Broker with Caton Commercial Real Estate Group (www.catoncommercial.com), a family-owned Naperville brokerage and property management business.

Steve has over 40 years of mergers and acquisitions experience in various financial executive roles with Fortune 1000 companies. He has been involved in dozens of transactions ranging in size from less than $100,000 to over $20 billion.

His expertise spans many industries, including but not limited to energy, healthcare, technology, retail, entertainment, manufacturing, and construction, as well as franchise sales and franchise development.

Steve has been involved in a number of national industry and nonprofit organizations and is recent past Board President of the Career & Networking Center based in Naperville. He is also an active member of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce since 2016, currently a co-chair of Ambassadors Committee (recipient of the 2023 Ambassador of the Year for outstanding efforts) and co-chair of the Small Business Owners Roundtable.

A frequently requested speaker on subjects such as executive job transition, business development networking, optimizing corporate value and effective communications with investors, Steve is also written and published two books, one of them an Amazon Best Seller - , and hosts a video/audio podcast, Building Better Businesses

A Chartered Financial Analyst since 1989, Steve holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of Connecticut and an MBA in Investment Finance from the University of Hartford. He is a registered business broker and licensed real estate professional in Illinois, a licensed life and health insurance producer in Illinois, a Certified Business Intermediary through the International Business Brokers Association, and a Certified Franchise Consultant with the International Franchise Professionals Group.

Steve and his wife, Kathy, have lived in Naperville since 2007. In his spare time, Steve enjoys golfing and spending time with his three children and seven grandchildren.

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"I love to help others reach the goals that they never thought were possible. Leading others to persevere is what drives me" - Jason Frano

As the Managing Director for the Naperville office, Jason is responsible for the growth and development of his financial advisors and teams. In addition to this, he runs his own personal financial advising practice.

Jason joined Northwestern Mutual in 2014 after several years in sales for Toyota Corporation. During his first few years with our firm, he quickly rose to success, becoming "rookie of the year" during his first year, and quickly surpassing many sales milestones. He ranked among the top 50 new advisors throughout the nation in his first few years.

Because of his extensive sales and leadership background, Jason became a leader in his office almost immediately. He was first a College Unit Director for our internship team. After that, he transitioned into a Field Director role, where he developed and led teams of advisors in their first five years.

Throughout his tenure at Northwestern Mutual Chicagoland, Jason has led teams and counseled advisors while building a successful financial advising practice of his own. He is consistently pushing to reach the next level for himself and his teams.

In January of 2020, he became the Managing Director in Naperville.

Jason leads all advisor production, recruiting efforts, and our internship program for the Naperville office.

As a leader, Jason enjoys serving others and watching them reach success. He is passionate about leading growth and always pushing toward success within his teams. Jason is dedicated to holding his teams to the same standards as he holds himself to.

Frano and his wife, Janet, live in Lombard with their two sons Ryan and Chase. Jason enjoys running marathons and coaching his son's basketball and baseball games.

Proud to be in the insurance and financial services industry since 1992. My knowledge and client experiences assist in creating customized programs. My goal is to educate and empower my clients with understandable options to take control of protecting and growing their assets. I focus on relationship building and individualized protection. Protect your Auto, Business, Home, Health, Retirement and Life with the Angela A. Lucania Agency.

Allan is a Bank Manager for BMO. He works with small business owners to help with their cash flow, payment processing, and online treasury services. BMO is boldly growing the good, in business and in life, by assisting their communities on matters related to all things banking, retirement planning, lending solutions, and business management. Allan has over 20 years of experience in the banking environment. Allan attended Benet Academy as well as the University of Illinois. Allan spends his summers golfing and working in his garden, where he makes various hot sauces, crushed spices, and pasta sauce. In the wintertime, he spends his time at the bowling alley, still in search of that elusive 300. Allan grew up in the Naperville Area and currently lives in Plainfield with his wife Jennifer.

Yuvia joined Primacy Business Center in November 2023 and serves as its general manager. A graduate of Carthage College with a BA in finance and minor in economics, Yuvia oversees all services for Primacy’s real office and virtual office clients. She also manages staff and scheduling at its nearly 16,000-square-foot suite in the Calamos Investments building and holds financial accountability for the business.

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in home-based businesses, yet many entrepreneurs still seek to separate home life from work life. For some, this means a full-time or part-time physical office with available administrative support and equipment. For others who prefer remote work, Primacy’s Virtual Office Suite offers the credibility of a mailing address in a recognized office center, live and professional telephone greetings, and well-appointed meeting rooms.

Yuvia and her team also provide services and facilities à la carte, such as remote administrative assistance or occasional conference room or day office rentals for meetings ranging from client presentations to personnel interviews. Primacy’s meeting rooms are also popular among DuPage attorneys and court reporters, offering a neutral deposition space within the county.

Launched in 1998 by Mae Calamos as a provider of full-service executive office suites in Naperville, Primacy has evolved with the modern workplace to become a premier provider of virtual office and virtual assistant services. Known for its quality reputation, Primacy’s suite at 2020 Calamos Ct. is nearly 94 percent occupied. As part of the Calamos family of businesses, Primacy upholds the care and quality that is a hallmark of the Calamos family tradition.

Alexis Skigen Rago, the Big Kahuna at Marketing Mana LLC, coaches established small business owners to feel empowered with their marketing strategy and create powerful connections with their ideal clients. Immersive-style collaborative sessions address marketing goals, business core values, mission statements, vision, branding, customer segmentation, messaging, SMART goals, strategic marketing plans, action plans, and more. Unforgettable Introductions: Attract Your Dream Clients and Network Fearlessly is an online course for small business owners who want to network with confidence and clarity to build relationships that are meaningful to your business. The Work On Your Business Retreat provides an intense getaway to create marketing strategies in 3 days with a small group of business owners.

Alexis brings 25+ years of marketing expertise, working with companies of all sizes in various industries (33 and counting), including technology, eCommerce, retail, legal, financial solutions, insurance, real estate, health & wellness, coaching, and more. Alexis earned her MBA from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (Go Blue!).

Alexis enjoys showing up for herself so she can provide value to others, giving her dog belly rubs, traveling, exercising, cooking healthy foods, eating chocolate that’s worth it, and being a boy mom, daughter, friend, and volunteer. She wants to move back to her childhood home, Hawaii, so she can enjoy the outdoors all year without a winter coat.

I have been in the mortgage industry for over twenty years. I have seen the ups and the downs of this industry and one thing I learned is, no matter what, communication and customer service are the key to happy clients.

Getting a home loan has many steps, and some of them can appear to be tedious or overwhelming. My goal is to make the process as simple and user friendly as possible. I do this by implementing new technologies to upload your application and documents in a safe and secure manner. I also make sure every person associated with the loan transaction knows where we are at every step of the way.

People have many choices when it comes to obtaining financing these days. Clients and agents choose to work with me and my team at Key Mortgage Services because I over communicate and deliver AMAZING customer service, products and rates.

I am a graduate of DePaul University, longtime Northside of Chicago resident who now resides in Plainfield, devoted Auntie, weekend chef and step mom to 3 amazing boys.

I promise to always work hard for you and put the warm personal touch into your mortgage process.