About the Authors

	Ahmed Badat Ahmed began his real estate career in 1986 and ventured out on his own in 1991 with AMB Realty & Investment Resources. His primary area of practice is in the Commercial and Investor market. He holds the CIPS, e-PRO and TRC designations and is also an NAR trained mediator. Ahmed has served on various committees at the local, state and national levels. He chaired the Commercial Investment Committee twice and the Finance Committee in 2007 at Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS. Ahmed received the Committee Chairman of the year award in 2005 and the Presidents award in 2006. He is current president of Mainstreet.
	Sue Becker Internationally known professional organizer, author, and speaker Sue Becker is the founder and owner of From Piles to Smiles® professional organizing service. Sue’s company has helped business and residential clients from Washington State to Washington, D.C. live more stress-free and harmonious lives by removing obstacles such as clutter, disorganized paperwork, and poor time management. Sue is also a professional speaker to corporations, hospitals, and organizations across the country. Sue’s professional memberships include the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (former treasurer and Illinois’ first Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization) and the National Association of Professional Organizers (former Vice President of the Chicago chapter). She co-authored the book Conversations on Success, and has appeared as an organizational expert on NBC News and the national TV show, Starting Over. A CPA, Sue has earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. You can find her at www.PilesToSmiles.com or 630-724-1111.
	Dru Bergman Dru Bergman is the Executive Director of the DuPage Homeownership Center, a HUD-certified, non-profit housing counseling agency serving DuPage County. The Center offers free education classes for first-time home buyers, free prepurchase and foreclosure prevention counseling services, and free reverse mortgage counseling for senior homeowners. They also are the co-founders of Homeownership: a Benchmark for a Vital Community, a public/private collaborative effort to change perceptions and policies to promote development of workforce starter homes in DuPage. Prior to joining the Center, Bergman worked for Freddie Mac in McLean, Virginia. She holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
	Joan Berngen
	Pat Callan
	Christine Chase - GRI, CRS, ABR Christine Chase holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. She spent 15 years in both public and private schools as a teacher of Reading and Language Arts. Chris became a licensed real estate agent in 1988, and has made real estate sales, management, and training her full-time profession ever since. Chase's professional affiliations include: Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI) Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) and Certified Negotiation Consultant (CNC). She joined Realty Executives in 1997 with experience as a seller's agent, buyer's agent, and a sales trainer with Century 21 Real Estate. Chris has received the Executive Club Award and the Chairman's Award. In 1997, Chris became the managing Broker of Realty Executives, First in Aurora, Illinois. She served in that capacity until February, 2003 when she was named Vice President of Business Relations for Realty Executives of Illinois regional operation. In 2004 her responsibilities were expanded to include the states of Michigan and Indiana, Great Lakes regional operation. She is active in her local and state Realtor Associations, and is currently the Chairman of the Professional Development Member Interest Group of the Illinois Association of Realtors. She has extensive training and experience in Professional Standards, Regional Arbitration Hearings, and Membership Services. She currently serves as a Director of the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors and holds the position of Secretary/Treasurer.
	Mike Drews Mike Drews of Prudential Doss Real Estate entered the real estate profession in 1979 and deals in residential real estate in the Aurora-Oswego marketplace. Mike is currently the President-Elect of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS(MORe). Mike serves the Illinois Association as a Director and as Chairman of the Professional Standards Program Workshops Working Group. He is also Vice Chairman of the Illinois Association's Professional Standards Committee. Drews is a member of the National Association of REALTORS(NAR) Professional Standards Committee and serves on the Interpretations Subcommittee. He also serves on NAR's REALTOR Political Involvement Committee and is the Federal Political Coordinator to the 14th Congressional District and is responsible for keeping legislative issues effecting private property rights, small business issues and REALTOR advocacy in front of Congressman Bill Foster.
	Bob Dybala
	John Horton John Horton is Senior Vice-President of Mortgage for Standard Bank and Trust and is responsible for the administration and direction of the Bank’s mortgage lending program. He also generates and promotes programs to assist educating customers on understanding and rebuilding credit. The father of six (6) is actively involved with the community through his participation with Cure for Autism, Board of Director of Mainstreet Organization of Realtors, and the Notre Dame Men’s Association. He also serves as the Co-Chair for United Way, Park Board Commissioner for the Clarendon Hills Park District, Vice President of the Clarendon Hills Chamber of Commerce and as a firefighter for the Village of Clarendon Hills.
	Pam Krieter Pam Krieter, CEO for MORe, began with the Lyden Association of REALTORS and then the Oak Park Association followed by the LaGrange Association in 1993. As CEO of the LaGrange Association, they began merger talks with the then DuPage Association of REALTORS and merged into one organization in 1995. Previous to Association work, Pam worked for a real estate company for 7 years as a REALTOR.
	Lynn Madison
	Jeff Merrinette Mr. Merrinette builds on twenty years experience working in Illinois politics and government. A veteran of the Senate President's office, Mr. Merrinette joined the REALTOR family in 1993. Making politics more accessible and empowering Realtors on issues of private property protection is the goal of the Government Affairs Department. On issues of taxes, zoning, signage, and development Mr. Merrinette actively supports a Government Affairs Committee of twenty Realtors who make decisions of policy and advocacy.
	Kelly Molinari Kelly is the Managing Broker and Owner of Trademark Realty Group located in Wheaton. Kelly is not your typical Realtor. She started her career in real estate looking to provide options for homeowners losing their homes. Over the last 5 years her brokerage has performed hundreds of transactions with a focus on ethically assisting buyers and sellers of physically and financially distressed properties. Through millions of dollars in transactions Kelly has acquired a tremendous wealth of knowledge, thus positioning her as the foremost resource for distressed properties. She is an expert in all stages of foreclosure, short sales, and bank owned properties and is passionate about educating real estate agents on how to ethically assist homeowners with these often difficult types of transactions. To that end Kelly became certified to teach continuing education courses to real estate agents on short sales and foreclosure properties. While she loves to educate, Kelly can be found to personally be working on 40 to 50 short sale transactions at any given time. Kelly is the Secretary for the DuPage Women's Council of REALTORS, and a member of the American REO Brokers Association.
	Keith Moore Keith Moore, the President of US Exterior Maintenance & Repair, L.L.C., has over 25 years of experience in the construction industry and over 16 years in the EIFS industry. Four years as an EIFS Distributor in St. Louis, six years with Sto Corp., the worlds largest EIFS Manufacturer. While at Sto, he managed a 19 state region. After leaving Sto Corp, he started US Exterior, in December of 2008 US Exterior celebrated its ten year anniversary. He is an active member in Mainstreet Organization of Realtors, Association of Walls and Ceilings, Sealant Waterproofing and Restoration Institute, Community Associations Institute and the Painting, and Decorating Contractors Association. He has taught several educational courses for ASHE, Northern Illinois Chapter of Building code officials, American Institute of Architects and Exterior Design Institute on water intrusion and its effects on buildings. He also, consults various attorneys across the country as a construction litigation consultant on water intrusion issues. Over the years US Exterior has come to repair all types of exterior wall cladding that suffer from water intrusion, neglect and just simple maintenance needs. US Exterior has also been certified in the installation of windows and doors. To learn more about Keith or US Exterior you may visit their website at www.usexterior.com.
	Jack Persin Jack Persin is Secretary Treasurer for Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS and the Managing Broker of Ryan Hill Realty in Naperville. He has been licensed since 1987 and active at the local level. Jack has received the Service Award “Committee Person of the Year”, two Presidential Service Awards and Seven Committee Service Awards. He resides in Naperville with his wife Diane and has three adult children and 10 grandchildren.
	Tracy Polgar Tracy has been a staff member with Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS since June 2005. Tracy is responsible for the day-to-day operations of MORe's stores and assists the Communication Department with the Association's website and consumer blog. Tracy is currently attending College of DuPage pursuing her degree in accounting. She plans on continuing her education and pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Finance.
	Finny Rajchel
	Laura Reedy Stukel Laura is Elmhurst's first EcoBroker Certified real estate agent. She has been selling homes in Elmhurst since 2001 and is carrying on the legacy her grandfather, known as "The Old Pro", started nearly 60 years ago. LW Reedy Real Estate has always been focused on matching great families to great homes, and now Stukel adds the dimension of great healthy and comfortable homes. Stukel's passion for green homes and green living comes from her direct experience in rehabbing her 1966 Elmhurst home, and frustrations about the energy-efficiency of previous homes. She has extensive knowledge around environmental and energy-efficiency issues that affect residential real estate, but her focus is on helping families find or create comfortable, healthy homes that are cheaper to operate due to lower utility bills. She actively blogs about the topic at www.greenreedyhomes.com. She created the Ready, Set, Green Homes program to address needs very specific to the west suburban real estate market. The program gives interested buyers a head start on green upgrades to their new home via a package of seller, lender and tax credits. For sellers, the program allows them to reach the appealing green buyer market and helps their home stand out in a crowded market. The seller offers closing credits towards green upgrades that helps the buyer qualify for further green lending programs and tax credits. The program is especially appealing to owners of homes that in the past would have been considered a "teardown" or "fixer-upper" as these homes have the most potential for a greenovation. Prior to real estate Stukel managed projects that changed how companies worked to incorporate cutting edge technology. She worked for companies including Accenture, US Robotics and Dow Chemical. She uses that experience daily in helping families move to new homes. She's learned that no one plans a move just because they are bored! Her Change Management experience helps her work with clients not just on the purchase of one home or the sale of another, but to provide perspective and support for the whole transition of belongings, friends, jobs, commute pattern and more. She is a graduate of Valparaiso University.
	Amy Robey A graduate of Illinois State University, Amy has been a staff member at Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS since 1998. Her responsibilities include maintaining the Association blog, website and building the MORe brand experience. Amy is also the Affiliate Staff Liaison.
	Dean Rouso
	Kate Sax A graduate of Illinois State University, Kate has been a staff member of MORe for over 6 years. Her responsibilities include maintaining and coordinating arbitration and ethics complaints that are filed with MORe, communicating with members about potential arbitration, ethics, license law issues, and updating members on changes to the Code of Ethics and license law. Kate is also the staff liaison to the Grievance Committee and the Professional Standards Committee.
	Lisa Stegall Lisa is the Sentrilock manager for Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS since MORe began offering the Sentrilock services to members in 2008. Previous to that, Lisa was the technology assistant for MORe.
	John Veneris
	Eric Westberg Eric is a leader in the residential lending and financial service industries and has over 30-years of mortgage banking experience. Eric has been a member of the MainStreet Organization of Realtors® since 1995 and has been named the Affiliate Member of the Year five times (1997, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2006). Eric also serves on the Board of Directors of the Financial Planners Association of Illinois as the Director of Partner Relations and is a member of the Oak Park Area Association of Realtors®, the Greater South Loop Association and the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association.