Meet Our Sisterpreneurs!

Melissa (Ames) Jurzec is EarlyVention’s Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer (CCO). She is an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Clinician and Early Childhood Educator with over 21 years of field experience applying the principles of ABA in both home therapy and school settings. As the fourth generation of educators in her family, Melissa is proud to serve children with autism and other developmental disorders. She possesses an innate talent to effectively work with this population and frequently trains others on ABA techniques and successful interventions. She had the privilege to be mentored by the well-respected and talented Dr. Anne Maxwell, who learned directly under Dr. Lovaas, the father of ABA for autism. Although she loved her roles as both EC Educator and ABA Clinician, she always knew that her role would change in order to make a greater impact in the autism community.

Melissa continues to serve as the main innovator and creator of EarlyVention’s products, as well as our primary thought leader in the field. Melissa is proud to inherit her dad’s unique sense of humor and loves the Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks and her dog, Finley. 

Elizabeth (Ames) Wollek is EarlyVention’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). She has an MBA from DePaul University and early career experience with ShoreBank, the oldest and largest community development bank. Elizabeth later worked for CapitalPlus Exchange, which builds the capacity of banks in Africa and Asia that serve poor entrepreneurs. She wore many hats at this lean non-profit and gained important entrepreneurial skills. The social entrepreneur in her strives to grow EarlyVention so it can provide subsidized products to communities living in extreme poverty. Like her mother and sister, Elizabeth also worked with children in special education classrooms at various points in her life. She intuitively understands the market that EarlyVention serves and manages the business side to grow and sustain the company. 

Elizabeth loves to travel and garden and, like both of her parents, she is a passionate musician. She hopes to incorporate musical elements into EarlyVention’s future products.