Yvonne Brown is Chief Empowerment Officer of JAD Communications® International a training, coaching and human potential firm that helps people to be more productive and contribute more to the bottom line. She is also Founder & President of Ball of Gold® Corporation, a knowledge management consulting firm. With over 20 years of business management experience she has managed major business initiatives with diverse teams within the U.S. and internationally. She is an author who has appeared on television programs, and assists companies with training, multi-cultural programs and executive coaching. An international trainer and speaker, Ms. Brown served as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago for the Professional Development Program office in the MBA department, the Business and Professional Institute at the College of DuPage, & is a member of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at Loyola University.

Ms. Brown co-chaired the MBA/University Task Force for the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, is Director on the Board of the Youth Communication Organization, past President of the Chicago Chapter of Women in Technology International (WITI), and was appointed Regional Vice President of WITI Unlimited. A past Boardology® Coach and seminar presenter for Boardroom Bound, Yvonne is a featured writer for Diversity MBA Magazine. She is a MBTI certified practitioner and utilizes the assessment in her coaching programs.

Ms. Brown holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Business Management from DePaul University and certificates in Risk Management (George Washington University), Project Management (Loyola University) & eCommerce (University of Illinois at Chicago). She is author of the books Self Creation: 10 Powerful Principles for Changing Your Life, & Proven Ways Women Overcome Obstacles and Succeed, a sought after international speaker she served as a presenter for Leadership Illinois, the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group, and the Women in Business conference for the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership at Loyola University. Yvonne’s powerful programs motivate employees to increase efficiency, improve morale, reduce turnover, and become more effective and productive in their work. Yvonne has trained women in the United Kingdom, and provides training programs on leadership, team building, and communications for corporations.

Active involvement in public service is evident through her participation in a variety of community organizations. Ms. Brown is a member of the National Association of Female Executives and served as the newsletter editor for the National Speaker’s Association, Illinois Chapter. She was a speaker for the Gender Equity Fund of the American Association of University Women of Illinois. She has served as a member of the following committees and organizations: The IT Empowerment for Women and Girls Initiative, the Speakers Bureau for the Gender Equity Fund, the Midwest Technology Access Group a consortium which is aimed at bridging the digital divide, and the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program which is committed to Children First and improving the quality of education within the Chicago Public Schools. Ms. Brown is a member of the Advisory Board for the Women’s Leadership Exchange, and a member of the Program Advisory Board of Westwood College of Technology. Ms. Brown was elected to the Steering Committee of the Chicago Minority Business Development Council (CMBDC) in 2005 and is a member of the Leadership Illinois Board of Directors.

Her leadership and commitment to excellence bring her to the forefront of organizations in which she participates. In 2002 she was inducted into the IT Professionals Hall of Fame. Ms. Brown is listed in the Who’s Who in Black Chicago, the International Who’s Who Historical Society of Professionals, the Manchester Who’s Who among Executive Women, and is often quoted in technology and business magazine articles. In 2003, DePaul University selected Yvonne for inclusion in their “Alumni Success Stories-Volume II.” An alumna of the Leadership Illinois Class of 2004, Ms. Brown helps people to end self-limiting beliefs and achieve their highest potential. A candidate for the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Women, Yvonne helps ordinary people produce extraordinary results.