Being a Facilitator is the most important role in our organization. They are the main contact with our members. They lead the peer group meetings and facilitate the necessary materials and tools to work with during monthly meetings. They are not teachers, they coordinate the group and moderate discussions and issues’ processing. Along with your Community Director and the Member Experience Manager, they take all necessary steps to keep the group committed and lead the group to their success. Contact your Facilitator if you are not able to attend a meeting, to communicate any feedback to enhance the program, or if you have a special need or any particular request regarding your business.
Facilitator
After many years in the Education field, Caren is now working to help others build their business. Working for almost 25 years with Sylvan Learning centers as tutor, director and ultimately Franchisee has provided Caren with knowledge in not only the Educational needs of students but the background in business of a Franchise. After selling her 7 locations in Northwest and Central Ohio, Caren was able to spend some time with her family before finding the right fit with Entrepreneurs Forever organization. She is looking forward to working with other Sylvan Franchisees to help in any way build their franchisees and have success for the future.
Facilitator
David “Doogie” Levine is a native of Pittsburgh and an accidental entrepreneur. He attended West Virginia University, where he earned a BA in History. After following the path less taken, Doogie brings over ten years of management and executive leadership experience from the youth and recreation industry. His unique approach allows business owner and non-profit leaders to examine their business challenges through the lens of behavior. Doogie is a passionate advocate for creating businesses that focus on problem-solving.
He launched IAS Business Coaching and Consulting in 2019 to provide fractional Chief Operation Services. IAS provides business owners with technical and emotional support to create operational systems to sustain and allow business growth. Doogie is a skilled facilitator of business peer gatherings, organizational retreats, and management training programs; he aims to create a collaborative and productive environment for attendees to acquire valuable skills and insights to support their growth and success.
Senior Program Manager
Deborah Gallant is the Manager of Program Innovation at Entrepreneurs Forever, where she creates value for members beyond their monthly peer groups, as well as facilitating two groups.
Previously, she launched and ran EforAll in Berkshire County, Massachusetts where she helped local business owners start up with an intensive accelerator. Supplementary programs she developed included Digital Marketing Boot Camp, Deep Dives, Covid Coping Webinars and the Berkshire Business Expo.
For more than twenty years, Deborah has been a small business coach, working with individuals and small groups, teaching and leading workshops on a wide variety of business and career topics. Known as “Carol Burnett with an MBA,” she is known for making complex subjects accessible to all audiences.
Deborah’s career began in radio and was an early Internet pioneer. She holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Brandeis University.
Facilitator
“Coach Donald” Robinson has a passion for the success and wellness of all people. His passion is the driving force for all of his endeavors. Donald is the owner of Global Human Performance (GHP), a gym & coaching business started in 2017. GHP currently serves over a thousand people per year from direct coaching to various partnerships and programs. Coach Donald has trained coaches and athletes internationally from Central America to East Africa as a part of the "Global" aspect initiatives of GHP. Coach Donald serves entrepreneurs with their business strategy, operations, as well as personal organization for business owners themselves as he believes your personal life operational handling is reflected in your business operations.
Donald hails from Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. He has a BA in Exercise Science & Philosophy from Slippery Rock University and a M.Ed in Exercise Physiology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an avid athlete and dedicated sci fi nerd.
Facilitator
Ethan Kakley has worked as a freelance graphic designer for the last 20 years. He has a diverse portfolio ranging from websites to tattoos, and truly enjoys collaborating with clients to provide them with the product they are looking for.
In addition to his experience as a graphic designer, he also spent a number of years working in retail at Pier 1 Imports, where he managed the logistics side–working with over 70 warehouse teams nationwide, as well as several same day furniture delivery companies. There were numerous challenges as the business grew and he enjoyed collaborating with others to develop systems and solutions to meet the needs and expectations of their customers.
After Pier 1 closed, Ethan found meaning in mentoring with small business owners through EforAll. The energy was amazing and he loved seeing people grow through the program and that has led him to his facilitation with Entrepreneur Forever.
Facilitator
After owning and scaling a business for 25 years, Gina had a successful exit with an international conglomerate. Gina now leads peer advisory groups for the Women Presidents Organization and Entrepreneurs Forever. She builds quick rapport to connect, collaborate and share collective wisdom to empower leadership and effectiveness, find clarity in decision-making, and drive results to accelerate business growth and customer experience.
She is an angel investor and Co-Chaired the Investment Committee for Next Act Fund investing in early-stage women-owned and led companies. Gina was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 Finalist. Her 25-plus-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge and corporate start.
She is a passionate yogi, yoga teacher, meditator, plant-based cook, juicer & smoothie maker, mom of two great kids, and two awesome dogs. She credits her yoga practice for giving her the clarity and strength for both life and in the fast-moving business world.
Senior Facilitator
Harold Behar is a marketing agency owner who worked with hundreds of small businesses, non-profits, and Main Street organizations for over 24 years.
He has worked with organizations at every stage of the business lifecycle, from start-ups to mid-stage to mature companies. They all have different challenges, and all want to succeed no matter how they define that success.
He has facilitated peer groups for Entrepreneurs Forever since 2015. He loves helping entrepreneurs solve problems that keep them up at night and connecting them to the resources that can help them handle that particular challenge — a personal contact, a software application, or an idea.
He lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with his wife and two boys and is a lover and supporter of the arts.
V.P. of Programs
Katie is Entrepreneurs Forever’s Vice President of Programming and she works closely with the whole Facilitator and Programming team to ensure program quality and that the mission and values are reflected in the members’ experiences.
She hires and supervises the program facilitators and facilitates two peer-to-peer groups herself, MonMade–a group of artists and artisans in Pittsburgh and a group in the South Coast of Massachusetts.
Katie is a Pennsylvania licensed attorney and came to the organization in 2018 after years of management experience helping a small business grow from one to four locations. She is the expert on legal advice for our entrepreneurs.
Facilitator
Kevin Moforte is the MassDevelopment Transformational Development Initiative (TDI) Fellow for the city of Holyoke MA. He works with a city Partnership that includes the CIty, nonprofits, residents, small businesses and developers to help revitalize the historic downtown of Holyoke.
Kevin grew up in Santiago, Chile and spent his early career working in community development and emergency housing in slums across Latin America, particularly in Colombia and the Caribbean. In 2015, he founded Esperanza Soaps, a handmade soap company based out of Las Malvinas, a slum in the Dominican Republic, bringing good jobs to the women of the community.
He also served as the Executive Director for Entrepreneurship for All/Lynn, on Massachusetts' North Shore. Kevin spearheaded EforAll’s hybrid model of offering the programs in English and Spanish simultaneously, a model that was replicated later across other markets.
Kevin is an avid gardener and loves growing tomatoes, peppers and berries for his kids. He and his wife Amanda are the happy parents of 4 and live in the Pioneer Valley in MA.
Senior Facilitator
An Entrepreneurs Forever Board Member, Toya has experience owning a retail business for 11 years, writing curriculum, and facilitating business classes and meetings. She is a passionate advocate for empowering others and making a positive impact.
With a BS in Business Communications and an MBA in Business Innovation, she crafts educational and soft skill programs for organizations that support and empower entrepreneurs. As a skilled facilitator of business peer gatherings, organizational retreats, and entrepreneurship training programs, she creates a collaborative and productive environment for attendees to acquire valuable skills and insights to support their growth and success.
Facilitator
Leonela Gonzalez-Fogarty is a Venezuelan-American with a Bostonian heart. She is an English-language and lifestyle coach who learned English at age 27 after coming to the U.S to pursue her first masters degree, in educational computing and technology. That experience created a lifelong connection with American culture that became deeper during the 23 years she spent teaching language and cultural skills at the elementary, secondary and professional levels in the U.S. and Venezuela.
Her entrepreneurial drive brought her back to her adopted hometown of Boston in 2015 to found English 4 Life Network – a company dedicated to helping Hispanic professional women and entrepreneurs become more confident in their use of English, connect more closely to American culture and see more clearly how to maximize their own potential. Leonela is a lifelong learner, business owner and an innovative educator committed to helping members of her community develop the high-level cultural and business skills that will help them succeed. She partners with Kevin Moforte to facilitate our Spanish group.
Facilitator
Shelley Cardoos is a creative that loves connecting. Connecting people to each other, connecting people to opportunities, connecting problems to solutions, connecting ideas to strategy. Since graduating from the University of Massachusetts of Dartmouth with a Bachelors in Fine Arts, Shelley was a Creative Department Manager for 10 years and then spent 7 years helping grow the non-profit organization Entrepreneurship for All from two to twelve markets. During that time she owned and grew a seasonal craft market / pop-up shop to a year round boutique selling locally designed and made gifts. Currently Shelley is consulting in the hiring process and business strategy.
Facilitator
Stacey Barlow Hill is a Leadership and Lifestyle Coach helping overwhelmed entrepreneurs become the best version of themselves and lead successfully through her Live Lead Succeed initiative. Live Lead Succeed helps once passionate and overwhelmed entrepreneurs create real work/life balance, shift their mindsets, and create the blueprint to lead and grow their companies. Stacey’s 13-year long journey as founder and CEO of Encore Event Design, a full service event planning, design, and venue space, has been instrumental in helping her clients achieve real and tangible results.
Senior Facilitator
Terry Doloughty, the founder of B.O.S.S. Consulting, is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With thirty years in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors, Terry has seen it all. He created B.O.S.S. Consulting in order to share his experiences and support the development of the next generation of leaders.
Terry has worked with a number of organizations including New Sun Rising, Omicelo Cares, Pittsburgh Public Market, and the Community Technical Assistance Center. He has also acted in an advisory role for the City of Pittsburgh’s Innovation and Performance Committee as well as the city’s Advisory Board on Entrepreneurship and Start-Ups.
Throughout his career he’s worked with business owners and board members, nonprofit executive directors and CEOs to help them create the systems they need to thrive both personally and professionally. Using his background as a facilitator, small business expert, and community development specialist, Terry supports his clients as they develop as leaders.
Facilitator
Virginia is a Certified Business & Executive Coach who believes in the power of individuals and organizations to connect people and potential toward greater levels of success. Her expertise spans leader and people development, strategic and tactical planning, and process excellence. She is a proud affiliate of Trusted Advisors Network, a world class leader in business and management consulting since its inception in 1978. Virginia is certified in Coaching, Process Excellence, and several Organizational and Personal Assessments that facilitate performance management and leadership development.
Prior to coaching, Virginia enjoyed a successful corporate career in large companies, small business units, start-up, and turnaround environments. Virginia’s life-changing experience with a coach during an executive management position sparked her passion for becoming a coach.
A Community Director is a key asset to our organization. They connect us with different communities and promote our program among small business owners. Once they gather enough entrepreneurs to form a peer group, they take all necessary steps to keep the group committed and, along with the Facilitator and the Member Experience Manager they lead the group to their success. Contact them to communicate any feedback to enhance the program, if you are not able to attend a meeting or if you know someone to refer to us!