About Us > Leadership > Board of Advisors
Eric G. Grossman is a 1988 graduate of The John Marshall Law School. He is a partner at the law firm of Bailey Borlack Nadelhoffer LLC, with a practice focused on commercial real estate and business transactions, including formation, acquisitions and divestitures, shareholder and employee relations, and information technology. From 2003 - 2007 he was General Counsel to Physician Support Systems (a medical billing services company) and OBT Global (which provides SAP enterprise resource planning services). Eric currently serves Board Chair for Access Living, a disability rights advocacy organization.
Dr. Bren Ortega Murphy has been a faculty member in Communication Studies at Loyola University Chicago since 1984. Bren's experience in education , design of storytelling programs, and belief that stories can be used to improve communications between different cultures are a few reasons why she is serving on Bookwallah Organization's Board of Advisors. Bren holds a joint appointment in both the School of Communication and the Women’s Studies/Gender Studies program in the College of Arts & Sciences. In 1996 Bren received the Sujack Award for teaching excellence in 1996. She has been the department chair for Communication, an Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, Director of Women’s Studies and interim Graduate director for Women’s Studies/Gender Studies. Dr. Murphy’s research areas include gender representation in popular culture, gender socialization, the glass ceiling phenomena, communication ethics, and service learning. In addition to numerous conference articles and book chapters, she is the co-author of two books, Hegemony in the Unites States [with Lee Artz] and Voices of Strong Democracy [with David Droge]. Dr. Murphy earned her Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Mark Pickett is currenty CEO of Nail Your Mortgage. Prior to founding Nail Your Mortgage, Mark had deep roots in the brokerage business. After serving in Somalia as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mark worked as a product manager with Qwest Communications and Motorola in their internet solutions and mobile internet solutions group, respectively. From there, he entered the software business, working for KPMG Consulting on a wide array of software implementation projects from Rio de Janeiro to Lagos, and from banking to oil production. After running KPMG Consulting's 40 person ASP Application Development/MGMT Infrastructure delivery team, Mark founded OmTelligence, a consulting firm specializing in business and system strategy; mortgage banks and lenders were a special focus. In addition to his professional achievements, Mark has served on a Presidential National Finance Committee, volunteered at Ground Zero, been a volunteer firefighter, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art and the Montgomery County (MD) Chamber of Commerce.
Eugene Breger's background in business development, problem/solution, definition, strategic alignment, and change management will prove critical as Bookwallah continues to implement and expand programs in the United States and globally. He currently serves as Sales Director for a Chicago area Oracle business partner and leverages more than 20 years of progressively responsible business development activity. He has partnered with executives, directors and managers of companies in United States and globally - both in the for profit and not-for-profit sectors - to help them successfully manage, enhance and monitor the growth and performance of their organizations.
Eugene's experience participating on the Development Committee of the Chicagoland Jewish High School, advising early-stage Luminate Marketing how to manage its business challenges as well as leading corporate start-up businesses initiatives within firms including Deloitte, Oracle and PeopleSoft will be helpful as Bookwallah continues to develop its own processes and policies. Eugene serves as voluntary Vice-Chairman of the international Oracle Applications User Group Order Management/Advanced Pricing Special Interest Group and is actively involved with his synagogue. Eugene earned an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago.
Tim Padgett is the President and CEO of Pepper Group, a marketing communications firm he founded in 1994. The Pepper Group has won numerous awards for design and campaign development and has been named one of the top B2B agencies in the US by B-to-B Magazine in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Tim also is the founder and CEO of Teer1, a dynamic sosftware platform designed to help companies to encourage, manage and leverage employee volunteering programs. "I see Bookwallah as a very worthy cause due to my lifelong passion of reading and growing my imagination. Being the head of a creative firm is an extension of who I am and to share my skills to inspire and move kids? Even sweeter. If we can inspire kids early in their lives, they will always look for the positive and be able to live their dreams."
Tim has a BS in Marketing Communications with an emphasis in design from Southern Illinois University. As a member of the Illinois Institute of Art's Professional Advisory Board, he has been involved in curriculum guidance, led special student projects and judged competitions. Tim has deep networks, including memberships in national organizations: Entrepreneurs Organization, Young Presidents Organization, American Marketing Association and the Society for Marketing Professional Services.
Joel Massel is the founder of Creative Management Services, a management consulting firm providing comprehensive services to charitable organizations, professional societies, and other not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Massel speaks nationally on a wide range of non-profit and healthcare issues, focusing on building and maintaining sustainable non-profit organizations. His extensive experience in organizational management, strategic planning, program development, fundraising, and special events management will prove invaluable as Bookwallah maneuvers through the complexities of a growing non-profit. Mr. Massel's various tenures as Executive Director for clients have borne extensive, lasting results including saving them from the brink of bankruptcy to helping them increase revenue ten-fold. Over the last ten years, his clients have included the Chicago Asthma Consortium, LUNGevity Foundation, College Bound, Inc, and Institute of Medicine of Chicago.
Mr. Massel majored in Biology at University of Illinois, Urbana, where he received his undergraduate degree with distinction. He received his Juris Doctorate at Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law. He lives on the north side of Chicago with his wife, Susan, and son, Nathan. His office is located in Chicago's Ravenswood Corridor.
Harry Lim is currently Managing Director of INET Advisory. In his role as Managing Director, Harry advises and assists companies from Fortune 500 to start-up ventures with their expansion into Asia. He is well-versed in the process of selecting and establishing appropriate Asia locations for headquarters, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, or sales. He assist clients in establishing relationships with foreign companies and governments to take advantage of available local programs that provide financial or business incentives for American companies expanding in Asia.
Harry also believes in giving back which is one of the major reasons he is joining Bookwallah Board of Advisors. He is currently involved in several non-profits, one of which was part of the Cooperation Treaty between Indonesia and the U.S. (signed by President Obama and President Yudhoyono in 2010). Harry received a B.A. in Finance from the University of Missouri Harry currently resides in San Francisco, U.S.A. and Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Bookwallah Organization is currently seeking members for the Board of Advisors. We believe we have a clear vision and would appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to take the organization to amazing levels with your support. Please contact Bookwallah at +1 312 957 8558 if you are interested or please email us at contact@bookwallah.org.
