Mentor & Volunteer Opportunities

 

incubatoredu@lzhs

INCubator Board of Advisors
  • Linda S. Fine, Buckley Fine Law
  • Joseph Janicki, Brightway Insurance and The Janicki Agency
  • Ann Marie McConnell, Fairbanks LLC
  • Dan Migacz, A.M. Woodland Outdoor Design / Lotz Custom Carpentry
  • Lauren Nagys, Smalley
  • Vas Russis, Buckley Fine Law
  • Dr. Sherrise Trotz, BS, MBA, PharmD., Owner of Sage Elite Studios and Sage Leadership Academy

INCubator Mentors & Coaches
  • David Carlson, Hatch Product Development
  • Rachel de Boer, YKK (U.S.A.) Inc.
  • Malvina De Salvo, Plateful; CEO and Founder
  • Ali Finn, D95
  • Michelle Garcia-Prats, Harms Farms & Garden Center
  • Doug Goldberg, Northrop Grumman
  • Marty Jalove, Master Happiness LLC
  • Michelle Kusel, Uncharted Learning, NFP and Owner of Fixin’ It Up
  • Jill Losser, Citibank
  • Thomas Meyer, Centrust Bank
  • Lauren Nagys, Smalley
  • David Pratt, Baker Tilly US LLP
  • Brad Shafer, Northeastern Illinois University
  • Caryn Simons, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Kildeer and Skokie

 

Mentor & Volunteer Opportunities

​Our program is always looking for committed community members, engaging business leaders, and enthusiastic entrepreneurs to help guide and mentor our students through the process of developing and implementing their business plans. Volunteers can serve in one of two ways:

Coach

Serving as a coach is a one-time, three-to-four day presentation on a specific business topic, such as marketing, social media, finance, law, or technology. A coach is an industry professional who will partner with the classroom teacher for the 3-4 days to offer instruction. Lesson plans are provided but coaches are encouraged to share their own expertise.

Mentor

A mentor stays with their student team throughout the year. It is the most thrilling experience for our volunteers. Mentors guide their student teams to help develop the business. Mentors meet with their team during the school day at least two times each month. Mentors are expected to commit to a weekly check-in meeting (in person or remotely if necessary) with their team throughout the school year.

Board of Advisors

The volunteer board is comprised of entrepreneurs and seasoned business professionals that provide teams a strategic point of view. Importantly, they serve as the judges for determining the value of the team’s MVP funds at mid-year and they assess the team’s pitch at the end of the year and determine which teams deserve seed funds.

All mentors and coaches must go through a background check provided by D95.

Click here to complete the LZHS INCubator Volunteer Form

If you are interested in volunteering for our INCubator program at LZHS, please contact Ali Finn at ali.finn@lz95.org or complete the form above.