Staff Biographies

Eric Chester
Founder & CEO

Eric has been widely recognized as America’s top school-to-work transition expert. A former high school business teacher and coach turned motivational speaker, he’s spoken to more than two million teens at 1500 different high schools and colleges. Eric has written 11 books for—and about—teenagers including Bring Your A Game to Work. He also hosted a television talk show for teens. 

Eric is the Founder & President of Success Insurance, a specialized training and consulting firm. He’s worked with hundreds of leading companies and organizations on the topic of the emerging workforce. He holds a master’s degree in Vocational and Career Education, is a Certified Speaking Professional, and is a member of the International Professional Speakers Hall of Fame.

Matt Smith
President

Matt brings more than 10 years of experience in leadership development and school-to-work transition training to his role as President of The A Game. He has presented to hundreds of high schools and colleges across the country, been a featured presenter at multiple executive conferences over the years, and has had the honor of presenting to the International Leadership Association in Amsterdam.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Johnson & Wales University, a Master’s degree in Training and Organizational Development from Colorado State University, an executive certificate in Leadership Development from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University, and a graduate certificate from the Institute on Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.

Fred Waugh
CFO

Fred has almost 20 years experience as the CFO of privately held, public, private equity and venture backed companies in a variety of business sectors including manufacturing, software as a service, insurance services and secure records management. Fred is a CPA and spent the first seven years of his career in the audit division in the Denver, Bermuda and Dusseldorf, Germany offices of Arthur Andersen. He enjoys spending time with his wife and teenage children, traveling, snowboarding, trail running as well as mountain and road biking.

Thomas S. Kilijanek
EVP of Business Development

Thomas S. Kilijanek, Ph.D. has been a change agent throughout his career, bringing academic research background as well as practical knowledge in consulting, job profiling, marketing, and sales, to innovative initiatives in education and workforce environments. He has been involved in the training and education field for over 30 years, focused on linking research results to pragmatic decision-making for individuals and organizations.
Toms's most recent work with ACT, Inc., has been the development and implementation of WorkKeys, a work skills assessment and certification system used throughout the country. He has been responsible for launching statewide work and career readiness certificate programs in numerous states. Much of his work has been at the state level, using a “partnership” model among legislatures, governor offices, educational entities, public workforce organizations, and private industry. The goal is to create a “common language” for improving and certifying skills needed for careers that is meaningful to the entire education and training system as well as the business community. The A Game is a natural progression in Tom's career interests, focusing on the critical area of Work Ethics.
Prior to ACT, Inc., Tom held positions in the research, design, development, and delivery of training programs in management skills, emergency responses, and interpersonal communications. Tom has conducted over 4000 presentations, courses, workshops, conference presentations, and speeches to a wide variety of audiences during the past 30 years. He has written numerous books, articles, and technical reports.
Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Tom now lives with his wife, daughter, cats, dogs, chickens and turkeys in Elizabeth, Colorado. Tom received his B.A. from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI, and his Master’s and PhD from the University of Denver. His field of study was and continues to be sociology, with an emphasis in complex organizations, research methods, and education.

Christie Michelle
VP, Administration & Operations

Christie’s expertise in administration and office management spans over 20 years. As VP, Administration and Operations, she is responsible for directing internal operations, managing the company’s accounting functions, and overseeing human resources.

Christie is a graduate of Dale Carnegie Training and attended both Community College of Denver and Front Range Community College. A Colorado native, she currently resides in Westminster where she is heavily involved in volunteer efforts for a number of charitable organizations.

Seth Ford
Director of Development

Seth comes to The A Game with 10 years of experience in communications, public policy, and workforce training. In his role as Director of Development, Seth is responsible for search optimization, email marketing, managing creative staff, providing content direction and guiding the A Game's social media outreach.

Seth graduated from Colorado College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and holds a MA in Public Communication from American University. A former resident of Northern Alaska, Seth currently lives in Denver, Colorado where he enjoys camping, snow shoeing, skiing and the absence of polar bears.

Training Team

Samson Barrios

Nate Hoopes

Quinn Shannon

Shontel Lewis

Sandi Engelhorn
Web Developer

Sandi is a career technologist with experience ranging from research and training to project management. As The A Game's Web Developer, she is responsible for developing the A Game's website, performing regular maintenance, troubleshooting the Customer Relationship Management system and serving as a liaison between The A Game and vendors.

Sandi holds dual Master's degrees in Religion and Computer Science as well as dual Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. She lives in Lyons, Colorado, where she enjoys spending time with her children, baking, teaching piano, giving voice lessons, and reading.

Brandi Galuzzi
Graphic Designer

Brandi brings extensive art and design experience to her role as Graphic Designer for The A Game. In this capacity, she is responsible for the overall visual presentation of The A Game including curriculum materials and marketing collateral.

Brandi graduated Colorado Mountain College with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design. She and her husband live in Denver, Colorado, and enjoy camping and traveling.