Meet the panel who will be addressing the topic that affects us all. As business owners and entrepreneurs, we take risks, and these risks often result in fear or anxiety. Our panel will discuss common sources of professional fears and how to work through them to move your business forward.
Meet the founder of urSwim, an on-site swim school that exclusively provides swimming lessons and lifeguarding services in the convenience and comfort of its clients’ homes. The company was formed in 2011 when Marina, a former competitive swimmer, realized the demand for quality on-site swim instruction after teaching swim lessons and lifeguarding during her summers off from college and law school. Marina plans to scale urSwim’s business model into a franchise and launch within the next 18-months.
Ms. Mentzel is a proud graduate of The George Washington University and The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Law. She is currently licensed to practice law in New York and enjoys working with other small business owners in her spare time. Ms. Mentzel currently resides in East Patchogue with her husband, Jesse, and two children.
Brian has held senior management positions in the business corporate world for over 40+ years, working for such prestigious companies as Berkshire Hathaway, MetLife, Merrill Lynch and JFA Insurance Brokerage. His areas of expertise include demonstrated success in Sales, Marketing and Financial Management. Brian’s management background gives him the tools necessary to guide, develop and coach employees to the best of their abilities, and his commitment to mentoring and helping anyone in the business environment is unwavering.
Brian lives locally in Suffolk with his wife and best friend of 40 years. He has two beautiful daughters who live in Manhattan, and he will be a first time Grandfather come this November. Brian was also past Chairman of the Board and President of the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, and he is currently involved with supporting SCWBEC, the Small Business Development Centers (in Stonybrook, Farmingdale, La Guardia College and NY Institute of Technology) and HIA-LI in Hauppauge.
Dorothena is CEO of Shock & Vibe Incorporated, where she is revolutionizing the market with cutting-edge technology to resolve shock, vibration and noise problems in the Aerospace/Defense, HVAC/Commercial, Oil/Gas and Transportation Industries. Durning Dorothena’s 30-year career, she has received worldwide coverage on MSNBC, Fox Business News, CNN and Bloomberg International. A member of the Long Island Entrepreneurship Conference, her primary interest is to prepare grade and secondary students with STEM awareness and skills necessary to compete in 21st century job market.
Dorothena holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tuskegee University and M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and a former Adjunct Physics Lab Instructor at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY. Her greatest joy is ministering the Word of God and being the wife of Donald!
