2014 SLM Best Under 40

Suburban Life

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

| BEST UNDER 40

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People are the heart of Wood Dale CEO’s business

By MARY BETH VERSACI mversaci@shawmedia.com

D

an Arriola is a people person. At 38 years old, he is the CEO of iD Commerce + Logistics in Wood Dale, and he says it’s his focus on people that has made him – and his business – successful.

“It’s a focus on people, 100 percent on people – this sort of relentless pursuit of talent, trying to get the best talent we can on our team and organizing and retaining them,” Arriola said.

That focus also led one of his employees to nominate him for Suburban Life Media’s Best Under 40 recognition program.

Tim Mastrino, iD Commerce + Logistics’ talent acquisition specialist, works with Arriola in finding talented employees who are a good fit for the

company, which manages product inventory and distribution for other businesses.

Rather than being a hands-off CEO “up on a throne,” Arriola is active in every part of his business, pushing his employees to be their best, Mastrino said, describing why he nominated Arriola for the award.

“He’s really empowered me to feel comfortable enough to work with people who have been in the industry for 15 to 20 years,” he said.

Arriola started iD Commerce + Logistics with his brother, Ricky, in 1997.

Born to a family of entrepreneurs – his father owned his own printing business for 35 years – Arriola knew he wanted to carry

Dan Arriola

Photo provided by Michael Olsen

See HEART, page 14

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Dan Arriola …………………… 2 Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz 4 Michael Carpanzano ……… 6 Whitney Cimaglia ………… 7 Lesley Dawravoo …………… 8 Tricia DiCianni ……………… 8 Tracy Frizzell ………………… 9 Steve Golembiewski ………… 10

Erica Granada ………………

Joshua Jones …………………

Robert Knuepfer ……………

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sionals who are younger than 40 in Chicago’s western suburbs and who make significant contributions to their profession, company and community for an inaugural event and this Best Under 40 Suburban Life Media publication. Shaw Media is the parent company of Suburban Life Media.

CONTRIBUTORS

This section was produced by Suburban Life editors Alex Soulier, Anna Schier, David Good, Jes Spivak, Mark Busch, Mary Beth Versaci, Matthew Hendrickson, Ryan Terrell and Scott Helmchen; reporters Ed McMenamin, Dan Farnham, Evan Shields, Joe Sinopoli, Kristin Pedicini, Mari Grigaliunas and Nathan Lurz; copy editor Sarah Minor; photographer Erica Benson; and freelance contributor Zachary White.

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Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

| BEST UNDER 40

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Naperville businesswoman encourages Latina girls to pursue their dreams

By EVAN SHIELDS

eshields@shawmedia.com

J

acqueline Camacho-Ruiz began reading motivational books when she was a young girl. “I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” she said.

She decided to start her own marketing agency and founded JJR Marketing – a Naperville-based marketing and public

relations firm – in 2006 at age 23. It since has grown to a 13-person staff.

JJR mainly works with small- and medium-sized businesses but also has done some work with Fortune 500 companies.

Camacho-Ruiz, now 31, lives in North Aurora and wears several hats, including entrepreneur, speaker, author and, mostly importantly for her, mom.

She has two children, who inspired her to begin writing books after she was diagnosed with cancer at 21 and again at 23.

“It was a very difficult time,” she said.

But it ended up having a positive affect on her life. She wrote a book detailing her experiences and business tips. She said she wanted to leave a legacy for her kids, so they

estimates it’s about three months from getting off the ground and is working to secure funds.

The concept for the organization started last year around the time of her birthday. Camacho-Ruiz said she didn’t want to do anything big, but wanted to give back.

“I decided I was going to do something that would impact the community,” she said.

Instead of a party for her, she hosted one for 20 to 30 Latina girls at Medieval Times. They began sharing stories with Camacho-Ruiz, and she noticed their pain and doubt.

The girls also shared their dreams. One 16-year-old who hadn’t gotten a quinceañera – a traditional Latin 15th birthday celebration – wanted to be a princess for a day.

Camacho-Ruiz decided to make that dream come true, taking the girl on a plane ride, a trip in a fancy car and a $250 shopping spree, as well as giving her a quinceañera at Medieval Times, which 166 guests attended.

“It was the most beautiful experience,” she said. “She was blown away.”

Laura Pietrzak, who works at JJR Marketing and nominated Camacho-Ruiz for Suburban Life Media’s Best Under 40, said she is “amazing.”

“Her efforts have helped dozens of companies become vibrant, focused and growing entities,” Pietrzak said in the nomination letter.

Camacho-Ruiz was born in Mexico City and moved to the United States at 14. She has an associate’s degree in marketing from College of DuPage and a Toastmasters International Certification.

She’s also sits on boards for the DuPage Foundation and the YWCA, often speaks at colleges and universities for free and enjoys running races and doing triathlons.

“I’m grateful to be in the position I am,” she said. “I think the biggest gift I have is the positivity I bring to people.”

Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

would know about their mother, should something happen.

After the book was published, companies began contacting Camacho-Ruiz about speaking engagements.

After each engagement, she got higher profile gigs. Now, she’s written six books and is in the middle of a national tour promoting her most recent work.

Writing, she said, has “completely taken my life to a new level.”

Camacho-Ruiz is in the process of starting a nonprofit to benefit Latina girls. She Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com

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BEST UNDER 40 |

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Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

| BEST UNDER 40

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Bolingbrook Chamber’s Carpanzano building on already successful career

By RYAN TERRELL

rterrell@shawmedia.com

A

sk Michael Carpanzano what his secret for success is and he’ll give you a formula for humility.

“It’s kind of odd, but really, it’s all about toning down your pride and ego,” said Carpanzano, the 28-year-old executive director of the Bolingbrook Area Chamber of

Commerce. “Pride and ego can get in the way of success. If you can keep them down and facilitate relationships, people are more likely to come back to you. No one is too small or insignificant. We’re all in this together.”

As the leader of the Bolingbrook chamber, Carpanzano works with leaders of businesses of all sizes. Giving each of them – no matter the size – equal time and consideration as members of the chamber is key, he said.

Humility shouldn’t come easy for the Joliet resident.

Two years ago, he was named to the Bolingbrook Chamber’s top spot at just 26 years old, instantly becoming one of the top up-andcomers in the west suburban business community.

He learned the keys to leadership through his education – he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business

Michael Carpanzano

administration from the University of St. Francis – and the launch of his professional career when he was just a teenager.

Carpanzano ascended from an entry-level customer service associate to an assistant vice president/banking center manager at MB Financial Bank, where he worked from 20052013.

At MB Financial, he honed relationshipbuilding and branding skills that carried over Ryan Terrell - rterrell@shawmedia.com

to his role with the chamber.

“Building relationships was what I did with [MB Financial], and building that brand was really no different than helping businesses here in Bolingbrook grow. Whether it’s relationships with nonprofits, government officials, townships, the park district or the library – those relationships have helped form who I am and have helped me become a center of influence,” Carpanzano said.

Those skills will carry over to a new role for the 28-year-old.

In October, he will leave the chamber’s top spot to become regional director of sales with Will County-based physical therapy practice PT Solutions, a move born through relationships as chamber director, he said.

“I worked very closely with [PT Solutions]. Relationships had formed and they made me an offer ... It’s an opportunity I couldn’t not take,” he said in August.

Is his youth an advantage over his colleagues in the business sector?

“Advantage is a strong word.

I don’t look at it as age but more about what you bring.

I think it gives me different communications tactics, and youth in general leads to different types of conversations. That enthusiastic smile or the positive attitude, I think, goes a long way for me,” he said.

While already one of the most accomplished young business leaders in the western suburbs, Carpanzano eyes a greater role in his professional future.

“The impact [the chamber] has had on a macro level has been tremendous, but I am young enough to aim higher. I would love to eventually be in a communications role on a larger statewide or national basis,” he said, mentioning campaign work as a possibility.

For now, he’s busy planning for his new role with PT Solutions and a new bride – he’s planning a wedding with fiancée, Nadia. They were engaged in June and are planning a fall 2015 wedding.

I

t seems anywhere Whitney Cimaglia goes in Lombard, she runs into someone she knows.

That’s exactly how she likes it. Cimaglia is a people person, whether she’s working for a local bank, volunteering for local charities or shopping at the local grocery store.

“My husband for the last few years calls me the mayor,” she said.

The 28-year-old Lombard native, however, has no plans of running for public office anytime soon. She’s perfectly happy right where she is in her professional journey.

“I don’t think I’d want to move up anymore and lose the face-toface interaction,” she said.

As vice president/branch sales manager for Republic Bank in Oak Brook, Cimaglia said she works directly with owners of small and moderate businesses to help them achieve their financial goals.

“I know my customers by name and I know what their business is and maybe about their family life and what keeps them up at night,” she said.

Banking is just one element of what roots Cimaglia in the community. She’s the board secretary at Tri-Town YMCA, she serves Meals on Wheels for the DuPage Senior Citizens Council and she rings the Salvation Army bell outside Yorktown Mall.

And she’s not just a member of the Lombard Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She’s the president.

Cimaglia was sworn in as president in January and said the first few months were challenging as she adjusted to the position. She credited members of the executive board with helping her find her footing.

“I don’t even think I knew what the chamber was until maybe five or six years ago so I definitely didn’t expect it,” she said of being president.

Now, nearly nine months into

gladly continue the mission.

Joining the chamber as a 24-year-old proved to be an important step in her professional career. Despite being the youngest member, she said she immediately was welcomed by the others.

“Nobody ever treated me like some young kid that didn’t know about life,” she said.

Cimaglia hopes to extend that welcoming environment to others

ing professionals when they’re even younger – sometimes much younger. Cimaglia has taught kindergartners and second-graders in Lombard as part of the Junior Achievement program and mentored a high school job shadower.

After piling up an impressive list of accomplishments before age 30, there’s still one title Cimaglia, who lives in Lombard with her husband, Eric Voelker, hopes to

Whitney Cimaglia

Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com

the job, she said she’s comfortable with her role and setting goals for the chamber’s future.

Attracting more members and expanding into neighboring communities are among Cimaglia’s goals before the end of her one-year term. And if they want her to stay on as president another year, she said she’d

in the same situation. One idea is to create a chamber networking group specifically for young professionals.

“I think it would be a nice program because there are young people who attend networking functions that don’t feel as welcomed as I did.”

She also works with aspir-

earn one day.

“I sure would like to be a mom someday. That’s probably a bigger job than anything else I’m doing right now.”

Then she might be ready for that run at public office.

“Who knows, maybe my husband’s right. Maybe I will be mayor,” she said with a laugh.

SLM • September 25, 2014 • mysuburbanlife.com • Suburban Life

By DAVID GOOD

dgood@shawmedia.com

BEST UNDER 40 |

Lombard chamber president takes success to the bank

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Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

| BEST UNDER 40

Elmhurst mom helps clients feel at home

By MARI GRIGALIUNAS

mgrigaliunas@shawmedia.com

T

Lesley Dawravoo Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com

Hinsdale doctor building relationships through medicine

By ED MCMENAMIN

M

emcmenamin@shawmedia.com

edicine is a science, but the art of building relationships with patients can often be just as an important for a physician.

That’s especially true for gastroenterologists and hepatologists such as Hinsdale resident Dr. Lesley Dawravoo. Physicians in her field diagnose and treat a variety of notoriously difficult to identify conditions such as Hepatitis C in the liver or Crohn’s disease in the gastrointestinal track.

“You really need to make a close relationship with your physician to figure out what is going on,” she said. “And sometimes, yes, that can be challenging.”

Many people with Hepatitis C can live with the condition for years without symptoms and without knowledge of the affliction. That can cause serious repercussions such as liver failure down the road.

“If people have Hepatitis C that is not diagnosed, it can go on to end-stage liver disease that would eventually require a liver transplant,” she said. “If patients are [diagnosed in time], they can actually be completely cured and lead a normal life.”

Dawravoo lives in Hinsdale with her husband Kevin Dawravoo, who also is a

physician, and their children. She sees and treats patients at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and Hinsdale Ambulatory Care Clinic in Hinsdale.

The 34-year-old compiled an impressive resume even before settling into her clinical practice.

While in medical school at Loyola, she was chosen as chief resident. Three years later, she became the chief of gastrointestinal fellowship. During training, she published medical chapters, research papers and made scientific presentations at several national and regional medical conferences.

Her practice, along with Northwestern and University of Chicago, are the only practices in Chicago to perform clinical studies, advancing the treatment of Hepatitis C, helping to create a new standard of care for patients across the country.

She also is one of the few gastrointestinal physicians who works with Access DuPage, a nonprofit medical organization that treats uninsured patients in DuPage County. In addition, Dawravoo is the youngest teaching volunteer for Hinsdale Family Practice Residency program.

She said following her positive experience as a resident, she knew she would want to incorporate teaching into her career.

“I think what I like most about teaching is just being a role model and being somebody they can come to for both medical advice and personal advice,” she said. “There was a lot people I looked up to and went to for medical advice. I want to be that person.”

o Tricia DiCianni, Elmhurst has always been her home, which is why she loves helping others make the city their home as well.

“It’s so easy to sell because I really believe in it,” said the 36-year-old president and founder of DiCianni Realty.

When she decided to open her own real estate company at 26, she didn’t consider other locations.

She chose Elmhurst where she and nearly all of her six siblings live within blocks of each other.

When DiCianni, found out her brother, Pete, had nominated her for Suburban Life Media’s Best Under 40, she was humbled.

“I’m not used to being in the limelight,” she said.

Her brother believed she deserved recognition for her business accomplishments and dedication

Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com

to her hometown.

While she’s grateful for the honor, DiCianni insists many others have worked just as hard as she has.

Entrepreneurship runs in the family, and DiCianni said her brother, Pete, set an example for her when he started his own printing business at age 18.

“I really didn’t even think of working for anybody else,” DiCianni said of choosing to open her own business as a single mom.

With a broker’s license, two associates degrees – one in paralegal studies and one in science – and a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science, Tricia was prepared for the challenge of launching her business.

“I would say the biggest challenge was being taken seriously,” she said.

Despite her qualifications, pride in Elmhurst and ambition, she found many people couldn’t look past her age and gender.

“I had to earn a lot of respect,” said DiCianni, who received several requests to leave her business and work for another company.

The Internet has proven

See MOM, page 9

Tricia DiCianni

• MOM

Zachary White - For Shaw Media

Hinsdale woman’s nonprofit helps youth with personal finance

By ZACHARY WHITE

S

editorial@mysuburbanlife.com

aving for retirement and spending less money than you earn seem to be prudent, if not obvious, steps to take when handling personal finances. But Tracy Frizzell, executive director of the Economic Awareness Council, said financial foresight doesn’t come easy for everyone.

That’s why the Hinsdale resident and some of her colleagues founded the Economic Awareness Council in 2003 – to teach children and young adults how to save and spend their money in a fiscally responsible way.

Frizzell works with a variety of students – from young children to young adults heading to college – with the goal of educating those young learners to understand that they too can be financially successful and save money.

“Our real focus, and kind of growth, is on serving low income families and low income youth,” she said.

However, Frizzell said one of the problems that many of the children she works with face is a lack of knowledge regarding what is out there as a resource for them.

When she asks her students – many of whom have recently received their first paycheck – what they plan to do with their money, they are eager to go cash it.

“The neighborhoods in which we work, there are many more check cashing establishments than there are banks,” Frizzell said.

Using funds allocated by the city of Chicago, she once polled her students to try and find out what they thought about saving, and what saving meant to them.

“About half of them thought that there weren’t any banks that would want to work with them,” Frizzell said. “They thought that it was something for somebody that was older and had more resources.”

She tries to teach her students they need to save, that saving for college or emergencies is important.

“It’s all about teaching them to save first, to budget, to figure out wants and needs,” she said. “Simple things, but again, it’s new to a lot of them.”

During the early days of the eco-

nomic Awareness Council about nine years ago, Frizzell said the plan was to found it as a small volunteer company.

“Maybe an hour or two a month, and some of us, whoever had free time, would go out and do a presentation and then we would call it a day and that would be it,” she said.

“We never really anticipated that it would go farther than that.”

But the organization’s reach spread exponentially, serving more people than Frizzell could have ever imagined. The Economic Awareness Council worked with 50 students when it was first founded, but now the agency serves more than 20,000 annually.

“It kind of has been a fast but steady progress,” she said. “For a long time it was just myself and volunteers.

“There hasn’t been one year where a lot of growth happened at once, there has just been a lot of growth each year for many, many years.”

She said she owes the growth and success to the donations and support she received.

The Economic Awareness Council’s mission is to prepare students and families for the economic and financial decisions they will make today and tomorrow.

SLM • September 25, 2014 • mysuburbanlife.com • Suburban Life

Tracy Frizzell

a valuable tool for DiCianni, who attracts clients from out of town and out of state by posting photos and details about homes she is listing on the market. She also targeted new construction and worked with builders while she was breaking into the business.

Channeling her strong family values into her professional life, DiCianni said she always values relationships over money.

“One of the things that I base my business on is it’s not necessarily money-driven,” DiCianni said of why she’s succeeded for 10 years in a market full of other real estate firms.

“I would say family is what I do. That’s the biggest part of my life,” she said Her brother, Pete, didn’t just inspire her business aspirations but also led her to get involved with local nonprofits dedicated to serving children.

She served on the board for the Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation for several years before she took a position on the board of Special Kids Day. “I think there’s nothing more rewarding in life than being with kids and working with kids,” DiCianni said.

She’s found she especially enjoys working to provide opportunities for children with special needs and their families.

Special Kids Day features carnivals and other celebratory events specifically designed to accommodate children with special needs.

“I think once you’re around kids with special needs you want to help, and you want to do more,” DiCianni said.

When she’s not busy at work or volunteering her time, Tricia loves spending time with her husband Steve Buonsante and her three children, John, Stefano and Elisa.

“My biggest accomplishment in life is being a mom,” she said.

BEST UNDER 40 |

Continued from page 8

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Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

| BEST UNDER 40

10

Park District employee is active in business, youth programs

By ALEX SOULIER

asoulier@shawmedia.com

S

teve Golembiewski’s passion for the outdoors sprouted when he was a young child growing up in central Wisconsin.

A native of Neillsville, Wis., a small town of less than 3,000 people that is fondly known as the the home of the world’s largest talking cow – a mammoth statue that was part of the state’s contribution to the 1964 World’s Fair – Golembiewski said some of his fondest memories were spent playing sports and exploring the natural world.

“We didn’t have video games or anything like that,” the Westmont resident said.

“So at every opportunity, we we played sports or we were outdoors hiking in the woods by my family’s home.”

The innate bond with the north woods and his love for

Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com

sports are sentiments that he’s carried with him ever since – from an adventure travel class he took while attending college to becoming a pitcher for the Winona State University baseball team.

It’s impacted his career, too, as he was hired as Westmont Park District recreation coordinator about seven years ago.

The now 30-year-old Golembiewski has excelled during his career with the Park District, branching out to the local business and theatre communities, serving on local committees, founding and overseeing youth programs, and racking up award and recognition’s along the way.

As a result, Golembiewski was promoted to Park District assistant superintendent of recreation in 2012, a position that still allows him to wear a variety of hats and participate in a wide range of initiatives.

“Every day is different, which is a good thing because I’m not a big fan of sitting still,” Golembiewski said. “Having so many roles keeps me moving and keeps me busy. During my time

See YOUTH, page 11

Steve Golembiewski

Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com

Erica Granada

Lyons Township High School teacher is an unsung hero

By KRISTIN PEDICINI

kpedicini@shawmedia.com

W

hen she’s not functioning as a program coordinator for the Special Education department at Lyons Township High School, 35-year-old Erica Granada is serving on the board for the Chicago English Bulldog Rescue organization, raising two teenage daughters and renovating her home.

With her many different hats, Erica was recently nominated for the My Suburban Life, Best Under 40 by her husband, Gerry. He said his wife and other teachers are the unsung heroes. “[Teachers] are behind the scenes,” Gerry Granada said. “And I thought it’d be great if she was recognized for the things she’s doing because she does all that and then she does the bulldog thing and all the [house design].”

Gerry Granada explained that even with such a demanding job, Erica still comes home with energy to work at the house, raise their daughters and participate on the board with the bulldog rescue organization.

Being nominated came as a strange event, according to Erica Granada.

“I don’t see what I do as any different as

anybody else,” Erica said. “All you can do is yourself ... For me, I’m just doing me. I guess, different strokes for different folks.”

Erica, who began her career as a high school Spanish teacher, said what she loves most about her job at LT is that no two days are alike.

“It’s just different and that’s what I love about it,” she said. “I love working with families and I love working with the students.”

On top of her hours teaching at school, Erica spends a lot of time rehabilitating her Countryside home. Recently, she’s built a hen house in her yard, designed and renovated her kitchen, created a Japanese garden in the backyard and all the home’s landscaping.

“I’m just very blessed to have a lot of different passions and a lot of things that I find fulfilling,” Erica said. “So for me, it’s not about doing this and that, it’s the things I enjoy doing.”

When she’s not redesigning her home or in the classroom, Erica is working with the Chicago English Bulldog Rescue organization. Along with raising their own bulldog, the Granadas also are fostering a bulldog through the group.

“It’s super rewarding,” she said. “You get back 10,000 times of what you give.”

Whether it’s working with the bulldogs, students or renovating her house, Erica said her love for what she does is what keeps her going.

“At the end of the day, it’s only work if you’d rather be doing something else,” Erica said.

• YOUTH

Mortgage banker’s motto: To be successful, work hard and give back

By MATTHEW HENDRICKSON

J

mhendrickson@shawmedia.com

oshua Jones is what you would call a hometown boy.

He moved to Riverside when he was 4, and despite a few years away at college and first starting his career, he hasn’t been away for long.

“I never wanted to get out of town,” he said. “I love this area.

I always wanted to come back.”

He attended A.F. Ames School and then Hauser Junior High in Riverside before moving on to ad graduating from Riverside Brookfield High School.

While most kids are interested in becoming doctors, firefighters or police officers, Jones said he always wanted a career in business and later found his calling in banks and the world of mortgage finance. “[Banks] are the back bone of the economy,” Jones said. “Everyone needs [to interact with one] at some point.”

Jones said he learned early on from his parents that if you want something in life, you need to go for it. He was never allowed to sleep in as a kid, which is why he didn’t mind waking early in the morning for his high school job at the Riverside County Club as a caddy. In addition to teaching him how to work hard, Jones said his job as a caddy also

introduced him to people who would influence his later career path.

“You’re surrounded by doctors, lawyers and bankers,” he said. “And being a caddy makes you want cash.”

While growing up in Riverside, he also was a committed member of the Boy Scouts, which he said taught him that if you have free time, do something with it. It also taught him to give back. For his Eagle Scout project, Jones cleaned up the RB football field of litter and weeds.

His family was never wealthy, but never went without, he said. His father, who worked as a school teacher in Chicago’s public schools, taught him the importance of education and a sense of the struggles that people can face that are outside of their control.

That’s part of the reason he said he and his wife, Michelle, who nominated him for Suburban Life’s Best Under 40, work to give back to their community each year. Jones met his wife for the first time at age 13 and they started dating in high school.

His brother introduced him to a mortgage banker when he was 22 and that’s when he decided that would be his calling. At it’s most basic, Jones said, being a mortgage banker is about making people’s American dream come true.

In the years since, he’s established his own business, a branch of Mortgage Master, and has never tired of the thrill when a young couple comes into his office to sign their final paperwork. Jones has been consistently recognized in his industry

for his performance and was profiled in Chicago Agent magazine’s “Who’s Who of 2014,” and was nominated for National Mortgage Profession Magazine’s “Most Connected Mortgage Professional” award.

When hardship hit the mortgage banking field around 2008 as the housing market collapsed, he started to see people he’d long worked with, and for, getting laid off. The time was hard for Jones too and there was a month when he didn’t receive a paycheck, since he was working on commission.

“When you go a month without a paycheck, it changes you,” he said.

It also led him to try and help out others in financially tight situations.

It’s why he and his wife started the JM Foundation to help others in need of a little help to get by.

Jones and his wife now work to raise funds throughout the year so that they can support area families having a hard time. Last year, they adopted seven families through the foundation in Brookfield with a focus on people who had recently lost their jobs, or families where both parents work, but can’t get by on their two paychecks.

“We hope it helps them enough to start to get out from that hard place,” Jones said.

In the end, it helps the family and is a rewarding experience for him as well he said.

“If you want to be successful, be a good person,” he said. “Give back to your community. If it helps your community, it will help you. And work hard: If you die rested it’s not good.”

SLM • September 25, 2014 • mysuburbanlife.com • Suburban Life

Joshua Jones Matthew Hendrickson - mhendrickson@shawmedia.com

here, I have helped out with so many things, and I like the responsibility of contributing and watching the success of all these initiatives grow.”

Golembiewski said some of his most favorite responsibilities are overseeing the Park District’s kids and teen programs, helping found and produce the annual Frozen Film Festival and starting the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick event.

“It’s important to stay above the trend in terms of popularity,” Golembiewski said. “You can’t keep doing the same things because people, especially children and teens, will get bored.

You have to keep pushing the envelope or they will not come back.”

Additionally, Golembiewski is chair of the Park District’s Holly Days event, manages the annual haunted forest, oversees community service projects, is a Westmont chamber committee co-chair and is active in the Downtown Westmont Business Alliance.

In 2013, he was honored with the Illinois Park and Recreation Association Young Professional of the Year award. He also serves on the youth committee for Illinois Park and Recreation Association.

“I remain very active because my goal is always to continue to move up and improve personally and professionally,” he said.

“I want to reach the top, although I’m not quite sure where the top is, I just want to keep improving.”

At the moment, Golembiewski is thrilled to work with a tight-knit group at the Park District that he calls his extended family.

“Being a smaller Park District, its kind of like being welcomed into a second family,” he said. “You can talk to them on a professional and personal level.

“It’s great to come into work and see all these people you really care about.

They think of you as family you think of them as family.

Sometimes you don’t think of it as work because we are such a close bunch.”

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Hinsdale’s Kneupfer gives back through Wellness House initiatives

By ZACHARY WHITE

editorial@mysuburbanlife.com

Cancer affects everyone, which is the reason why Robert Knuepfer has decided to help those at the Wellness House in Hinsdale.

Knuepfer, a 34-year-old Hinsdale native who works in Chicago at the trading firm DV Trading, recently joined the board of the Wellness House, a cancer support group, in order to give back to the community he grew up in and to the people who are in need of help.

He said helping those in need isn’t just something he likes to do, it’s something he has to do.

“You have to,” he said. “If you’re so blessed and privileged, its a responsibility.”

When dealing with cancer, he said everyone needs a little help, because everyone is affected.

“I think one out of two men will get cancer in their life, one out of three women,” Knuepfer said.

“Cancer is something that affects everybody.”

The Hinsdale based Wellness House is neither a hospital nor a clinic, rather a welcoming home filled with people, and programs to help people suffering diagnosed with cancer. With support groups, classes, social events and much more, the nonprofit was built to give back the strength, community and control that cancer can take away, according to the Wellness House website.

Knuepfer explained the programs put on at the Wellness House, such as cooking and yoga and aerobics classes, don’t aim to just help people who are directly fighting cancer, they help everyone.

“But there’s also these other issues that you’re dealing with,” Knuepfer said “Your kids, or your parents or your spouse. The Wellness House offers all these

groups, one-on-one counseling and educational programs.

“All these different outlets to not only help the patient, but the patient and their families to get through this complex time in their lives.”

Knuepfer said the added bonus is that the Wellness House is located in town, at 131 N. County Line Road.

“And all of the programs are

to him than giving back and helping others is being around his family.

He and his wife both have family living in Hinsdale, so it was easy for him to come back to the neighborhood when he decided to settle down with his own children. He currently has two children with a third on the way.

Knuepfer said being home

Robert Knuepfer

Zachary White - For Shaw Media

programs to help assist with all the other things that happen in life, other than the cancer.”

Along with the healthy body and healthy eating classes, the Wellness House offers support

100 percent free,” he said. “All the finances come from outside [donations].”

The oldest of four children growing up in Hinsdale, Knuepfer said the only thing more important

with his family is one of the most important things to him.

“I try to get home by 6, have dinner with the kids, put them to bed, and just lay low,” he said “A pretty quiet lifestyle.”

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By DAN FARNHAM

dfarnham@shawmedia.com

She also is working on creating a foreign language outreach program for local middle school students, with some of her French students serving as ambassadors.

“I think it is very import-

Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com

See FRENCH, page 15

Courtney Mikulcik

Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com

Kristina Nemetz

Wheaton Park District employee brings enthusiasm and creativity to events

By NATHAN LURZ

I

nlurz@shawmedia.com

n Wheaton, hardly a month goes by without a major event created or co-sponsored by the local Park District. Jazz Fest, the Fourth of July, Shakespeare in the Park, the Reindeer Run – the list goes on.

Behind each one is Kristina Nemetz, the Wheaton Park District’s superintendent of marketing and special events.

“Her professionalism sticks out – she’s a leader,” said district Marking Director Margie Wilhelmi. “She is always bringing new ideas and new opportunities to the district and taking the time to make sure that things are done correctly.”

Nemetz started working at the district in 2008 as the catering manager at Arrowhead Golf Club – a position she said mainly meant “wedding planner.” She worked there until 2012 when she took her current role.

“I went to Arrowhead not knowing it was part of a Park District,” she said. “I thought I was just going to a bigger venue.”

Now her work with the district has become a calling, she said.

Since she started, the district’s event numbers have grown to include the Fun Run in

Color, Jazz Festival, Wine and Cultural Arts Festival, Light the Torch Run and Shakespeare in the Park in the last two years alone.

“The Downtown Wheaton Association approached the Park District for the wine and culture festival,” she said. “Apparently we have a pretty good reputation of hosting events.”

Part of that success is because of Nemetz’s work with the district’s many cohosts, Wilhelmi said.

“She works with a lot of our partners at a lot of the events, working with them closely to make sure the event is succeeding, not only for the Park District, but for their organization,” she said. “She’s always the first one to get involved with something new, getting involved with events when someone else could do it.

That’s her attitude and work ethic.”

Nemetz was quick to praise her coworkers.

“It’s just a few of us that work together, the special events team, and we just kind of run with it,” she said.

One of her favorite parts of her job with the district are the partnerships that offer a good experience for taxpayer attendees and raise awareness or funds for local groups and nonprofits, she said.

“It’s humbling, working with all these people and agencies, getting to build community,” she said. “I was in the private sector right out of college and I don’t know if I can ever go back.”

SLM • September 25, 2014 • mysuburbanlife.com • Suburban Life

C

ourtney Mikulcik is all things French at Hinsdale South High School.

In her seventh year at Hinsdale South, she is the school’s only French teacher, instructing everything from the basic class to Advanced Placement French 4.

Mikulcik is the sponsor of the Hinsdale South French Club and National French Honor Society, works with students on the National French Exam and celebrates National French Week.

ant for people to embrace other cultures and to have those connections,” Mikulcik said. “For me, French is the way that I’ve been able to do that and explore the Francophone culture in Canada, as well as in France, and see how the language is part of everything.”

Mikulcik credits Kelly Ercoli, her French teacher at Lemont High School, for inspiring her to become a French teacher.

“When I was younger, my dad did a lot of traveling to Quebec and Canada,” she said. “He would come home with little things that had some French words, so it really sparked my interest.

But I didn’t really have an opportunity to study language until I went to high school.”

She said Ercoli encouraged her to become a French tutor to other students.

“I really started to enjoy that interaction with other people and helping people learn new things,” she said.

Besides the language, her

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French teacher loves introducing students to new cultures

Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

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La Grange Realtor: ‘Community is like nothing I ever imagined’

By JOE SINOPOLI

jsinopoli@shawmedia.com

A

sk Tricia Riberto where she would like to be in the future and she’ll tell you right where she’s at is just fine.

It’s been three years since Riberto took on the role of managing broker/branch manager of the Coldwell Banker office in La Grange. In those years, it became the fastest growing real estate company in town.

Under Riberto’s leadership, volume is up 49 percent, Coldwell banker is No. 1 in units sold, has the highest increase in market share and is selling homes faster and at a higher average sales price that the previous year.

Originally from Orland Park, the La Grange resident comes from a long line of Realtors, including parents, grandparents, godfather and cousins.

“We’re just a real estate family,” she said. “When I was a kid I worked in real estate offices, answering phones, helping Realtor’s. It was a tradition to get a real estate license after college.”

A graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., Riberto has a degree in communications. She planned to go into public relations but instead followed the family tradition.

She began by managing her own real estate office with more than 50 Realtor affiliates. She earned Top Producer status by the Chicago Association of Realtors. In her role as office manager, Riberto said she only periodically will put on her sales hat to sell to friends and family. She said she doesn’t want to compete with her agents. “It’s not my business model,” she said.

Still there is something about the sales end that she misses.

“I miss the people, especially when you get established and start getting referrals,” she said. “You get close to some of these families and that I miss for sure.”

In the second year after Riberto took over the office, it has raised more than $14,800 for local charities.

Riberto has lived in La Grange for a little more than two years with her husband, Russ. They have two daughters, age 3, and an 18-week-old baby. Riberto said she love the town they call home.

“The sense of community is like nothing I ever experienced, or ever imagined,” Riberto said. “From the businesses to the families, there’s just a pride in supporting one another. There’s such a passion behind it.

“I love what I’m doing now,” she said. The agents here are fun and kind and helpful. … I’ve been very, very fortunate.”

Tricia Riberto

Matthew Hendrickson - mhendrickson@shawmedia.com

• HEART

Continued from page 2

on that same kind of spirit and go out on his own in the business world.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Xavier University in Cincinnati and recently completed Harvard Business School’s owner/ president management program.

A native of Miami, Arriola moved to the Chicago area because he recognized its location at the center of the country as a great place to do his kind of business.

While iD Commerce + Logistics originally started off as a company that fulfilled orders for printers, Arriola quickly recognized the potential in working with online retailers, as the online presence of many businesses grew in the late ’90s.

The 200,000-square-foot iD Commerce + Logistics warehouse at 1269 N. Wood Dale Road is filled with products from the major makers of toys, books, coffee, sports equipment and more. Arriola’s company houses these items at its site and then sends them to customers when they order them online.

The company employs about 100 people, and during the busy holiday season, that number triples through the addition of temporary workers.

ID Commerce + Logistics has been named a “Best Place to Work” several times by various publications, including Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune and more.

What helps to make the company a great place to work goes back to Arriola’s focus on people.

It’s all about finding the right people and placing them in the right positions, Arriola said of the business philosophy he’s developed over time. Doing his homework up front as a boss helps the company to avoid trouble down the line.

“I felt that if you can geat the people part right, that everything will fall into place,” he said.

• FRENCH

Tim Ritchey

Lisle lawyer has passion for helping others

By ANNA SCHIER

A

aschier@shawmedia.com

ttorney and Lisle resident Tim Ritchey said if he won the lottery tomorrow, he would keep practicing law for free.

Although he dreamed of becoming an accountant as a child, he found himself fascinated by the required law courses he took while studying finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

He now specializes in estate, guardianship and elder law in DuPage, Cook and Kane counties as a partner with the Chicago-based firm Peck Bloom.

Ritchey said he enjoys working in his area of expertise because people often leave his office happier than when they arrived.

“I really like giving back,” he said.

The 35-year-old graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law conducts

pro bono work for the Center for Disability and Elder Law, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and the 100 Club, where he provides legal assistance to families of fallen police officers.

Ritchey also helped create and promote SB 2955, a bill allowing civil recourse for victims of financially exploitive elder abuse. It was signed

by Gov. Pat Quinn in August.

“I think it will affect a lot of people’s lives,” he said.

Ritchey recently served as chairman of the Probate Practice Committee and president of the Chicago-Kent College of Law Young Alumni Council. He is involved with the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the DuPage County Bar Association, and he has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star in estate and trust litigation.

“Tim has made a name for himself in the legal community as being a great attorney,” said 13th District Cook County Commissioner, attorney and lobbyist Larry Suffredin, who nominated Ritchey for Suburban Life Media’s Best Under 40, in his nomination letter.

Ritchey is a member of the Lisle Area Chamber of Commerce and lives in Lisle with his wife, Amy Ritchey, a teacher, and their two children.

SLM • September 25, 2014 • mysuburbanlife.com • Suburban Life

Photo provided

French classes also are about teaching her students French culture.

“I try to use as many authentic resources as possible, whether it’s a video clip or a commercial or a song or a reading piece,” she said. “We start looking at ‘How is it different? How is it similar? What’s the perspective?’”

She uses her passion for food and cooking as part of the lessons, too, making crepes, cream puffs and croque monsieur.

“One of the things I like to do in the classroom is a cheese tasting because the variety of cheese that American students are exposed to is generally limited to white and orange,” she said.

Besides her students, Mikulcik also is a leader among French teachers in the area.

She has given presentations for the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages and the Illinois Council on Teaching Foreign Languages.

She is a Teachers for Assessment and Language Learning Illinois leader, serving as a ICTFL resource for area foreign language teachers.

Outside of her work, Mikulcik has a family with two young children to raise.

She said she has to set boundaries in order to balance her school and home lives.

“I’m committing myself to when I’m at school and when I’m at work, I’m 100 percent invested here,” she said. “I do have to bring my work home with me, and I set a time limit. Then I focus on myself and my family because that’s what makes me happy. When I get back to school, I’m reenergized and can go about my day.”

Mikulcik said she is honored and excited to receive the Suburban Life Best Under 40 award.

“It just warmed my heart that I was getting this award and that it reflects the love and passion I have for my craft and my students,” she said.

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Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • September 25, 2014 • SLM

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