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Executive Director
Trees, Water & People
Meet Sebastian
Sebastian Africano is proud to lead Trees, Water & People into its next 25 years of impact, as he starts his eighth year as Executive Director, and 21st year with the same organization. His work experience spans 15 countries in Latin America, Caribbean and East Africa, where he’s served communities by helping them protect and steward their natural resources. TWP maintains operations in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and with Native American Tribes in New Mexico, Colorado and South Dakota.
Sebastian is becoming a Small Giants regular and has applied much of what he learned from the Leadership Academy and at the annual Summits to his growing organization and staff of 16. Sebastian holds an MBA from Colorado State University (’17) and a BS in Marketing from Penn State University (’99).
Sebastian is a global expert in clean cooking for 2.5B people dependent on firewood. If you like to travel, ask Sebastian about his travel company, Travel with Purpose Tours!
Connect with Sebastian on LinkedIn.
CEO & Founder
Care Deeply Consulting
Meet Christopher
Christopher wants to see every business be a force for good in the world. He founded Care Deeply Consulting to develop the next generation of values-driven leaders so that people-first businesses can grow and succeed.
While conscious business owners are shaping the future of business, they cannot do it alone. They need a team of leaders around them to bring their altruistic visions into reality. Christopher and his team coach, train, and facilitate hard-working managers into high-performing leaders who will lead their people-first businesses into the future.
Prior to launching Care Deeply, Christopher spent almost two decades as an engineering leader where he learned that you can fill a room with the smartest people in the world but if they aren’t working together as a team then it doesn’t really matter. He later became an instructor with Dale Carnegie Training where he discovered that people support a world they help to create. Now, in addition to running Care Deeply, he works tirelessly to advance employee ownership, the B Corp movement, and business as a force for good.
Christopher has illustrated two books authored by his wife. And ask him to teach you West Coast Swing from his former life as a dance teacher!
Connect with Christopher on LinkedIn.
COO
John Burns Research and Consulting
Meet Devyn
Devyn oversees daily operations for John Burns Research and Consulting to ensure they are equipped to best support their clients and partners nationwide. As the COO, she is dedicated to scaling their people and operations to align with long-term company goals by leveraging technology, maximizing resources, and cultivating a thriving company culture. Devyn is also a national housing expert who provides clients and associates with the most timely and accurate insights into current and future market trends and conditions.
If you didn’t know, Devyn is a former NBA dancer for the Denver Nuggets. And she’s still involved in professional sports because she is married to a professional hockey coach (Go WILD). Make Devyn’s day by sharing your favorite motivational quotes or recommend an inspiring TED Talk for her to check out.
Connect with Devyn on LinkedIn.
Founder & CEO
Starstuff Travel, LLC
Meet Stacey
Stacey Cabell is a dedicated entrepreneur, travel expert, and speaker with 13 years of experience in the travel industry. As the founder of Starstuff Travel, she has built a thriving business that helps travel agents grow and step outside their comfort zones. Stacey’s journey has been marked by resilience, overcoming anxiety, depression, and personal challenges to become a successful business owner and motivational speaker. She’s passionate about sharing her story to inspire others to break through their own barriers and create the life they truly deserve. She hopes to inspire others, leaving people motivated, empowered, and ready to take bold action toward their personal and professional growth.
Be sure to ask about her travel adventures and the reality TV docuseries for entrepreneurs that she participated in!
Connect with Stacey on LinkedIn.
CEO
Varsity Technologies
Meet Patrick
Patrick Ciccarelli is CEO of Varsity Technologies, a California based technology services provider. Patrick has provided leadership and technology consulting for more than 30 years to organizations of all sizes. Patrick was previously a co-founder of Plumly, a sales enablement technology platform. Patrick has also held leadership positions with Ingram-Micro (IM) Cloud Advisory Council, the TrustX Alliance, and has held other board positions. Patrick is co-author of four technology books: Networking Foundations, CCNA Jumpstart, CCDP Exam Notes, and MCSE Jumpstart.
If you share Patrick’s love for basketball, make sure to strike up a conversation or challenge him to a little pick up game!
Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn.
CEO
KDG
Meet Kyle
Kyle H. David has spent nearly 20 years in technology and entrepreneurship, starting at 14 when he landed a consulting role at a Philadelphia IT firm. By 18, he was Senior Technical Director, leading projects for Fortune 50 companies and university hospitals.
An early pioneer of affiliate marketing, Kyle introduced “price scraping,” a now-standard e-commerce feature, to major online retailers like Amazon and eToys in the mid-90s. In 2002, he founded The Kyle David Group (now KDG), which has since grown to serve clients ranging from the U.S. Senate to major financial institutions and universities.
Beyond KDG, Kyle has advised, exited, and invested in over 14 startups. He also leads Kyle David Capital Partners, an investment firm with holdings in real estate, structured debt, and intellectual property.
Despite failing Latin four times, Kyle earned a B.A. from Muhlenberg College in three years. He teaches at Muhlenberg and resides in Orefield, PA, with his wife and kids. He is Council President at The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Emmaus, PA.
Kyle is a graduate of the Small Giants Leadership Academy. He’s also been a competitive amateur debater for the last 20+ years, so ask him for some tips and tricks. And make sure to ask him for good book recommendations because he has read a book a week for over 25 years!
Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn.
Founder
Atomic Object
Meet Carl
Carl started Atomic Object with his partner Bill Bereza in August 2001. Atomic designs and builds custom web and mobile applications for many industries. Starting his own company wasn’t part of the plan, but he needed a job, and the startup he had left his academic career for had just gone belly-up. Carl retired from Atomic in January 2023, selling his remaining shares to the 60 other shareholders in the non-ESOP employee ownership plan he created in 2009. Under the thoughtful stewardship of co-CEOs Mike Marsiglia and Shawn Crowley, Atomic currently has 120 employees in four offices and 85 shareholders.
In addition to serving on several boards, Carl spends his time advising founders and investing in very early stage companies. He believes small, privately held companies can be a force for good in underserved communities and generate wealth for underrepresented founders.
Carl and Mary O’Neill have been married for 40 years, have two kids, two Siberian huskies, and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ask Carl how long he’s been taking care of his Eastern Box Turtle!
Connect with Carl on LinkedIn.
Owner & CEO
Catalynt Solutions, Inc.
Meet Megan
Megan Gluth is the owner and CEO of Catalynt Solutions, Inc., formerly TRInternational, one of the largest certified women-owned US-based chemical distributors in North America. Catalynt has been recognized by Puget Sound Business Journal as part of the 2023 Middle Market Fast 50 list, and Megan was one of five owners honored as the Business Journal’s Middle Market Fast 50 Leaders of 2023. She is also a winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023.
She loves the great outdoors — from hiking and kayaking, to snowshoeing and camping. Ask Megan about where she’s traveled, what good books she’s read recently, or bond over your favorite coffee. Share yoga or daily meditation recommendations, and if you know how to play the cello, she may want to pick your brain!
Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.
Business Coach & Personal Brand Strategist
Junction 32
Meet Kevin
Kevin B. Jennings is a business coach and personal brand strategist. He helps ambitious creatives and leaders get unstuck with the credibility, clarity, and courage they need to turn their ideas into income and impact.
He is the CEO of Junction 32, which offers marketing services and products to help small businesses grow their brands and increase revenue so they can impact people.
Kevin has served influencers such as Tony Robbins, Dave Ramsey, Oprah Winfrey, Jen Hatmaker, Sarah Jakes Roberts, and Carey Nieuwhof. Whether he’s working with best-selling authors or Inc. 5000 organizations, Kevin’s mission is to bring out the best in people’s careers, their ideas, and themselves to experience the joy of serving others through a purpose-driven life. When he’s not helping businesses grow, Kevin is deejaying weddings and parties on the weekends with one of his lifelong friends.
He resides in the Nashville, TN area with his amazing wife and two wonderful children. Be sure to ask him about his original song that played in the background of an episode of MTV Cribs featuring Kim Kardashian!
Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.
CEO
Be Found Online
Meet Steve
Steve is a fun-loving, optimistic human who cares about family, friends, clients, and partners. Realizing he’ll never keep up with everything that interests him, when he’s not diving in digital, he enjoys spy novels, the Cubs, cycling, and connecting with amazing humans (psst – he feels all humans are amazing).
As founder and CEO of Be Found Online (BFO), Steve is a champion of ‘unleadership’, prioritizing collaborative efforts to achieve business goals. BFO, under his leadership, has partnered with numerous companies to deliver revenue through Digital Marketing efforts across Organic Search (SEO), Paid Media, Analytics and Content Marketing.
Steve loves being active outdoors by skiing and road cycling. If you’re a fellow dog lover, ask him to see a photo of his pup Yeti!
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn.
VP of Insights and Intelligence
Knight Agency
Meet Darius
Darius Lana is the VP of Strategy, Growth, and Insights at Knight Agency, where he leads Knight Intelligence, the agency’s strategic insights and innovation division. With deep expertise in strategic communication, brand strategy, and business intelligence, Darius partners with growth-focused organizations to help them scale purposely while maintaining a people-first culture. A PhD in Strategic Communication and critical cultural scholar, Darius has dedicated his career to exploring the intersection of connection, leadership, and organizational culture. In addition to his role at Knight, he serves as a professor of Brand and Marketing, equipping future leaders with the skills to drive innovation in the modern business landscape. Darius is also a graduate of the Small Giants Leadership Academy, a program focused on purpose-driven leadership for medium-sized organizations.
Make sure to ask Darius the names of all his house plants, outdoor trees, and even the local animals that visit his property. And request a demonstration of the hidden talent that he mastered in 6th grade!
Connect with Darius on LinkedIn.
Co-Founder & Head of Product
Text-Em-All
Meet Hai
Hai Nguyen is a co-founder of Text-Em-All, an automated messaging service. He focuses on creative ways to help customers through design while building a company that’s in it for the long haul. He’s fulfilled by meaningful relationships and aspires to do purposeful work for the rest of his life.
Text-Em-All is an automated calling and texting service that he helped architect and build. They help businesses and organizations send important messages to people that want to receive them. Currently, Hai is focused on building a great product and a company that will last for 50+ years.
Make sure to ask Hai about his silent retreat experience and the poetry he was inspired to write!
Connect with Hai on LinkedIn.
Partner
SeatonHill Partners
Meet Lance
Lance is a self-proclaimed Starfish Flinger and works with companies and individuals to grow and improve both professionally and personally. He has extensive experience in helping companies scale through different stages of their lifecycle, creating meaning and value. He is passionate about culture and is an employee engagement evangelist. By day, he is a Partner in SeatonHill (providing strategic financial and operational expertise), an Executive Coach, and a long-term member, mentor, and supporter of the Small Giants Community. Lance heads up the The Circle, a program for Small Giants Leadership Academy alumni.
At all times, he is “Puff” as his four grandchildren affectionately call him. Be sure to ask Lance what it’s like to be a Guinness Book of World Record holder or to disappear at the magic hand of David Copperfield!
Connect with Lance on LinkedIn.
Preconstruction Manager
FCI Constructors, Inc.
Meet Travis
Raised on a Michigan farm, Travis Slisher has always been driven by curiosity, eager to understand the mechanics and people of the world. Instead of the traditional academic path, he dove into the plumbing trade and quickly began leading teams — a leadership experience that accelerated his personal growth. Today, Travis serves as MEP Preconstruction Manager at FCI Constructors, Inc.
Travis lives with his family in Colorado and continues to be on an ongoing journey of self-discovery and growth, where the unwavering support of his wife and therapy have been instrumental. He’s a graduate of the 2020 Class of the Small Giants Leadership Academy.
Connect with Travis on LinkedIn.
Co-Founder
Small Giants Community
Meet Paul
Paul Spiegelman is the co-founder of the Small Giants Community. He is also the founder of BerylHealth, The Beryl Institute, and Kintsugi Village. He is a New York Times best-selling author and has been honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. His thoughts have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine.
Paul practiced law for two years prior to founding BerylHealth. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA and a law degree from Southwestern University. In his free time, you can find Paul spending time with his family, playing tennis, and mentoring emerging purpose-driven leaders.
Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.
Founder
PurposeBuilt
Meet Marina
Marina is the founder of PurposeBuilt, an executive coaching firm that helps founders and executives foster personal growth. A seasoned facilitator and thought partner, Marina integrates mindfulness, neuroscience, and executive development to help leaders cultivate self-awareness and make meaningful decisions.
She is a dog person and has a newfound love of running. Not everyone can say that they were actually dropped on their head as a child…so be sure to ask Marina about this true story!
Connect with Marina on LinkedIn.
CEO
Venturity
Meet Deanna
Deanna joined Venturity in October 2003 and currently serves as the company’s CEO, working with her Management Team to provide inspiration and guidance on all aspects of the company’s strategic growth and operational initiatives.
After graduating from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Finance and later an MBA from Southern Methodist University, the early part of her career was focused on Investment Banking and Leveraged Lending with Salomon Brothers, GE Capital Corporation and Banque Paribas. These experiences taught her the importance of establishing good processes and having your financial house in order.
Business development, go-to-market strategy and sales team management are her primary areas of expertise. With over 35 years of professional experience and over 10 years in leadership, she has studied and developed her own leadership playbook and fully embraced the importance of mentorship and coaching.
Deanna is involved with several professional and community organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, Women’s Finance Exchange, SMU Business Associates Program, Genesis Women’s Shelter and National Charity League. And she also loves to tap dance, so if you’re up for a dance battle, consider yourself warned!
Connect with Deanna on LinkedIn.
Founder
Tasty Catering
Meet Tom
Tom Walter is a serial entrepreneur, an author and speaker. He is considered a practitioner-scientist in the field of employee engagement and company culture by the Academy of Management. Tom has founded or co-founded over 40 companies in the past 50 plus years. His employees have co-founded, with Tom, 9 of those companies. Tasty Catering, has twice been named the Psychologically Healthiest Workplace as per the American Psychological Association, the Best Small Company in America by Inc. Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. Tasty Catering was also honored as a Forbes Small Giant Company in 2016.
Tasty Catering, has been the subject of 6 doctoral dissertations. Tom co-authored the award-winning book that is part of the business curriculum in over 30 universities, Its My Company Too! He has also co-authored four academic journal articles on employee engagement and corporate culture.
Not only is Tom an entrepreneur, but his children are, too! And besides building successful companies, Tom is also a musician and plays the trumpet. Ask him about his brass band!
Connect with Tom on LinkedIn.
Head of People & Great Work
Text-Em-All
Meet Sabrina
Sabrina White is the Head of People & Great Work at Text-Em-All, a purpose-driven technology organization that prioritizes greatness over growth and people above profit. A passionate, people-centric leader, she fosters strong, engaged teams by taking an individualized approach to employee relationships. With over 15 years of experience in people and customer experience across various industries, Sabrina has a unique ability to create meaningful connections. Above all else, she is a steadfast advocate for people, ensuring they feel valued, supported, and empowered in their work. Sabrina is an alum of the Small Giants Leadership Academy, and she was the 2024 Next Gen Leader inductee into the Small Giants Hall of Fame.
Cooking for others – hosting, serving, and feeding people’s soul through their tummies – brings her deep joy. Ask her about her favorite meal to make. And if you’re like Sabrina in believing that shopping for other people doesn’t actually count as shopping, make sure to connect and share your own #GirlMath choices!
Connect with Sabrina on LinkedIn.
Co-Founder & Author
Small Giants Community
Meet Bo
Bo Burlingham is the author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big (Portfolio, 2006) and an editor-at-large of Inc. Magazine. Bo joined Inc. in January 1983 as a senior editor and became executive editor six months later, a position he held for the next seven years or so. In 1990 he became editor-at-large for a number of reasons, including his desire to go back to writing. He subsequently wrote two books with Jack Stack, the co-founder and CEO of Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. and the pioneer of open-book management. One of the books, The Great Game of Business, has sold more than 300,000 copies. The other, A Stake in the Outcome, has also done pretty well and gotten great reviews.
Before joining Inc., Bo freelanced for various publications, including Esquire, Harper’s, Boston Magazine, and Mother Jones. Bo was also managing editor of Ramparts magazine. In 1982, he joined Fidelity Investments, where he wrote for Peter Lynch, Ned Johnson, and other honchos until coming to Inc. From 1992 to 1997, he served on the board of The Body Shop Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the international cosmetics company. He was also a founder, with Tom Peters, of PAC World, a weird international networking group that gave him a chance to meet a lot of zany—and brilliant—people from around the globe.
Connect with Bo on LinkedIn.
Co-Founder & CEO
Text-Em-All
Meet Brad
Brad is the CEO and founder of Text-Em-All (formerly Call-Em-All). He co-founded the company in 2005, and it’s been recognized on the Inc. 500 list as well as D/FW’s Best Places to Work. With over 10,000 clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to soccer moms, Text-Em-All takes pride in its easy going company culture while striving for excellence and results.
Brad believes in work-life integration – not balance! His passions include travel, company culture, playing almost any sport, the outdoors, speaking Spanish, open book management, coaching kids, Texas A&M (his alma mater), the Small Giants Community, gardening, kids learning math facts, and generally just having fun.
Connect with Brad on LinkedIn.
President
Choice One Engineering
Meet Matt
As a husband, father, and president of the 75 person, two-office company Choice One Engineering, Matt gets to live his vision daily of “being a positive impact for others so that we are enjoying life together.” Matt has grown up in the company since 2004 holding positions of summer intern, engineer, project manager, business development, starting a new office, and now president (since 2016). The one thing that has remained constant in all of his roles has been the need to continue learning and becoming a better version of himself. He is a continuous learner and believes there is something to learn from everyone; he learns as much from conversations with his young kids and seeing how they process the world, as he does from business leaders and friends. Choice One’s focus on culture and intentionality around everything supporting their purpose, vision, mission, and core values has led to a self-created employee ownership plan and employee engagement model that has led to them being a perennial national best firm to work for and a Forbes Small Giant.
Matt lives in Ohio with his wife and five children. Talk to him about baseball and fishing! Matt’s original plan was to be a math teacher, until his high school math teacher told him he wouldn’t be good at the job. Matt admits that his teacher was right, and now our Community gets to benefit from this career switch!
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.
Founder
MACKEY
Meet Mackey
Best selling and award winning author, Mackey McNeill, is the CPA rebel that turned the accounting industry upside down with Prosper for Business, a CFO coaching system designed to help business owners achieve Mind, Time and Money Freedom. She is the founder of MACKEY, a fractional CFO firm for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to drive decision-making with data at the helm.
In her books, The Prosperity Playbook and The Intersection of Joy and Money, she shares her journey, the stories, challenges and the wisdom that she uncovered as she built the Prosper system. The result is a step by step roadmap useable by entrepreneurs to power exponential bottom line growth, the single most important first step in achieving the three freedoms.
When not working, find her on her 35 acre perma-culture homestead, playing with her grandchildren or preparing a truly local food meal from her gardens. Learn more about her at www.MackeyMcNeill.com.
Connect with Mackey on LinkedIn.
CEO
Ace Metal Crafts Company
Meet Jean
Jean has been with Ace Metal Crafts Company since 1983, joining as a sales rep and progressing over the years to her current role as CEO in 2003. In her tenure after taking over the company from her father, Jean’s passion for developing conscious leaders and helping team members thrive has advanced the success of the company and produced a culture with a foundation built on trust. As a result, the company is filled with happier people that feel heard and appreciated. ACE has smashed the industry standard in every team member engagement survey. Her extensive sales and leadership experience has taught her that taking great care of customers on the outside starts with taking good care of people on the inside.
Under Jean’s leadership, ACE has been honored numerous times for outstanding business practices, workplace culture, and industry and community outreach, most recently being honored with an award for a Psychologically Healthy Workplace for the American Psychological Association. ACE was named to the Fab 40 by Fabricator magazine and received the 2018 Forbes Small Giant Award.
Beyond her role at ACE, Jean serves as a board member and advisor to other companies, including the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center. She received her Bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and her MBA from Northern Illinois University.
Connect with Jean on LinkedIn.
President & Owner
IWI Ventures
Meet Britt
Britt grew up on a horse / tobacco farm in Kentucky. He had a host of jobs ranging from an Edward Jones stockbroker, Outward Bound instructor, bartender/ski bum, co-owner of construction company, English teacher in Korea, and a General Manager of different restaurants. He eventually became a franchisee of Noodles & Company with 8 stores across 3 states.
Today, Britt is the co-owner of Forage Kitchen, a salad/ancient grains fast casual concept that also produces kombucha. The restaurant has 6 locations, and the kombucha is sold in over 800 locations! Britt is also the co-owner of True Coffee Roasters, a small artisan roaster with one flagship cafe location and sold at many small indie coffee houses and grocers.
In Britt’s words, he’s the luckiest guy on the planet as his success has been the result of falling upward!
Connect with Britt on LinkedIn.
Co-Founder
Kintsugi Village
Meet Hamsa
Hamsa is an experienced business leader passionate about people, process, and purpose. Her career spans higher education, the tech industry, entrepreneurship and most recently non-profit as the co-founder of Kintsugi Village – a community hub in Detroit where creativity, learning, and community come together under one roof. She is also a board member for the Small Giants Community.
Since moving to the United States from Iraq in 1991, she has followed her passion for fostering meaningful connections with people from all walks of life, infusing purpose into every task, team, and project she encounters. Hamsa thrives on building from the ground up, creating community, and doing it all with purpose and heart. Her philosophy is simple: if you don’t put your heart into it, it won’t be your best!
In her free time, Hamsa enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, playing Scrabble, and exploring cities like a local.
Connect with Hamsa on LinkedIn.
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