Jane has quite a colorful background encompassing varied life and work experiences.
Jane was an educator, coordinating many after-school programs, while continuing to be an active volunteer in both her church and community. For twenty-five years, Jane and her partner, Rae Russo, ran a successful event management company. Running a small business in New York City is challenging on every level; Rae worked on sales while Jane concentrated on operational processes for brick and mortar as well as e-commerce businesses, handling administrative, marketing, human resources, sales, product management, and accounting.
Always looking to empower other business owners, she created the NYC Balloon Network, conducting programs and seminars within the Balloon Decorating Industry, teaching at national and international conferences and created one of the most successful balloon decorating and delivery businesses in the country. She is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program and holds professional certificates in Entrepreneurship and Management Consulting. She has been in the Hospitality industry in many roles throughout the last thirty years and brings varied experience in that field as well.
With her parents leading by example throughout her life, volunteering allows Jane to be involved with her community. She has served as President of the Board of Directors, managing a 72-unit condominium complex as well as President of a local chapter of Business Networking International (BNI) in Brooklyn, NY.
Jane has been speaking and performing in front of audiences, large and small since she was young. She has a natural ease and quirky sense of humor when speaking and her presentations are very entertaining. A “no-nonsense”, New York approach in her speaking, she handles topics focusing on leadership, organizational skills, entrepreneurism, business growth.