**All Pro bono coaching is done via Zoom or by phone, unless you and the coach have made a different arrangement **
About
The Hannah Grimes Center offers pro bono coaching for business owners and nonprofit leaders to meet with business coaches and consultants who volunteer their time to assist growing organizations. From marketing and social media to fundraising and financial management, our instructors are the lifeblood of the Center and are here to help!
Purpose
The goal of 1:1 Coaching is to offer growing organizations and opportunity connect with a professional coach or consultant at no cost up to 3 times per topic. This helps you really dig in to a project with guidance and have check-ins along the way. It’s also an opportunity for you to meet experienced professionals in the business community and learn from their mistakes!
How to Book
Booking an appointment with a Hannah Grimes Expert is easy, and just got easier.
Select your coach and fill in your information – you will receive a confirmation soon!
Appointments are confidential, as is the information you provide when signing up.
Looking for an Instructor? Click here to learn more about the instructors at Hannah Grimes.
Our Coaches
Joanne Randall
Topics: Content Marketing Strategy, Marketing Plan Creation
An MBA in Strategic Leadership, Joanne Randall has spent her career working in management and business. Her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration is from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire and her MBA is from New England College. Her background includes management, sales, marketing, retail, human resources, and small business social media development. Joanne has over twenty-five years of experience in the marketing field. She is a coach, consultant, and marring expert.
Joanne has been a business and marketing guest lecturer at numerous New Hampshire universities, businesses, and Chambers of Commerce. Joanne is a Master Certified Solutions Provider and a former Authorized Local Expert and All-Star with Constant Contact. Joanne frequently hosts marketing seminars and serves as a guest lecturer around New England.
Ilene Winters
Topics: Nonprofit and Startup Management
After a 20+ career on Wall Street and many non-profit fundraising events, Ilene changed careers and entered the non-profit sector full-time. She founded and ran a cancer wellness center and a disaster recovery non-profit, and has consulted for countless others. She is now a non-profit professional with expertise in start-up, management, and fund development. She has extensive knowledge of and experience with board development, leadership, community organization, and marketing and communications as well as exceptional writing and communication skills.
Book with Ilene now!
Cindy Beaulac
Topics: Start Up and Small Business Law
Attorney Beaulac is here to help you navigate your small business and start up legal needs. She works with business clients to set up and create partnership agreements, LLC and other documents for filing with the state; draft and review legal documents including contracts and agreements; and has litigation experience for businesses when things do not go as planned. Additionally, she also has experience in litigating landlord/tenant issues. Attorney Beaulac was once a member of the Hannah Grimes Incubator Program. She understands the challenges of starting and maintaining a small business.
She is a partner at Elliott, Jasper, Shklar, Ranson, & Beaulac, LLP based out of Newport, NH, but maintains a presence in the Keene area. She is active in the Monadnock Region’s courts and community. Attorney Beaulac looks forward to helping you with your legal needs.
**Cindy can only meet with New Hampshire clients and businesses.
Book with Cindy now!
Bob Radin
Topics: Strategy, Management, Organizational Structure, Psychometric Testing,
Culture & Values, Communications
Bob Radin is an executive coach who enjoys working with entrepreneurs.
His current practice includes executives at 15 organizations covering a range of businesses and industries. He was previously a professor at the Carroll Graduate School of Management at Boston College teaching courses in corporate governance, management, and international management.
He returned to Boston College to pursue his doctorate having served as President of the Investor Services Group at First Data Corporation, and President of Shareholder Services at American Express Information Services. He holds a BS from Northeastern University, an MBA from Babson College, and a PhD from Boston College in management.
Tammy Richards
Topics: Business Valuation, Business Transition/Sales
Tammy Richards is a business broker with Country Business, Inc., a regional brokerage firm assisting buyers and sellers throughout New England. Prior to joining Country Business, she worked at Pieciak & Company, P.C. focusing primarily on performing business valuations of closely held businesses. Before moving to Vermont in 2004, Tammy spent eight years working at Citigroup in New York where she held various positions within the investment banking division. She spent five of those years in the Acquisition Finance Group working closely with private equity firms in valuing and financing their leveraged buyouts of middle-market and large-cap companies. For the following three years she served as a Vice-President in the Global Loans Portfolio Management Group, where she managed a portfolio of highly leveraged corporate loans retained by Citigroup.
Tammy is a Certified Valuation Analyst (“CVA”) as designated by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) and serves on the Executive Advisory Board for the association. She is also a member of the New England Business Brokers Association (“NEBBA”).
Tammy currently serves on the board of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (“BDCC”) as well as Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
Ann Connor
Topics: Financial Analysis and Strategy
Ann is an award-winning business adviser. She has assisted businesses and organizations throughout the U.S. to create action plans for strategic growth. With over 25 years of experience in the retail industry, she’s helped more than 200 entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations identify their goals, steer them around a multitude of obstacles, and tackle their long-term challenges with a series of manageable steps. She sees her coaching as empowering people to be successful. Connor Business Resources.
Book with Ann now!
Joseph Shawver
Topics: Bookkeeping, QuickBooks Online Pro Advisor
Joe is the owner of The Square Books Bookkeeping Services. Joe has experience with start-ups, setting up QuickBooks, and keeping monthly accounts. He loves teaching how QuickBooks works and helping you stay organized with your financials. Joe is certified in multiple bookkeeping software platforms, including QuickBooks and Xero. He has worked with a range of businesses from non-profits to service orientated to inventory-based. Joe has worked as a bookkeeper since 2017.
Book with Joe now!
Lee Davis
Topics: Bookkeeping Services, QuickBooks Desktop Certified, QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor
Lee Davis & Company, a bookkeeping firm serving start-ups to mid-sized companies, delivers services tailored to the needs of young businesses and entrepreneurs. The firm offers effective, financial management solutions that set customers on a clear path to success. As a QuickBooks Certified Pro-Advisor, Lee allows owners the opportunity to spend more time focusing on their business and less time on record-keeping. Whether you require assistance setting up QuickBooks and learning how to use it or have more complex needs, Lee Davis & Company can help. In addition to bookkeeping, Lee can provide consulting and strategic planning services.
Greg Grissett
Topics: Legal Support for Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets
Mr. Grissett is an intellectual property lawyer that helps new and established enterprises protect their innovations, minimize intellectual property (IP) related risk, and enforce IP rights and defend against IP right assertions. Mr. Grissett does this primarily through patent preparation and procurement, patent litigation, and various types of patent analysis. In addition, Mr. Grissett routinely advises companies on brand protection strategies, protection of creative works via copyrights, and technology transactions through drafting and negotiating joint development agreements, software development and service agreements, and licenses for all forms of IP. While Mr. Grissett has significant expertise in medical devices, his experience has been applied in a range of business settings including software development, alternative energy sources, apparel, and outdoor gear and equipment.
Christopher Wheeler
Topics: Accounting Services, Certified Valuation Analyst
Christopher Wheeler is a Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years of experience providing tax, accounting, and advisory services to clients. He is also a Certified Valuation Analyst who specializes in the valuation of small, closely held companies. Chris can help clients throughout the process of buying or selling a business, including planning, valuation, and due diligence work. He is also able to advise buyers and sellers on tax-efficient strategies for the transaction and ownership structure.
Chris graduated from the University of Maine, Orono with a degree in business and accounting, and continued his studies postgraduate at the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics. He is currently a partner at Oster & Wheeler, PC in Keene, New Hampshire and has been with the firm since 2008. Prior to his current position, Chris held positions in public accounting firms and in private industry as a finance director and controller.
Please email us to book a session with Chris!
Sarah Farnsworth
Topics: Business Insurance
Sarah is a personal and commercial lines insurance professional with Kapiloff Insurance with 16 years of experience in the field. Kapiloff Insurance is a locally owned agency in Keene and services many commercial clients of varying sizes and needs. Commercial insurance has many facets that can be confusing when a new business is created. Sarah will offer guidance with regard to the insurance needs for your business as well as quotes as requested.
Jessica Gelter
Topics: Arts Business Coaching, Creative Economy, Creative Placemaking, Community Support & Connections, Community-driven Planning and Facilitation, Arts Partnerships
Jessica Gelter is the executive director of Arts Alive!, the arts service organization of the Monadnock region. She provides feedback and “next step” guidance for artists looking to launch or grow their businesses or community projects. She advises planning departments and downtowns on how to develop ideas to activate public spaces with cultural activity and how to facilitate public art. She provides introductions and referrals to new creative community participants; she advises independent groups looking for fiscal sponsorship and nonprofits looking to offer fiscal sponsorship, and she advises businesses and nonprofits looking to add cultural activities or amenities to their places of business or their workforce. Gelter has also served on her local planning commission since 2015 and has spoken at several community planning and economic development conferences. She is an artist, performer, playwright, past arts educator, and community arts organizer passionate about the arts for its transformative power in communities.
Eric Kallio
Topics: Public Speaking, Technical Writing and Communications, Project and Organizational Management, Telecommunications
Eric received a Bachelor of Science in Communications/Media from Fitchburg State College in 1999, as well as a Master of Science in Communications/Media Management from Fitchburg State University in 2005. He has achieved over 25 years of telecommunications project management experience with now working as a Site Acquisitions professional with Industrial Tower and Wireless (ITW) out of MA and NH. Eric’s role at ITW is to manage the expansion and execution of ITW’s communication infrastructure in Vermont.
During his time away from the telecommunications industry, Mr. Kallio serves as the producer and on-air host of the “Rise and Shine Show,” WOOL-FM 91.5 Black Sheep Radio, Bellows Falls, Vermont.
Eric can work with individuals on addressing their public speaking abilities, drafting and proof editing communications for both oral and written publication, and developing foundations for starting and managing projects through their life cycle and conflict management strategies.
Book with Eric now!
Antje Hornbeck
Topics: Social Media Strategy and Digital Advertising, Brand Identity
Antje is the Public Information Director for SAU29’s seven school districts and also runs Blue House Creative, a local marketing and PR firm. With clients across the US and Europe, Antje specializes in public relations, digital marketing and creative strategy for nonprofits and small businesses. Prior to establishing her company in 2016, Antje worked in the College Relations/Marketing department at Keene State College for 12 years. Antje is a Social Marketing Certified Professional with experience in print and digital design, branding, and marketing strategy. Her specialties include conception and execution of advertising campaigns, developing brand identity style guides, creating email newsletters via Mailchimp, and social media marketing. Whether you are starting your business or would like to refresh the look and feel of your existing brand, Antje loves to work collaboratively and will help you create relevant and memorable solutions.
Book with Antje now!
Ted Chartrand
Topics: Logo Design
Ted is the designer and owner at Logo Further LLC, which specializes in logos and visual brand identity. His design approach emphasizes the importance of practicality alongside creativity. He spreads awareness that brand graphics succeed by being meaningful, functional, and infringement-free. As a coach, Ted helps entrepreneurs and business owners understand the technical requirements to make this happen, as well as the pitfalls to avoid. His experience spans commercial company projects, non-profits, competitive teams, solopreneurs, and startups, as well as those that are rebranding. Ted helps professionals develop holistic, versatile brand iconography that serves as a permanent solution.
Book with Ted now!
Bob Lawson
Topics: Squarespace Website Development and Design
Bob Lawson specializes in web development using the Squarespace content management system. He trains small businesses and nonprofits on how to develop and maintain their own sites, including ecommerce and donation processing. Bob has one foot in communications and one in technology having worked as an editor/journalist and having helped start and run six internet startups. His company, Sustainable Digital, is located in Putney, VT.
Book with Bob now!
Paula Mathews
Topics: Human Resource Policies, State, Federal & OSHA Compliance, Employee Handbooks
Paula has been a strategic partner with companies since 2001, helping them create the company culture they have always wanted, comply with State, Federal, and OSHA regulations, and create a stable foundation for growth with defined policies, procedures and handbooks. Paula brings over 35 years of experience to companies in the construction, retail, funeral, software development, manufacturing, food, and financial industries, as well as to many non-profit organizations. An instructor for Hannah Grimes since 2010, she conducts workshops and offers business coaching.
Book with Paula now!
David Sayles
Topics: Finance, Business Planning/Forecasting, Capital and Liquidity Planning
David has 30+ years of experience in the financial industry in a variety of roles including direct investing in medium-sized manufacturing and technology companies, portfolio management, corporate finance and IT. He also worked in his family manufacturing business, building its production scheduling and inventory management software. He has taught financial modeling and has been building spreadsheet models of businesses and portfolios for many years.
David is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and received his B.S. in Chemistry and M.S. in Management/Finance. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Finance at NYU Stern School of Business. Though relatively new to the community, David is volunteering his time to serve as a member of the board of directors of the Monadnock Food Co-op.
Please email us to book a session with David!
Jennifer Strimbeck
Topics: Financial Coaching
Jennifer is the owner of Gimli Ventures Financial Coaching. As a personal and business financial coach, she advises her clients in all realms of financial wellness. Most companies struggle with cash flow from time to time. To balance their finances when in a tight spot, businesses will often short pay their owners, go into debt, or cut what they are saving for taxes. Jennifer builds customized tools as a Profit First Professional Coach to align your business finances better. This approach helps you through the tough times, teaches you how to pay for needs without debt, and establishes habits that emulate the fiscally elite companies. With personal finances, Jennifer works with clients as a certified Ramsey Preferred Coach to teach them how to make their number one wealth-building asset, their income, go further.
Book with Jennifer now!
Bob Vecchiotti
Topics: Leadership, Organizational Culture
Bob Vecchiotti is a business advisor and executive coach who combines a lot of business experience with practical psychology. He has advised many senior executives of major corporations and business owners challenged by today’s threats and opportunities. His focus is on building strong business organizations and coaching high potentials with best management practices while building on their strengths.
Book with Bob now!
Jim Verzino
Topics: Support for Food Businesses
Jim is the founder and President of Food Creators Financial, LLC; a bookkeeping, accounting, and outsourced CFO firm for food businesses. Jim performs CFO services such as sales forecasting, business planning, cash flow management, fundraising, and pitch preparation for early and mid-stage food businesses. He also manages a staff of accountants and bookkeepers that are experts in the value-added food and restaurant businesses.
Prior to starting his current business, Jim was the founding Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) for Windham Grows, a food business accelerator; he worked very closely with 59 food entrepreneurs over three years. Under his direction, Windham Grows won the 2019 Innovation and Inspiration Award from the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. He, in conjunction with the management team, raised and oversaw over one-million dollars ($855,000 cash and $250,000 in-kind services) to start and maintain Windham Grows.
Roy Wallen
Topics: Business Strategy, Company Formation, Capital Access, Leadership, Branding, Business Development
Roy Wallen is a management advisor who leads Directional Healthcare Advisors, a NH-based services firm. He has served in executive leadership roles for new product initiatives in medical technology companies ranging from pre-revenue start-up to multi-billion, global concerns. His focus is on the startup community, helping entrepreneurs take their ideas to commercial success. Roy has spent his career managing existing businesses for sustainable profits and bringing new technologies out of the laboratory and into the market. His current work as an advisor to emerging companies, supports their need for access to capital markets, crafting the stories that demonstrate market needs, matching technology to those market needs, and translating this into a compelling business case.
Roy also serves on the Board of Directors of a Colorado-based nonprofit, as a mentor and judge for MassChallenge, and as a volunteer for the Youth CITIES Lifescience Learning Laboratory (L3) to teach middle school and high school students how to apply their STEM interests to areas of innovation.
Book with Roy now!
Scott Olmstead
Topics: Business Insurance
Scott Olmstead is Sr. Vice President and Director of Agency Operations at The Insurance Center. With close to 40 years in the insurance industry, Scott has worked with numerous start-up businesses helping identify their risks of loss and the best way to protect the business through risk management, transfer of risk strategies, contractual insurance requirements and insurance products. He presents a consultative approach to the “what if” questions.
Book with Scott now!
Lisa Sieverts
Topics: Project Management, Productivity
With 20 years of experience, Lisa specializes in sharing the tools and techniques of Agile and Waterfall project management. She owns Facilitated Change, an independent consulting firm in Harrisville, NH. She provides a range of services including training and coaching as well as outsourced project management. Her goal is to provide her clients with the tools and skills they need to complete successful projects. Lisa is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and an Agile Certified Professional (ACP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a global leader in the development of standards for the practice of project management.
Please email us to book a session with Lisa!
John Ela
Topics: Executive Leadership, Management Alignment
John Ela is a CEO Coach and Strategic Adviser, helping clients achieve greater performance and lower stress. With 30 years of personal CEO experience leading multiple companies, he brings a real-world approach to C-level Executive Coaching. He believes that organizational performance is driven by the combination of clear strategies, management alignment, and effective leadership. When these elements are established, leaders can generate desired results, lead a high-performance team, achieve personal work/life harmony, and have a lot more fun. The Ela Management Group, typically works with leaders of established businesses.
Please email us to book a session with John!
Wendy Walter
Topics: Work/ Life Balance, Stress Relief Strategies, Self-awareness
Owner of The Voice of Clay in Brookline NH, Wendy has been in business for over 20 years. She has a BA in Music and English from Skidmore College, an MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Atlantic University, and certifications in Breathwork Facilitation and Hypnosis. Wendy has been wellness coaching for over 7 years and has a unique perspective as a business owner herself. She started her business in 1999 and has predicated leadership in her field on resiliency, creativity, resourcefulness, and her true nature. She offers Zoom coaching for those who feel stuck, frustrated, stressed, sad, confused, lost, or just need a little balancing to get back on track.
Please email us to book a session with Wendy!
Scott Maslansky
Topics: Building Energy Efficiency Consulting, Energy Project Finance and Incentives, Utility Bill Analysis
Scott is Director of Clean Energy Finance at the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA). Working with businesses, non-profits, and municipalities, Scott provides financing tools and technical support for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and manages an energy audit grant program for small NH businesses. In previous positions with for-profit companies and non-profit organizations he has completed residential and commercial energy audits, business development for energy consulting projects, and consulted with utilities on energy efficiency program development, marketing and implementation. Scott is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) through the Association of Energy Engineers.
Please email us to book a session with Scott!
Michael Cohen
Topics: New Business Development, Global Sourcing, Product Development, Strategic Planning
Michael Cohen, principal of MSC Consultancy, has expertise is in the areas of new business development, global sourcing, product development and strategic planning. He has successfully built several businesses in the consumer products industry. He has extensive experience in manufacturing, sourcing of products worldwide, and all aspects of launching a new line of products. Michael lived in China for 4 years building a global sourcing office for a large housewares company. Since returning to the Northeast, he has worked in a variety of product segments including furniture, cleaning and kitchen tools, flatware and decorative accessories. He is very knowledgeable in all business systems and procedures. Michael can assist all sizes of enterprises in seeing how to build a business and capitalize on a vision or specific expertise.
Please email us to book a session with Michael!
Emily Hall Warren
Topics: Human Resources, Organizational Development
Emily Hall Warren is the Director of Administration at the W.S. Badger Company, a family owned and family friendly business built around healthy living in the workplace and in the community. Badger is known for its certified organic and truly natural personal care products, and employs 85 full- and part-time workers, and is a certified B Corporation – which adds transparency to the company’s social and environmental business practices.
Prior to Badger, Emily specialized in training and Organizational Advancement for the Claremont Savings Bank and more recently The Timken Company.
Emily has an extensive background in Human Resources (SHRM-SCP) and a Master’s Degree in Organization and Management from Antioch New England University.
Please email us to book a session with Emily!
Joe Byk
Topics: Contract Basics
Joe has a broad range of experience in developing, negotiating contracts, and resolving contract disputes. As a New Hampshire attorney, he represented numerous businesses. As a litigator and Superior Court mediator, he resolved numerous disputes. He served as General Counsel for software companies in Silicon Valley and Boston MetroWest. He was Director of Contracts and Legal Compliance for the Student Conservation Association, a national environmental nonprofit. He has negotiated contracts from $5000 vendor contracts to $30 million patent license agreements, locally, nationally and worldwide.
Please email us to book a session with Joe!
Sara Powell
Topics: Technical Assistance for Hannah Grimes Center, Community Resources
Sara was born and raised in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. After receiving her B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont, she has spent her time working for mission driven and place-based organizations as a farmer and educator. Sara has been living in the Monadnock Region since 2013. A graduate of Antioch University New England, she holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies, with a concentration in Environmental Education. With a penchant for systems thinking and facilitative leadership, she enjoys working with folks in her community to grow and strengthen local resiliency through place-based initiatives. As the Program Director at Hannah Grimes, she is responsible for managing the business incubator program, and developing the organization’s workshops, seminars, and projects that support entrepreneurs and business owners in the region. Sara also serves on the Board of the Cheshire County Conservation District as an Associate Supervisor.
Schedule a Meeting with Sara
