I was born in Strongsville, Ohio in 1998. When I was 21 months old I was dagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Growing up, I fell in love with the game of soccer and did everything I could to become the best soccer player that I could be. I broke 2 records at Strongsville High School and tied a third. I went on to play soccer at Ohio State University. I played one season for the Buckeyes before moving to Cleveland to pursue my entrepreneurial endeavors.I transferred to Cleveland State and started my first business with my long time friend and roommate. We started a social media marketing business and quickly gained some clients. We partnered with a larger agency and got the opportunity to work with some really amazing people. We loved the entrepreneurial spirit so much, that we decided to start another business. A public speaking agency. We teamed up with another member and called ourselves Deja Vu. We help others create a life that they dream of living, and I've loved the challenges and opportunities that public speaking has presented. I am 21 years old and I have never taken a sip of alcohol. I'm passionate about helping others, and I'm on a mission to make a difference. I like to speak about business and marketing, sports, adversity, and hard work. My main preference is speaking to middle school and high school students. I don't really have any time preferences and am pretty flexible. Local doesn't matter that much either, and I reside in Downtown Cleveland.

AJ graduated from Westminster College in 2019 with a degree in Accounting. He worked as an auditor for a year after college, he is now a business development analyst and salesman for ITEN industries full time. He owns and operates a few small businesses called Odorex Athletix, Athena Entrepreneurial Educators and Town Crier Radio. He is also the host of a podcast called “Work In Progress” where every other week he talks about the various business endeavors on which he works. In his free time he enjoys weightlifting, skateboarding, skiing and playing Xbox.

Evan Delahanty is the Founder and CEO of Peaceful Fruits, a social good snack startup that employs people with disabilities to make healthy, delicious, rainforest-friendly fruit snacks. Peaceful Fruits has been featured on NPR and ABC’s Shark Tank and is focused on scaling sales and production locally and nationally. Evan graduated from Walsh Jesuit High School (2003), then Cornell University (2007), before working in private industry in operations management. Prior to launching Peaceful Fruits, he served as a Community Economic Development Specialist for the U.S. Peace Corps in the Amazon interior of Suriname, South America. Evan Delahanty enjoys speaking about the entrepreneurial mindset, the art of the elevator pitch and how to raise capital. He is available to speak to students 3rd through 9th grade during the school day across town.

Dr. Casen DeMaria gets to live out her dream job everyday as a chiropractor. As a registered massage therapist, Dr. Casen knew she wanted to continue to add value to the individuals she was helping each day, and enrolled at Life University where she received her Doctor of Chiropractic. Since joining The Drugless Doctors, Dr. Casen actively pursues new ways to reach and educate the community about the benefits of chiropractic, drugless care, and breast thermography, which includes successful partnerships with local businesses and women’s organizations. Dr. Casen enjoys speaking about how to follow your passion, what a career in health care looks like, how to represent your brand and simple strategies to improve your marketing and communication. Dr. Casen is available to speak to students at schools and non-profit organizations located in downtown and westside Cleveland.

Rick is an engaged learner curious about the world and seeks solutions to problems. He works in both the for profit and non-profit sectors laboring to unleash potential: improving operations, building into communities, and equipping people for success. Rick is a founder of small businesses, a school, and social ventures. Rick’s motto, “Invest in the City!” Rick is interested in speaking about igniting the entrepreneurial mindset, the art of the elevator pitch and how to start a business. He is open to speaking to 3rd-12th grade students across town, in classroom settings and out of school programs. Please contact Rick at Rick@Cleoramanagement.com to schedule an engagement.

Bob Gillingham is the President of Bob Gillingham Ford, a third generation family business. He is active in the community and volunteers for many organizations. He is a member of the Medina County Career Center school board, is on the advisory board for the St. Ambrose school in Brunswick. His primary passion, however, is teaching financial literacy. Starting out with Junior Achievement 30 years ago, Bob has been teaching the subject at schools around the country. About 10 years ago he developed a curriculum specifically targeted to students in high school and college. His 2-3 hour class has been taught to over 6000 students last year in over 25 high schools and several colleges. Unlike so many financial literacy programs, Bob’s class does not represent any business, nor sell any products. It is strictly to educate students how each of them can become a millionaire tax free in their lifetime without any complicated program or large investment. Students in 8th grade or older can get started with as little as $20.00 invested in the stock market with very little risk. This class teaches students not only how investments work but actually how to start investing tax free at a very young age. This program is so easy we call it couch potato investing. The program is part of a world wide nonprofit Finmango, which promotes financial literacy and entrepreneurship around the world.

Gabriela (Gabby) Hernandez is a member of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a Supervisory Program Analyst and a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. She recently acquired Six Sigma Green Belt status and aspires to continue the work toward Black Belt status. Prior to this, Gabby was a Military Analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense. Gabby earned both a Bachelor degree in Urban Education and Leadership in 2017 and an Executive Master in Business Administration degree from Cleveland State University in 2023. Please contact YEI’s Dr. Celena Roebuck, croebuck@us.edu to schedule Mrs. Gabby Hernandez to speak to student groups.

Anna Kelberg-Kim is an entertainment lawyer and represents a diverse roster of clients in music industry as well as literary artists, filmmakers, visual artists, performers and performing arts organizations. Anna combines business and legal knowledge of the industry to offer comprehensive representation to entertainment professionals on matters pertaining to Copyright and Trademark; Clearance and Licensing rights; Formation of Business Entity; and Contract Drafting, Review, and Negotiation. Anna’s passion for helping people to build their careers in entertainment comes from her personal experiences as a musician and as being a parent of a music artist. Anna, classically trained violinist and pianist, grew up in an arts-rich environment – her family, professional music educators and music artists always stressed the importance and value of the arts as integral part of their lives. Recently, Anna has expanded her practice representing independent music artists and composers for sync licensing. Anna believes that with the rapid change in the music industry, sync can be very instrumental for independent musicians in fulfilling their creative purpose. Anna believes that one of the keys to professional success is continuous learning and keeping current with industry trends. She prefers to speak to students in 9-12th grade, and can be available to speak to classrooms and after school programs across town, depending on her schedule. To learn more, visit Anna’s website at www.KelbergLaw.com.

With over 40 years of experience in entrepreneurship in both for profit and not profit (including founding Young Entrepreneur Institute), I can spark your students' interest in starting their own enterprise. I have several presentations prepared but am flexible to adapt to your individual situation. One very interactive lesson focuses on turning ideas into business opportunities. The other focuses on general lessons I have learned from each of the half dozen enterprises that I have started. I also have lessons on creating a successful elevator pitch as well as business finance.

Lee Schwebel is an experienced marketing professional with a record of achievement and results. He is skilled in Brand Management, Media Relations, Corporate Communications, Market Research, Public Relations and Event Management. Lee is the great-grandson of Schwebel Baking Company founders, Dora and Joseph Schwebel. He has spent the past 25 years as Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, setting new company standards for excellence in advertising, promotions, event marketing, product development, and digital marketing. Lee enjoys speaking about developing good interpersonal communication skills and how to be better organized and prepared for school and for life. Lee can work with students to help reinforce basic life skills and the keys to being happy, positive, and productive, including accountability to oneself, to family, to others. Lee’s special areas of achievement he can share about with students include cultivating your creative spirit, strengthening writing skills, grassroots marketing, advertising, social media, current events, and arts/theater/music. He is available to discuss what is necessary to achieve personal and professional success, to students of all age ranges. Lee can describe how creativity and marketing are linked, and how he used those skills in tandem at Schwebel Baking Company, his family’s business. He has an exciting story to tell about the baking business, its founding, history, operation, what makes Schwebel’s bread so good, and how the Schwebel family has stayed in business for 114 years.

Gabrielle is a Digital Content Specialist with University Hospitals (UH), the largest network of hospitals, doctors and surgeons in Northeast Ohio. Gabrielle was recruited to UH in 2021 to lead marketing and communications for the organization’s men’s health initiative. In this position, she deploys content strategies to drive the enterprise’s message of preventative, multi-disciplinary care to close the healthcare gender gap. Prior to her role at UH, Gabrielle was a Strategic Marketing Associate for Cleveland Clinic Innovations – the international non-profit and academic medical center’s licensing and commercialization arm. In this role she drove content campaigns across multiple platforms to educate and engage both internal and external business development partners. Gabrielle graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Premedical Studies in 2018 and a Masters of Business Administration from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in 2022 with focus on Organizational Behavior & Leadership and Marketing. Please contact YEI’s Dr. Celena Roebuck, croebuck@us.edu to schedule Miss Gabrielle Semon to speak to student groups.

Anne (Catherine Skoch) is the owner of Anne Cate, a made-in-America accessories boutique specializing in skyline silhouette purses and pillows. A Cleveland girl with a love for creating and a proud Kent State graduate, she has scaled her business from a sewing machine in her dorm room to a manufacturing studio and strong team of 5. Anne Cate not only distributes directly to their customer base, but is selling in over 80 accounts small and large across the country including the Art Institute of Chicago and Wayfair.com. Anne has been an entrepreneur since she was 13 and loves bringing joy to people through her products. Anne enjoys speaking about starting a business at a young age/throughout college, finding profitable success in a creative product-based business, pursuing a venture as my a first career.