Mary Ellen Baldwin, CFP ® graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1979 and joined Harris where she held positions ranging from market analyst to marketing manager. She earned her MBA from Florida Institute of Technology in 1983. In 1988 she left Harris after completing the College for Financial Planning Education Program. She practices as a comprehensive, fee-only, Certified Financial Planner ® at her firm, Baldwin & Associates, in Melbourne, Florida.

Mary is currently serving on the board of the Space Coast Guardianship Association, Cancer Care Centers of Brevard Foundation, Florida Institute of Technology Women’s Business Center and the Brevard County Estate Planning Council. In the past she has served on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Home Society of Florida and as Chairman of the Business Operations Committee for the South Brevard Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. She has been a member of the Eau Gallie Yacht Club since 1983 and has served on several committees including Chairman of the Women’s Advisory Council. Her hobbies include bicycling, kayaking, roller blading, downhill skiing, and scuba diving.

Dr. S. Ann Becker is Associate Dean of Research in the College of Business, a University Professor of Management Information Systems and Computer Science, and President of the Women’s Business Center at Florida Tech. She has a B.S. and an MBA from St. Cloud State University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Information Systems from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Becker also holds a graduate certificate in Contract Management from Florida Tech. Dr. Becker has extensive experience in teaching, research, and consulting in electronic commerce, web usability, software engineering, database technologies, and acquisition management. She has published over 100 articles in these and related areas. Dr. Becker is an associate editor for the Journal of Database Management, Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, and International Journal of Cases on Electronic Commerce. She is the recipient of the Joan Bixby Women’s History Award at Florida Institute of Technology (2005, 2007) and Northern Arizona University's Mark Layton Award for Research Excellence (2002-2004).

Deborah Bradley Goode (Debbie) is one of the owners and the Audit Director with Hoyman Dobson CPA’s family of companies. Prior to joining the firm, she was an auditor for Cooper’s and Lybrand. Blending the art of people skills and the science of Certified Public Accounting, Debbie has managed, planned and supervised audits of for profit, governmental and nonprofit entities for over 21 years. She is also responsible for Hoyman Dobson’s government cost accounting niche and has performed forensic examinations. Community involvement is a state of being for Debbie as she has been involved in dozens of teams and committees throughout the Space Coast. She is currently on the Executive Committee and Board of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast and has had leadership roles with the Brevard Small Business Assistance Council, Leadership Brevard and a myriad of industrial and professional organizations. Debbie is looking forward to assisting with the growth of Florida Tech’s Women’s Business Center. She achieved her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Florida State University and her Masters in Accounting from the University of South Florida. She has obtained the designations, Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Accounting and Florida Certified Public Accountant.

Connie Chiles-Cooke of Melbourne, Fla, a State Farm agent since 1986, is a two-time qualifier of the Million Dollar Round Table, and a three-time member of the President’s Club. Connie also founded the Women of Wisdom (WOW), an advisory and mentoring group consisting of local women that are business and community leaders. Connie is a graduate of Rollins College, and received the school’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1998. Connie was awarded the 2002 Woman of the Year for the Citrus Council of Girl Scouts and in 2005 was the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureate for her example as a leader for women in business.

Dr. Katherine Cobb is the Provost of the Melbourne Campus of Brevard Community College (BCC). She has held several positions including Provost of the Titusville/ Virtual Campus, Dean of Distance Learning, and Department Chair at BCC. Prior to joining the college, she had her own private law firm specializing in probate and bankruptcy. Her professional activities include being an appointed member of the Florida Community College Distance Learning Consortium and Governor Bush's Paperwork Reduction Task Force.

Kathy is an active member of the community; she served a two-term president of the American Cancer Society; a trustee, Chair of the Finance Committee, and Academic Review Committee of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy; Board member of Stetson University's College of Arts and Sciences; member of the Eau Gallie Rotary, Board Member of the South Brevard Debutante Society; and member of the WE Initiative of the Melbourne-Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Carol M Craig is Founder/Owner of Craig Technologies, incorporated in 1999 and headquartered in Cape Canaveral, FL. As President and CEO, she leads a team of over 150 employees nationwide. Through her company, Carol is also acting Program Manager and Senior Software Engineer responsible for program management of all full life-cycle software development including architecture-level design and implementation.

Carol’s military experience includes active duty as a P-3C Orion Naval Flight Officer, specializing in Anti-Surface and Sub-Surface Warfare. She holds a BA in Computer Science from Knox College, a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois, and an MS in Electrical Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Carol is currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical Computer Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Carol serves on several boards including the Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Executive Advisory Board for the University of Central Florida College of Engineering, the University of Central Florida Foundation, National Space Club Florida Committee, CivMil, and Junior Achievement of East Central Florida. As a member of the Society of Women Engineers, Carol serves as Secretary of the Space Coast Chapter Board of Directors, was named “Outstanding Woman Engineer of the Year” by the Space Coast Chapter in 2008, and recipient of the 2008 “Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” granted by the SWE national awards committee.

Carol is the proud mother to Danny (7), Gillian (6), and wife to CAPT John W. Craig, USN, a former F/A-18 pilot who now flies for JetBlue Airways and is a Naval reservist. Carol and John are founding members and active supporters of the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR), since their son was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome in 2002. Carol is also involved with several churches where she sings in the choir, and plays hand bells and piano.

Portrait courtesy of Jim Carchidi Photography.

Bobbie Dyer is Vice President and Branch Manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. She has 20 years mortgage experience including 14 years at Wells Fargo. Bobbie is a Top Producer at Wells Fargo and a recipent of the Leader's/President's Club award 8 times. She has closed over $500,000,000 in mortgage loans and has conducted hundreds of homebuying seminars to educate the public.

Ms. Dyer has lived in Brevard County since 1989 and served on dozens of charitable fundraising committees. Currently she is on the Board of Directors for the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Art Museum, and the Women's Business Center at Florida Tech; she is also currently serving on the Health First Foundation fundraising committee and the Cystic Fibrosis Miracle Ball committee

Carey Gleason is the Assistant Vice President for Advancement and Community Relations at Florida Institute of Technology. She has been instrumental in supporting the colleges with regard to development of key academic revenue activities. Before joining Florida Tech, Carey was the Director of Community Relations for Health First Foundation.

Carey’s involvement with the community is extensive. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Orlando Florida Chapter; Grand Samaritan, Health First, Board of Overseers of the Florida Tech College of Business; Delta Mu Delta Honor Society; Florida Chamber Board of Governors, Tiger Bay; and serves on the boards of Leadership Florida; LEAD Brevard; Junior Achievement of East Central Florida; Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Brevard Zoo and myregion.org. Ms. Gleason also is the founding member of the Ad Astra Society at Florida Tech; and a Lifetime member of the Navy League.

Edna Patten is President and CEO of Impacting Presence. Edna's greatest desire is to inspire women to reach their full potential. She believes that our outward appearance should be a reflection of our inward jubilation. Edna Patten has studied image under the direction of two out of seven world re-nowned image masters and is a member of the Association of Image Consultants International. Edna has certifications in Business Image, Personal Branding, Style, and Color Analysis. Edna has been a guest speaker at nu-merous prestigious events and on radio. Her profound advice has been published in countless articles. Edna Patten’s seminars are filled with excitement, how-to’s and examples that can be implemented immediately. She offers powerful advice that motivate people to achieve their personal best and expand their career. Her passion to help others identify their strengths and build a winning self-image is truly inspiring.

Debra J Pavlakos is Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending for Riverside Bank in Brevard County. She has made a career of banking for over 30 years.

She presently serves on the board of Circles Care where she served as the finance Chairman for two years and Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. She was Chairman of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast 1999-2000. A Graduate of the 1994 Leadership Brevard class. Debra has been involved in the Melbourne-Palm Bay Chamber, on the board of the Museum of Art & Science and Space Coast Early Intervention Center.

Debra is a native Floridian raised in Brevard County. She presently resides in Satellite Beach with her husband, John and daughter, Cortney. She attended Eau Gallie High School and Brevard Community College. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree from Brevard Community College.

Jeffrey C. Piersall is co-founder and chief executive officer of Space Coast Business, LLC, a Melbourne, Florida-based marketing services company that publishes Spacecoast Business and SpaceCoast Living, the premier monthly business and lifestyle magazines serving Brevard County. Under his leadership, the company has experienced exponential revenue increases since its inception through organic growth and acquisition. Doing business as Space Coast Business Media Group, the company provides marketing and media solutions through an expanding cadre of products and services including publications, broadcast, Internet, graphic and web design, training, and other marketing services.

Mr. Piersall is a proven leader in all endeavors of his life having positively affected thousands of people throughout his career. He is a former award winning high school and college basketball coach who had the rare distinction of coaching college All-Americans and a NBA player. During Jeff’s entrepreneurial business pursuits he built a million dollar sales territory faster then anyone in company history, leading an organization of over 7,000 independent sales representatives. Corporately he has served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Vulcan Binder, a division of EBSCO Industries, a billion dollar international magazine company; Vice-President of International Sales for Reliv International; Vice President of Sales for The Limu Company; and CEO/President of Legacy for Life.

While at Legacy for Life, Jeff was instrumental in its monumental success by driving sales from $1.2 million to $30 million annually, representing over 2400% growth and significant profitability in just 3 years. His tenure at Reliv International, a $60 million company, resulted in dramatic increases in sales in Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom. His time at The Limu Company resulted in 18 consecutive months of increased sales.

Additionally, Jeff has provided consulting services to numerous start-ups, as well as private and publicly held companies, and is acknowledged as an in-demand speaker. He possesses the unique ability to quickly summarize current conditions with a vision for the future and then communicating – using motivational techniques tied to intellectual education – to his audience with skills and tools that will make them better in multiple situations of their life.

Jeff lives in Melbourne, Florida with Judy, his wife of 26 years. They have three children: Kali (20), a senior at the University of Alabama; and Ellie (17) and Wes (16), who both attend Viera High School. Coaching his children’s sports teams is one of Jeff’s greatest passions. He serves as a Board member of the Women's Business Center at Florida Tech, Melbourne-Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce, Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement, and the American Heart Association.

Laraine Schultz is a Vice President - Investments with the Flammio & Schultz Financial Group. She has been in the investment industry as a financial consultant since 1986 and joined A.G. Edwards & Sons in 1989. She works closely with each of her clients to develop a complete investment plan based on their goals and objectives. While doing so, she helps her clients understand and manage investment risk through proven strategies, such as asset allocation and diversification. Laraine received her designation as a Trust Specialist and also holds a registration as a general securities principal. She is active with various non-profit organizations within the community. She attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

Debbie Steininger is a Senior Team Manager with Tastefully Simple. Debbie has been with Tastefully Simple for seven years and during that time has developed a large customer base, as well as training and motivating her team members to achieve success with their own home-based business. She is active in many local groups including The Hip Chicks of Brevard (President, 2007), The Business Integrity Group, Growing a Business Networking Group, and is Secretary for Intersil Toastmasters Club 2002. She is a volunteer with the Satellite High Soccer Booster Club and Satellite High Project Graduation. Debbie earned her Business degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and in her spare time enjoys reading, walking and cycling.

Barbara Ann Switzler, R.Ph., is co-owner and President of Specialty Pharmacy Services, in downtown Melbourne, specializing in compounded medications and women’s health issues. She has over thirty years experience as a pharmacist with extensive exposure in supervisory institutional, clinical, retail, and patient counseling. She is a graduate of Temple University School of Pharmacy. Barbara has been a member of the Brevard Pharmacy Association, Florida Pharmacy Association, American Society of Health System Pharmacists and Women of Wisdom (WOW). Barbara was presented with the Florida Pharmacy Association ELAN Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award in 2002 for her work in Consultative Pharmacy Practice.

Barbara has two children with her partner in life, as well as business, Thomas. Their son, David is a first year student at the University of Miami School of Law and daughter, Caitlyn is a senior at the University of Florida School of Agriculture, seeking acceptance to veterinary school. Barbara is active in her church and enjoys reading, traveling, family and friends.

Mr. Thomas is a named partner and patent attorney with the law firm of Hayworth, Chaney, & Thomas P.A., whose main offices are located in Melbourne, Florida, with satellite offices in Vero Beach. Mr. Thomas practices patent, trademark, copyright, and business law and chairs the Intellectual Property and Business Law division at the firm. He is a patent practitioner licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Thomas is responsible for all intellectual property and business law matters at the firm. He is an active litigator in both federal and state courts.

Prior to joining the law firm, Mr. Thomas was employed by defense contractor Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida in a program management, technology development, intellectual property development, licensing, and systems engineering capacity. He held profit/loss responsibility at Harris Corporation for numerous defense contracts with industry leaders such as the Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Company, and numerous others in the aerospace industry.

Mr. Thomas is a native Floridian and has been active in the Boys Scout of America with his four boys, two of whom are Eagle scouts. He holds electrical engineering and law degrees. Mr. Thomas was valedictorian of his law school class.

Barbara Wall has been the co-owner of Prudential Sterling Properties since 1984. As Broker/President, she has earned many awards such as Top Producer in the Melbourne Area Association of REALTORS, Top Real Estate Person in Suntree and REALTOR of the Year, Melbourne Area. She has personally closed over $105,000,000 in real estate in 2004, 2005, 2006. She has held many leadership roles in the community including Past District Vice President of the Florida Association of REALTORS, Past President of the Melbourne Area Association of REALTORS, Past Chairman of numerous committees in Melbourne Association, Board of Governors Eau Gallie Yacht Club 2002 – 2007, Advisory Board Wachovia Bank 2005, 2006, 2007, Past Chairperson Underwriting Committee Holmes Regional Ball , and Director, Melbourne Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce 2006, 2007.

Barbara earned her Bachelor’s Degree and completed graduate work at Florida Atlantic University. She has been licensed in real estate since 1980. She is a LTG Graduate of WCR Leadership Institute and an instructor for The Success Series at the Melbourne Area Association of REALTORS.

Barbara is an expert in residential marketing studies for developers and commercial real estate, has knowledge in all aspects of real estate sales and 1031 exchange, has a high standard of ethics with a substantial support system.