About Us

Northeast Indiana Talent Attraction, Inc. (NEITA) is a team of local professionals, many of whom have relocated to Northeast Indiana ourselves. We understand the often daunting stresses and considerations that candidates feel as a part of the decision process. That’s why we’re here to help.  We’re well versed in the many aspects our region has to offer, particularly around lifestyle, culture, and specific family needs. By working with candidates throughout the entire recruiting experience, we help drive increased job acceptance and retention for the employers in Northeast Indiana. As a result, this saves our clients money and time, and creates better lives for the relocating new hires we support.

Our Team

Founder / CEO,

Lynn Reecer

Lynn Reecer is the Founder and CEO of Northeast Indiana Talent, Inc. Known in the community as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, connector, and community advocate, Northeast Indiana Talent Attractions, Inc. is an extension of Lynn’s belief in the region and its mission to attract top talent and improve quality of life. As a serial entrepreneur, Lynn is consistently a leader in the area for new and innovative approaches to business; she owns three companies, including Brookwood Cabinet Co., supplying custom and semi-custom, high-quality cabinetry, counters, and hardware.

Read More

Lynn started Reecer Properties in 2010 as a boutique real estate firm based in Fort Wayne, and Syracuse, IN.  She and her team’s great success in real estate is credited to a team business model of functional expert workhorses, providing white-glove service and exceptional sales results for their clients. She and her team have consistently been ranked 1st in sales volume out of 1,400 agents and teams for several years in a row in the NE Indiana MLS and in the top 5 in the state of Indiana. 

In 2019, Encore Sotheby’s International Realty acquired Reecer Properties, allowing Lynn to focus her attention on her team, her clients, and her growing businesses.  In 2019 Lynn earned the SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) designation, held by only 1% of Realtors nationwide. SRES® designees have unparalleled training and experience in serving seniors (50+) with their home downsizing needs or transfers to assisted living.

As part of her commitment to bettering the community, Lynn co-founded the Aboite New Trails, Inc. Under Lynn’s leadership, Aboite New Trails raised over $12M and built 20 miles of new bicycle and pedestrian trails throughout southwest Allen County. In 2010, Lynn led the merger to form Fort Wayne Trails, which now boasts a 100+ mile trail system that serves over 300,000 residents and visitors.  During this time, Lynn was awarded Citizen of the Year by the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne for her full-time volunteer contributions to the community over several years.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Lynn earned her B.S. in Marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Lynn married Dr. Mark Reecer and eventually moved to his native Fort Wayne, where they raised their three children. Today Lynn and Mark are very social empty nesters who love sharing outdoor recreation  and indoor entertaining time with family and friends in   Fort Wayne, on Lake Wawasee and in Bonita Springs FL.  Their travel time is usually taken up visiting their kids in Seattle, NYC and soon to be São Paulo Brazil.

Vice President of Marketing and Candidate Experience,

Karen McMahon

Karen McMahon is the Vice President of Marketing and Candidate Experience for Northeast Indiana Talent Attraction, Inc. and owner of Pure Potential, LLC consulting, focused on helping companies create exceptional processes and experiences for their teams.  Karen is dedicated to helping companies, candidates, and employees feel welcome and expected.  Karen had a successful 23-year career with Nordstrom, a Fortune 500 company and voted 100 Best Companies to Work For, 20 years in a row.  During that tenure, Karen started on the sales floor, serving customers, working her way to Corporate in Seattle as a regional buyer, then one of the first national buyers for Nordstrom. Karen then moved into HR and training, and was an integral education and execution partner for every major Merchandising technology roll out in the company.

Read More

Karen received numerous awards and recognition for her work, including the coveted Customer Service All-Star, Inverted Pyramid Award for Servant Leadership, as well as an Innovation Award for creating the Merchandising & Planning Internship, Merchant in Training, and Interim Staff programs for the entire company. Karen found that these programs were so successful because of her involvement in interviewing and selecting top candidates.  As a result, Karen discovered her passion for recruiting and talent attraction.

After retiring from Nordstrom in 2016, Karen worked for National Outdoor Retailer, REI, creating, implementing and managing change for merchandising systems and processes for their buying organization.  In 2018, her husband was recruited with the help of NEITA to Fort Wayne, and after 18 years in Seattle, WA, they made the move across the country to Indiana.  

Coincidentally, Karen attended Indiana University, where she earned her B.S. Degree in Merchandising,  but had never been to Fort Wayne before the move.  When she’s not creating, innovating, or coaching & mentoring, you’ll most likely find Karen on a sports field somewhere cheering on her two boys, practicing yoga, or baking. Karen and family are huge sports fans and have been road tripping around the Midwest and Southeast to see family and friends, and take in all kinds of adventures.

Director of Talent Recruiting and Sourcing, Latin America,

MARIA CLARA PICARELLI [“CLARA”]

Clara joins NEITA as the company’s new Director of Talent Recruiting and Sourcing for Latin America. Clara will be based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clara is from São Paulo, Brazil and had a successful 14-year career with the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly leading cross functional teams in Latin America. Her focus was mainly in Business/Strategy and Finance positions. 

Clara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), a Master’s degree in Business Consulting from the Faculdade Instituto de Administracão (FIA USP), both in São Paulo, Brazil, and a Master’s in International Business from the Université Pierre Mendés in Grenoble, France. Clara is a native speaker of Portuguese and is fluent in English and Spanish. In her spare time she loves to travel to different countries with her husband to learn about different cultures, diverse experiences, and connect with people across the world. 

Director of finance,

Kate Leach

Kate Leach is the Director of Finance for Northeast Indiana Talent Attraction. With abachelor’s in finance from University of Indianapolis and past experience in insurance and banking, Kate brings corporate finance experience to our team. Kate has 7+ years of running and managing successful business.

Kate grew up on Winona Lake/Warsaw and is now involved in the Syracuse-Wawasee area. Happily married with a family, she’s raising her kids to be Indiana lake-lovers. Kate serves onthe Syracuse Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, treasurer of the SyracuseElementary PTO and the Lakeland Youth Center Kids First Auction.

Executive Assistant,

Maria Rittenhouse

Maria Rittenhouse is an Executive Assistant for the NEITA Team. Maria was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana and has lived there almost her entire life besides a small period of time she lived in Austin, Texas. Maria graduated in 1989 from Indiana University- Purdue University Fort Wayne with a degree in Interior Design. Maria then continued her education by graduating in 1994 with a degree in Architectural design and drafting. Maria enjoys decorating, interior design, entertaining, and cooking. She also enjoys spending time with her two sons as well as staying active and spending time with her horses. Maria brings a great amount of organizational and design skills to the team assisting as Lynn Reecer’s Executive Assistant.

Director of business development,

kathy ray

In January of 1988, Kathy Ray relocated to Fort Wayne from Columbia, South Carolina to begin work-ing at her aunt’s little startup company. Her aunt, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard the co-founder of Vera Bradley, gave her the opportunity to learn and function in a multitude of roles during her 34-year tenure at the little startup-turned-publicly traded company.

Read More

After a start in the shipping department, she filled roles in Customer Service, Accounting, Components/Supply Chain Management, Marketing and Information Technology as well. Her final role was as a Dealer Sales Rep selling Vera Bradley product throughout Western and Northern Michigan. She grew the territory from $500K to $3.5M in annual sales revenue.

Kathy has been a volunteer for the Vera Bradley Foundation for 28 years, and has been involved since its inception. As a founding member of one of the Foundation’s events, Tickled Pink, she has played an integral role in raising over $37.5M for the Foundation – all of which has been donated specifically for breast cancer research.

In addition to her business savvy, Kathy was involved in creating the original Vera Bradley logo, which remains on the side of the corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne. One of her proudest creative legacies is her involvement in the creation of the first Vera Bradley Cookbook.

Kathy earned a business degree from Rutledge College in Columbia South, Carolina. She and her husband Bryan have three children. They treasure family time with their grown children, especially if it includes time at their cottage in northern Michigan, ice or fair-weather fishing, snow shoeing, cooking or visiting family in South Carolina. But 34 years after arriving, Fort Wayne has won her heart and become Kathy’s forever home.

Director of Business Development,

Nancy Ecclestone

Nancy Ecclestone is the Director of Business Development for Northeast Indiana Talent Attraction. Nancy joins the NEITA team after a 14-year career in outside sales with Vera Bradley Designs. Prior to Vera Bradley, she taught at Fort Wayne Community Schools for 21 years. Nancy holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education from Indiana University. Nancy is a Fort Wayne native. She and her husband Scott raised both of their sons here. They travel to spend time with their children in Indianapolis and Tampa frequently. When they are not traveling, they spend weekends at the lake with family and friends.

Read More

As a lifelong resident of Fort Wayne, Nancy is very proud of what Fort Wayne has become. She looks forward to combining her 35 years of work experience with her enthusiasm for the area, to attract top talent to Northeast Indiana.

N/A,

Joelle Ruefer

N/A

1

Less Headhunter, More Matchmaker

NEITA partners with Northeast Indiana companies to match their top candidates with our community.  We fill in the gaps between the candidates and recruiting teams, helping with the critical decision process.

2

When needs are met,
jobs are filled

We uncover what’s most important to the candidate and their family. From there, our team creates a VIP experience based on their need, wants, and interests. We support candidates by answering the critical questions and uncovering any objections that would keep them from relocating. NEITA helps candidates determine if the job and the community are a good fit for them. 

3

Your secret weapon, Their first friend

Upon job acceptance, we continually offer support and resources to the new hire and their family, often becoming their first friend in the community. Families tell us they feel well taken care of by their new company, creating a competitive advantage over other job offers they may get. 

Contact Us

Whether your company is seeking a competitive edge when it comes to recruitment, or you’re someone considering relocating to Northeast Indiana for career or personal opportunities, you can trust our team to work with you to find a great fit in this community.

Contact Us