Websites from Illinois, United States

John Garvens is the Owner and Principal Architect at Garvens Consulting, a Salesforce consulting partner specializing in Revenue Operations. His Salesforce journey began in 2013. He has experience as a Salesforce Administrator, Consultant, and Architect, working with and for Salesforce, its customers, and its partners. John has worked on numerous Salesforce CPQ projects and has taught Salesforce CPQ to hundreds of Trailblazers. He also owns Freeport Martial Arts. John shares his experiences on his website and in his newsletter, writing about life, business, technology, and martial arts. He volunteers as a Salesforce career coach through Salesforce Military and Veterati.

Brendan Hufford helps people learn how to write words that open hearts, minds, and wallets. He teaches how an essential knowledge of writing can lead to more leads, sales, clients, higher rates, or a dream job. Brendan also teaches SEO, cutting through the BS to explain it in a way that's easy to understand. He has taught thousands of people how to use SEO in their business and creative passions. Brendan runs his website by the motto: Work hard, be nice to people, and try not to get too lost creating something that matters.

Saari is a photographer based in Chicago, Illinois. He initially studied photography in 1988 and later attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After focusing on music for 15 years, he returned to photography, embracing digital technologies. He has been shooting for over 30 years and rediscovered his passion for photography in 2015 with the Nikon D750. Saari also has experience as a musician and recording engineer and is interested in audio and visual work.

Paulo is a Brazilian graphic designer with a Japanese twist and a digital art director. He has over 20 years of experience and holds a Google UX certification. Paulo has worked as a Senior Digital Art Director at TMS, a Visual Designer at Perro Amarillo, and a Senior Graphic Designer at Mog Design, among other roles. He believes in showing respect and empathy and is excited to be part of the digital design world.

Craig Hamill is an innovation-minded, security-first technology leader with over 25 years of experience leading digital transformation and research technology initiatives. He focuses on turning complexity into scalable platforms and customer outcomes. Craig is a strategic engineer who builds trusted relationships and delivers impactful results. He aims to lead a high-velocity team focused on transformation, leveraging technology, data, and cybersecurity to modernize organizational performance. He is a Forbes Technology Council Member and contributor to the World Economic Forum – Connected Future Initiative.

Ashley Blackburn is a designer, dabbler, and day-dreamer with over 15 years of experience in higher education, K-12, and corporate training + development. She is passionate about people and learning, and her work focuses on helping individuals, teams, and organizations reach their full potential. Ashley is a lifelong learner who enjoys trying new things, from pickleball to glassblowing. Based in the Chicago area, she has completed an improv course and is a regular at book club. She is currently a Project Director at Duke Corporate Education. She was previously a Senior Manager at Hello Fresh and Head of Content at Herrmann. Ashley is a dog mom to two rescue pups, Spud and Sprout.

Matt is the author of Destination: zero bars, a website dedicated to providing backpacking resources, particularly for the Midwest. He aims to motivate others to experience the wilderness and disconnect from technology. Matt has spent over a thousand hours backpacking and introducing others to the activity. He shares his research, planning, gear suggestions, and advice on destinations, physical conditioning, and food/nutrition to help others enjoy backpacking.

Amber Krowiarz is a writer, mentor, and launch strategist. She helps thoughtful, meaning-driven people clarify their inner world and bring soul-aligned projects to life. Amber lives in Indiana with her husband Joe, and children Koa and Gus. She enjoys writing, mentoring, and herding dogs and cats. Her main focus is on meaningful work and meaningful relationships. She loves making things and learning, and spends her time imagining, inventing, tinkering, and building.

Jeremy Keeshin is from the Chicago area and studied computer science at Stanford. He lived in the Bay Area for 10 years before moving to New York. In high school, he founded a satirical newspaper called The Flipside, and continued working on it in college. After college, he started working on CodeHS, a site to help teach computer science to high schools. His blog is his main internet location and contains blog posts on a variety of topics.

Alex Carmona is an American artist specializing in woodcuts, reduction woodcuts, and wood carvings / engravings. He learned printmaking at the University of Northern Colorado under Professor Sieger Hartgers. Carmona's works are known for their detail, craftsmanship, and scale. He has created woodcuts and marketing material for the music and automotive industry. Alex is an ambassador for Speedball. His prints and wood carvings are displayed all over the world. His automotive artwork was displayed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2019 Global Auto Salon. He served his country for ten years before becoming a full-time artist. His artwork is used throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center for the SEMA Show. Fender sought him out to create the world's first "Woodcut Telecaster.” Alex resides in Peoria, Illinois.

Bob Hildebranski is a civil engineer with 35 years of experience in the industry. He has been in responsible charge of over $450 million in construction work as a Resident Engineer. Bob currently works for Orion Engineers, a veteran-owned civil consulting engineering company based in Chicago. He is also an adjunct instructor at Joliet Junior College, teaching Construction Surveying. Bob is a volunteer with the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency and a lector at St. Mary Immaculate Parish. He trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is a strength & conditioning enthusiast. He hopes his website will be a resource for engineers of all disciplines, particularly those involved in the construction process.

Nicole Dieker Finley is a writer, musician, and freelancer. She has been a freelance writer since 2012, focusing on personal finance and personal development. Nicole is also a classically trained musician and composer with an MFA in theater directing. She wrote the “On the Money” advice column and the “Money Talks” interview series at Vox, and previously contributed to the “Money Matters” advice column at Morning Brew. Nicole is the author of *Frugal and the Beast* and *The Biographies of Ordinary People*, and she completed a four-volume inquiry called *WHAT IT IS and WHAT TO DO NEXT*. She also wrote *The Larkin Day Mysteries* series. Her secular benediction “I Wish You Peace” has been a part of university choral repertoire since 2001.

R. Pihlgren is a former techie who is now retired. He is learning how to play bass and guitar. He is also trying to figure out how to improve his health. He has been building his mental model for over 60 years.

John Jacobsen is a software engineer and visual artist living in Chicago, Illinois. He studied art and physics at the University of Wisconsin — Madison, receiving his doctorate in physics in 1996. His doctoral work and postdoc focused on the AMANDA neutrino detector and the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. He also worked at CERN. In the 21st century, he has worked as a software engineer and painter, maintaining a regular studio practice since 2015 focusing on figurative art. He traveled to the Geographic South Pole ten times for AMANDA and IceCube.

This is my playground 🕹️. A collection of notes , book summaries , artwork & work projects .