Board of Directors for 2023-2024



PRESIDENT
Paula Ripple, CPO®

Paula is a Certified Professional Organizer who founded her professional organizing business OrganizeWell in 2011, specializing in family organization and senior downsizing/moves. Paula served as the NAPO Chicago Director of Professional Development and Director of Business Partners prior to her terms as President. She attributes the growth in her business to the connections, education, and efficiencies that she has gained through her work with her fellow NAPO and NAPO Chicago members. In her free time, Paula enjoys stand up paddle boarding, hiking with friends, and gardening.

VICE PRESIDENT
Schae Lewis, CPO®
vicepresident@napochicago.com

Schae Lewis, CPO® is a Certified Professional Organizer® who co-founded Mission 2 Organize in 2010. Today, as the sole owner of the business, she overseas a collaborative team of 7 employees and multiple contractors. Not only has her work been featured on nationally televised Hoarders on A&E, but her “How 2” videos have been viewed on YouTube over one million times. She previously served 4 yrs as NAPO Chicago Marketing Director and is the chapter's current Vice President and BCPO® Liaison. In her free time, Schae enjoys traveling the world with her husband, kayaking, bicycling, gardening and dancing.


SECRETARY

Mackenzie Scott, CPO®

Mackenzie Scott, CPO® is a Certified Professional Organizer and Operations Manager at Mission 2 Organize in Chicago. Since joining the team in 2015, Mackenzie has enjoyed using her passion for efficiency and administrative tools to help team M2O run smoothly. In the NAPO world, you can find Mackenzie on episode 63 of NAPO’s Stand Out Podcast and serving the Chicago chapter as Secretary since 2018.


TREASURER

Marcy Baim

treasurer@napochicago.com

Marcy Baim is a professional organizer and has been a member of NAPO since 2021. She currently serves the NAPO Chicago board of directors as Treasurer.

Having managed events and an art gallery for over 20 years, Marcy has extensive experience in customer service and attention to detail and has been in the bookkeeping field for over three decades.


DIRECTOR OF 
MEMBERSHIP


After being pigeon-holed into administrative job after administrative job, Phaedra looked for an alternate career. Realizing that applying to another corporate job was the exact definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result), she searched for other ideas. Based on her past experience in both the corporate and performing arts worlds, she knew she had a strong organizational skill set. From there she decided to share her skills with creative people who were stuck in similar dilemmas: working traditional jobs to make ends meet while balancing the many areas of their home life. She established Practical Possibilities in January of 2019.


DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Amy Tzur

Amy officially launched LiveWell by Amy in 2022 to help individuals and families clear the clutter and chaos in their homes caused by too much stuff. In partnership with her clients, she creates organizational systems so that they have the time, energy and space for the people and things that they love.

Amy holds a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Management. She spent most of her professional career in this sector, working in senior management positions as well as direct services. Amy is a certified Pilates instructor and Life Coach and loves to use her diverse skills when working with clients.

Amy lives in Lincoln Park with her husband, two children and two dogs.


DIRECTOR AT LARGE

Elesheva Soloff

Elesheva Soloff started Soloff Space Solutions in 2010 helping clients to improve their space’s flow to save them time and stress. She loves working with clients to convert their frustrations into customized solutions. Elesheva is happy to return to the NAPO Chicago board as Director-At-Large. In her spare time, she's outdoors whether urban gardening, biking, stand up paddle boarding or running.


D
IRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION

Susan Bailey

administration@napochicago.com


In navigating the new world of multiple family members with multiple food allergies, Susan realized sometimes you need a little help. She wanted to be the person helping those new to a life of managing food allergies and Celiac Disease. From this idea came Cygnet Organizing LLC. She has learned that simplifying other aspects of your life frees up time for you to focus on having safe good food for you and your family to enjoy. When not organizing or cooking, Susan enjoys gardening, reading, hiking, parade float building, is training for her first 5K, and fostering kittens.


DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS PARTNERS

Anita Birsa

Anita has been creating beautiful places and organized spaces for over 12 years. Her path to Professional Organizing grew from Interior Design, helping clients improve function and style of their spaces, and managing remodel projects. Her experience also includes corporate communications, marketing and broadcast journalism. She has served on the NAPO Chicago board since 2016, as Director at Large and Vice President. Anita finds creative inspiration in music and the arts, and enjoys Chicago's many immersive cultural performances and celebrations. Her favorite downtime involves snorkeling and beach sunsets, and friends around a fire pit!


DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Mary Ralston

professionaldevelopment@napochicago.com

As a result of more than 10 years of marketing and coaching work in large law firms, Mary came to realize that efforts to help attorneys manage their time and organize their daily routines – including establishing processes, checklists and supportive habits – had more to do with their ultimate success than simply focusing on marketing tactics.

She established Pennington Ralston LLC to focus her efforts on values-centered tangible and intangible decluttering and pointed focus for busy professionals.


 


DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Catherine Belzile Gibel

marketing@napochicago.com

Mess isn’t just a four-letter word. It’s a road sign. A signal that another route is required. Maybe mess is flagging you down, getting in the way of your job, your family, yourself, your home.

With a background in social work and crisis intervention, Catherine understands the value of assessing whatever mess is getting in your way. It’s not about striving for perfection, it’s about finding that shift in your head and your heart that says, “I can do this. I am worth this.”

As a compassionate collaborator, she has a unique ability to calm the stress found in your mess. She finds great joy in celebrating her clients' strengths, and supporting them on their journey to live well in their home.

Catherine lives in the Western Suburbs of Chicago with her husband and 8 year old son. They love to read, play board games, skateboard, and shoot hoops together. She also loves to run, paint, and play piano.



NAPO Chicago, a chapter of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals

A 501(c)(3) Organization
P.O. Box 409157, Chicago, IL 60640

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NAPO-Chicago is a legal entity separate and distinct from NAPO, Inc. (the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals) and is not entitled to act on behalf of or to bind NAPO, contractually or otherwise.

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