Abraham has a degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois. Abraham is an experienced executive with a background in metropolitan planning and urban affairs. He is currently the Director of the Far South Side Development CorporationAbraham has also provided business development and project management support to local chambers of commerce and Chicagoland special service areas. Additionally, he is experienced at leading teams through redevelopment plans, most recently the 119th Street Halsted Corridor and the revitalization of West Pullman through the Micro Market Recovery Program (MMRP).

Russell Bryant Professional Biography Russell Bryant is an accomplished global business executive, with over 25 years of experience. He has held a number of leadership positions during his career as an engineer, marketer, entrepreneur and consultant. Russell has developed people, products and processes at industry leading medical device and pharmaceutical companies- including General Electric, Abbott, Baxter and Mallinckrodt. Also an entrepreneur and inventor, Russell has received two patents for novel building construction productivity products. Russell obtained an engineering degree from San Jose State University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Chris Hollingsworth is the Director of the Illinois Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the Joseph Business School. Chris joined the team with over six year’s experience as a PTAC Director. Previously he was responsible for overseeing NORBIC’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center. NORBIC was a regional economic development organization that promoted job growth through professional and technical services to small businesses with a particular focus on manufacturing. The organization worked to revitalize Northeast Illinois’ manufacturing base and retain and create new jobs through a partnership with the Alliance for Industry and Manufacturing.

In this role, Chris assisted Northern Illinois companies with improving their current government procurement initiatives; including, solicitation/RFP analysis, proposal creation assistance, market research, contract administration assistance, and customized computerized bid matching service. He has an extensive background in sales and marketing in the consumer product goods and foodservice equipment sectors of business, where he initiated his government sales experience and was vital to incremental revenue growth for those organizations.

He gained knowledge of developing and implementing government marketing strategies within these market segments through initiating and negotiating General Service Administration (GSA) contracts and pricing with a variety of government agencies. Additionally, Chris served as a Medical Corpsman in the US Navy and holds a BS in Business Administration from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Melissa Duff Brown is the Director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center and Dean of the Small Business Program at the Joseph Business School. Since 2012, Melissa and her team have provided business consulting, training, and assisted over 1,300 aspiring and established entrepreneurs. During that time, over 80 businesses were launched that created and retained over 500 jobs and $3.5 million in funding was secured. Melissa is an expert on small business start-up, business development, and has consulted on brand awareness, internet marketing, and social media aspects of more than 100 businesses.

Melissa began her career as a small business staff accountant for a CPA firm and has held positions in the banking, construction, electronics, and most notably in local government as a legislative aide and chief of staff. She is an award-winning Director of Sales & Marketing with over twenty years in the hospitality industry with a proven ability to manage multi-functional teams and multi-million dollar budgets and is a specialist in pre-opening.

Melissa also holds a degree in Digital Media Production, is a Six Sigma Green Belt, an Adobe Certified Education Trainer, and a Certified Business Development Advisor. She is one of 1,600 advisors in 29 countries certified to use GrowthWheel, a tool to help to small and medium business focus and take action to grow their businesses. She is further distinguished as a graduate of the Living Word School of Ministry and is the current President of the Illinois Entrepreneurship and Small Business Growth Association.

Harvey Henderson co-teaches the class eBusiness, eCommerce and the Internet. He has over 19 years of experience in the high tech industry in the areas of consulting, business analysis, and sales engineering. Mr. Henderson has worked with several world-class organizations including Kraft Foods, PeopleSoft and Oracle. He is currently a sales engineer at eGain Corporation, which provides software solutions to help organizations improve their customer engagement strategies. Mr. Henderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University.