Bela - Founder
Bela Gandhi is the Founder of the Smart Dating Academy. She has an uncanny sixth sense about people, and what they need. Her intuition has been responsible for several marriages (and children)! The Huffington Post and Steve Harvey call her "The Fairy Godmother of Dating!"
Bela has been connecting people all of her life. 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 two degrees from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Finance & German), and has been happily married for 20 years with 2 children.
Lindsay - Head Dating Coach
Lindsay has been at Smart Dating Academy since 2013, and has coached hundreds of our clients to find happy and lasting love. She has also been a matchmaker since 2003, and set up thousands of professional clients on dates that led to marriage. Lindsay graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with dual degrees in psychology and business - and has a natural knack for understanding people and developing a strategy for success. Additionally, Lindsay is a certified dating coach, happily married to a wonderful man, and has three beautiful children that light up her world.
Ilene - Coach
For Ilene, dating and relationship coaching is such a joy. Married 31 years, her and her husband raised two amazing adults; their son and newly married daughter. She has been coaching (specializing in cognitive behavioral work with a mental health company) and with Smart Dating Academy. Bela has given her amazing tools to share with our clients to help them achieve success in the dating world. Helping clients remove the barriers standing between them and the life they want is a privilege. And she is grateful to work with this amazing team, and our wonderful clients.
Michele - Photographer
Michele Marie Graham is a professional photographer with over 20 years experience, starting her career with weddings and now specializing in headshots, lifestyle and small events. She has a passion for bringing out the real, beautiful you and capturing the moment through her images. Michele has an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, loves to give back to the community through her photography and has volunteered with TEDx Chicago, Team Rubicon, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, to name a few. Michele has one daughter now in college and maintains a studio space in West Town Chicago.
