This document provides profiles of several women nominated for Women in Business Awards, including their professional backgrounds, accomplishments, and roles in their organizations. Specifically, it profiles: - Shannon Earle, regional director for the Better Business Bureau serving the Pacific Southwest region, facilitating dispute resolution. - Neda Eaton, president and CEO of the Irvine Public Schools Foundation for 10 years, raising over $6.5 million annually for education programs. - Jami Eidsvold, founder and CEO of Smarty Social Media who has grown the agency to a team of 25 and been recognized for their work. - Several other nominees, their experience building their companies and organizations, and contributions to their fields.

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An Orange County Business Journal Special Report & Custom Content
Women in Business Award Nominees Start on page B-28
Awards Ceremony at Hotel Irvine May 8, 2019
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2. B-72 ORANGE COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS APRIL 15, 2019
analytics from both private and non-profit sector
organizations. Currently, as Orange County regional
director for the Better Business Bureau (BBB), serving the
Pacific Southwest, Earle works diligently to build trust,
create better consumer awareness, and cultivate long-
standing relationships. In her early years which began in
2013 as an arbitration and mediation specialist for BBB,
Earle facilitated dispute resolution for consumers and
business owners. She led the predominantly male pool of
arbitrators through the alternative dispute resolution
program. From managing media relations and outreach to
acting as a spokesperson for the organization, to
providing safe spaces for challenges between consumers and local companies,
Earle has become a trusted partner for her Orange County community.
Neda Eaton, President/CEO
Irvine Public Schools Foundation, Irvine
Neda Eaton is a visionary leader with a passion for serving
the community. For ten years, Eaton has served as
president and chief executive officer of the Irvine Public
Schools Foundation (IPSF), one of the leading educational
foundations in the nation. She is entrusted with ensuring
that high-quality enrichment programs in critical areas
such as the arts, music, science, math, and mental health
and wellness are sustained in public schools. In her role,
she is responsible for guiding the strategic visioning and
direction of the foundation, program and social enterprise
development, day-today operations, and implementation of various fundraising
campaigns and initiatives. Under Eaton’s leadership, IPSF has achieved
tremendous success by strategically uniting the business, parent, and community
to earn the reputation of the premier educational foundation in California. Since
she joined the foundation, IPSF’s total annual amount raised has increased by 183
percent, raising over $6.5 million annually with an operating budget of over $8
million.
Jami Eidsvold, Founder/CEO
Smarty Social Media, Inc., Santa Ana
Started as a one-woman shop, Jami Eidsvold has grown
Smarty Social Media to a highly-creative, results-driven
team of 25. She has over 15 years of experience in digital
public relations, influencer programs, as well as brand and
business strategy, working with major names like
Invisalign, Coolsculpting, and Whole Foods. Smarty was
honored in 2018 as a Bronze Stevie Award Winner for
Women in Business and was a finalist for the Social Media
Agency of the Year Award from PR News. Additionally,
Smarty has been honored with numerous awards
alongside partner agencies including a 2017 award for
Best Facebook Marketing Campaign from PR News Social Media Awards. Smarty
celebrated its five year anniversary in 2018 by being recognized as one of the top
Women-Owned Businesses by the Orange County Business Journal. This
recognition came as the result of an impressive 71 percent revenue growth from
2016-2017 -a level sustained in 2018 as Smarty continued to nurture long term
relationships and expand its client roster.
Lauren Ellermeyer, Co-Founder
Beyond Fifteen Communications, Newport Beach
As a premium PR agency, Beyond Fifteen
Communications has built a reputation for going above
and beyond typical industry standards to deliver an
unprecedented level of media and market attention to its
clientele. With its implementation of entrepreneurial ideas
linked with results-driven strategies, Beyond Fifteen has
redefined the typical agency/client relationship. Co-
founder Lauren Ellermeyer has utilized her innovative
business style, instinctive eye for new talent, and her
public relations and social media expertise to grow
Beyond Fifteen from startup to nationally-acclaimed
powerhouse, all in under ten years. In addition to cultivating Beyond Fifteen’s
collaborative, “client first” business approach, Ellermeyer also finds the time to put
the community first. As a long-time partner of TedXOrange Coast and a board
member and Philanthropy Chair for American Family Housing, Ellermeyer pours
her energy into giving back. Moreover, her favorite activity is developing creative
ways to inspire students and industry leaders on the successful execution of
entrepreneurial goals.
Julia Erdkamp, Founder/CEO
Coxswain Consulting, Anaheim
Stepping out on her own in 2017, Julia Erdkamp hit the
ground running as CEO of Coxswain Consulting. With her
proven track record as a trusted advisor leading major
strategic initiatives, she has become a key thought leader
in the high performance space. In 2018 she gained the
attention of several corporations providing training,
consultation, and support on efforts to strategically
improve and expand operations. Her success and
implementation of high performance strategies gained her
recognition and a feature in the California Business Journal. Today, Erdkamp sits
on the Advisory Board and serves as the chief strategic advisor, for one of the
most groundbreaking technology companies in California, Anami Technologies.
She also continues to be a highly sought after speaker on many business strategy
topics. Prior to joining the leadership of Coxswain, Erdkamp worked as a local
government consultant managing a client portfolio of approximately $5 billion in
general revenues, helping local officials, business owners, and residents enrich
their communities through economic development and revenue enhancement.
Erdkamp also worked for 14 years in the public sector managing various
information technology, finance/budgetary, and marketing departments.
Lupe Erwin, Executive Vice President
Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers, Tustin
Lupe Erwin has been with Wood Gutmann & Bogart for
over 17 years. Along with Lisa Doherty, Erwin founded the
Private Client Practice of WBG, a national thought leader
in high net worth insurance risk solutions and risk
management. Erwin is responsible for bringing key COI
relationships to the firm and is the first woman in the
company’s history to break the million dollar revenue
stream. Erwin successfully completed the Certified Advisor
of Personal Insurance (CAPI) and challenging designation
through the Wharton School of Business. For two years
she wrote a series of insurance and risk mitigation related articles published in
Worth Magazine, A National publication that caters to the most successful families
in the United States and their advisors. She has chaired and co-chaired several
Women’s Wealth retreats for The Paul Merage School of Business at UCI and for
over 11 years served on the Advisory board of the Center for Investment and
Wealth Management at The Merage School, UCI.
Cara Farley, Real Estate Broker/Agent
The Agency, Corona del Mar
Cara Farley recently joined The Agency as an
accomplished coastal Broker/Real Estate Agent. Farley’s
innate knack for business practices, marketing and
attention to detail quickly earned her a top spot in the
coastal market real estate rankings. She seamlessly
creates an environment where her clients thrive and enjoy
the process of buying or selling real estate in a highly
competitive market. Farley implements the distinct
advantage of many years of sales, marketing, social media
and advertising experience. Upon graduation from Arizona
State University, Farley dove into the world of sales and marketing, securing a
position in the highly competitive and fast-paced skincare beauty industry at
L’Oreal International – a top player in the world-wide cosmetic industry. During her
tenure at the cosmetic giant, she rapidly climbed the ranks leaving the organization
as West Coast Sales from the dermatology division to pursue another passion -
Making real estate dreams come true for home sellers and buyers.
Kay Du Fernandez, Senior Vice President, Marketing
Konica Minolta Business Solutions-West Region, Anaheim
Kay Fernandez joined Konica Minolta in 2012, as director,
Sales Planning for Konica Minolta’s Western Region in the
Direct Sales Channel. Within months she was appointed
to vice president, Strategic Business Development, and in
2016 was promoted to senior vice president, Marketing.
Fernandez leads the creation of innovative marketing
strategies throughout the entire customer journey, building
awareness of the Konica Minolta brand to ultimately
enhance the customer relationship. Through digital
disruption, a focus on customer experience, marketing
communications, and channel management, she works to improve the value
Konica Minolta delivers to customers, partners and employees. Her responsibilities
also encompass strategic business development and pricing to support sales
efforts for Konica Minolta’s U.S. operations. In 2015, Fernandez established the
Step Forward Program at Konica Minolta to inspire women in professional
excellence. Most recently, Fernandez was also appointed to serve in the global
digital transformation branding division for Konica Minolta Worldwide.
Jessica Frandson, CEO
Campo Beauty, Newport Beach
Childhood best friends Jessica Frandson and Jill King
transformed their love of essential oils, luxury beauty oils and
perfume into a modern aromatherapy brand. Together they
are Campo. Frandson is a serial entrepreneur with a gift for
spotting needs not being met, creating products and services
that simplify life and make it better. Most recently, she built
and sold a hip hair tie company, Twistband, creating a
movement and new category with hair ties that did not
damage or leave dents in hair (no dents or damage to hair
that you could wear as a bracelet, mixing fashion and
function). She has over 20 years of marketing and branding
experience with the non-toxic cleaning company Simple Green, where she worked
closely with R&D to develop natural scent stories for their products and brought them
to market. Frandson studied with a top perfume maker to learn the art of making
perfume, and then applied those principles to blending essential oils that had top,
middle and base notes with amazing results.
2019 Women in Business Award Nominees
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