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Dolores Pavletic ’83 holds the position of Airbus Fleet Captain, Senior Manager, Flight Operations and Flight Standards at FedEx Express for Hong Kong and Memphis based pilots. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lewis University in Sociology and has been a pilot for over 30 years with a Civilian aviation background.

Dolores previously worked in Flight Management serving as a Flight Operations Duty Officer/Assistant Chief Pilot from 2008-2012. In that position, she was a direct representative of the Director of Flight Operations, and her duties included oversight of domestic and international operations. She has been a captain at FedEx for 18 years, and has served as Line Check Airman, Fleet Check Airman and Flight Standards Manager. She has also flown as an Airbus First Officer, all three crew positions in the B-727, as well as Second Officer in the B-747 and DC-8.

Dolores is married and has two children. She serves on the Women in Aviation – Chicago’s Leading Edge Chapter Board since 2011 and previously served as Founding President of the CLE Chapter 2009-2011. Dolores is also a member of the Lewis University Board of Trustees and has also held numerous other positions with Lewis University as well as with International Association of Women in Aviation and the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

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Amanda Noel, MA ’03 is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Certified Professional Resume Writer. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Xavier University in Criminal Justice and her Master of Art in Counseling Psychology from Lewis University.

Amanda has spent the past ten years in higher education serving students in the area of career management. She currently is a Student Success Counselor at College of DuPage combining academic advising, career counseling and mental health services. Utilizing a strengths-based approach, she takes a proactive approach to career development. She has extensive experience teaching students how to research careers and organizations, prepare professional career documents, network successfully, interview with confidence and create a path for a lifelong career satisfaction.

Amanda is married to an alumnus of Lewis and is mother to twin daughters. She is a volunteer with Southwest Jobs Networking Group, the Past-President of the Illinois Career Development Association, and is currently the Assistant Coach of the Homer Athletics Sun Devils 8u Softball team.

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Genesis Hey ’06, MA ’10, C.L.C is a Business Empowerment Coach. She earned both a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a Master in Art degree in Organizational Leadership from Lewis University. She is also a Certified Life and Business Coach from Life Purpose Institute, Inc. 

Genesis works most frequently with busy working women to help them create clarity through life and balance strategies. She also has worked in more than 10 industries which gave her myriad experience to train and develop people with the personal specialized content she has created. Genesis spends time with hundreds of clients through one-on-one business coaching, corporate training and by providing workshops and group training. 

Genesis is married and has a three-year old son. She loves writing poetry and short stories and has written three books, "Unleash Your Potential," "Hey, Do you Need Exposure?" and "Sparkle and Shine on with Christ." She is currently working on her fourth book which will provide a vivid picture of her mission trip to India.

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Jan Viano is Executive Vice President, Director of Channel Sales and Retail Banking Administration for First Midwest Bank. Jan attended Joliet Junior College and graduated from the University of St. Francis. Furthering her professional development, she is a 1981 graduate of the Illinois Banker School.

During her 40 year career in banking, Jan spent 30 years at First Midwest Bank, serving in various roles in the retail and corporate areas. In her current role, she focuses on client satisfaction and sales effectiveness through an Omni-Channel approach. Past President of the National Association of Bank Women – Will County Chapter, she also diligently served as a Board Member of the Illinois Bankers Association, and as a Board Member and founding Director of First Midwest Charitable Foundation. She now focuses her attention globally on the Community Foundation of Will County serving as the Treasurer. Jan consistently maintains a strong focus on promoting women’s leadership for both the current workforce and for future generations.

She has two daughters and lives in Monee, IL. She operates JV Hitchingpost, a horse barn serving others like herself with a passion for Natural Horsemanship.  

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Latina Harris ’94 has been speaking and coaching for over 10 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Lewis University and earned her Master of Science Degree in Nonprofit Management from the Spertus Institute in Chicago. She is also a licensed teacher with the Universal Foundation for Better Living in Miami Gardens, FL.

Latina currently serves as the president of the board for the Fairmont Community Partnership. The partnership has spearheaded grant funded initiatives such as Safe Passages to Schools program and the Substance Abuse Prevention campaign. Latina draws upon her life experiences and utilizes the expertise gained as a teacher, speaker and coach to lead others to success. Latina empowers individuals and groups to look within themselves to determine how to achieve the life they’ve dreamed of living. Latina has taught women all over the country how to achieve success for themselves and their families through visual goal setting.

Latina is the mother of one daughter. A fun fact about Latina is that she loves to dance and she is a “flash mob dancer.”

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Lisa Groeper’83 coaches individuals who intentionally seek to realize their potential, both professionally and personally. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Lewis University, her MBA from Illinois Benedictine University, and has completed coursework from the Coaches Training Institute in Co-Active Coaching.

Lisa has worked in human resources, training, and management. She provides services to a variety of organizations including corporations, non-profit organizations, and religious institutions. Lisa creates and co-facilitates leadership programs designed to support leaders’ growth and development. Lisa has been influential in designing and teaching a new university course called, “DISCOVER Your Direction” which helps students clarify their next steps and create confidence in their ability to succeed.

Lisa is married to a Lewis alumnus and is the mother of three daughters. She uses her skills of deep listening, empathy, caring and compassion, and provides a safe and confidential environment to help clients move their lives forward.

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 Michelle Mikka-Van Der Stuyf ’00 is President and CEO for BizStrat Technology, an innovative technology company specializing in Web E-based systems, touch screen & mobile solutions, and strategic business & technology projects. She earned her bachelor’s degree with a double major in Computer Science and Airway Science with a minor in Mathematics from Lewis University.

She has led the strategic initiatives for BizStrat Technology since 2012 as CTO/COO and recently with the addition of a Willowbrook location to support the new software division, assumed the role of President and CEO for the company. With over 20 years as a senior level IT executive, her background is diverse including network, telephony, cloud, database, development, and systems solutions including implementation, integration and automation. She continued on to implement new MIS systems and web sites, implemented the first Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system in Chicagoland, built e-commerce portals for Fortune 500 companies, and so much more.

Michelle is married with two children, a son and a daughter. She is also a member on several boards including executive committee co-chair for the Ladies in Technology program at ITF, is a member of Chicago Women’s Executive Group and ARA (Attract, Retain, Advance Women in Tech), advises and contributes to future IT talent through NCWIT sponsorship, job shadow days and corporate internships, and serves as President of the NAPW Naperville chapter, a national professional networking organization.

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Stephanie Wise is a farm and agribusiness owner. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Augustana College and earned her MBA from the University of Chicago.

During her 25 year career in banking, Stephanie spent 23 years leading numerous line and operational divisions for First Midwest Bank, where she was executive vice president. She has a broad range of experience in banking, and she has attained professional certifications in regulatory compliance and treasury management. During her years in banking, she learned the importance of creating value for the long term and was inspired to acquire her own farms. In 2013, Stephanie returned to her farming roots; she owns 345 acres and is the fifth generation of her family to work in their farming and agribusiness interests. In 2015, she was appointed to the board of directors of 1^st Farm Credit Services, the largest agricultural lender in Illinois.

Stephanie lives with her husband Christopher in Joliet, where they are members of First Presbyterian Church, and she spends significant time at the farm.

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Stephanie York, MA ’13 is the owner and Head Coach of DES Coaching – the DES stands for Don’t Ever Stop! She earned her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from West Liberty University and her Master of Art in Organizational Leadership from Lewis University.

Stephanie works within many different industries through her executive coaching in both one-on-one and group settings. At DES Coaching, Stephanie’s main focus is goal setting, business planning and life balance in order to achieve the best possible results in the shortest amount of time. She loves to focus on real change and asks that her clients learn the skills to continue that change even after the coaching is done.

For Stephanie, stepping into coaching came out of nowhere. Although she was in a six-figure sales job, she was not happy with her life. When the company she worked for offered her a coaching position to help them create a new coaching platform, she jumped on it and never looked back. Stephanie loves what she does and is passionate about helping others find their way to a more enjoyable and successful life.

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Terry Arya ’14 is the Chief Marketing Officer for Christian Brothers Services (CBS), a Lasallian enterprise which serves Catholic institutions and organizations by administering and managing employee health benefit and retirement plans, religious health trusts and institutional risk management services. Terry earned her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Illinois State University and a Master of Art Degree in Organizational Leadership from Lewis University.

Prior to joining CBS, Terry was the Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Development for Marklund, a not-for-profit organization serving infants, children, and adults with severe developmental disabilities. Her career also included national public relations and marketing leadership for an association of healthcare financial management executives. She has also worked in the tourism industry, where she traveled internationally to attract events to help

boost the Illinois economy. Terry has consulted for numerous business, municipalities and franchise owners in areas including marketing, public relations, social media, business development, and strategy.

Terry serves on the United Way of Will County’s Programs and Allocations committee as well as on the Lewis University Lowell Stahl Center for Entrepreneurship and Real Estate Advisory Board. Terry and her family currently reside in Plainfield.

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Edith “Elaine” Harris ’03, MBA ’08 is Global Sr. Manager, Business Development Personal Care, Fabric and Home Care for Ingredion Incorporated, which is one of the world’s leading ingredient solutions providers. She received her bachelor’s degree in Business and Chemistry, her Graduate Management Certificate in 2006, and her MBA International Business – all from Lewis University.

As Global Sr. Manager, Elaine is responsible for global strategic business development lead and direction setting, global distribution alliances, direct sales, new product development, and commercialization of specialty ingredients. She began her tenure with Ingredion Incorporated (formerly Corn Products International) in 1996 and has held many roles within the company. Beginning as a Technical Customer Support Manager and then Paper Specialist/Chemist, Elaine was promoted to Industrial Applications Laboratory Manager where she brought a cohesive leadership and a teamwork approach to the Applications/Lab department. She was then promoted to Commercial Manger, Personal Care where she was responsible for the formation and development of the NA personal care market segment in US and Canada. In 2012, Elaine became Manager, Business Development, Personal Care, Pharmaceutical and Interim Nutrition, where she was responsible for direct sales, business development, product management, product commercialization and product launch of value added specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical.

In 2002, Elaine was awarded the Mentor of the Year award by INROADS, Inc., a non-profit source of salaried corporate internships for high performing Black, Hispanic/Latino and Native American Indian college students, for her dedication, support and mentoring of the 2002 Interns class. She is on the board of directors of Girls 4 Science, a not-for-profit organization focused on exposing girls 10-18 years of age to STEM education and careers, and is a strong supporter of Lewis University’s Girl Create with Technology initiative. Elaine is also a member of the Midwest Society of Cosmetic Chemists. She currently lives in Bolingbrook.

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Dr. Dana Dominiak ’91 – Assistant Professor, Computer and Mathematical Sciences Department – started a video game development company, Webfoot Technologies, which she still runs to this day. She is the founder and CEO at Automate the World, a company that specializes in automation system programming. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Fine Arts from Lewis University and both her Master of Science and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

She has extensive experience programming graphical interfaces for energy analysis systems for institutions such as Argonne National Laboratory and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Dr. Dominiak has over 25 years of experience in the video game industry, including design, graphics, and programming of several of Nintendo’s and Atari’s best-selling games. She has also been able to apply her Fine Arts and computer graphics expertise to automation programming and designing GUIs for touch-panels and automation systems. Automation programming clients include NASA, The Art Institute of Chicago, Wrigley Field, Aetna, JP Morgan, and many others.

Dr. Dominiak brought her experience to the Lewis University classroom where she teaches such courses as Video Game Programming I and II and Computer Graphics. She helps with several STEM initiatives including Ada Lovelace Day and CATS – a program that teaches grade-school girls how to program video games using MIT’s Scratch programming tool. Dr. Dominiak serves on several Lewis University advisory boards and hosts many STEM summer camp and other tours of Webfoot Technologies’ offices for grade school and high-school students.