Michael is an attorney admitted to the bar of the State of New York since 1993. He has a solo practice in Queens, New York and specializes in general business representation of small and mid-size businesses. Michael has previously been associated with the New York law firms of Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston and Rosen, P.C. (1999-2003), Kreindler & Relkin, P.C. (1998-1999), Ballon Stoll Bader & Nadler, P.C. (1996-1998), and Gutman Mintz Baker & Sonnenfeldt P.C. (1993-1995). He also gained valuable experience as a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services (2005), but no longer serves in this capacity. In 2005, Michael founded a business networking group covering Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, called the Growing Business Network, which is still flourishing. In February 2007, Michael helped found Growing Our Business, LLC (owner and operator of growingourbusiness.com), and he serves as its Co-Manager.

Please send any questions or comments to: msamuels@growingourbusiness.com

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Nancy Brennan
Co-Founder and Co-Manager of Growing Our Business, LLC

Nancy is a consultant, co-founder, and principal of Employment Risk Managements Associates (ERMA) which specializes in employee relations, training, diversity, policy development, and litigation prevention. The basic premise of ERMA is that solving the challenging people issues in today’s workplace will reduce risk, save money, improve employee morale, and increase business profits.

Nancy also operates her own editing business, The Write Doctor, in which she primarily consults as a personal coach, application strategist, and expert editor for high school students applying to Ivy League and other highly competitive colleges.

Formerly a Vice President with JPMorgan Chase, a major global financial institution, Nancy gained over 25 years of valuable business experience in general human resources management and employee relations. During her corporate career, she provided strategic human resources advice to business leaders of large domestic and international businesses. She also has a wealth of employee relations expertise resolving difficult employment situations and workplace conflicts and taking proactive measures to prevent them. Nancy has an M.A. in advanced Psychology, an M.B.A. in Finance, and a B.A. in English.

Please send any questions or comments to: nancybrennan27@yahoo.com

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Laurence R. Bloom, CPA
Co-Founder of Growing Our Business, LLC

Larry is one of the founding members of Katz & Bloom, LLC and has approximately 20 years experience advising privately held companies, professional practices, and investment partnerships in all areas of tax, accounting, and auditing.

Larry graduated from The American University, in Washington, D.C. with a Business Administration degree with concentrations in Accounting and Finance. He received his formal training at a prestigious medium size accounting firm in New York City.

Larry has served on the Estate and personal Financial Planning committee and the Medical and Other Professionals committee of the Nassau Chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Katz & Bloom, LLC is a small full service CPA firm that provides professional, timely, and insightful advice to privately held companies, professional practices, investment partnerships, and entrepreneurial individuals. The firm’s clients are small business and middle market companies in the manufacturing, distribution, and service industries.

Please visit www.katzbloomcpa.com to find out more about Katz & Bloom, LLC and the services provided. Larry can be reached at: larry@katzbloomcpa.com.

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William C. Reed
Co-Founder of Growing Our Business, LLC

Bill is the President and Founder of Pilgrim Consulting, which provides workplace learning and performance programs in HR Compliance Training including Sarbanes-Oxley, Business Ethics and Leadership, Management Practices, and Career Development.

With over 25 years in training, development, and human resources in such diverse areas as business, education, health services, and government, Bill uses this experience to integrate diversity, employment law, cross cultural issues, career development, and management principles and practices into thought provoking and engaging training workshops.

Bill’s clients have included JPMorgan Chase, the Taiwanese Stock Exchange, Verizon, Charles Schwab and Company, A&P, New York Institute for Finance, U.S. Department of Defense, the American Subcontractors Association, and Hofstra University.

As an experienced training professional, Bill has spoken about training and development issues at conferences and on radio shows. He currently is on the Executive Board of the Long Island Chapter for the American Society for Training and Development and is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Business Ethics and Leadership at Molloy College in New York.

In addition, Bill is a member of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Long Island. He served in Africa for two years and wrote about his Peace Corps experience in an article for America magazine.

Bill can be contacted at: wc44reed@aol.com

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Leonard J. Proscia, CPA
Co-Founder of Growing Our Business, LLC

Len is principal of LJP Advisory Services, which provides companies with innovative financial solutions to effect changes in internal control and business planning. Len is an experienced lecturer and adviser specializing in the Sarbanes Oxley Act Section 404 evaluations of internal controls for small businesses and not-for profit entities; risk management assessments; implementing Section 404 requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on internal control over financial reporting, applying COSO principles, and assessing control environments. He has conducted workshops at Hofstra University, the Nassau Bar Association, and the New York Institute of Finance.

Len’s firm is engaged in:

• Conducting workshops on Sarbanes Section 404 evaluations of internal controls.
• Providing internal control and risk management assessments.
• Leading internal control improvement initiatives.
• Increasing business planning and budgeting effectiveness.

Len’s experience includes:

• Serving as a technical advisor on internal control (e.g. compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act); and on business planning.
• Building and maintaining excellent control and risk management environments to ensure compliance with COSO and current Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
• Providing profit improvement solutions that increased the bottom line.
• Leading audits of several publicly held commercial entities.
•  Designing and improving planning, budgeting and financial management reporting processes for several businesses, including consumer finance and brokerage.
• Developing and managing the review and documentation of internal accounting procedures and processes for consumer, leasing, and real estate finance businesses.

Prior to forming LJP Advisory Services, Len enjoyed a 20 year career at JPMorgan Chase, where he held CFO positions at its international and domestic businesses. There he managed the Finance functions of credit card, retail branch banking, auto finance, consumer credit, mortgage, and trust and brokerage businesses. Before JPMorgan Chase, Len had a diversified career in consulting and auditing with Coopers & Lybrand (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and Peat, Marwick Mitchell & Co. (KPMG) that included authoring several documents on forecasting and internal control.

Len serves on the Board of a not for profit entity. He is a member of the American Institute of CPA’s and the NY State Society of CPA’s. Len was a Registered Series 27 Financial & Operations Principal at JPMorgan Chase. He has a BBA degree from St. John’s University with a major in accounting.

Len can be contacted at: len.proscia@att.net

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