Bridget Schneider's interest in Land of Lincoln CEO stems from a desire to help the youth in our community succeed financially in addition to inspiring an entrepreneurial spirit in our community.  Bridget is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional with Broadway Graham Wealth Partners in Lincoln. Her focus is financial planning and investment management for families and individuals.  She also has several years of experience advising small business owners regarding retirement plan benefit options. In addition to a focus on the future retirement needs of families and individuals, she assists with income distribution planning during retirement, estate planning, and insurance needs. She is a University of Illinois graduate and lives in rural Logan County. 

Rachael Judd is the Executive Director at Lincoln First United Methodist Church and former owner of Small Town Social. She has served as an LLCEO Mentor and Board Member, currently serving as Vice Chairman.

She is also invested in the Logan County community through Chester 4-H and the Lincoln Community Garden Project.

Rachael resides in Lincoln with her family and enjoys supporting the growing group of entreprenuers in our community.

David Pickering is the CFO of The First National Bank in Tremont. He was born and raised in the town of Lincoln.  After spending several years working in the surrounding area, he has returned to become a resident of the town he grew up in.  David is married to Molly Gleason and they are expecting their first child in February of 2023.  In his free time, he enjoys golf, basketball and basically anything competitive.  With over 12 years in banking David plans to use this experience to help the young people in the area succeed in business thus strengthening the local community. 

Ashley Bryan is the Warranty Administrator for Central Illinois Ag in the Atlanta location. Her passion is agriculture and helping others. Ashley lives in rural San Jose in Logan County. Ashley and her Husband Zach enjoy spending time with their golden retrievers and cat. Ashley was in the 2016-2017 Land of Lincoln CEO program as a student. This led her to the career path she chose at Central Illinois Ag from a business visit. Ashley has been with Central Illinois ag since 2017, where she thoroughly enjoys working in the agriculture industry. Ashley went to Hartsburg-Emden High School then went to Heartland Community College on a scholarship. She graduated  from Illinois State University in 2021 with a Agriculture Business degree. CEO is a great opportunity to show young entrepreneurs the importance of this community and how being involved can truly strengthen these local businesses. Ashley plays a role in the mentoring side of CEO where she finds joy in connecting students with a mentor to help guide them. Ashley believes that being on the Land of Lincoln CEO Board is a great way to give back to the program that shaped her into the individual she is today.

Michelle Bauer is a Financial Representative with COUNTRY Financial in downtown Lincoln.  Prior to her career with COUNTRY Financial she was the Director of Transition Services at Lincoln College.  She has served as a CEO mentor and was thrilled to be asked to participate as a member of the board.  She believes CEO allows her the opportunity to combine her passions for watching young people come into their own and giving back to the community that has given her a place to call home. 

She shares her life with her husband, Todd, and 2 daughters Alaina & Sophia.  She currently serves on the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Board of Directors and the Logan County Professional Network board.  She is a member of the Lincoln Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary and former City of Lincoln Alderman.  She is an avid Chicago White Sox fan and musical theater junkie.

Deanne Mott has worked in higher education for over 20 years and is currently the Associate Director of Heartland Community College Lincoln. Her background in interpersonal communication and public speaking blends well with the CEO program as she has long believed in the power of youth when they find their voice and use it for good.

She and her husband are transplants to Logan County but happily raised five children within the Mount Pulaski school district. Deanne also currently serves as Vice-President on the MPCUD 23 School Board. When she isn't making a renovation to her family's 125+ year old farmhouse, she is likely traveling.

I have spent the majority of my working life as an entrepreneur in the automotive field.  As the CEO/GM of two dealerships I have enjoyed the challenges of the daily operations of these sales and service businesses.  The CEO program captured my attention from attending the trade show, were the current students present their individual businesses.  I needed to get involved.  Fortunately there was room for me and I jumped at the chance to join these young adults in their quest for business knowledge.  I reside in Lincoln with my wife (and business partner) Barb.  We are  the proud parents of Kate, age 24, who lives and works in Chicago.

Kristi Powell has been involved with LLCEO since its inception in 2016 and feels passionately about the need for this hands-on, real-world educational opportunity in Logan County.  She has witnessed the true transformation in many of the students who have graduated from the program and thrive in the years following.

After 25 years at Heartland Community College Lincoln, Kristi retired in 2022 and purchased a local historic roadside tavern, The Lodge off 66 in Hartsburg, IL.  When she's not behind the bar, Kristi enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and traveling with her husband, Deron.  

Kristi has established a scholarship at Heartland Community College specifically for graduates of Land of Lincoln CEO to continue their education.

As LTEC Director, I am committed to providing the best career and technical education opportunities to Lincoln Community High School and the surrounding LTEC member schools. Our mission at LTEC, is to prepare students to be successful after high school. Whether entering the work force, or continuing their education, LTEC has all kinds of career and technical education programs for any junior or senior student. Most of our learning is “hands on” where students will be expected to participate, think critically, and work independently. At the completion of an LTEC class, students will have gained valuable job skills while obtaining insight into various rewarding careers.

John Robinson is in my 14th year teaching High School Business at Hartsburg-Emden HS in Hartsburg, IL. He is also an adjunct instructor at Heartland Community College in Normal, IL, teaching Small Business Accounting.

In his spare time, John is a public address announcer for different school sporting events. He produces content for fantasy football, both as a writer for Fantistics, and audio with a radio show every Sunday morning on ESPN Peoria during the NFL Season, as well as appearances on the Fantasy Sports Channel on SiriusXM. 

John has had students go through the CEO program in his time teaching high school, and have seen these students increase their skills and self-confidence because of the CEO Program. He enjoys watching each class go through the learning process of the program and currently has one student, who has continued her business, and another student, who he is honored to be on the CEO Board with.