JLink™ Feature Friday: September Edition

Get to know Jewish professionals and JLink members in this month’s Feature Friday roundup!

Molly Gruesner: Creative Director 

Naturally, with ‘Malka’ as a namesake I have become a style hungry Queen of Gold. Born with Los Angeles roots and raised in Minneapolis, I balance my “glitz & glam” creative style with Midwestern simplicity. I crave art & design.

As the Creative Director for Charlotte Fabrics – a distributor of upholstery fabric – I bring quality, attractive and affordable fabrics to the residential, contract and hospitality industries. Using an eye for design, a passion for color and a special acquaintance with clean lines, I strive to defy the status quo while maintaining the trend.

Additionally, my recently launched Etsy store contains the most unique gifts honoring life’s best moments. Milestones deserve an artist’s personal and loving touch – a baby naming, wedding or anniversary, birthday, a stylized wedding license, Bar/Bat Mitzvah tributes, or any life event you would like to celebrate, these creative pieces are a timeless gift.

Check out her shops below:
https://www.charlottefabrics.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/malkamolly

Ethan Tarshish: Copywriter, Producer and Writer

A skilled copywriter for NBC Universal and many of their affiliates (Syfy Network, SyFy Wire, WWE, and Chiller Network to name a few). In these various roles he provides conceptualization, marketing, ad-copy, taglines and campaign management.

Ethan is the Producer/Writer for the critically acclaimed comic book series “Woe Is Oz” and the Co-Writer/Co-Creator of the upcoming series “Parasightmare”. He is also a longtime staple of the Heilicher Day School in Minneapolis where he acts as Organizational & Projects Manager.

Ethan is always looking for creative and exciting new challenges. To view his portfolio or connect please visit www.ethantarshish.com and Tarshish Creative on Facebook.

Heidi Koppelman Weinberg: Personal Trainer (focus on Older Adults)

Heidi has a special interest in empowering middle aged and older adults to live their best lives and stay independent. Enhancing mobility, strength and overall quality of life, I give you the tools and motivation to stay active despite any limitations. I believe strength in the gym translates to resilience for whatever life throws at you!

Is your goal to stay independent as you age? With Certifications in Personal Training, Health Coach, Delay the Disease (exercise for people with Parkinson’s) and a Functional Aging Certification, I can help you age well!

I have been a Personal Trainer for 5 1/2 years with a focus on Older Adults. I am the only Certified Personal Trainer in Minnesota with the Delay the Disease Certification. Being a Wellnes Partner with the Parkinson’s Foundation Minnesota Chapter (only one of six exercise professionals endorsed by the Foundation), gives me access to a limited amount of grant money to assist people with the cost of exercise. In addition, we attend special trainings at the Struthers Parkinson’s Center.

Currently, I own my business – Live2Thrive – in St. Louis Park. I also work at the Sabes JCC and teach a Delay the Disease class at the Eden Prairie Community Center.

“Be thankful for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow”

If you are interested in working with Heidi, please e-mail her at [email protected]

Aaron Braunstein: Corporate Finance at Best Buy

In my current role, I support the Marketing organization, more-specifically focused on the loyalty program (My Best Buy) and gift cards. For the loyalty program, my primary responsibilities center on optimizing program profitability and efficiency by evaluating various campaigns that align with the Enterprise strategy. Like most rewards programs, there’s a cost-structure associated with points awarded to members and resulting redemptions; I write the annual budget and maintain the full-year forecast for all of that. In the gift card space, we issue (activate) cards in our stores, on our site, and also through external business-to-business clients and third party channels (supermarkets, pharmacies, gift card malls, etc.). I collect issuance and redemption information and advise the marketing and operations team on performance (sales & profit) via each channel.

My previous finance roles include (1) Enterprise Financial Planning and Analysis (EFP&A), and (2) Retail channel decision support. In EFP&A, we consolidated the enterprise financial statements, maintained the enterprise forecast, prepared monthly materials for the Executive Leadership Team, and directed the annual enterprise budget process across all domestic and international business units. In Retail decision support, we provided financial reporting for all domestic brick-and-mortar locations and advised store/field teams how various operational tactics drove financial results.