Meet Your Class

Get to know the Small Giants Leadership Academy class of 2021.

Cohort 1

Brandy McCarley | bmccarley@cultureindex.com

Brandy McCarley is a Culture Index Licensee. Culture Index is a consultant firm that transforms organizations using applied analytical traits. Brandy’s personal philosophy is to deliver creative consultation with integrity and authenticity, and promote diversity in hiring practices. Brandy is a fitness enthusiast that loves to lift weights and practice yoga. Some of her other hobbies include shopping, traveling, and reading.

Melinda White | mwhite@zolmanrestoration.com

Melinda White is Claims Manager at Zolman Restoration, which assists in repair insurance-related losses for residential and commercial properties. Melinda has worked for Zolman Restoration for the past two and a half years. Prior to that, she spent ten years as a Claim Representative for State Farm. Personally, she spends a lot of time outdoors, camping and hiking, and she loves pit bulls — especially her old guy, Simon.

David Delancy | ddelancy@onedaycame.com

David Delancy is President and CEO of One Day Came Inc. Founded in 2004, David is the owner and founder of this minority-owned Construction Management Firm. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida and attended college at the University of South Florida. David has a teenage son who plays basketball and hopes to be an entrepreneur like his father someday.

Mary Beth Myford | mbmyford@kyledavidgroup.com

Mary Beth Myford is Chief Operating Officer of the Kyle David Group (KDG). Mary Beth has led several different support operations, most recently, she managed the strategic partnerships for CEO Connection. Mary Beth lives in Fleetwood, PA with her son, Lucas. When not working, she enjoys supporting Oley Valley’s athletic program by being an active member of their Athletic Booster Club, being the team parent for their baseball teams, and photographing their events. 

Andy Newman | andyn@bigcartel.com

Andy Newman is Marketing Lead at Big Cartel. For over a decade, Andy has helped others make sense of technology and inspired them to create more art, so everyone can benefit from modern tools. At Big Cartel, Andy works on content strategy, copywriting, and various creative projects including a zine and short films. Andy’s side project, Supernyx, is focused on making esports accessible to all.

Erica Vester | evester@evgre.com

Erica Vester is Senior Development Manager at Evergreen Devco, Inc. Erica has been with Evergreen for over 6 years and she cannot imagine a better environment to learn and grow. Erica has two dogs that she considers her kids. She also loves to run and hike and be outdoors as much as possible.

Carolyn Savage | carolyn.savage@yavapaititle.com

Carolyn Savage is Team Relations Coordinator at Pioneer Title Agency & Yavapai Title Agency. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Carolyn moved to the sunny state of Arizona in 2007 to attend Northern Arizona University. Carolyn is a former NAU soccer player and coach, and she loves to read, attend sporting events and concerts, travel, and spend time outdoors with her dog, Riggins.

Amanda Hyland | ahyland@taylorenglish.com

Amanda Hyland is a Partner at Taylor English Duma, which provides comprehensive legal services to businesses with a focus on value and results. Amanda focuses on intellectual property, media, and First Amendment counseling and litigation for a variety of corporations and nonprofits. Amanda is actively involved in several professional organizations, and she is heavily involved in the community, and currently is on the Executive Board of Kate’s Club. She earned her JD, cum laude, from the University of Florida.

Danyelle Rose | danyelle@bigcartel.com

Danyelle Rose works in Support at Big Cartel. As a member of Big Cartel’s awesome support team, Danyelle assists online sellers with launching their stores. She’s a passionate supporter of artists and relishes sharing other people’s creative energy and space. Danyelle resides in Detroit, Michigan.

Wendy Qualls | wendyq@burrows-supply.com

Wendy Qualls is Controller/HR at Burrow’s Post Frame Supply. Wendy was raised in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where she graduated from Northeastern State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting degree. She is married to her husband, Jason, of 22 years and they have 2 beautiful daughters.

Ryan Gudmundson | rgudmundson@findyourtailwind.com


Ryan is the Director of Search at Tailwind. He has spent the last 13 years helping brands build meaningful digital marketing campaigns. When he’s not working, he’s usually in dad mode, but loves playing the piano, traveling as much as possible, as well as dabbling in woodworking projects.

Dan Veil | dveil@themotzgroup.com


Dan is the Field Installation Operations Leder at The Motz Group. With any spare time, he enjoys his family, the Reds, Michigan Football (in OSU country), golf, music from all decades, and painting when he can.

Dianna Chane | dchane@harstoncohn.com

Dianna Chane is the co-founder and CEO of HomeSuiteHome.  Founded in 2003, HomeSuiteHome is the only extended-stay hotel in Central Florida that fosters caring community for people living in transition. In addition, Dianna provides consultation and representation for business owners and developers in the multi-family and hospitality market. Dianna has a life-long passion to serve as a solution provider for the affordable housing challenge.

Cohort 2

Karolyn Hampton | karolyn@venturity.net

Karolyn Hampton is Director of HR & Recruiting at Venturity Financial Partners. She has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, having owned her own bakery for a few years before returning to the area of leadership. In her current role, she is challenged daily to use her professional skills in HR, sales, team building, recruiting, corporate training, management, and Client Experience.

Kyle David | kdavid@kyledavidgroup.com

Kyle H. David is the founder and CEO of the Kyle David Group, now KDG. Throughout the evolution of KDG, its focus has remained on the development of entrepreneurial technology and strategy for education, nonprofit, and closely-held/generational businesses. Kyle resides in Orefield, PA with his wife and kids where they are active members of The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Emmaus, PA.

Shawntel Hebert | shebert@taylorenglish.com

Shawntel Hebert is a Partner at Taylor English Duma, and an experienced attorney partnering with in-house counsel and human resources professionals to prevent, correct and advise on day-to-day employment matters. In 2019, she was elected as one of Westside Future Fund’s Board of Directors. Shawntel also regularly attends fundraisers benefiting legal, educational and medical endeavors and she rarely turns down a gala invitation.

Yvonne Chelberg | ychelberg@geilenterprises.com

Yvonne Chelberg is CFO of Geil Enterprises. Yvonne has a Journalism degree from San Jose State University with a business minor. Yvonne joined the Geil Enterprises team in 2008 and has grown with the company as it transitioned from a family-owned mentality to an ESOP with a well-established culture.

John Costello | jcostello.ciec@me.com

John Costello is President of Cherry’s Industrial Equipment in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. John started at the company in 1994 as a sales assistant and he now owns the company. John credits his journey from the proverbial mail room to the board room to a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work and determination.

Rebecca Stroud | rjs@amdgservices.com

Rebecca Stroud is Partner and Director of Operations and Client Service at AMDG Financial. Rebecca joined AMDG Financial in 2003 as an investment associate. After eight years, she left AMDG to spend more time with her young children. In 2015, she rejoined AMDG Financial with a renewed passion to help others. Rebecca holds a B.S degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin, as well as an MBA from the University of Missouri.

Angela Palacios | angela.palacios@centerfinplan.com

Angela Palacios is Partner & Director of Investments at the Center for Financial Planning. Angela specializes in investment and macroeconomic research, oversees the management of client portfolios and chairs the Investment Committee. She also provides leadership to the firm’s Investment, Technology, and Compliance Departments and plays a significant role on the firm’s Operations Committee.

Candice Gouge | cgouge@vivayic.com

Candice Gouge is COO of Vivayic. Candice has spent most of her career in the logistics industry, with the past 8-10 years in the learning and employee development side of the business. Candice is a certified professional coach and loves working with leaders who want to raise their game and professionals who are ready to take the next step up in their leadership. Candice has been with Vivayic for almost a year now doing the thing she loves the most: working with amazing people.

David Welch | davew@burrows-supply.com

David Welch is Director of Sales at Burrow’s Post Frame Supply. David has worked in Management since the late 1980s. His background has been both in retail as well as B2B. David is married with two daughters, two sons-in-law and four grandchildren.

Lee Holland | lee.holland@freedomrealestate.biz

Lee Holland is Director of Capital Projects at Freedom Real Estate & Capital, LLC. Lee provides leadership and oversight for all aspects of its capital building programs. His career has taken him throughout the United States, including Hawaii. Lee graduated from Texas A & M University with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science and a Business Minor. Lee is passionate about making North Alabama a great place to work and live.

Sarah Phillips | sphillips@gongos.com

Sarah Phillips is  the Vice President of Consulting at Gongos. In this role, she helps client organizations explore opportunities to move beyond traditional and transactional ways of thinking about product/experience development, marketing optimization and portfolio strategies. Sarah works with teams to keep one foot in the here and now, with an eye towards the future, to balance delivering on the promise of today while mapping the road ahead.

Nathan Wright | nwright@sibanking.com

Nathan Wright is Director of Support and Delivery at Smiley Technologies Inc. in Little Rock, Arkansas. Nathan has worked his entire career with Smiley, working his way through the ranks for 16 years. Nathan is married to his wife, Rechelle, and they are currently in the thick of raising two rowdy boys. Nathan enjoys time in the outdoors, a variety of sports and whatever else their boys get them into.

Erica Carpenter | erica@befoundonline.com

Erica Carpenter is Director of Product Strategy at BFO (Be Found Online). With 12+ years of digital marketing experience, Erica joined BFO after working at a variety of companies ranging from startups to Fortune 100’s. In her free time, Erica enjoys cheering on the MSU Spartans as she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in advertising at Michigan State University. Her other interests include national parks, antiques, puppies, and parallel parking.

Beth Spiegel | easpiegel@hotmail.com

Beth Spiegel is COO/CFO at BFO (Be Found Online) and has worked at BFO for over 10 years. After living in Belize for 7 years with her husband and son, Beth now lives in the tiny mountain town of Leavenworth, Washington which is known for its Bavarian theme. Her love of mountains is allowing her to transition her love of road marathons and ultramarathons into trail running and long-distance remote hiking, often stumbling upon bears when it is least expected!

Bill Picciano | bpicciano@lifesabundance.com

I am currently the Operation Manager for Life’s Abundance. My main responsibilities with the company are Inventory, Purchasing , Vendor Relations, Buildings, Shipping and Compliance. My previous work was with a family owned business for over 30 years. I grew up in athletics and continue to train and race Triathlons when I can.

Brad Stevenson | bstevenson@unitechcm.ca


Brad is the COO at Unitech Construction Management where he started in 2007. He has a background in accounting in his free time enjoys skiing, snowboarding, hockey, and anything outdoors.

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