Smart Dating Academy - Coaching Professionals

Chicago Dating Coach Bela Gandhi with Smart Dating Academy

Bela Gandhi - Founder

Bela Gandhi is the Founder and President of the Smart Dating Academy, a full service personal consulting firm that provides busy, successful professionals with dating coaching, image consulting, personal shopping, professional photography and online dating consulting. She is the head dating coach for Smart Dating - and has an uncanny sixth sense about people, and what they need. Her intuition has been responsible for several marriages (and children)! The Huffington Post calls her "The Fairy Godmother of Dating!"

Bela has been connecting people all of her life. She is proud to have been one of a select group of coaches/matchmakers nationwide to be selected for a prestigious training program given by Rachel Greenwald, a NY Times Best Selling Author. Bela also has extensive personal career coaching experience through her affiliation and board membership with The Cara Program, a Chicago non-profit which has helped over 2,500 at-risk people turn their lives around. Bela also serves on the Advisory Board of the International Academy of Design and Technology's (IADT) Fashion Design Program. Prior to founding the Smart Dating Academy, Bela worked for 12 years as a top global executive for Akzo Nobel, a large multinational corporation. Bela has a finance degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is happily married with 2 children.

Dating Coach with Samrt Dating Academy

Cate - Dating Coach
Cate has trained with some of the nation's top coaches and matchmakers - and has a true love for helping people. Cate has a degree in Communications from DePaul University, and has also done graduate work in Clinical Psychology. Her combined personal style, communication skills, along with her vast professional experience with Chicago’s dating scene, make her a perfect fit for Smart Dating Academy. Cate is happily married with 3 children.

Hanna - Smart Dating Academy Stylist Hanna - Stylist
Hanna Ashbaugh earned a BA from Columbia College - and is an amazing stylist. Her education, communication skills and her passion for style make her a great addition to the Smart Dating Academy team. She has an uncanny knack for making men and women look their best - which is crucial in dating.

Hanna loves making a difference in communities. She works regularly with non-profit organization Bridge to Success, helping low- income and at risk men and women dress for interview and job success.

Natasha - Smart Dating Academy Stylist in NYC

Natasha - Stylist
Natasha acquired her love for fashion at a young age but it escalated when she came to NYC and started working as a fit model for various fashion houses. Upon moving to the city, she also became a tour guide for the ever-so-popular Sex and the City Tour, which inspired her to explore the fashion element of New York even more. Natasha quickly realized the high demand for shopping in New York City but lack of knowledge about where to go. She formed her company to fill tourists’ and new-to-the-city locals' needs for unique shopping experiences. She now has a team of style guides, many of whom have studied at FIT and whom have worked professionally as wardrobe stylists and personal shoppers.

Bridget Image Consultant for Smart Dating Academy in Chicago

Bridget – Image Consultant/Stylist
Bridget has been a Personal Stylist, Shopper and Image Consultant all of her life. She has a Fashion Merchandising degree from IADT, and early in her career, was selected to protégé with her professor, Nancy Plummer, who is head of the Fashion Design Department at IADT*, author of "Your Personal Style" textbook. Bridget is a certified member of the AICI, and styles high profile men and women in Chicago and beyond!

Writer and Blogger with Smart Dating Academy

Kelly - Writer
Kelly is a writer and blogger with Smart Dating. Her previous (and extensive!) experience in dating, online and otherwise, provides her with a wealth of dating knowledge, advice, and some pretty hilarious stories. Kelly also participated in a research study for Chicago Magazine’s Singles Issue (circa 2003) where she tested five different online dating sites…and lived to tell. Kelly is a recovering attorney (8 years waging the war of words as a litigator) – with a J.D. from Loyola University School of Law. But she started out as a writer with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

Lindsey - Smart Dating Academy Stylist in Chicago

Lindsey - Writer
Lindsey is a writer and communication coach for Smart Dating Academy. She personally (and sometimes painfully!) understands the trials and tribulations of Internet dating, but has become a true believer since meeting her wonderful boyfriend online. Lindsey has recently returned from a three-year stint teaching at the International School of Prague, Czech Republic. Prior to that she was a high school teacher in Denver for six years. In addition to teaching, she’s worked privately as an online dating profile-writing consultant the past two years. Since returning home to Chicago, she has begun her graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago in social work, training to be a therapist. She received her B.S. in Education from Indiana University.

AJ Photographer for Smart Dating Academy in Chicago

AJ - Photographer
AJ has a BA in photography from Columbia College. He has been a professional photographer since 2006, and been co-owner of his studio since 2007. His photos have been published The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, Timeout Chicago, The Journal of Nature, Make Magazine, and in other venues. When not taking photos AJ owns and curates his own Gallery in the West Loop Arts' District.

Jen – Hair & Make-Up Artist
Now with over 6 years of professional experience in the makeup industry, Jen works consistently in all forms of the media, particularly in Print, Commercial, and Video. She also has extensive experience in Theatrical, Film, HDTV, Music Videos, Runway and Teaching.

Much of her work can be seen in publications such as Time Out Chicago, Image Magazine and The Chicago Reader. Some of Jen’s celebrity clients include: Martin Short, Stephanie Izard, Leslie Hunt, and Ramsey Lewis.

Anni Bruno - Smart Dating Academy Makeup Artist in NYC Anni - Makeup Artist
Anni is pleased to be a part of such an amazing team! She's been a makeup artist in the NYC area for almost 10 years. She strives to make a personal connection with each and every client, so as best to understand how they'd like to represent themselves in their photos. Her skills as a makeup artist help each client show off the best possible versions of themselves in front of the camera. A graduate of Skidmore College's Theatre program, Anni started off designing makeup for film and theatre, and now focuses on makeup artistry for photography and bridal work. She truly believes that beauty comes from both inside and out, and loves helping people feel confident and happy!