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Team Mindy

MINDY HORWITZ

Founder and CEO

A St. Louis native, Mindy is married to a WashU alum and the mother of three children including one WashU grad. She has a BA in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work in New York. Mindy is passionate about this business, is an active volunteer, and is well-connected throughout the St. Louis community. She has worked in NYC, LA, and Minneapolis, and has a wealth of experience managing projects and people. Mindy excels at problem-solving, planning, execution, and organization but most importantly she thrives on making connections with people.

SHARI BROOKS

Marketing

Shari is a Wash U alum who lives in NYC with her husband. She has two children in college – one is a senior at Wash U! Shari spent 15 years in the TV industry as a marketing guru at MTV Networks. In addition to freelance writing, she authored the award-winning food blog “My Judy the Foodie”, and co-founded Bake it Happen, a national fundraising campaign that has raised over $750k for Metastatic Breast Cancer research. Shari serves on the board of Concerts in Motion and volunteers extensively in her community.

KAREN SMOLLER​

Finance

Karen is a CPA who grew up in Phoenix, AZ and graduated from Wash U in 1989. After graduation she began her career in STL and met her husband, and has lived here ever since. She is currently a part time tax manager at a top nationally ranked accounting firm. Karen is the mom of two college graduates, both of whom have continued on to graduate school, and is a master of all things business and organization. She serves on multiple boards in town and volunteers extensively in the St. Louis community.

Heather Metz

Campus Mindy, Northwestern University

Heather is a Wash U grad where she earned a BS in Economics.  She was raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago and now resides in Wilmette, IL. She spent her early career in HR at The Field Museum in Chicago and now spends her time raising her three kids (middle school-college aged).  Heather volunteers throughout her community in various PTA roles. Heather is also a proud Wildcat fan since her husband is a graduate of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and her father is a NU grad!

Deena Samberg Shefsky

Campus Mindy, University of Hartford

Deena is a Wash U grad where she earned her BA and she earned an MA in Education at University of Missouri in St. Louis. She was raised in New York and now resides in Hartford with her husband and two sons (one of whom is a UHart grad and is co-owner MK Hartford). Deena worked as the Hillel Director at UHart and at other non-profits and businesses in the Hartford area.  She has also served as board member and co-president of the Foundation for West Hartford Public Schools. 

Carrie Kaufman

Campus Mindy, Skidmore College

Carrie has been a Senior level leader with expertise in relationship management, problem solving, coaching/mentoring, and entrepreneurship. Carrie has a BA in Economics and Business from UCLA and an MBA from the Wharton School in marketing and Entrepreneurial management. She spent a 30 year career in Corporate strategy, Project Management, Operations, Business Development, Client Management, and Team Mentoring. In 2022 Carrie left her corporate career to spread her entrepreneurial wings. She is now bringing these skills to Mindy Knows Skidmore so students and parents can obtain peace of mind while away at college.

Joelyn Levy

Operations

Joelyn has a BA and a JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. After working in the legal department of two local hospital systems and in the health law department of a St. Louis law firm, she decided to devote her time to raising her children. Joelyn has held numerous volunteer positions at her children’s schools and has served on several nonprofit boards. She currently spends her free time volunteering for local political campaigns.

Susie Rubin

Super Mom

Susie joined the mindyKNOWS team as a Super Mom. Susie is a St Louis native who lives steps from campus. Susie has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and a BS in Dietetics. Susie enjoys making connections with our families and is spontaneous, charismatic, and incredibly caring. Susie is the proud mom of a college student and a high school senior, and wife of a retired WashU Radiologist.

Amanda Kravitz

Intern

Amanda is a fourth year student at WashU in the college of Arts & Sciences, studying psychology and marketing. Amanda hails from Boston, Massachusetts and has a food blog on Instagram known as @bostonfoodjunkie. She’s passionate about the services mindyKNOWS offers students and is excited to serve as the company’s intern this year!