Our Team
Stefanie Santos McLeese, Owner/CEO
Stefanie spent the first eight years of her career in corporate communications roles with global brands (oil & gas; automotive; non-profit) based in the Dallas market and has been independently serving clients across the globe since 2011, now based in Central Illinois.
Stefanie builds brand equity for her clients by providing strategic counsel to operationalize their brand, giving stakeholders consistent brand experiences at every touchpoint. Leaders often contract her during times of change, transition, growth, and evolution. She also operates in fractional branding or communications leader roles to contribute and work as an extended member of an in-house team, often helping develop emerging leaders.
Most recently, Stefanie partnered with NFL Legend, NFL Network analyst, and co-founder of Belen Creative Robert Turbin to also offer branded merchandise with products from Nike, Callaway, Puma, Stanley, Carhartt, and more.
Drawing on 20 years of experience, Stefanie expertly guides executives and teams through transformative journeys, from focused workshops to immersive retreats throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico.
Our Team
Hannah Brzozowski
​Chief of Staff
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Hannah, drawing on her expertise in nonprofit administration, operations, and graphic design, plays a pivotal role at Santos McLeese. She leads in organizing meetings, consistently keeping our team well-versed in the latest technology and systems. Beyond this, she actively contributes to our team's collective knowledge, fostering seamless collaboration. Hannah's commitment to nurturing growth and cultivating meaningful connections makes her a valuable asset to our growing consultancy at Santos McLeese.
Sol Cordero​
Market Researcher
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Sol , drawing on her global experience with renowned brands such as L’Oréal, Busey Bank, and AB InBev, brings a unique perspective to Santos McLeese. Her expertise spans diverse markets and audience segments, from launching innovative beauty products to optimizing digital marketing strategies for financial services. She transforms complex data into actionable strategies, ensuring clients make informed decisions to achieve their goals. Her dedication to delivering impactful marketing and brand results and building strong connections makes her a key member of the Santos McLeese team.
Stacy Trager​
Graphic Designer
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With a background in graphic design, print, advertising and communications, Stacy has been creating visual content to strengthen brands for over 18 years. Stacy’s extensive knowledge of both design philosophy and execution is an asset not just to our team, but to our clients. Her portfolio includes non-profits, global and national companies, government entities and small-businesses alike, allowing us to be versatile in our abilities. With a specialty in print and sign design and production, she further compliments our services by allowing Santos McLeese to be a full-service provider from concept to completion.
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Holly Birch
Photographer
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Through expert lighting techniques and creative compositions, Holly crafts compelling brand narratives with visually stimulating and captivating photography. Holly excels in capturing the intricate details, textures, and unique features of people, products, and projects. She consistently delivers photography that radiates the professionalism, dedication, and expertise that defines her clients’ core brand essence. Her photography is a driving force to storytelling that “sells” to her clients’ audiences. With Holly as our team’s go-to photographer, she works as a seamless extension of our team when client needs call for photography as part of the solution. Visit Holly’s site to see
more of her work.