Maria Kuhn

Kuhn Counseling Center, P.C.

Maria Kuhn has been a small business owner for 40 years, starting her own counseling business in the early 1980’s, as well as becoming managing partner for a chronic illness case management business in 2011. Currently Kuhn Counseling Center, P.C. has offices in Naperville and Batavia. Over the years, she has devoted her work to changing the face of healthcare, whether it be in Chronic Disease Management, or through her approaches to mental health.

Maria joined the Fox Valley Entrepreneurship Center (FVEC) board about 10 years after first-hand seeing the difference the program can make for small business owners. She also puts her focus and attention as a leader of the Batavia Counselors Collaboration (BCC) to provide a link to medical and mental health services as the communities battled the COVID pandemic in the Fox Valley and Naperville areas.

CJ Morgan

Benjamin F. Edwards & Co.

C.J. Morgan, a Financial Advisor with Benjamin F. Edwards & Co., works closely with Craig Morgan in assisting the Morgan Wealth Management Group clients with investments and planning, issues surrounding estate & tax planning strategies. He graduated from Carroll University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. In addition, he holds Series 7 and 66 securities licenses as well as life and variable life insurance and annuity licenses.

In the community, C.J. is past president of Saint Charles Breakfast Rotary, past president of Saint Charles BNI, and past president and Director Emeritus for the Saint Charles Library Foundation. He is also a past director at the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra. CJ is currently a board member for the Boy Scouts of America and runs his own family charity called Liam’s Lights where his son and he deliver free lights for Autism Acceptance with the help of their family.



C.J. is born and raised in Saint Charles where he continues to reside with his wife, Lisa, his two sons, Liam and Alexander, and his two dogs. 

Roman J. Seckel

Drendel & Jansons Law Group

Like the 99% of people who have gone to law school, the primary reason I became an attorney was a strong desire to use my education to help people in need. As a partner in one of Kane County’s most respected law firms, I have been able to help countless people in innumerable ways. One of my practice areas that I love to help people in is achieving their dream of establishing and building their own business. As business owner myself, I understand the daily, monthly and yearly successes and struggles businesses face.

Drendel & Jansons Law Group has a history of serving the residents of Kane County by providing a wide range of legal representation, including in the areas of business formation and operation, family law, estate planning and real estate. I am proud be part of a firm that embraces a multi-practice approach to helping our clients and giving back to the community. We truly strive to provide professional legal services with a human touch. We do so by listening to our clients’ stories, understanding their needs and providing realistic and competent legal guidance. Personally, I have been recognized with multiple awards and recognition for my legal and community work.

I grew up in northeast Wisconsin and came to work in Kane County upon graduation from law school in 2005. My wife and I settled here with our growing family and now proudly call the Tri-Cities our home. We have strived to become not only residents but contributing members of our communities. I have served on Batavia Chamber of Commerce, and have served in several volunteer roles throughout the area, including time as youth sport coaches, scouting activities and a religious education teacher. My family enjoys the many offerings of the area, including the cultural events and the multitude of nature preserves we can explore.

Jessica McGrail

Dollar and Sense Bookkeeping, Inc.

Bookkeeping and small business owners are my passion. Helping a small business owner grow through understanding their financials is an amazing experience. Being a Certified QuickBooks Online Pro Advisor has given us the tools to be efficient, accurate and produce easy to understand reports for our clients. We value the relationships we have with our clients and feel like we are all walking this journey together.

Serving in our community is important to us, it takes a village! Volunteering at Batavia MainStreet events and serving on Non-Profit Boards like The Batavia Chamber of Commerce and The Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry are ways we can help those in need. Our favorite community event is The Batavia Farm to Table Dinner that my husband and I have the privilege of helping with, all proceeds go the Batavia Food Pantry!

My husband Bill and my two kids, Olivia and William, make me the best person I can be. I am blessed to have their love and support always. Some of our favorite things to do together are walking our dogs, playing at the park, going to the Sox games and making crafts!

Bryan McDonald

onPurpose Growth

Bryan McDonald has spent his whole 20+year career in new revenue growth and focused on a superior sales strategy that created a track record of success by serving vs selling people.

Graduating from Penn State in 2001, Bryan went right into sales, in a corporate position, and quickly realized that roles he could be entrepreneurial in were ones that he excelled in.

He is a partner at onPurpose Growth, a coaching and consulting firm that serves entrepreneurs who have ambitious yearly or multiyear revenue goals, fulfill that ambition.

He helps entrepreneurs build sales systems that predictably grow revenue as well as build communication practices and strategies that are superior to traditional sales tactics or practices. Clients say that when they apply what they learn they are assessed as rare by their prospects and clients so, their offers are more readily accepted vs people with common skills and practices.

Bryan has served entrepreneurs by helping them go from as little as $75k in revenue all the way to $1M+ in 6-18 months using the strategies, tactics, mindsets and frameworks he and his partners have put together. No matter what revenue clients have started out at, he has served them by supporting them in 2x, 3x and even 5x+ their revenue.

He focuses his time outside of work with his wife and two daughters as well as being involved in his church community as well as being on the board of a non-profit organization that organizes Christian Men’s leadership development weekends all across the country.

Andrew Parker – Executive Director

Graydon Management

While serving as the product marketing manager for Tandem Computers, Inc. (now Hewlett-Packard), Andy Parker was responsible for launching over a dozen new products. During this time, he managed development teams, researched new markets and handled OEM relationships.

His enthusiasm for enterprise computer systems served him well as the vice president of marketing for Infogix, a world leader in information integrity solutions, which detects bad data in systems and networks for the Global 1000. At Infogix, Mr. Parker implemented product life cycle management processes that streamlined the delivery of new products.

As an early devotee to personal computers, Parker founded Far West Systems to develop artificial intelligence systems, including a LISP operating system for the personal computer. While serving as the director of business development with Spyglass, Inc., he played a key role in licensing the Mosaic web browser to Microsoft. Mosaic, the first Internet web browser, ultimately became the basis for Internet Explorer.

The entrepreneurial bug hit Parker more than once. Again, the Internet proved to be his playground when he founded Mercantec, Inc. Mercantec pioneered the first electronic commerce solution commercially available on the Internet, growing to distribution in 13 countries and over 200 Internet service providers. To support its growth, Parker was instrumental in securing over $30 million in investment capital.

More recently, he founded, and serves as CEO of HubTack, Inc. HubTack forever changed the way land surveyors and engineers perform survey research. Parker designed a unique online document distribution system that allows surveyors to access documents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from a desktop or mobile platform.

With a degree in computer science and an extensive technology background, it seems logical that Andy Parker would like working with tech firms. Yes, he’s willing and able to work with tech-related businesses, but more importantly, he looks for businesses and people that are fun and exciting to work with. Graydon Management is especially fond of working with companies who want to give back to their communities.

Maria Kuhn

Kuhn Counseling Center, P.C.

Bio on the Board of Directors section

Roman J. Seckel – Legal

Drendel & Jansons Law Group

Bio on the Board of Directors section

John G. Kraynak – Marketing

Existence Creative

I have a passion for creating great designs and solving problems. My love for drawing, creating and photography started at an early age in my life. I was always intrigued by looking at cool logos and advertisements, such as Air Jordan’s and colorful band posters. If it was cool, I wanted it! It’s the emotional connection that great designs provide for us. Anything I create is with the intentions to connect, engage and provide that same emotional experience.

In 1999, I graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts and Graphic Design. After graduating, I’ve continued to challenge and push myself in the advertising and design industry. Early in my career, I worked for printers, sign companies, ad agencies and I also created an in-house design department. Today, I still continue learning, experimenting and honing my craft. I’ve enjoyed being the Creative Director for Jimmy Johns for 15 years. During my career with Jimmy Johns, I’ve had the privilege to use my creative skills for brand identity, marketing campaigns, TV commercials, radio spots, menus, websites and UX designs, apps, package designs, photography, sponsorships including NASCAR, Motocross and the UFC.

In 2018, I’ve decide to take my passion for great creative designs and opened up my studio, Existence Creative. I enjoy helping companies with their branding, advertising and anything creative. My approach is to make relevant designs and creative experiences that engage audiences. I always look forward to using my creative skills for the next challenge/project.

Kelly Kellen – Marketing

Rewire Marketing

Kelly is a Marketing Professor and Business Consultant. She is known to be a systems thinker, value creator and technology junkie. Kelly’s previous experience includes working at agencies such as Epsilon, Two West, and Saturday Studios. She also has worked as an intrapreneur for brands such as Motorola, Sprint, and Dell in the telecommunications and security space. Over the last 10 years her focus has been working with start-ups and small businesses in the Fox Valley area helping them build a foundation for growth. She teaches digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership courses. She holds an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a BFA from Iowa State University along with a Certification in Management and Leadership from MIT.

Jessica McGrail – Financial

Dollar and Sense Bookkeeping, Inc.

Bio on the Board of Directors section

Bryan McDonald – Education

onPurpose Growth

Bio on the Board of Directors section

Austin Dempsey

BEI Properties, Inc.

Batavia Enterprises Real Estate, LLC

Austin Dempsey, CEO of BEI Properties, Inc. and Principal of Batavia Enterprises Real Estate, LLC a third-generation business committed to bringing the Fox Valley customer focused commercial, residential and property management services. After graduating high school from Marmion Military Academy, he attended Butler University in Indianapolis, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Marketing. He obtained his Masters of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Management and Finance from Loyola University – Chicago. Mr. Dempsey is also licensed as an Illinois Real Estate Broker. 

Residing in Batavia, IL with his wife Melissa, two sons Colton and Bennet and daughter Cora, Mr. Dempsey is very active in the local community. In 2017 Mr. Dempsey was recognized with the “Best Under 40 Award” because of his outstanding leadership and professional accomplishments within the community. He was also recognized with the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award by the Business Ledger in 2010 for Regional Spirit and again in 2015 for Outstanding Service to Entrepreneurs. 

Current list of active boards and community involvement:

Fox Valley Entrepreneurship Center-President

Fox Valley Patriotic Organization-President

Marmion Military Academy Alumni Association - Board Chair

The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley – Vice Chair

Batavia 4^th of July Fireworks – Sponsorship Chair

Aurora University Board Member

Mutual Ground of Aurora Advisory Board Member

Knights of Columbus – Batavia Chapter 

In addition to his board roles Austin has championed the work of local charitable organizations and not for profits, he has helped local organizations raise approximately $2,000,000 to support their valuable missions. His philosophy, “it takes a village to raise a community” is ever present throughout all of his relationships.   

Michael Algrim

Empowered Ventures