Beyond the Chaos is blessed with excellent employees and contractors who help us serve and support our clients at an exceptional level. Please meet our Chaos Killers:
Andrea Stevens
Project Manager
Making things work smoothly in chaotic environments is exactly what Andrea thrives on. She leverages her extensive corporate experience as a project manager, developer, tester, and business/systems analyst to understand how a variety of teams work. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is her motto, as she finds depicting processes incredibly valuable when working toward calmness and stability within a team or an organization. A recent empty-nester after six children, she and her husband live in an 1890 Minnesota farmhouse, enjoy watching their grandkids grow (too fast), and draw straws to see who gets to use their John Deere tractor for yardwork (or anything else they can think of).
Laura Elliott
Senior Project Manager
Laura Elliott is a project manager based out of New York. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Laura spent some time in Chicago working with pharmaceutical advertising companies gaining project management experience. Relocated to New York, Laura spends her free time working in the theatre and film world in acting, writing, and production. Laura is Beyond the Chaos’ first employee and has been one of our Chaos Killers since August of 2017. She supports our clients with her incredible project management and process development skills.
Arin Preston
Project Manager
Arin has a passion for operations and project management that evolved over many years working with small businesses – developing custom applications and optimizing workflows. Just out of high school, Arin served one tour in the U.S. Navy and, upon return to civilian life, went back to school and began pursuing a career in business management and technology. Over the years, Arin has worked with a broad range of technology in various capacities, managed remote teams as VP of Operations, and spearheaded initiatives of all sizes as a versatile project manager. Arin trained for one year with a Certified EOS® Implementer and developed a deep understanding and fondness for these highly effective concepts and tools geared towards gaining “traction” in business. She also has a Bachelor’s in IT and an MBA in Data Analytics from Colorado Technical University. Outside of work, Arin sponsors 3 children for schooling in Guatemala through Connecting Hearts Ministry and volunteers as their webmaster. She is also a singer/songwriter, plays guitar, and enjoys exploring outdoors with her 3 rescue pups.
Caralee Grimes
Project Manager
Caralee thrives on bringing focus and process consistency to projects, developing order and leadership to the team. With a background in engineering and over 15 years in manufacturing, she provides analytical process improvement and efficiency to solve complex problems and meet team goals. Caralee is an energetic, collaborative project manager, leading the team with an unwavering job focus and work ethic. Caralee enjoys time with her five adult children and their families. She loves the outdoors, travel, and time by the water.
Katie Mack
Project Manager
Katie is based out of Chicago, and brings to our team over eight years of marketing agency client services, with a focus in project managing pharmaceutical projects. Katie received her undergraduate degree at Illinois State University and her MBA in Marketing from Loyola University Chicago. She spends her free time with her family of four, which includes her husband, young daughter, and two small pooches. She also keeps adding to her international travel list, which already includes visits to Southeast Asia and Europe.
Kim
Content Manager
Kim is the team’s content manager. She is responsible for crafting compelling content to build and extend the reach of the brand. Based out of Kansas City, Kim graduated from The University of Kansas in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. She spent her early years in Chicago working at several different advertising agencies, including Williams-Labadie where she worked with Susan. But, Kim has returned home to Kansas City. During the day, Kim keeps busy with her Consumer Insights and Analytics role at a large financial planning firm. In her free time, she can be found traveling the world (over 20 countries and counting!). Plus, she enjoys taking classes at the local art institute. Kim has been one of our Chaos Killers since February 2018.
Mariann Hyde
Project Manager
Mariann Hyde is a versatile project management professional. She has experience in financial services, pharmaceutical, banking, market research, and software development. Mariann has worked in both small and large size organizations but has a real affinity for small, growing companies. She started her career as a software developer in a small company, where everyone wore many hats. She moved to roles in product support, training, business analysis, and, eventually, program management. A respected leader, she prides herself on her communication and relationship management skills. With such strong project management skills, it is no surprise that Mariann also enjoys cooking and entertaining – you need a plan and you need to execute that plan for a successful dinner party!
Michelle Lynn
Virtual Assistant
Behind every CEO (Chief Eradicating Officer) is the person that keeps the chaos at bay. Michelle is that person for Susan. Michelle is a skilled virtual assistant with five years of experience supporting executive levels, as well as providing social media management, lead generation, and business coordination services. Known for her focus on stellar client service, Michelle loves finding new ways to embrace her support duties. In her free time, she enjoys keeping up with the latest social media and marketing trends through podcasts and webinars. Outside of the virtual office, she spends time planning her next travel opportunity and watching mixed martial arts.
Danielle Dahlem
Virtual Assistant
Danielle joins the Chaos Killers a Virtual Assistant. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her two daughters. Danielle earned her bachelor's degree from Illinois State University and a master’s degree from Keller Graduate School of Management. Danielle took a break from corporate America when her first daughter was born and is now excited to be jumping back in, bringing her unique skill set of managing chaos in all forms with her. In her free time, she enjoys adventures with her kids, spending time with family, and playing tennis.
Randall Nelson
Project Manager
Randall is a fellow Texas resident like Susan and resides in Austin. Originally from Minneapolis, Randall has spent the last seven years managing each and every detail, vendor, task, and deliverable for large scale corporate events and projects for a wide range of clients across multiple industries. She prides herself in developing highly functional and enjoyable working relationships with all project stakeholders and keeping all involved on task, on time, and on budget. When not bringing her organizational skills to clients she loves cooking, reading, listening to true crime podcasts, traveling, and exploring her new city.