About the Team
Chicago Chocolate Toursis brought to you by a team of Tourguides, Managers and more, all called Choc Stars!
Marla Caceres, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark - the darker the better!
Marla is the perfect Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she loves showing off the beautiful city of Chicago with its rich history, culture and architecture! She finds giving quality tours to be very fulfilling and gratifying. Marla just became a Choc Star in September of 2009. Marla has been a chocoholic her entire life. When she was a small child and trusted, for the first time, to prepare breakfast for herself, she decided that a Hershey bar and a glass of milk would do just fine! She still thinks that it is the breakfast of champions. When Marla is not giving chocolate tours, she is acting, improvising and teaching.
Carrie Carmichael, Group Sales Director
Favorite Chocolate: Dark with a hint of spice!
Carrie joined the Chocolate Tours team in January of 2010 as our Group Sales Director. Until Carrie married and started her family in 2009, her motto was “Chocolate is a Girl’s Best Friend; in addition to shoes and purses of course!" Carrie, an accomplished national sales, marketing and training executive has joined our family as Director of group sales for Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. Carrie’s little boy Zachary already love’s Mommy’s new job and the perks of being her sweet little confection.
Yow-Yow Chen, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate
Yow-Yow became a Choc Star in December 2009. First and foremost, she loves chocolate! Whether she's eating it, learning about it, working with it, or sharing it! She graduated from the French Pastry School where she found new ways to appreciate chocolate. She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours tourguide because she loves entertaining, bringing positive and fun energy to a group and enjoying chocolate with new people. She has lived in Chicago for about 6 years now and grew up in the city's suburbs giving her strong ties to this amazing city. She loves connecting others to its history and architecture. When she's not touring, Yow-Yow is making pastries and teaching yoga.
Emily Cross, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Anything in truffle for but especially dark chocolate and raspberries
Emily became a Choc Star in February 2010. When she was young, se started to make truffles for fun because she enjoyed making candy. After growing better and better skills she started a small business selling the truffles in little baskets to her mother’s co-workers at her old Elementary school. She even started using orange liquor! She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours tourgudie because she has a new adventure each time she tours! She gets to meet new people, try great chocolate, meet independent business owners who are doing great things for the world of chocolate! When Emily is not touring she acts in short films and plays.
Sarah Ely, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate with Mint
Sarah became a Choc Star in September of 2009. It goes without saying that Sarah loves chocolate. Her birthday is right near Halloween, and she always says it’s the best week of the year: presents and chocolate in one week! When she is not serving as a Tourguide, Sarah is an actress and a freelance Spanish tutor. She also volunteers at the Instituto Cervantes. Sarah says this about Chicago Chocolate Tours, “I love the support that Chicago Chocolate Tours gives to local businesses and especially the emphasis that it gives to women entrepreneurs. It also is a fun, innovative way to tour Chicago!”
JoAnne Fuener, Marketing Intern
Favorite Chocolate: Taza Aztec Chocolate
JoAnne joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours Team as the Marketing Intern in July of 2009. Advertising is her passion and she loves finding out about unique charities and events taking place in Chicago. JoAnne's role includes tracking and sending donated gift certificates to various local charities and fundraisers. She loves working for Chicago Chocolate Tours because she enjoys supporting local businesses and sharing the best city in the world with guests! In addition to serving as the Marketing Intern for Chicago Chocolate Tours, JoAnne is also an advertising grad student at DePaul University.
Ellen Girvin, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark with mint!
Ellen joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team in December of 2009. She has been a chocoholic since she was little. When given the choice between a non chocolate dessert and a chocolate dessert, you better believe she chooses the chocolate one! She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she gets to meet new people and have fun. She also loves Chicago because of its interesting history and architecture and of course there's the chocolate! When she's not serving as a tourguide, she is acting, auditioning, and spending time with friends.
Heidi Holladay, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate
Heidi has been a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide since July of 2008. She has a background in education so she naturally likes to teach. Chocolate is now one of her favorite subjects! She also took a year off from teaching to go to pastry school here in Chicago where she fell in love with chocolate. She has also traveled and taken lots of tours, therefore she knows how to create an enjoyable outing for guests. Heidi loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she gets to share information about chocolate and meet all of the wonderful guests. When Heidi is not serving as a Tourguide, she is teaching second grade at The Laboratory School at the University of Chicago.
CatieLeigh Laszewski, Administrative Assistant and Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate (the darker the better!)
In April of 2008, CatieLeigh joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team. She has taken on many roles as a team member and is currently serving as an Administrative Assistant as well as a Tourguide. CatieLeigh makes the perfect Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she loves meeting people, she loves Chicago and most of all she LOVEs chocolate! When she was little her mom used to have to hide all of the chocolate in the house – otherwise her mom would go to bake chocolate chip cookies and there wouldn’t be any chocolate chips! CatieLeigh loves being a tourguide for Chicago Chocolate Tours because she gets to discover all of the “hot spots” for chocolate. When she is not serving as a Tourguide, CatieLeigh studies vocal performance at Roosevelt University: Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Samantha McDonald, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate with Raspberries
Samantha joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team of Choc Stars in February 2010. She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she loves to talk with people and tell stories! She also loves chocolate and has a huge sweet tooth. But don't worry she will share! She feels grateful that she gets the chance to share amazing chocolate knowledge with amazing people! When she is not touring Samantha is busy being an actor, sword fighter and dog walker.
Carrie Patrick, Virtual Assistant
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate
Carrie started working for Chicago Chocolate Tours as a Tourguide in 2007. She was promoted to Schedule Manager in 2008 and now serves as the company’s Virtual Assistant. Carrie loves being a part of the Chicago Chocolate Tours team. She loves the wonderful people that she gets to interact with and of course the chocolate! When she is not serving as a Virtual Assistant, she coordinates the Columbus Marathon and the Second Sole Racing events in Columbus, Ohio. During track season, she is an Assistant Track Coach at an area High School.
Kelly Rhyne, Photo Manager, Casting and Training Coordinator, and Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: I love it all plain or with fruit, nuts, ganache, etc!
Kelly lived in Hershey, PA for part of her life and her elementary school was right next to the original chocolate factory. Recess was absolute torture for a chocoholic like Kelly! Kelly joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team in April 2009. She loves getting to meet really happy and interesting people and eat chocolate all the time! She also loves Chicago and being able to show people all over the city. When she is not serving as a Photo Manager and Tourguide for Chicago Chocolate Tours, she is a student at Columbia College Chicago studying Musical Theater and serving at Director of Special Events at Saint Sebastian Players.
Kristen Smiley, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Any Chocolate with Peanut Butter
Kristen became a Choc Star in February 2010. She thinks that she got her love of chocolate through genetics – from her grandmother to her mother to her. She grew up in a house in where chocolate was always available. Having grown up in Pennsylvania, she has made many visits to the Hershey’s Chocolate Plant. She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours tourguide because she likes to share the “gems” that people might not otherwise find in Chicago – whether it be the chocolate or the architecture – and to have fun doing it! When she's not touring, Kristen is an actress and teaching artist specializing in theatre.
Erin Snow, Tour Manager
Favorite Chocolate: Milk Chocolate
Erin joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team in August of 2009. She loves working with her fellow Choc Stars and serving as their Tour Manager. Erin has experience working as the Office Manager for an event planning company for two years prior to joining Chicago Chocolate Tours. She enjoys keeping the office and tour schedules running smoothly. Erin also loves tagging along on the Chicago Chocolate Tours to support her Tourguides and to enjoy the delicious chocolate along the way. When she is not serving as the Tour Manger for Chicago Chocolate Tours, she spends time exploring the beautiful city of Chicago with her husband.
Rachel Wells, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Lindt dark truffles
Rachel became a Choc Star in June of 2009. She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she gets to try all kinds of delicious and unique chocolate. As an actor, she loves telling stories, entertaining people and sharing interesting tidbits of information with them. She also loves Chicago – the feel of the city, the architecture, the people and of course the chocolate! When she is not serving as a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide, she is acting and educating. Rachel is a founding member of The Suitcase Shakespeare Company. She also models for fine artists and works for ShopLocal doing data entry.
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