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Liliana Gentile is an Hispanic woman leader with more than 30 years of business experience. She is currently the President of Leaderable, a leadership development company she founded to help individuals and organizations achieve their goals. She is an Organizational Psychologist Specialist, a DISC Certified, a facilitator, a coach, a Spanish teacher, and entrepreneur, with great passion for what she does, and a deep commitment to community service.
Liliana was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a Macedonian immigrant and entrepreneurial family that owned/worked in several businesses. From a young age and as an immigrant and business owner herself, she’s had a strong understanding of the entrepreneurial world and the many obstacles people must overcome in their career/business journey.
At Leaderable, Liliana is delivering bilingual training programs (in English or Spanish). Her focus is on youth, and Hispanics interested in strengthening their interpersonal relationships and career growth in both, traditional and non-traditional professions/occupations. She teaches them to identify and develop their leadership skills, guides them in starting or growing their organizations/businesses, and leads them towards a path of overall job satisfaction and success.
Liliana is also a certified Spanish Teacher in the states of Illinois. From 2018 to 2021, Liliana worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago School teaching Spanish to more than 450 students per week. From 2016 to 2020, she was a teacher in the Adults Studies Program at Lyons Township High School, in Western Springs, Illinois where she also created a leadership program for professional adults.
In 1992, Liliana became a Hispanic pioneer woman in the printing, signs, and promotional products industry when she founded Abruzzo Graphics in Chicago, obtaining the certification as a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE). At only 25 years of age, her leadership and vision gave her the determination to start her own business in a male-predominated industry. Thirty years later, Abruzzo Graphics still operates in the states of Illinois and Indiana with Liliana serving as the CEO.
For over twenty years, Liliana worked in the media and publishing industry. In 1999, she became the founder, publisher and editorial director of Bodas y Quinceañeras Magazine (later Latino Social Magazine). Throughout her years as publisher, she successfully produced and coordinated numerous conferences, expositions, fashion shows, pageants, and leadership events that served to highlight Hispanic women and entrepreneurs.
Her first work experience in the media field was in Buenos Aires at a newspaper called Costa Norte and a magazine called Con Sol a Bordo. Later, before moving to Chicago to be reunited with her parents and her brother, who had emigrated to the U.S. years before her, she was hired by Posse & Associates, an important advertising agency led by Melchor Posse who would later become the Major of an upscale and influential northern suburb in Buenos Aires. She collaborated in the advertising department for his political campaign and gained great experience in the arena, which eventually allowed her to get a position in the advertising department of Clarin, the largest newspaper in Argentina, and second most circulated in Spanish-speaking countries.
Always committed to giving back and promoting the importance of community service and participation, Liliana dedicates part of her time to supporting non-profit organizations that focus on education, youth and women empowerment. Liliana’s successful career and her work in the Hispanic community have brought her several awards and special recognitions by non-profit organizations, chambers of commerce and government authorities in the state of Illinois. She has also appeared in numerous articles and news programs in the Chicago and U.S. Hispanic media.
In 2015 and driven by the conviction that it’s never late to continue learning, Liliana graduated with honors obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership and Business Administration at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. She had previously attended Law School at the University of Buenos Aires, in Argentina. She is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks Macedonian and Italian.
Liliana loves to spend free time with her family (especially with her grandchildren!), traveling, reading, and watching soccer matches whenever Argentina plays.
Liliana Gentile - Founder & CEO /
Organizational Psychologist Specialist / DISC Certified
As an educator and a teacher with a master’s degree in Education, Anna Weselak brings to the training field her experience from education, business, and non-profits. Her love of teaching has offered her the opportunity of teaching the very young, as well as the young at heart. Doing sales and marketing for a small business in a very highly competitive market allowed Anna to become acquainted with the business community. Through leading an active life in community and volunteer organizations for over thirty-five years, Anna strengthened her leadership skills and knows the importance of interpersonal relationships, teamwork and effective communication.
Ms. Weselak runs her own consulting business, Weselak & Associates. She has held seminars, classes, and workshops for a variety of businesses, agencies, and organizations. She served on the faculty of College of DuPage and St. Xavier University. Her professional memberships include the Lombard Chamber of Commerce and the Oak Brook Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is a past chairman of the board of directors of The Oak Brook Association of Commerce and Industry. Weselak served a two-year appointment on the McDonald’s Global Mom’s Advisory Panel and served as an examiner for the Lincoln Foundation. She served on the board of Three Fires Council of the Boy Scouts of America. She is a founder and past president of the Zonta International Oak Brook Club and currently serves as the District 6 Governor of Zonta International. She is holds membership in the National Association of Women Business Owners Chicago Chapter, the National Association of Parliamentarians, the Association of Training and Development, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum and Development.
Ms. Weselak has been recognized for many of her accomplishments including: a National Honorary Life Member and over 25 State PTA Honorary Life Memberships, Lombard Woman of the Year, listed in six editions of Who’s Who, 1996 edition of 2000 Notable Women in the U.S., 1997 international edition of 500 Notable Women, a recipient of an Illinois School Board Association Those Who Excel Merit Award, the International Communication Award of Excellence, Illinois Association of School Administrators DuPage Citizen of the Year, and by The Business Ledger 2003 Annual Achievement Award and their 2004 Most Influential Woman in Business Award. For six years, she served on the state board the Illinois Federation of Woman’s Clubs and was a member of the Board of Directors of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL). Weselak has been a member of the PTA for over 40 years as a teacher and as a parent. She is a past president of the Illinois PTA and past president of the National PTA. In 2009, she was named an Outstanding Alumni of Northern Illinois University from the College of Education and named as a 2014 Woman of Distinction by the Suburban Life Magazine. She is the 2017 Recipient of the Lombard Senior Woman of the Year.
Being the CEO of Weselak & Associates, Anna prides herself on leading a nation-wide company servicing a diverse client base by customizing seminars, workshops, and classes to meet the individual needs of each client while being focused on each participant in every class and seminar. She is a Certified Group Coach, DISC Certified, Driving Forces Certified, Emotional Quotient Certified, TriMetrix HD Certified, Certified DISC Practitioner, and an Accredited Facilitator of The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team.
Anna Weselak - Founder & CEO at Weselak & Associates
Liza Benson-Dirl serves as Adjunct Faculty at National Louis University and instructs students in the areas of Leadership, Project Management and Business Analytics by combining academic knowledge with over 20 years of experience in Engineering, Procurement and Education. Liza believes that working with people to identify and develop their leadership skills has a long-lasting impact; that is beneficial and promotes growth, both personally and professionally. She believes that each one of us is a leader in our own right, each one of us has something different to offer and each one of us can be a key contributor to the success of our organizations given the right knowledge and tools.
Liza worked in the Aggregate industry for over 15 years where she held positions as a Design Engineer, Plant and Project Engineer and Purchasing Agent. During her tenure, she was selected to attend the Dale Carnegie Training Program, VMC’s Bruno U-a 3- week leadership development workshop, and a number of courses centering around coaching and professional interactions. Upon exiting the company, Liza took some time to re-evaluate her interests and returned to school to pursue a graduate degree. Her experience over the years has convinced her that “good” leadership is the key to success and this idea led her to developing a passion for understanding the theory of leadership.
Liza considers herself a lifelong learner, believes in the value of education, and the empowering ability behind knowledge and personal growth. She enjoys the process of working with her students as they discover their leadership styles and guiding them to the point where they have the necessary tools to craft a sustainable plan for the type of leader they aspire to be. Liza is a graduate of The University of Tennessee and Lewis University where she received a B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics and a M.S. in Project Management, respectively.
When she is not working, Liza can be found spending time with her children, husband, and their dog Heather Mae, volunteering with Senior citizens, mentoring and advising students, reading, working on word puzzles and sudoku and traveling to visit with friends and family.
Liza D. Benson-Dirl - Program Trainer
Phil Foust is a seasoned consultant with over 25 years of experience providing training programs in niche areas of Human Resources, Non-profit Board Development, Fundraising and Special Events, all in the non-profit health and human services sector of the Chicagoland area.
Phil has Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity Christian College and specializes in Corporate Compliance & Risk Management, Provider Recruitment & Contract Management, Provider Credentialing & Privileging, Human Resource Management (training and development, employee relations, management training, and labor relations for both Illinois and Indiana), Board Development, Special Events, and Volunteer Services.
Northwest Indiana’s Calumet Region is home to Phil and his family. With a passion for social justice and community empowerment, Phil’s collaborative management style fosters synergy and celebrates skills and diversity. By equipping individuals with the proper tools and fostering a culture of recognition for individual achievement, Phil helps create lasting impact and thriving communities.
Other areas of interest include exploring culinary delights, travelling with family and friends, and experimenting with amateur landscape design.
Phil Foust - Consultant & Program Trainer
Ivana Sedia (née Gentile), born in Argentina, moved to the U.S. with her family in 1989. As a fluent Spanish, Italian, and English, and proficient Macedonian speaker, Ivana has always been moved by language and understanding. As a child Ivana was motivated by her ability to communicate with native speakers during her travels across the globe, that motivation sparked her yearning to help cultures transcending borders to find understanding and commonality through language.
With an MBA in management, BA in communications, international relations and diplomacy, and a minor in Italian, Ivana took the world by storm not only writing in Spanish and English for Latino Social Magazine, but also as government advisor, where she utilized her expertise advising and assisting non-English speaking immigrants.
Ivana continuously channeled her passion for helping others through language by translating business, corporate, legal, and government documents while teaching Spanish and Italian in her spare time. As she continued to translate, she understood the immense need for her efficient translating service and a huge interest in learning Spanish and Italian from her surrounding communities. Ivana has since built a team of likeminded, translation experts as the full service translation company, Unida Translation.
Ivana Sedia - Founder & CEO at Unida Translation