Our Team

Jeff Carter, Cheif Technology Officer

Technologist Jeffery Carter joins Caring Transitions in the role of Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Carter’s previous roles include CTO, Director of Software Engineering, VP Engineering, Senior Business Analyst, and Senior Data Scientist for different industries including education, eCommerce, finance, construction, and government. Mr. Carter received his B.S. in Computer Science with honors from the University of Cincinnati and his MBA with emphasis on technical operations, from the same university. Mr. Carter considers technology an integral asset of an organization. He considers product scalability (capability to grow with the organization) and operational adaptability (ability to change with the organization) foundational to technology longevity. He has led, managed, and developed over 100 web solutions for national and global markets since 1992. As an expert in high volume data design and enterprise-class web infrastructures, he brings a unique hands-on approach to application development. Mr. Carter resides with his family in Cottage Grove, Oregon. He has a variety of hobbies he explores in his free time – application programming, pastel painting, writing poetry, and working on his acreage in the mountains. Mr. Carter is excited to be a part of the CTBIDS technology team and is committed to nothing short of product excellence.

Chelsea Penzone, Vice President of Brand Management

Chelsea Penzone joined Strategic Franchising as Vice President of Brand Management and will be responsible for driving lead generation for franchise development. Chelsea brings twenty years of strategic marketing and brand development experience to her role supporting all five Strategic Franchising brands. Chelsea has been involved in franchising for over eight years with both legacy brands such as Stanley Steemer as well as emerging brands. She has successfully led national, regional, and local marketing strategies across all marketing channels. Chelsea will leverage her deep understanding of consumer behavior to build lead generation strategies that attract the right talent for each brand to ensure the success of the franchise partners. Chelsea’s passion for marketing strategy, creative execution, and franchise development will be an asset to the team.

James Stapleton, VP of Franchise Development

Caring Transitions Vice President of Development, James Stapleton believes that where your focus goes, your energy flows. And his focus is squarely placed on what he calls “Development with integrity.” Calling upon sales and development experience dating back to when he was 17 years old, and the leadership skills he has honed during his time in corporate management, Mr. Stapleton is driven by opportunities to build rapport, trust, and reliability between himself, his team, and the clients they serve. Mr. Stapleton has risen to the top in nearly every sales & leadership role he has held. Whether being named a Titanium Award-Winner during his time as a Territory Manager at Combined Insurance, or leading his Cincinnati Territory to #2 in North America as a Sales Team Lead at Regus, Mr. Stapleton knows it is easier to serve with competence and confidence when you’re working for something you truly believe in. For that reason, he is particularly excited to utilize his unique insights to assist the Caring Transitions development team as the brand continues to grow and evolve.

Joe Lewandowski, Director of Operations

25 years’ experience in Operations, as not only as a Manager, Director and business coach, but a business owner. Throughout his career and since joining the Caring Transitions Team initially in 2009, Joe has had the pleasure of working with hundreds of small business owners in and out of the franchise industry, helping them to achieve the dream of owning and operating a successful business. Having been a business owner himself, he truly believes that the only thing better than owning his own business is helping others to navigate their way to the independence that owning a successful small business can bring. While working in and with small businesses, he has been able to successfully coach business owners in the areas of marketing, networking and relationship building, training development, pricing structure, client intake, operations, profitability, and time management.

Sherrie Henderson, Sr. Operations Manager

Sherrie has almost 20 years of franchising experience with such well-known companies as Sylvan Learning and Luxottica; she also has experience in running her own business as an entrepreneur. She has seen what leads to successful business ownership, and she now brings that wisdom to Caring Transitions as our Sr. Operations Manager. She sets out reasonable, attainable goals and provides the knowledge and guidance to, not only meet, but exceed them.

Keith O’Brien, Business coach

Keith was born and raised on the eastside of Cincinnati where he reside with his wife and 16 year old son. He has been a franchisee and worked with a franchisor. Keith was a Franchise Development Consultant for Coverall Cleaning and brings 7 years’ experience owning a janitorial franchise. His extensive experience in the hospitality industry only adds to the contribution he brings to Caring Transitions.

Tiffiny Vanjohnson-Lutz, Director of Marketing

Brand advocate extraordinaire, Tiffiny thrives on establishing the brand vision and providing strategic direction to cultivate audiences by providing effective marketing solutions to drive revenue, profitability and brand equity. She possess a keen understanding of consumer trends, especially as they relate to diverse genres, modes of consumption and viewer demographics. Previous professional experience includes brand marketing various Fortune 500 & 100 companies including Luxottica, Kenner Toys & Procter & Gamble and has owned her own retail store: Tiffiny’s Catwalk – a swanky upscale boutique for the unique and the co-owner of a family restaurant business, Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant, franchising 4 of the 8 units. A graduate from University of Cincinnati, Ohio’s school of Design, Art, Architecture & Planning.