Terry Neese
Terry has spent over thirty (30) years finding careers for men and women. She has dedicated her career to assist/mentor others in their search for life/work sustainability as the founder of Terry Neese Personnel Services. TNPS is a multi-million dollar staffing firm located in Oklahoma and Dr. Neese’s daughter, Kim Neese, now leads the firm as President.
She has served many non-profits: national president, National Association of Women Business Owners; Co-Founder, Women Impacting Public Policy; Distinguished Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis, US/Afghan Women’s Council and the National Women’s Business Council to name a few. She traveled to all fifty states and dozens of countries.
Neese founded the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women in 2006. In 2007, after spending time and conversations with women in Afghanistan, her skills and her heart lead her to develop the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® program to empower more women around the world.
A successful businesswoman, Terry made history in 1990 when she became the first woman nominated by a major political party for the seat of Lt. Governor of Oklahoma. She was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the “Power 30” – the most influential small businesspersons in Washington, D.C. She was named an Outstanding Business Leader by Northwood University Board of Trustees in 2006 and received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the university in 2008.
Terry is recognized as a national expert on economic issues that affect women and families. Her articles have been published in the Chicago Sun-Times, Entrepreneurial Women Magazine, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Journal Record, the Oklahoman, Washington Examiner, and the Washington Times. Terry is a recurring guest on Fox News, CNN, CNBC, SBTV, as well as on local TV and radio stations.
Terry has been appointed to numerous councils and positions with nominations by prominent leaders, such as Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including:
- U.S.-Afghanistan Women’s Council, through which she traveled to Afghanistan in 2007
- National Advisory Council on Indian Education
- Les Femmes Chefs dEntreprises Mondiales (FCEM) Regional Commissioner for the Americas
- National Women’s Business Council (a bipartisan federal government council created to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to the President and Congress)
- Director of the United States Mint
- Advisory Council for the United States Committee for United Nations Development Fund for Women
She is also a pilot, a motivator, and dedicated to her family.
Contact Terry Neese at [email protected]
Karen Berkheimer
Karen began working at the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women in May of 2012. Raised as an expat kid, Karen had the unique opportunity of living abroad for more than 29 years of her life. Japan, Turkey, Israel, Germany, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were some of the countries in which she lived.
She earned a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing from High Point University in North Carolina. After graduating, she entered the non-profit industry with Consumer Credit Counseling Service where she served as their Education and Marketing Director. From there she moved into Marketing, Public Relations, and Event Planning. Several years later, she found herself living back overseas-in the Middle East.
Upon returning to Oklahoma, Karen followed her desire of being involved with international cultures. For this reason, IEEW is the perfect arena for her to help educate and empower women of different nationalities through the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS ® program.
Karen is the proud mom to daughter, Taylor. They live on a private lake in the Edmond area and enjoy being outdoors, fishing, traveling, and spending time with friends. In her spare time, Karen also loves to ride Harleys with her friends.
Contact Karen at [email protected]
Karel Ford
Karel brings to her position an extensive and wide-ranging educational background, including a bachelor’s degree in business-finance, another degree in creative studies, a certified meeting professional certification, career development through business organizations and even a 200-hour yoga training certificate. Prior to joining IEEW, she spent 20 years with an Oklahoma-based meeting and incentive travel company, serving as an independent planner who helped corporations and associations conceptualize and organize major programs and events. Much of Karel’s time involved working with suppliers from around the world, and many of those people were from emerging countries. She had the opportunity to watch several of the latter individuals grow their businesses over the years.
Coming from a long line of empowered women, both of Karel’s maternal great-grandmothers ran away from their husbands and started their own businesses to make ends meet. Her grandmother ran her own business until she married at age 26, and her mother, a valedictorian, went to college at age 49, the year of the Oklahoma oil bust. Her mother, who is now 71, is still working and volunteering.
Karel’s responsibilities at IEEW include booking the international and domestic air travel for the students. Among her many duties she also books speakers, matches mentors and hosts with the students, and outlines the agenda for the summer PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS ® program.
Karel and her husband are members of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the Myriad Gardens, and enjoy going to the movies and stage productions. Her leisure pursuits include teaching three yoga classes per week; cycling, kayaking, boating and fishing with friends; reading books; traveling; and trading healthy, superfood inventions with a few close friends.
Contact Karel at [email protected]
Sherrie Phillips
In 2010, Sherrie found herself with artistic passions and a desire to travel outside the US. Between April 2010 and March 2013 she was able to take advantage of a break in corporate life. After two years of art classes, gallery shows and European travel, Sherrie discovered IEEW was in need of an Administrative Assistant. As synchronicity would have it, Terry Neese Personnel had connected Sherrie with her first office job while attending Southwestern Christian College. IEEW’s mission of empowering women through business fit perfectly with Sherrie’s philosophy.
Sherrie has spent her adult life working for two corporations. First, as the Administrative Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Scrivner, Inc. Scrivner was an Oklahoma based food wholesale and distribution center that did $6.6 billion in sales. In 1994, Scrivner was sold to Fleming Foods. At that time she went to work as the Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CIRCOR, Inc. CIRCOR, Inc. is an energy based business that manufactures valves for the oil and gas industry.
Sherrie’s duties at IEEW, as Administrative Assistant to Dr. Terry Neese, are many and varied. Assisting Dr. Neese with her travel, speaking engagements, fundraising endeavors, and the day to day business of running a nonprofit. Sherrie also assists the other IEEW staff as needed in all areas of the program.
Sherrie is still painting and traveling. An avid reader, she belongs to two book clubs. Her son and his family live near St. Louis, Missouri and she enjoys frequent visits. She also enjoys yoga, kayaking (when the Oklahoma weather permits) and socializing with her many wonderful friends.
Contact Sherrie at [email protected]
Manizha Wafeq
Manizha is a 2007 graduate of the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS program. In 2008 she was hired by IEEW to be Afghanistan’s in-country facilitator, training and coordinating the program’s Afghan students. Manizha now teaches curriculum jointly developed by IEEW and Northwood University, assists in the selection of students, grades coursework, and accompanies the selected students to the US for Leadership Development training.
In 2012, Manizha started her won company, Wonderland Women Clothing Co. She began with 5 employees and has grown to 15 in just one year. Her concern has always been the imports of the country which are higher than exports and so she advocates for Afghan’s industries development.
Her commitment to empower women and particularly, to improve the status of Afghan women has led her to writing and finalizing a training manual for start-up businesses and training more than five hundred government officials in gender mainstreaming concepts in order to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality within the public sector.
Rose Busingye
Rose is the Country Facilitator for Rwanda. She is also the owner Creations of Roza a small size business dealing in clothing retail. Rose runs her clothing store in down town Kigali where she has lived since 2000. She graduated from the Uganda Institute of Business and media Studies in Uganda and acquired a diploma in Journalism.
After graduating from school Rose worked as a news reporter before moving to the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program a PEPFAR funded project where she worked as the Mass media Specialist. In 2006 Rose accepted a position of Communications Officer at World Relief Rwanda but left in 2009 to start her own business.
During her tenure as a media professional Rose learned interpersonal and marketing skills. These skills have proved very helpful to her as an entrepreneur –knowing how to communicate effectively to her clients, marketing her products and being able to keep the customer coming.
Rose is inspired by the story of her country Rwanda. Since the 1994 genocide which claimed the lives of over a million people Rwandans have picked themselves up from loss and pain. The people of Rwanda have managed to rebuild through an unbeatable spirit of resilience commitment and hope. Borrowing from this culture, Rose believes that there is no challenge too hard to overcome and that you can achieve anything you put your mind to.
Rose is a committed member of the music ministry at her local Church –Christian Life Assemblies where she has been singing since 2002. She is married to Tim and together they have two children Joshua 10 and Joanna 8.