Camp Trainers:
Emily Carter - Emily J. Carter is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Business Development at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Ms. Carter formerly held the position of Associate Director of Enterprise Development for SouthernTECH (the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Technology Enterprise Center). Ms. Carter’s extensive business development experience also includes 10 years with the SIUC Small Business Development Center where she counseled hundreds of entrepreneurs and successfully packaged millions of dollars in loans. Ms. Carter has earned a reputation as an expert in the areas of business development, access to capital, and marketing strategy and has presented on these subjects to national audiences including the Association of Small Business Development Centers. Ms. Carter is a third generation southern Illinois entrepreneur with over 15 years of small business experience. Her professional affiliations and advocacy efforts include serving as Chair of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Advisory Board on Women’s Issues, President of the Illinois Small Business Development Association, and board member of the Illinois State Microenterprise Initiative. She is an inaugural recipient of the Money Smart Award presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in recognition of her exemplary efforts in helping Illinois residents become financially literate and economically empowered. Ms. Carter holds a Bachelor's in Marketing and a Master's in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Dan Boynton - Dan Boynton is currently the Business Education Department Chair at St. Teresa High School in Decatur, IL. He also serves as the Campus Minister at St. Teresa. Mr. Boynton, with help and support from Millikin University, developed and implemented the Entrepreneurship curriculum at St. Teresa after attending 2 curriculum development seminars during the summer of 2006. In his first year teaching Entrepreneurship his class wrote and implemented a business plan for a specialty coffee and snack shop in the school…the K-9 Kafé. The success of the K-9 Kafé resulted in St. Teresa being recognized as the School of the Month in the November/December 2007 issue of Today’s Catholic Teacher, an honor only 6 Catholic schools in the country receive each year. His second year Entrepreneurship class is currently writing a business plan to partner with the school’s Booster Club and create a retail space, just down the hallway from the K-9 Kafé, which will offer St. Teresa spirit wear clothing as well as a small stock of school supplies. The goal of the class is to open this second business during the 4th quarter of this school year!
Jenni Janssen - Jenni Janssen is a graduate assistant in the Southern Illinois Entrepreneurship Center and associate coordinator with CampCEO. With a marketing background and experience working with both CampCEO and entrepreneurial counseling, Jenni is very familiar with the ins-and-outs of business ownership. Jenni graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a Bachelor's in Marketing and is currently working toward her Master's degree in Business Administration. Anja Meksem - Anja Meksem is a graduate assistant and entrepreneurship specialist in the Southern Illinois Entrepreneurship Center. A native and corporate-level business woman, from Cologne, Germany, Anja brings international experience to our team. Anja graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a Bachelor’s in Marketing and is currently working toward her Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Robyn Laur Russell - Robyn Laur Russell is the Director of the SIUC Small Business Development Center; she brings in a combined background of education and business development to our program. Russell’s educational background in journalism and marketing adequately prepared her to work in the community at a chamber of commerce and in a higher education/business setting at a small business development center. She has also been a book editor/designer and a technology manager rounding out her strengths in the areas of information technology, policy and procedure formulation, and in written and graphic communications.
Todd Tracy - Todd Tracy is presently the Director of the Kaskaskia College-Small Business Development Center, Salem, IL. Duties include the coordination of counseling and training services to entrepreneurs starting or expanding their business. Todd holds a B.S. Degree in Management and an M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, respectively. Todd has many years experience as a small business entrepreneur, having owned Mulberry Hill Picture Framing, from 1986 until 2003. Currently, Todd serves as principal with both, Arc Investment, LLC, and Union Systems, Inc. Prior to taking the position with Kaskaskia College, Todd, served as Director of Energy/Marketing for the Southeastern Illinois College-Small Business Development Center, where he administered the Illinois Department of Commerce & Community Affairs funded Illinois Small Business Energy Program. In addition to serving with the SIC-SBDC, Todd was employed as Economic Development Director for the Southeastern Illinois Regional Planning & Development Commission where his responsibilities included administration of the region's Small Business Revolving Loan Funds. He has experience working as a commercial realtor for Coldwell Banker, Inc. and as a Marketing Coordinator for The Williamson Company, Inc. In 1999, Todd received designation as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council and was certified with the Illinois Small Business Development Association as a Certified Business Specialist in 2000.
