A2Y Chamber Event: Coffee Connect

Join us for a cup of coffee and fantastic networking! This is your opportunity to meet other Chamber Members, the Chamber Staff, and A2Y Chamber Board Members and let us know what local issues are affecting your business. We'll help you make the most of your Chamber Membership by answering any questions you have about your member benefits.


Meet the following A2Y Chamber Board Members:

Ashley Kryscynski, MSW
Communications & Public Relations Specialist
Washtenaw Intermediate School District

Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) is the educational service agency for Washtenaw County, Michigan, serving nine public school districts and the public school academies in the greater Ann Arbor region. WISD provides special education student programs and early childhood programs from ages birth to 26, plus an array of services to the community and local schools, including: Special education leadership and coordination, early childhood services, technology support, business and human resources assistance, cradle-to-career community partnerships, and teacher and staff professional development.  For more information, visit www.washtenawisd.org

Sarah Miller
President & CEO
Destination Ann Arbor

Destination Ann Arbor is the official tourism organization for Washtenaw County. Our mission is to promote the area as a destination for leisure and business travelers by providing information and services support surrounding local attractions, events, restaurants, and accommodations.  


 

Margaret Petersen
Principal
Petersen Law PLLC
Margaret Dearden Petersen lives in Ann Arbor, MI, and is the founding principal of Petersen Law PLLC, which focuses on commercial leasing matters (retail, office, and medical office).  Before founding her law firm in December 2011, she was the Director-Real Estate Counsel for Borders Group, the Ann Arbor based parent company of Borders and Waldenbooks stores.  Before joining Borders in 1993, Ms. Petersen was an in-house real estate counsel with Hechinger/Home Quarters Warehouse in Landover, MD, and from 1987 to 1992 was Assistant General Counsel for Baltimore-based developer Continental Realty Corporation.  She is a graduate of the University of Maryland (now Francis King Carey) School of Law in Baltimore, where she was a published member of the Law Review, and of Loyola College (now University) at Baltimore.  


Dave Norton
Branch Manager
Bank of Ann Arbor Stadium Office

Bank of Ann Arbor loves to help – businesses, families, individuals and their communities. As branch Manager of Bank of Ann Arbor’s Stadium Office since June 2015, I also love to help, both our clients and the community. Besides managing the branch I am also the branch lender for Home Equity Lines of Credit and consumer loans such as car loans, boat loans, etc. I have been in the banking industry since January 2001. I was grew up locally graduating from Ann Arbor Huron High School.
 
Aside from the work I do at Bank of Ann Arbor I am also on the A2Y Board of Directors as Vice Chair and the Teacher of the Year Committee Chair. I am also on the Bank of Ann Arbor’s United Way Pacesetter Committee.

Outside of the work environment I have been a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary since 2011 assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Detroit as an Auxiliary Aviation Crew Member putting in hundreds of hours a year in training and patrols throughout Western Lake Erie, through the Detroit river and north to Alpena.



Sun Chao
VP of Investments at GameAbove, EMU
Co-founder of The Back Office Studio

Chao Sun is an entrepreneur, community builder, and lecturer. In his role as a liaison between GameAbove Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and the EMU-related community, Chao spends nearly half his time developing and nurturing relationships with key stakeholders from EMU and managing the mentoring program that promotes innovation.
 
The other half of Chao's time is dedicated to serving as the regular private equity investment manager for CapStone Holdings Inc. In this capacity, he cultivates and maintains relationships with investment banks and local investor/startup community members, sources investment opportunities, manages internal due diligence streams, supports portfolio companies, and works closely with senior team members on strategy and negotiations.
 
Additionally, Chao is a lecturer in College of Business at EMU and co-founder of The Back Office Studio, a coworking community of professionals collaborating to create positive futures in Ypsilanti.
 
Chao is a first-generation immigrant from China, who came to the United States to earn his Master's degree in Human Resource Management and Organization Development from EMU. He has also earned his Certificate in Entrepreneurship from EMU.