Dan Izzo, Training and Launch Chief has a comprehensive and diverse background. He is an accomplished entrepreneur as he successfully ran his own law firm in Chicago for seven years and subsequently founded the Improv Inferno, a successful comedy club in Ann Arbor. During its first year of existence, the Improv Inferno was voted “Best Local Comedy Troupe” by RealDetroit. He has extensive experience as an instructor, having taught at Second City and Columbia College of Chicago. He has trained companies in the area of communication and taught at improv and comedy festivals in Atlanta, North Carolina, New York and Kansas City. He directed “Terrorslide!” an improvised horror movie spoof, which the Chicago Reader described “as intelligent as the horror-flick and improv-comedy genres allow.” Dan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his jurist doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago Law School, where he was a senior member of the law journal.
Maria LaLonde, Recruiting Specialist was born and raised in the city of Detroit and the Detroit metropolitan area. She graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Communication. Maria had a successful career at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, where she managed several of their largest branch offices in the country and she managed the entire recruiting process for 35 branch offices in Wayne county. Maria has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, owning several successful businesses over the years in the fields of recruiting, real estate and the automotive industry. Maria is passionate about doing her part to create a vibrant and thriving community in Detroit. She believes that encouraging diverse, growth-oriented businesses is essential to the creation of a brighter future for Detroit.
Kim Delaney, The Recruiter was born and raised in the city of Detroit. She attended Cass Technical High School and received her Bachelor’s degree in Finance and a Masters in Business Administration at Wayne State University. She assists her husband in owning and managing a unisex salon in Oak Park, Michigan. She was employed with Quicken Loans and Rock Financial for 2 years as a Client Care Specialist and understands the mantra and culture which is the driving force behind the success of that company. She dedicated herself to her clients over the past two years and will dedicate herself to the success of future entrepreneurs to help build up Detroit into the best city ever. She is determined to use not only her educational, entrepreneurial, and employment experience but also her passion of making dreams a reality.
Amy Gill,Training Leader, embodies the trainers’ mantra: “Learner-Centered…Performance-Based.” Amy applies these core principles to Bizdoms’ curriculum to guarantee each entrepreneur acquires the practical skills necessary to develop and pitch their business for funding. Prior to Bizdom U, Amy had a successful career at Rock Financial and Quicken Loans as a Sales Trainer. In this role, she implemented initiatives to transform the Sales Training program into measurable, accountable, skill-based training. She worked with top leaders to incorporate the most relevant sales strategies into the program and directed the reformation and maintenance of curriculum to ensure consistency with ever-changing markets and industry guidelines. Her commitment to excellence in this role earned her a companywide award in 2006. Since joining the Bizdom team, she has helped reshape the curriculum into its current four month format and has been instrumental in the launch of all Bizdom businesses to date. In addition to training entrepreneurs, Amy is a certified horseback riding instructor through the North American Handicapped Riders Association, and she is the Equine Director for Camp Casey, a summer horseback riding program for kids with cancer and their families. Amy graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on urban culture.
Ross Sanders, Executive Director has served on the leadership team of Rock Financial and Quicken Loans for 10 years. In this capacity, he led the creation of a joint venture, managed the start-up of a national branch network, coordinated the relocation of the corporate headquarters and led numerous process improvement initiatives. Prior to this experience, Ross spent ten years at MetLife, where he managed large projects for clients including General Motors and General Electric. There he led the development of the GM National Retiree Servicing Center, managed a GE Benefit Center and coordinated several major performance improvement initiatives. Ross received his Bachelor’s Degree from Michigan State University, earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from Wayne State University and is trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Nancy King is the Academy Coordinator. Her previous experience as a self-employed Professional Organizer helps her to balance all of the details necessary to ensure Bizdom U’s operations run smoothly. Nancy is responsible for day to day administration, tracking processes and coordinating all of Bizdom’s special events. Prior to being self-employed she was a Business and Finance Manager at a high paced automotive marketing company for over 15 years, managing revenue of over $20 million. Prior to this position she was an account executive in charge of Vehicle Incentive Programs and Public Relations Campaigns for Nissan, Lexus, Hyundia, Jaguar and Mazda. Nancy graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing and Communications.