About Strategic Exceptions
Driving Results through People and Processes
Strategic Exceptions Professional Consulting, Inc. is an education and training company that utilizes effective and efficient strategies to support corporations, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals. We are also the operator of the Illinois MBDA Business Center and the parent company of the Lewis Simmons Foundation.
We help our clients grow by providing the following services: professional development and leadership workshops and trainings, business strategy development, and nonprofit strategy and grant writing.
Get to Know Our Founder, Terrie Simmons
CEO, Strategic Exceptions
Operator, IL MBDA Business Center
Terrie is a strategic innovator, national award-winning empowerment speaker, serial entrepreneur, author, civic leader, and connector who helps underserved persons build wealth and chart successful professional, personal, and business paths.
She mentors over 30 women throughout the country and reaches men and women, worldwide, through her social media platforms and her empowerment show “Terrie Talks Tea.”
With over 30 years of building success in corporate and business environments, Terrie is the owner and CEO of Strategic Exceptions Professional Consulting, Inc. (SEPCI), a nationally certified Woman Owned Business and Minority Business Enterprise, and the Operator of the Illinois Minority Business Development Agency (IL MBDA) Business Center.
Notable Awards
Memberships
Meet Regina Smith
Executive Director - Programs, IL MBDA Business Center
Regina serves as the Executive Director of Programs at the IL MBDA Business Center. She is a visionary leader with a relentless drive for program growth and a passion for fostering meaningful connections in the realm of workforce development. She has a Doctor of Education in Ethical Leadership and is known for her strategic acumen and ability to deliver tangible results. With a career spanning leadership roles in workforce development and stakeholder collaboration, she has had a front-row seat to the need for economic education, resource availability and allocations dedicated to the prosperity of minority-owned businesses.
Dr. Smith’s expertise extends across various domains including staff management, project management, and budget oversight. She possesses a keen understanding of workforce pipeline development across various industries tailored to meet workforce demands. Her adeptness in fostering collaboration both within and beyond organizational boundaries has proven to be instrumental in driving operational excellence and achieving programmatic success.
The Strategic Exceptions Story
Strategic Exceptions Professional Consulting Inc. (SEPCI) is an education and training company that utilizes effective and efficient strategies to support corporations, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals. We are also the operator of the Illinois MBDA Business Center and the parent company of the Lewis Simmons Foundation.
We support corporations, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals through professional development and leadership workshops and trainings, business strategy development, and nonprofit strategy and grant writing.
In 2014, our CEO, Terrie Simmons, along with 3 other community leaders and business owners met with the CEO of WBDC Chicago and agreed on a plan to create a program to serve women and minority business owners in Aurora, IL.
Out of this collaboration, the Small Business Administration (SBA) awarded 1 of 2 grants for the SCALE up program to Aurora. The program’s success resulted in a second grant from the SBA the next year to create a Women’s Business Center in Aurora, IL. The program was created and executed by then corporate leader and External Affairs Manager, Terrie Simmons, as a pilot by Commonwealth Edison’s CEO creating a model of community and corporate social partnership.
After leaving corporate America in 2017, Terrie proved that she is well-versed in strategies for enhancing growth, expansion, and capacity building of businesses; and has proven results from dealing with the specific issues facing business enterprises.
As a WBC Director, Terrie helped businesses secure over $5M in capital and helped more than 500 clients annually! She also managed and had stewardship of over $2M in grant funding and has helped to launch 30 Business Start-ups.
She ran the center until 2020 when she became full time as the owner of SEPCI. The WBDC Chicago hired SEPCI in 2020 to run the WBC Cares Act program until April 31, 2021. During those 10 months, Terrie served over 275 clients, helped create almost 200 jobs and secured access to $300,000.00 in capital.
Strategic Exceptions now serves minority businesses through strategic business consulting (business strategy and coaching, workforce development training, process documentation and capability statements), grant writing and guidance to become minority business certified.
Since inception, SEPCI has partnered with Local, Federal and State Government organizations such as Kane County Sheriff’s Office, Minority Business Development Agency and Downtown Wheaton Association. We now work daily with our business partners such as Women’s Business Development Center Aurora, WoodForest National Bank Foundry, Aurora University, Small Business Accounting Services Aurora, Talented Tenth Social Services and Nicor Gas.
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