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Lee Simons Zoldan, President
lzoldan@thesimonsgroup.com
Lee founded The Simons Group in 1981 and SoFar Publishing in 2005. She operates both companies, overseeing their strategic direction, developing new business opportunities, recruiting and staffing, and assuring the overall quality of their work. Lee has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University.
Lee is passionate about making The Simons Group the best company it can be by attracting good clients and employees and ensuring they work well together. She also fosters a creative and vibrant organizational culture that empowers employees to produce their best work.
When she’s not being responsible and running The Simons Group, Lee is cooking with abandon, often with disastrous results. She considers a fire extinguisher and Band-Aids as essential to a well-stocked kitchen as a good set of knives. She also enjoys walking along the lakefront, going to art galleries, traveling and attending theatrical productions, and she devotes time to her publishing interests, with the goal of writing books about what people have learned throughout their lives.
In her past life, Lee used to be a TV producer and was a radio announcer for a late-night jazz show. She also taught marketing communications at the University of Chicago and other institutions.
Jada Cash, Editor
jcash@thesimonsgroup.com
After four years of wide-ranging experience in B2B copywriting and PR, Jada says she can write about anything — the more technical the better. She’s also adept in a wide range of media, including websites, blogs, print and online newsletters, brochures, white papers, case studies, press releases, sales collateral, internal communications, direct mail and e-mail, and ghost written articles. Jada has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and Spanish from Arizona State University.
At The Simons Group, Jada is responsible for writing and editing corporate publications, as well as developing and managing new media initiatives for our clients. A strategic thinker by nature, she seeks to bring fresh concepts, creative thinking, and SEO and social media knowledge to clients’ marketing challenges.
Jada knows the ingredients needed to create effective marketing pieces, and she can spice up any topic. But creative copy isn’t the only thing she’s got a recipe for. After work, Jada shifts from corporate communications to cooking, and enjoys photographing her food and blogging about her culinary adventures on her blog.
The only hobby she enjoys more than cooking is eating, so exploring Chicago’s restaurant scene is a never-ending source of excitement. She’d love to dine with you — just don’t be surprised when she whips out her camera and begins snapping photos of your food.
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Ali Gordon, Senior Graphic Designer
agordon@thesimonsgroup.com
A graphic design veteran, Ali brings nine years of experience to The Simons Group, including having worked with large corporate clients on a national scale. In addition to her expertise in working with large formats such as trade show booths and a variety of signs, Ali is skilled in branding and identity initiatives. She has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and visual communication from the University of Kansas.
At The Simons Group, Ali makes marketing collateral pop with professional images and graphics. She is adept at translating clients’ vision into reality and tailoring projects to clients’ individual needs and styles. She is also often the go-to person for sourcing unique, cost-effective vendors.
Outside work, Ali is a gym rat — she can be found at her health club at least five days a week. She also loves to cook and attend family and friends’ functions. If there’s a bridal shower or a wedding in the Chicago area, it’s a safe bet that Ali knows someone in the party and will be there.
It’s not common knowledge, but Ali also loves art and art history. She enjoys painting and drawing and plans to take a figure drawing class in the fall. Most of all, she misses hanging with the “weird, creative” people in the art community. Ali confesses that she has an obsession with Morningstar Farms® Chik Patties® and would be more than happy to serve as the product’s official spokeswoman.
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Chris LaFrombois, Senior Web/Graphic Designer
clafrombois@thesimonsgroup.com
With nearly a decade of graphic design expertise and a passion for website development and HTML coding, Chris can transform even the roughest ideas into creative, meaningful print and electronic collateral. He is also seasoned in audio production, editing and recording, and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sound recording at Columbia College to complement his bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the University of Wisconsin — Green Bay.
At The Simons Group, Chris is responsible for designing and coding websites and electronic newsletters and maintaining existing websites. He also distributes e-newsletters and announcements for clients.
Believing that music is key to a joyful life, Chris records and mixes bands and writes his own music work. A former member of several bands, he once got to meet his idol, Mike Patton, from the now-disbanded Faith No More & Mr. Bungle.
If Chris wins the lottery, which will be tough since he doesn’t play, he would cover himself in tattoos because they are “the ultimate form of artistic expression.”
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Doug Petrole, Business Development Manager
dpetrole@thesimonsgroup.com
After years of working at his family’s printing company, which specialized in complex, large-scale trade show graphics, Doug knows what marketing clients want, and how to deliver.
At The Simons Group, he parlays this experience into building relationships with prospective clients, determining if they are a fit for the agency’s skills, vision and resources, and introducing them to the group.
While he hits the phones at work, he hits the weights during his off time. His gym-related antics — including the story of how he received seven, five-pound tubs of banana-flavored protein powder for free because of an online-ordering glitch — keep us entertained. We can’t wait to hear about what happens when he meets his next physical goal: competing in a local obstacle course race.
A tough competitor with brawn and brains, Doug’s also a history buff who received his bachelor’s degree in the subject from Miami University (Miami of Ohio, that is). He’s also a travel and music enthusiast and appreciates a great stand-up comedian.
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Dawn Wolfe, Editor/Senior Project Manager
dwolfe@thesimonsgroup.com
Dawn is celebrating more than a decade of work at The Simons Group, where she draws on her professional journalism skills to tell clients’ stories and work for their success and profitability. Formerly a respected daily newspaper editor and reporter, she skillfully tackles a wide variety of topics to tell compelling stories for clients and distill complex information for diverse audiences. Dawn has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University.
Outside The Simons Group, Dawn fulfills her passion for sailing as much as possible and serves as an able-bodied volunteer for disabled sailors. She also works with a horse rescue and rehabilitation organization, where she does everything from shoveling manure to grooming. The goats, chickens and other animals on the farm also benefit from a little TLC, even when they’re misbehaving.
In her free time, Dawn can also be found digging in her herb garden, tackling her growing collection of unread books and trying out new recipes.
Few people know it, but Dawn is an avid follower of Irish history and culture and would love to spend several months just traveling around the country.
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