Ann Brody established Career Solutions, Inc. in 1995 to meet the needs of organizations and individuals to better identify their talents and strengths—and put them to work. Throughout her 20+-year career in counseling and coaching, Ms. Brody has created programs and offered services which help people maximize their potential in work, education and life as a whole.

Ms. Brody is certified as a Master Personal and Executive Coach by the College of Executive Coaching, Ventura, CA, a program for professionals with advanced degrees, approved by International Coach Federation.

She began offering career coaching services in 1995, after undergoing 200+ hours of training by The Highlands Company, a human performance enhancement company. She is licensed by them to offer the Highlands Ability Battery, the gold standard among assessment tools measuring natural abilities, and related Highlands seminars that build on this information to achieve work and life goals. Since that time, she has worked with over 800 clients using a “Whole Person” approach which considers all aspects of people’s lives to increase the likelihood of their finding success and satisfaction in work, as well as meaning and balance in their life as a whole.

In November, 2000 she was certified by the Five O’Clock Club, a national outplacement and career management consulting company and coached one of their executive level virtual groups. She continues to use the time-tested approach of the Five O’Clock Club to help clients conduct strategic and effective job searches and to assist organizations provide unparalled outplacement services to their employees.

Ms. Brody draws on a wide and versatile skill set, offering individual coaching and group seminars in personal and professional development, leadership and team effectiveness. She is qualified to deliver assessments and seminars based on the IPAT 16 PF test, MBTI, Bar On Emotional Intelligence Inventory, and other measures of competency and ability, including the Lominger Career Architect competency model.

Ms. Brody graduated from Vassar College and earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Before establishing her practice in the Chicago area in 1985, she spent seven years developing and managing programs in Fairfax County, Virginia, aimed at increasing personal effectiveness and wellness.

She is a member of the International Association of Career Management Professionals, Career Management Alliance, Employee Assistance Professionals Association, and Organizational Development Network. She belongs to the National Association of Social Workers and holds a Diplomate in Clinical Social Work.

CECELIA BUROKAS                                                      

Cecelia Burokas joined Career Solutions in 2011, bringing over thirty years experience in career coaching and leadership development. She currently teaches and coaches in theMaster of Science in Learning and Organization Change program at Northwestern University and works as an independent consultant.

After an initial career teaching high school, Ms. Burokas joined a major financial institution and designed its first management training program. She also coached dozens of employees in using the organization’s educational assistance program to further their professional aims. During a period of mergers and acquisitions, she developed retraining programs for employees whose jobs were combined or lost; as a result, most were placed in new jobs within the company.

The next career change led her to Hewitt Associates, a global consulting firm, where she worked in a broad range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, and telecommunications. She also trained both new and experienced consultants in communications, writing, and presentation skills. After leaving the firm she continued to train and coach their associates.

In 1996 Ms. Burokas founded Working with Groups at Work, specializing in leadership and organization development. She continues this work currently. Her coaching and consulting clients have included major corporations, small businesses, and many nonprofit organizations, including CAEL (Council on Adult and Experiential Learning),  GATX, JVS-Chicago, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Chicago Women in Trades, Rhea Hirsch School of Education, Winnetka Public School Nursery, and MED of Tennessee. She recently completed groundbreaking work on career lattices for the transportation and logistics industry and for marketing and interactive media industries. She also has worked extensively in developing career opportunities for older workers through Tapping Mature Talent, a program funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and directed by CAEL.

Ms. Burokas participated in a series of master coaching classes with the late Rita Cashman. She also is certified as a coach by the Five O’Clock Club, a national outplacement and career management consulting company. She finds their strategic and practical approach to be one of the most useful tools in her coaching tool box.  In addition, she has undergone intensive training in the use of the Hogan assessment instruments and the Acumen Leadership Workstyles and Communication Styles surveys.

Ms. Burokas graduated from Vassar College and earned her Master of Arts in Teaching Degree from Reed College. She also has studied writing, visual arts, and metalwork at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and at Lill Street Art Center. She has presented at numerous conferences, including the ASTD International Conference, where she spoke on Action Learning as a leadership development tool. She serves on the board of Community TV Network, and organization that provides video production and workplace skills for at-risk youth.