Meet the Team
Each and every member of the Synergy Solutions team brings something significant to the table. Together, we provide a seamlessly integrated body of service to meet your immediate needs while keeping an eye on your future success. Just as we unite our skills and experience to create an exceptional team, we will blend our efforts with yours to find success.
The extensive experience of our team shows through in all we do. Many of us have over 20 years of contact center industry experience and we are proud of the impressive tenure with Synergy that is evident throughout our team. This lengthy tenure means that we often have served in various roles throughout the company, frequently starting as a customer contact representative and moving up through the ranks, bringing an in-depth understanding of how the team functions from the ground up.
Our mission and culture are based on the power of team as we couple this with innovation to form Synovation. Our culture is one that honors hard work and personal responsibility. We invest in our employees and encourage each team member to strive for upward movement throughout the company.
Executive Team
The Executive Team has a range of experience that covers every aspect of contact center development, operations, management, technology, finance, human resources, and sales. Cumulatively, they bring over 100 years of experience to their work as the strategic leaders of Synergy Solutions.
Christa Heibel — CEO / COO
Christa Heibel serves as Chief Operating Officer of Synergy Solutions and in this role she is responsible for overall strategic leadership of the organization including strategic growth initiatives, corporate governance, operational execution, and client service delivery. Ms. Heibel is recognized as an expert in building integrated sales and marketing campaigns for both small and large businesses. She is an outstanding leader with a career of demonstrated success in building organizations, establishing best practices, rebranding and developing integrated solutions for clients in a variety of industries. Prior to joining Synergy, Christa served as the CEO of CH Consulting and in that capacity developed innovative solutions for leading companies ranging from Fortune 100 telecommunications companies, financial services, insurance providers to presidential campaigns. Prior to opening CH Consulting, Christa worked extensively in the software and telecom industries managing call centers, directing telemarketing teams, and consulting with major corporations on marketing and CRM.
Christa has been featured on National Public Radio’s program “Future Tense” and has written articles for Direct Magazine, DM News, and numerous other sales and marketing publications. She is part of the destinationCRM.com panel of on call experts. She has been the cover story for Minnesota Women Business magazine. In addition to her work leading the growth of Synergy Solutions, Christa owns and operates a small yoga and wellness studio. Christa attended the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
Lori Fentem — Founder and President
Lori brings twenty five years of experience in contact center development, operations, and management to her role as president of Synergy. Her experience includes executive-level positions in all areas of contact center outsourced operations. Lori serves as Synergy’s strategic guide as she directs business development strategy, marketing, branding, contract administration, and client relationships. She also holds a well-earned place of leadership in the contact center industry, where she is known as an inspiring speaker, author, compliance expert, and entrepreneurial visionary.
Lori serves on the National Board of Directors for the Professional Association for Customer Engagement “PACE” (formerly ATA); founded the PACE Arizona Chapter and was part of the steering committee for the development of standards for the PACE – Self Regulatory Organization (SRO). She has been named a “Who’s Who in Business” by Arizona’s Woman magazine, recognized for her “Hot Growth” company by bizAZ magazine, was a Finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, ranked in the “Top 50” by Female Entrepreneur magazine and in the “Top 100 Who’s Who in Business to Business Marketing” by B2B magazine. Lori was honored as the first ever recipient of the ATA Fulcrum Award recognizing her volunteer efforts for the teleservices channel as well as the Spirit of Philanthropy Award for her role in originating the Call Centers CARE movement. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois.
John Tabar — Chief Technology Officer
John brings over 20 years of experience in IT department/infrastructure management in such diverse fields as healthcare, banking, telecommunications, government, energy/utilities, retail and real estate. He is committed to creating highly effective teams to solve business problems through automation and process improvements. In his role as CTO he is responsible for strategic planning, contract and vendor negotiations, and all aspects of IT resources and services.
Prior to his role at Synergy Solutions, John served as CTO for Vaultware, a software company specializing in the multi-family housing industry. His innovation and leadership led to the exponential increase in product offerings and yielded strong revenue growth. John has also held technology leadership positions for Wells Faro and the Arizona Department of Transportation. He has degrees from the University of Maryland in Math and Computer Science.
Kimberly Jacoby — Controller
Kimberly ensures the financial health and integrity of Synergy through her detailed and analytic work. Since 1997, she has managed accounting and financials in the contact center industry. As Synergy’s controller, she oversees all internal accounting functions, develops budgets and controls, and executes financial reporting and analysis. Kimberly ensures compliance with state and federal licensing and bonding requirements.
Prior to joining Synergy in 2000, Kimberly was employed by ProMark One/IDRC and eventually through acquisition, Telespectrum Worldwide. At Telespectrum, she served as Accounting Manager with responsibility for monitoring and reporting on the financial performance of 24 North American call centers and was also heavily involved in the processing of SEC filings for this publicly traded company. Kimberly serves as the Finance Chair for the Arizona Chapter of the Professional Association of Customer Engagement (PACE, formerly the ATA) and is also a licensed insurance agent in Arizona. She holds a BS in Business Management and Accounting from the University of Arizona.
Lisa Gibbons — Director of Human Resources
Lisa brings a comprehensive understanding of the needs and responsibilities of contact center employees, having started as a customer contact representative in 1996 and moving steadily through the ranks to her current position as Director of HR. She applies that experience, as well as the knowledge she gained earning relevant HR certifications, to policy development and implementation, benefits management, conflict resolution, and and employment law compliance. Her leadership extends from Synergy to professional HR groups, where she shares her practical and thoughtful expertise.
In addition to completing numerous professional courses including employment law updates, various HR workshops, seminars, and conventions (most sponsored by SHRM and recognized for HRCI CE credit), Lisa is certified through the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources. She is also a Professional Member of the Society for Human Resources Management and the Arizona Human Resources Call Center Association.
Tina Lisell — Director of Operations
Tina has been in the contact center industry since 1994. In her tenure at Synergy she has taken on the roles of Center Manager, Regional Operations Manager, and Director of Operations. She oversees all aspects of contact center operations and ensures that company and client goals are met in a thorough and timely manner. She is committed to maintaining smooth operations while moving the company and its clients forward by providing the analysis that leads to continual procedural and operational improvement.
Tina has been with Synergy Solutions for ten years and prior to joining Synergy Solutions she worked as a Trainer and Shift Manager with Telnet Corporation and Telespectrum Worldwide. Tina is a graduate of Bemidji State University
Synergy’s Client Team
At Synergy, everyone is on the Client Services team because we understand that we are an extension of your brand and serving our valuable clients is our number one priority. We work collaboratively both internally and with clients and each implementation represents the “synergy” of our collective efforts. Some of the members of our highly tenured team that are here to serve you include:
Shannon Hays
Shannon brings over two decades of contact center experience with a core specialization in the critical areas of Quality and Training. Shannon is reasonable for leading our practices within quality and training to ensure that these critical operations are executed to a level that surpasses client expectations.
Jim Cannata
Jim brings over twenty years of experience in the teleservices industry and leads Synergy’s operations around the critical area of Workforce Optimization including analysis of historical performance statistics, generation of long- and short-term forecasts, management of scheduling process, analysis and reporting of employee performance including schedule adherence, and staff planning. Jim regularly utilizes his detailed understanding of contact center operations to maximize efficiency and occupancy while keeping a close eye on overall service objectives.
Elizabeth Kissel
Elizabeth serves as a point of contact between Synergy’s clients and internal teams, including communication center operations, IT, finance and sales. She utilizes the experience she has gained since joining Synergy in 1997 to create consistent success for her clients, who benefit from her straightforward communication style, diligence in solving problems and strategic thinking. She is especially adept at rapidly learning new programs in a variety of industries and bringing creative solutions to complex problems.
Troy Flug
As a member of our Client Services team, Troy serves Synergy’s clients as an effective point of contact between Account Managers and the IT team, answering clients’ technology needs with comprehensive and creative solutions. He has been with Synergy since 2004 and has managed programs in a variety of fields, including healthcare, retail, and finance as well as numerous business to business programs.
Chris Zuccaro
Chris is a tenured member of our Client Services team and demonstrates his expertise ensuring client needs are consistently met by analyzing and reviewing performance trends as well as managing key processes to service clients. His work with Synergy began in 2002 and hinges on his successful communication with all Synergy departments.
Megan Wollschlager
Megan prides herself on being a client relationship specialist. She facilitates open and productive communications with client contacts and other members of the Synergy team to ensure that client goals are met and expectations are achieved. She began working in the contact center industry in 2000 and has held positions in sales, customer service, training, management and account management. Her robust knowledge of the industry combined with her commitment to finding proactive solutions for her clients make her an asset to the company and its clients.
Mike Rohrbach
Mike Rohrbach demonstrates a unique blend of client service acumen and technical expertise. He has 15+ years of experience in the Teleservices industry and has served in various management positions in operations, quality assurance, client services and information technology. His current focus, in Business Integration, allows him to coordinate and oversee all aspects of new program implementation.
Joe Meehan
Joe brings his numerous years of experience in the teleservices space to the Synergy team as he focuses on driving business growth across a variety of verticals. Joe’s commitment to providing leading edge solutions helps him to work with new clients to design programs for success.