Since earning her law degree from Nova Southeastern University, Amanda has worked extensively in the areas of Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Insurance and Tax.

Amanda is an active member of the National Society of Accountants and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Amanda is an Accredited Business Accountant by the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation and an IRS Annual Filing Season Program participant.

Money Mastery LLC provides strategic business accounting services including cash flow management and tax planning by leveraging smart technology and QuickBooks Online.

Jenna Cooley Coaching offers personal and professional development opportunities to individuals and organizations in North Carolina, Virginia, and virtually across the U.S. Located in Southport, Jenna Cooley, M.Ed., PCC, Professional Certified Coach and Consultant, offers women’s workshops on Oak Island and TLC Circles (Teaching, Learning, Connecting) circles for men and women in Southport. She also designs customized workshops for teams within organizations with a primary focus on healthcare and veterinary professionals, small businesses, and education.

Jenna’s mission is to inspire confidence and strength during change and loss and to empower leaders and their teams with actionable insights, concepts, and strategies that lead to lasting results. After a career in hospice leadership, grief support, and training and development, Jenna’s passion is to empower leaders with a positive mindset using Positive Intelligence and Energy Leadership. Jenna resides in Southport with her husband who shares her pride in being a parent to a beautifully complex blended family of four children, three grandchildren, and a menagerie of grand pets.

Mariah graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a B.S in Business Administration.  Shortly after college, she bought a tanning salon and was the owner /operator of that for several years.  Mariah sold the tanning salon so that she could spend more time with her young family and started her career in banking. 

Mariah has been in banking for over 15 years and has held several different positions within the retail bank.  Mariah wanted to further her knowledge in the banking industry and attended the North Carolina Banking Association’s School of Banking, graduating in 2019.  She volunteers with multiple organizations around Brunswick County and was a participant in the Brunswick County Leadership Program.  She has received several awards throughout her career, her most recent being United Bank’s Branch Manager of the year for 2023.

Jo has been in the financial services and banking industry since 2008. She has experience working in large regional banks and community banks serving both consumer and commercial customers.  Jo specializes in building relationships with her customers and providing them with lending and treasury management solutions that best fit their needs. Jo joined United Bank as a Commercial Services Officer covering 26 branch locations throughout the Wilmington, Fayetteville/Lumberton, Brunswick, and Coastal East markets. She is an active member of the North Carolina Bakers Association, a member of the local chamber and serves on the board of Bears Behind the Badge NC, a non-profit organization in her community.

Jo is a graduate of East Carolina University with a bachelor’s in calculus a minor in business and she is graduate at the North Carolina Banking School in Raleigh.   

Heather Port holds over 18 years of marketing and business development experience including her previous roles as a Director of Marketing and Business Development and as a Regional Marketing Director for various Property Management firms. She later gained experience in the DoD arena in a variety of roles, most recently with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Program Analyst. 

A North Carolina native, Heather joined the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC) business development team in August 2021. With NCMBC, she specialized in helping interested parties to better navigate and compete in the federal market by building relationships between NC small businesses, community partners, and both state and federal resources, as well as advising on best practices and methods in federal contracting and procurement. In this role, Heather helped NC businesses successfully procure an upwards of $53M in federal contract dollars. Now working with the U.S. Small Business Administration as an Outreach and Marketing Specialist for the NC District team, Heather has taken her skills to assist small businesses on a wider scale, by providing counseling, training, and outreach to small business owners and entrepreneurs and continuing to grow relationships with partner agencies and resources. 

In addition to her work experience, Heather holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fayetteville State University and a Master of Arts in Intelligence, Security Studies, and Analysis from Angelo State University. She is currently a member of the Order of the Sword and Shield, as well as the Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association. Heather currently serves as the Vice President of Community Partnerships for the Fort Liberty Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army.

C. Renae Simon is gifted at training aspiring and existing business owners in developing practical strategies to ensure their brilliant ideas thrive in the marketplace.  Her education includes a Master’s degree in International Business Development Consulting from Novancia (No-von-ci-a) School of Business in Paris, France, and an MBA from UNC Wilmington. She has over 19 years of experience in consulting, event management, business development, customer service, marketing, and sales.  An entrepreneur at heart, she utilized her experience to start her own company, Step-by-Step Businessolutions, which has touched the lives of thousands of entrepreneurs over the last nine years.  

Finally, Renae is passionate about being a mother and an inspirational speaker who authentically shares her story of how she stopped being a statistic and changed the trajectory of her life by embracing her “Power to Decide.” [email protected]