The people of KemperLesnik are a team of seasoned professionals, and we hire only those who share a passion for what we do

Passion is a core value – and it shows in the programs we create and the impact they make.

Our reputation is built on being “best in class” and serving clients with honesty and integrity. We work closely together … not unlike a family. In fact, Loyola University Chicago named KemperLesnik Family Business of the Year in 2003.

KemperLesnik is a great place to work. If you’re interested in employment, please contact us at jobs@kemperlesnik.com.

Steven Lesnik, chairman
Steven Skinner, president and chief executive officer
Gregory Myles, executive vice president and chief financial officer
Amy Littleton, vice president
Lisa Gunggoll, director of accounts
Elliot Bell, executive director of corporate partnerships
Briana Wells, director of events
Amy Harris, director of events
Kelly Drinkwine, account supervisor
Susan Sommers-Evans, director of human resources

Steven Lesnik, chairman

Steve Lesnik is the founder, chairman and principal stockholder of KemperSports Management and KemperLesnik Communications.

Steven Lesnik is the founder and chairman of KemperLesnik and KemperSports. Steve founded KemperLesnik, then called Lesnik Public Relations, in 1979 as a multi-functional communications firm specializing in public relations, public affairs, sports marketing and event management.

In addition to founding KemperLesnik, Steve originated the idea for KemperSports in 1978 when it was established by Kemper Corporation, then headed by James Kemper, Jr. Today, KemperSports is one of the largest developer/owner/operators of golf properties in America. Well known in the industry, he is currently ranked "fourth among the most powerful people in golf" by Golf, Inc. magazine.

A graduate of Brown University, Steve is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. He serves on the Board of Directors of The First Tee of Chicago, a local chapter organization he helped create to provide funding and operate affordable and accessible golf facilities and learning programs for young people. He is a National Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Honorary Member of the Illinois PGA. Steve currently sits on the board of directors for Career Education Corporation, the world's leading provider of quality educational services, and he recently retired as Chairman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, which oversees the state's public colleges and universities with a four billion dollar budget.

Steven Skinner, president and chief executive officer

Steve Skinner oversees all of the KemperSports and KemperLesnik businesses and has served in various roles with the company, including most recently as president of one of its divisions and executive vice president of business development and business affairs leading the company's growth initiatives.

Steve was a co-founder of The First Tee of Chicago and is a member of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Committee. In 2001, Golfweek named him one of its "40 under 40."

Prior to joining KemperSports in 1998, Steve served as vice president and secretary of the Michael Jordan Golf Company where he was responsible for all business operations and development activities of the golf development and specialty retail company.

Prior to joining the golf industry, Steve practiced law with Mayer, Brown & Platt in Chicago and served as an official in the first Bush Administration. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Lawrence University.

Gregory Myles, executive vice president and chief financial officer

Greg Myles is responsible for the day-to-day financial workings of the company, including systems, accounting operations and financial reporting.

Prior to joining KemperSports in 1996, Greg served as chief financial officer at the Rosenthal Group, a restaurant management and consulting firm in Chicago. Before that, he was controller for the hospitality division at Paul Stepan and Associates, a Chicago-based real estate development and hospitality corporation.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Greg began his career in Los Angeles as corporate controller for The Hard Rock Cafe. He is a certified public accountant and earned his MBA from DePaul University in Chicago.

Amy Littleton, vice president

Amy Littleton leads KemperLesnik’s public relations organization, focusing primarily on driving strategic communications programs for the company’s core PR clients, managing the agency’s PR staff and developing new client relationships.

Amy joined KemperLesnik in 2003 after close to 10 years working at Edelman, Slack Barshinger and in her own PR agency business, developing and implementing strategic communications programs for clients such as Auntie Anne’s Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels, B2BWorks, Business Logic, Curves for Women, iProperty.com, Illinois Power, UNext.com and others. In addition, she assisted in managing the media relations and logistics components of a nationwide promotional campaign featuring the gold medal winning U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team for General Mills, Inc.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Business/Marketing from Florida State University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Loyola University Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. She serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Chicago area chapter, and has received numerous awards for marketing excellence. She is also an active member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Lisa Gunggoll, director of accounts

Lisa Gunggoll is director of accounts for KemperLesnik. She has more than 19 years experience in marketing, public/media relations and communications in both corporate and not-for-profit environments.

Lisa joined KemperLesnik from Healy & Schulte in Chicago, where she was vice president, focusing primarily on managing business-to-business clients including Illinois Tool Works (ITW), a $14 billion global diversified manufacturing company, and Denver’s oldest law firm, Sherman & Howard. Prior to working at Healy & Schulte, Gunggoll was vice president and director of the association practice for Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L) in Chicago. In her role, she served as account director and day-to-day senior client contact on various accounts, including the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), W.W. Grainger, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and others.

Lisa is a former competitive figure skater who studied English, communications and journalism at the University of Colorado. She and her husband Dave have three children, enjoy traveling and reside in the southwest suburbs.

Elliot Bell, executive director of corporate partnerships

Elliot Bell spearheads all of the firm’s client-focused sponsorship activity. In this role, he is responsible for identifying and building corporate marketing programs and sponsorships for KemperSports’ owned and operated businesses.

Elliot has more than 15 years of experience in the corporate marketing and sponsorship arena. Before joining the firm in 2006, he most recently owned The Bell Group, LLC, a strategic sales and representation business focused on sports and entertainment assets. Before that, he served as vice president of corporate partnerships for House of Blues Entertainment, where he developed partnership programs for all aspects of the entertainment conglomerate. Elliot also directed corporate sponsorship efforts for professional sports franchises, including the Chicago Bears and Chicago Blackhawks.

A Chicago native, Elliot graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Briana Wells, director of events

Briana Wells oversees the firm’s event management practice, primarily focusing her energies on the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, college basketball's premier early-season tournament.

At the helm as tournament director since 2002, Briana currently manages all aspects of the annual Division I basketball event, including sponsorship sales, TV negotiations and marketing. In addition, she is responsible for new business development of non-golf events for KemperSports Marketing.

Briana has more than 10 years of event management, hospitality and marketing experience. Before joining KemperLesnik in 1999, she previously directed marketing, event and promotions initiatives for the Fairmont Hotel, one of Chicago's leading 5-star hotels, and Safety Service Systems, Inc., a security provider for major nationwide sporting event and entertainment clients. She is a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans.

Amy Harris, director of events

Amy Harris oversees all aspects of the firm’s newest event: the four-day, six-event culinary festival known as The Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert. Amy’s direct responsibilities range from event planning and growth to client service, talent, sponsor, vendor and community relations.

With more than 20 years of event management, advertising and marketing experience, Amy began as an advertising copywriter with leading advertising agencies including Leo Burnett USA and DDB Needham Worldwide. Later directing her focus to event planning and management, she built and managed events including the Y-ME Race Against Breast Cancer in Chicago, a multi-million dollar fundraising foot race second in size only to the Chicago Marathon. A graduate of the University of Colorado, Amy joined KemperLesnik in 2007.

Kelly Drinkwine, account supervisor

Kelly Drinkwine is a senior account head for KemperLesnik, and has 10 years of experience in the world of communications.

Before joining the firm in 2005, she was with the ABC television network in New York City as manager of advertising for its sports division. In that role, Kelly was responsible for all off-channel advertising and promotion to maximize opportunities for brand exposure. She led advertising and promotions for college football, U.S. Figure Skating Association, Indy Racing League, PGA TOUR, MLS, Bowl Championship, NASCAR, NFL and NHL. In addition, she supervised a 25-person staff to manage logistics for Olympians in the Olympic Village for the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic games.

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science in Media Communication from Florida State University.

Susan Sommers-Evans, director of human resources

Susan Sommers-Evans pilots human resource activities for the entire organization, including policy implementation, employee orientation and training, recruiting, professional development, benefits and payroll.

Before joining KemperSports in 2004, Susan was corporate human resources director for a boutique hotel management company, where she provided human resource direction to a staff base of 3,500 and more than 30 properties in multiple states. She has more than 15 years of human resource management experience in the hospitality industry.

Susan graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management. She is certified through the Society for Human Resource Management as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR).