Board Members

Amy Polefrone, MPA, SPHR is an experienced leader with more than 18 years of experience in management and human resources. She is the President/CEO of HR Strategy Group, LLC, a management and human resources consulting business that specializes in human resources advisory services, management consultations and coaching, customized training solutions, and career development services. Amy has extensive experience working with clients in government, telecommunications, insurance, education and small business start-ups.

Prior to starting HR Strategy Group, LLC, Amy taught political science as an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, held HR management positions at major corporations, and worked in various HR roles within government agencies.

Amy received her Masters in Public Administration from The American University in Washington, D.C., with a focus in international management and human resources. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and holds the Senior Professional in Human Resource Resources (SPHR) designation, the highest designation available to HR professionals.

Since moving to Maryland in June 2008, Amy is actively involved with various community and professional organizations. Her local community involvement includes:

• Entrepreneur's Exchange, Annapolis, MD. Member, October 2008-present. Board of Directors, June 2009-present.
  
• Howard County Human Resources Society, co-chairing the 2009 Job Fair committee, 2009-present.
  
• Howard County Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Council, 2009-present.
  
• Manor Woods Elementary School (library, classroom, PTA), 2008-present.
  
• Manor Woods Elementary School, Gifted & Talented Education Parent Representative, 2009-present.

Amy and her family live in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Brenda has worked for BankAnnapolis at the headquarters office since 1993. Prior to that, she was in retail management. She is currently a member of ABWA (American Business Women Association) serving on the Board, EE (Entrepreneurs' Exchange) and the Anne Arundel County Chamber. BankAnnapolis believes in customer relationships, and important decisions such as loan approvals aren't made by computers, but by local people who take more than just "the numbers" into account. The deposits that BankAnnapolis customers entrust to them are invested in property and businesses owned by your neighbors, helping to make the community a better place for all. You may contact Brenda directly at 410-224-4483 or via email at bspies@bankannapolis.com.

Joanne DeLoache is a partner of Innovative Insurance Solutions (IIS), an insurance agency with offices in Annapolis, Baltimore, BelAir and Pasadena, MD specializing in group health insurance and employee wellness benefits for Maryland businesses with between two and 200 employees. Joanne spent more than 20 years in various facets of the healthcare and insurance industries including management of corporate wellness programs & fitness centers including the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Freddie Mac, Internal Revenue Service and Department of Justice. She provided business development for specialty and regional insurance companies including Sheppard Pratt Health Plan and MAMSI/United Healthcare. Her first taste of entrepreneurship came when she started a gourmet specialty food business with a partner in 2003. She sold her interest and began a group health insurance agency, Promiserve Insurance, in 2007. Promiserve Insurance and IIS merged in November, 2010. Her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and graduate degree in Business are both from the University of Maryland.

Joanne is the mother of a teenager and active community volunteer. She is often involved in charity social events and supports the Anne Arundel Medical Center, Chesapeake Regional Tech Council, Lighthouse Shelter and others.

Following an extensive career in corporate sales and engineering, Rick O'Shea joined RE/MAX Allegiance in 2000. RE/MAX Allegiance is the largest RE/MAX in North America with over 1,100 Real Estate professionals servicing the Maryland, DC and Virginia markets. He has always been a "Top Producer", consistently exceeding budget and expectations while completing projects months ahead of schedule.

Mr. O'Shea's entrepreneurial roots date back more than fifteen years which included business partnerships with two land development companies and two construction firms. After moving to Maryland, Mr. O'Shea began selling real estate, bringing with him a unique combination of engineering, management and sales experience allowing him to see beyond the picket fences and dollar signs of the real estate industry. Mr. O'Shea's twenty years of corporate sales experience equipped him with the patience, confidence, and steadfastness to master complicated business negotiations to achieve the desired results.

Mr. O'Shea understands business management and entrepreneurship requires a proactive mentality and works hard to focus on the details of the business transaction mitigating and resolving problems during the planning stages. His proactive approach and genuine customer service practices have helped him build a thriving real estate business where 97% of his business is referral-based. In ten years, Mr. O'Shea has completed more than 400 real estate transactions.

Mr. O'Shea holds an Associate Broker's Real Estate license and earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University in New Jersey. He is a member of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, Entrepreneurs Exchange (Board Member), the Anne Arundel County Board of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors.

Beth Colley first became interested in résumé writing while working as a Career Consultant at a local non-profit agency that provided career training resources to dislocated workers. In August of 2004, following nearly five years of workforce development and careers industry training, she launched Chesapeake Résumé Writing Service. She pursued résumé writing training opportunities with some of the country's top industry professionals and earned her CPRW credential (Certified Professional Résumé Writer) through Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches in October of 2003 and her CFJST credential (Certified Federal Job Search Trainer) in December of 2004 which she renewed in Sept. 2009. In May 2009, she distinguished herself as one of only 20 professionals in the world by earning the Certified Expert Résumé Writer (CERW) credential from Career Directors International.

Since the launch of her business, Ms. Colley has conducted career search and résumé writing workshops throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan region and has had résumés and cover letters published in Expert Resumes for Baby Boomers, Designing the Perfect Resume, and Military to Civilian Resumes and Cover Letters, and Federal to Civilian Guidebook. Since starting her business, Ms. Colley has assisted hundreds of job seekers throughout the United States with individual résumé writing and job search coaching services.

She is quoted in multiple online and print resources including the Washington Post and Washington Examiner. She is also an expert career resource to thousands of sorority women across America as a Chi Omega alumnus. She is a member of multiple national professional résumé writing and career coaching associations including Career Director's International and Career Management Alliance along with local organizations such as the Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce, Entrepreneur's Exchange, and the Anne Arundel Society of Human Resource Managers, serving as a Board of Director's member for two years.

Ms. Colley utilizes the training, continuing education, and networking resources through these professional associations and others to ensure that her information, guidance, and résumés are accurate with current trends. Hiring practices are constantly changing, and technology has become an integral part in today's job search. She firmly believes that the one certainty in job search is that competition will always be fierce and that a properly formatted and well-written résumé will always provide the advantage job seekers need.

Ms. Colley has worked diligently in establishing a network of professional experts and resources such as executive coaches, career coaches, life coaches, business advisors, recruiters, and résumé distribution services. These partnerships help to provide value added services that job seekers can utilize on an individual basis. She has built her practice by working with a wide variety of job seekers including recent graduates, federal employees, senior managers, and corporate executives across a broad spectrum of industries. "To this day I have written résumés for sales executives, CEO's, CFO's, Divisional Presidents and Vice Presidents, pharmaceutical representatives, recent graduates, IT professionals, HR professionals, clergy, financial professionals, doctors, lawyers, nurses, college professors, researchers, musicians, police officers, Secret Service Agents, F.B.I. agents, teachers…almost any industry out there." She strongly encourages job seekers to utilize all avenues and contacts that are available during a job search to ensure success.

Ms. Colley is a graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, MS and enjoys spending time with her family, singing with the Singers Madrigale and other groups throughout Maryland.

Ann Alsina is a partner with Premier Planning Group, having joined the firm in 2005, and has worked in the industry since 2002. Prior to that, Ann spent over a decade in the automotive industry, advising automobile manufacturers on industry best practices, and assisting dealerships and dealer groups reach their full profit potential.

She is a registered representative and investment advisor representative of Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation, member SIPC, and has successfully completed the FINRA sponsored Series 7, 63 and 65 exams; she is also a licensed Life and Disability agent.

Ann is a graduate of the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida and is in the process of obtaining her Chartered Life Underwriter's certification (CLU). An active member of St. Mary's Church, Annapolis Business Professionals and Catholic Daughters of the Americas, she lives in Annapolis with her husband, a Naval Academy graduate, and two daughters. The Alsina family is often found feeding the ducks at City Dock, or interacting with the gorillas at the National Zoo.

Contact Ann at AnnAlsina@PremierPlanningGroup.com, 443.837.2527 or 410.349.6284 (cell).

Tuley Wright is principal with Wright Benefit Solutions, an employee benefits firm. Wright Benefit Solutions is primarily a small to mid-market insurance and employee benefits provider, specializing in saving businesses money on their employee benefits programs, while at the same time reducing their tax liability. Wright Benefit Solutions has assisted numerous companies in the Mid-Atlantic region by raising employee satisfaction and increasing the company's attractiveness to potential recruits at zero-cost to the employer, frequently actually improving the cash flow of the business.

Tuley has spent many years in both the insurance and transportation industries, and is the former principal of Columbia Transfer and Storage, a moving, storage, shipping and freight-forwarding firm based in Columbia Maryland. Tuley was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of London, and after spending his early childhood in the Virginia Beach area, spent his teenage years in London where his father worked at the US Navy Department annex of the American Embassy.

Tuley also serves on the Board of Directors of The Sales Promotion Association of Baltimore, the countries oldest sales promotion organization dating to 1940, and serves on the Board of Directors of The Virginians of Maryland, a long-established fraternal organization of transplanted Virginians, and is also active with Business Volunteers Unlimited. Tuley lives in Baltimore County with his wife Mary and son Spencer, and has another son, Tuley, who lives in Washington DC where he works as legislative assistant to a United States congressman.

Contact Tuley at tuleywright@wrightbenefitsolutions.com or 443-791-9440.

Steve Berry is an Instructional Specialist for Engaged Learning at Anne Arundel Community College. He teaches classes in Marketing, Entrepreneurial Thinking, Management and more. He also coordinates learning opportunities outside the classroom. For example, he runs the annual Business Plan Competition in which students compete for cash prizes and space in the AACC Student Business Incubator. Steve is the advisor to the Student Business Incubator and as such works with students who are starting and running businesses.

Steve is the advisor to the student-run Entrepreneur’s Club (E-Club) on campus. He helps bring in speakers to present ideas and information on starting, sustaining and running a business.

If you would like to learn how you can give back to the community by helping advise, guide, teach and/or mentor students at AACC please send Steve an email.

Steve Donovan was born an entrepreneur. A combination of his A.D.D. personality, "jack of all trades" natural ability and a few manager memories! Upon graduation from the University of Maryland, College Park, he worked MasterCard credit & collections with MBNA bank. His experience secured his next position as Division Credit Manager with Griffith Consumers Oil Company. For eight years he systematically advanced learning every aspect of operations and while 'Special Assistant to the President' found significant savings for the company through economies of scale. An LBO\acquisition sent most management back to the job market. Steve landed a sales role with Industrial Valley Title Company but in a few months the bank Savings & Loan crisis would hit. He accepted a management position at a privately held Baltimore based hospital receivables company. He grew that division tripling the staff, receivables base and clients. Receivables Management Inc.s owner hired his sons after lay offs and reluctantly let Steve go though he kept Steve voicemail greeting and pricing structure spreadsheets for years.

With a local headhunter's help, Steve became Corporate Account Executive with the American Trucking Associations. As the trucking industries national trade association in Alexandria, Virginia, he helped the management team restructure effectively propelling them to record membership & fundraising numbers. The success caught his headhunter's attention and Steve accepted as Director of Marketing with the Agriculture Council of America in Washington, DC. Perhaps the best group of individuals he'd ever worked with, ACA's President ambitiously embarked on a fundamental change counter to the mission. Steve stayed contractually, focusing on mission related program fundraising (FoodWatch & National Agriculture Day). In two years, he exceeded historic funding levels, but the organizations re-direction proved fatal. His trusty headhunter found a specialized staffing company in Baltimore (Accountants on Call) in urgent need. He joined 4 recruiters and a secretary as the lone salesperson and significantly grew the office in clients, profit and corporate stature. Executives at headquarters tasked Steve for help with the High Intensity Training (H.I.T.) program, an intensive new sales employee-training program.

Then came engagement, marriage and children. While on FMLA leave and with staffing industry revenues declining, he returned to find management obsessive with micro managing? Steve's focus is always on client expectations and he accepted a role handling marketing and staffing with NTI (IT firm in Baltimore founded by a college friend). He added independent sales and marketing consultation after many peers, friends and family had relied on his marketing ideas over time. One of those was his wife. Her decision to start a title abstracting business in 1997 got off the ground with his technical, sales and marketing assistance. Her company was growing faster than she could bank the money and he 'officially' joined around 2000. Today, Title One & Associates, Inc., has expanded from one to ten Maryland Counties and as it maneuvers through this historic housing & credit meltdown it's positioned to find that pot of gold just beyond the rainbow!

When Becky arrived to the east coast in late 2002, the concept of creating a personal service travel company came with her. In January of 2003 Personalized Travel Consultants was born. While with PTC Travel, Becky achieved many honors and awards such as Entrepreneur of the Year nominee from multiple chambers of commerce and our own Entrepreneurs Exchange Sprit of Entrepreneur Award recipient in 2005.

Most recently she was nominated for Women of the Year by Maryland's Capital Chapter of American Business Women's Association. Becky is also past co-president of that organization (2007/2008).

In early 2008 Becky merged her travel company with Best Connection Travel, who has been in the Annapolis community for over 20 years. She is focusing her travel expertise on destination weddings and honeymoons. She recently graduated from the Travel Institute's wedding and honeymoon specialty program.

In Becky's personal life, her love and passion is her husband, 3 children and yellow lab. She enjoys volunteering and sits on the board of two other non profit organizations including one she founded with her husband; Helping Hands of Maryland the Treakle Family Foundation. She is an advocate for Special Olympics and is a multi-year plunger in the Polar Bear Plunge.

Her philosophy givers gain is reflected in both her personal and professional life. Her goal for 2009 is to continue to 'pay it forward'.