Mary Ann Breshears
President
Mary Ann Breshears and her husband, Rich, have been wildly passionate about taking images since childhood. Mary Ann started in her teen years with 4H, amassing enormous scrap books for her fair princess and high school projects. In college she continued her love of photography while studying to become a Consumer Science Teacher. It wasn’t until 2000 when Mary Ann and Rich found themselves burned out on their chosen careers and decided to make it a go as professional photographer. Rich and Mary Ann opened their studio out of their garage, working nights and weekends. As the quality of their work grew, so did the word of their availability. In 2004 Mary Ann made the transition to being full-time in their studio. Since then their studio has grown out of their home, and into a beautiful 3,000-square-foot storefront space, specializing in family wall portrait art, high school seniors, and commercial product photography. The key to her success is passion, hard work, and integrity.
Jennifer Sorn
Vice President
Jennifer has been a part of Powerful Connections for seven years and is the sole proprietor of Jenographics Design Solutions, a full-service website, graphic, and digital marketing design agency. With 32 years of experience in graphic design and 26 years as a web designer, Jennifer has honed her expertise to deliver innovative and impactful design solutions.
In addition to Jenographics, Jennifer and her husband, Andy, own AndPak, a packaging company. The couple were also co-owners of Columbia Basin Ice, a local ice manufacturing and distribution plant, before recently selling their shares to focus fully on their individual ventures.
Jennifer attended Boise State University on a basketball scholarship, earning a degree in Advertising Design. She used to compete in rodeo events, and she continues to enjoy camping and traveling. Passionate about giving back, Jennifer volunteers for various community projects and currently serves as the Board Chair of the Gesa Carousel of Dreams
Jennifer is excited and honored to serve on the Powerful Connections board, and is looking forward to the opportunity to continue to collaborate with a remarkable group of motivated and professional women in the community.
Lindsay Best
Secretary
Lindsay is the owner and Engagement Director of Abadan, a Business Technology and Print Solutions company based in Richland, WA. She earned her degree in Business with a specialization in Management and Leadership from Capella University. In her role at Abadan, Lindsay oversees Human Resources and Marketing while contributing to many other areas of the business, as is common for small business owners. Lindsay is passionate about serving the community, often leading sponsorships and volunteering opportunities with her team. Born in Southern California, she moved to the Tri-Cities at age five, making Washington feel like her true home state. Outside of work, Lindsay values family time with her husband and two children. She also enjoys traveling, reading, and connecting with those closest to her. As a Black Belt in Taekwondo, Lindsay prioritizes physical activity, challenging herself to advance her skills and ranking.
Sybil Young
Treasurer and Luncheon Chair
Sybil is the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Three Rivers Convention Center. She loves that her job lets her work with new people and organizations all the time, while still getting to see familiar faces through the Convention Center doors. Each day is a new adventure! Sybil graduated from WSU with a BA in Business Management & Operations and from WGU with a Masters in Business Administration. A native of the Tri-Cities, she has enjoyed watching the community grow and can’t wait to see what the future holds. Sybil is a graduate of the Powerful Connections Mentor Program (Class 4) and is proud to serve the organization as their Treasurer. As a new mom, she enjoys spending time with her son, Vince and her husband, Andrew, as well as with their bulldog pups. She also loves trivia and dabbles in beekeeping – she could tell you more than you could ever want to know about honeybees (just ask!).
Carey Palazzo
Social Chair
Carey Palazzo has a strong and diverse background in healthcare and business, particularly within the Pacific Northwest. Her career began at Generation II, a medical device manufacturer, where she worked for 11 years, progressing from receptionist to clinic manager of the Arthritis Bracing Center. After stepping back to part-time work to raise her children, Carey transitioned into inside sales for a surgical device manufacturer, InstruMed, and also worked with a manufacturer’s rep for several international houseware brands. These roles allowed her to work remotely, collaborating with hospital surgical teams and Amazon’s business development team to introduce new housewares products to the platform.
In 2013, a job relocation for her husband brought Carey to the Tri-Cities. After nine years in housewares, Carey shifted her focus back to healthcare and pursued a degree while working as a licensed health aide. This gave her the flexibility to raise her young family while advancing her education. Upon completing her degree, she became the Human Resource Manager for a homecare agency, where she further developed her expertise in healthcare administration.
Eager to continue her career growth, Carey joined Columbia Basin Hearing Center in mid-2022 as the Practice Manager for two locations, with plans to expand further. She continues to thrive in her role, combining her healthcare knowledge with her experience in management to deliver exceptional service to patients and ensure the continued growth of the practice.
Emily Nielsen
Luncheon Speaker Chair
Emily has been a member of Powerful Connections for 7 years and can attest to the power of the group. As a Certified Nutritionist and owner of Nielsen Nutrition the community and support of PC has helped her go from a terrified solopreneur to a confident, established business owner that even has multiple employees! Having served on the board from 2019-2021 she is thrilled to be back on the board serving as the Luncheon / Speaker Chair. She looks forward to bringing in a high caliber speaker in the Spring as we launch a larger, community focused luncheon (to which our members receive a complimentary ticket) as well as a more intimate “arrows in” luncheon / retreat in the fall that is more focused on creating meaningful connections for our PC members and mentee’s.
Megan Nichols
Programs Chair
Megan Nichols is a proud mother and Certified Financial Planner™. Most of her energy is devoted to spending time with her kids and helping her clients along their financial journey, or getting inspired by the amazing ladies of PC. Megan has both been with HFG Trust and a member of Powerful Connections since 2015. She is a graduate of the Powerful Connections Mentor Program (Class 2) and led Class 4 along with Julie Sovereign. She is a graduate of Washington State University (GO COUGS!). Though she is an Idaho native, Megan has called the Tri-Cities home since 2010 and feels fortunate to be part of such a great community.
Mistee Verhulp
Membership Chair
Mistee is a member of the original board of directors for Powerful Connections when it became a legal non-profit business entity in 2008. She continues to serve as the Registered Agent for the group and is currently the Membership Chair. She grew up in the small farming community of Ritzville, Washington before attending Gonzaga University and Gonzaga School of Law where her love of community and giving back by working with non-profits and charities began. Mistee has served on five non-profit boards in the past 18 years. She loves mentoring young girls and women and is a huge advocate for mental health funding and awareness. She has enjoyed watching Powerful Connections grow and thrive over the last decade and a half and is excited to be a part of the board once again to help grow, diversify and support our members.
Stacia Gray
Mentor Program Co-Chair
Born in Richland and raised on a farm outside of Pasco, Stacia loves the sunshine, rivers, and wineries (of course!) of the area. Stacia co-owns Harvey Insurance Agency with her brother, Kaleb Harvey. She also works with her husband, Jeremy Gray, and an amazing team of co-workers that truly make Harvey Insurance Agency a modern, family-owned business. Stacia has served on multiple company councils, most recently as the President of the Safeco Northwest Region Advisory Council.
When she isn’t running the show at Harvey Insurance Agency, she loves spending time with her three beautiful daughters, reading a good book, and traveling.
Charlynn Hull
Mentor Program Co-Chair
Raised in Pasco, Charlynn became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army upon graduating from Gonzaga University and completing its ROTC program in 1995. She then served on active duty for over five years and worked in pharmaceutical sales before going to law school over 20 years ago. After law school, Charlynn worked as a law clerk in Boston and in private practice doing insurance law, and then for two state Attorneys General in Massachusetts and here in Washington. Now a senior associate attorney in private practice at Smart Law in Kennewick, Charlynn represents injured workers in workers’ compensation matters, and employees and labor unions. In her spare time, Charlynn enjoys golfing, traveling, wine tasting, and spending time with family and friends. When relaxing at home, she also loves spoiling her two furry felines, Hynes and Blitz. She might have even made up voices for them and sings to them daily, but don’t judge her!