Our Team
There’s no limit to what our squad can do. Meet the team who make Poker Power more than a club.
Billion-dollar
business leaders
Expert poker professionals
Fearless women with all the skills in between
Our Team
Jenny Just & Juliette Hulsizer
Co-Founders
Jenny Just is the co-founder of PEAK6, a multibillion-dollar financial services and technology empire that focuses on transforming underfunded and undervalued businesses into high-growth companies. PEAK6’s vision is to embrace and empower today’s consumers through technology that simplifies processes, improves performance, and creates new wealth. Juliette Hulsizer was fourteen when her father noticed a weakness in her tennis game – she wasn’t anticipating her opponent’s moves or strategies. He suggested she learn poker to develop these skills. Now, at age 16, she is a rising Senior at Lake Forest Academy, a three-sport varsity athlete, and co-founder of Poker Power, whose mission is to prepare one million girls and women to compete and succeed by developing skills such as problem-solving, risk assessment, capital allocation, and strategic thinking, all through the game of poker.
Jenny Just & Juliette Hulsizer
Co-Founders
I worked on Wall Street when pay was secret and pregnancy was hidden. And I’ve been one of the few women in the room in sports and esports too. That’s not ok. Not 20 years ago, and definitely not today. Poker Power is personal to me. I have mentored countless women who didn’t have the benefit of learning the skills taught through this game. Now, more than ever, we need to flip the table and take our seat.
Erin Lydon
President
I worked my way up the corporate ladder in the male-dominated tech field using the leadership skills and confidence I learned over 15 years of playing poker. Poker Power gives me the chance to combine my passion for poker and empowering women. I’m married with two young sons and a Caribbean rescue dog named Lilly.
AJ Rudolph
Director of Education and Technology
I am a “Jill of All Trades” and a multi-tasking machine. As a mother of three, PP Program Manager, apprentice poker player, and a full-fledged women empowerment devotee, I find a way to make it all work. I’ve watched the Poker Power organization grow from the ground up and each day, I hope to contribute to its continued success.
Lauren Fay
Senior Manager of Business Operations and Business Development
I played poker for fun over the years, but it wasn’t until Poker Power that I learned how to “play to win.” The coolest thing about what I’ve learned is how this attitude and skill can be applied in my day-to-day life, whether it’s poker, work, or anything else.
Kim Coles
Project Manager
Our Advisory Board
Champion poker players. Strategy and risk experts. Leaders devoted to leveling the playing field for all women.
Jennifer Shahade
Poker isn’t my first foray into competitive games: I’m a two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion and the first woman to win the U.S. Junior Open. Check out my podcasts Ladies Knight and The Grid, which won Podcast of the Year at the 2020 Global Poker Awards.
Jennifer Shahade
Xuan Liu
I’ve won over $3 million in poker tournaments, working with some of the game’s most recognizable brands. I fell in love with the game at the University of Waterloo, making my way to the leaderboard at Pokerstars Sit N Go and Full Tilt Poker’s Rush Poker.
Xuan Liu
Our Instructors
Seasoned, vetted poker players eager to mentor and inspire the next generation of women leaders.
Amrutha Alladi
Having been through Poker Power myself, I learned a lot not only about poker but also skills like decision-making and negotiation. I truly enjoy working with the amazing team at Poker Power and look forward to sharing my knowledge with one million women of all ages eager to learn.
Amrutha Alladi
Amanda Botfeld
I’m the author of “A Girl’s Guide to Poker,” and am extremely passionate about making the game fun and easy to understand. Poker allowed me to step out of the box of being a young twenty-something girl and into being a force to be reckoned with!
Amanda Botfeld
Rebecca Brown
Rebecca, aka Sparky, started playing poker 17 years ago. She was terrible at it, but she stuck with it because she loved the social aspect of the game. Her persistence paid off, and she slowly became one of the top players in her Chicago-based home game. Outside of poker, Rebecca was an occupational therapist for 30 years, and as a staunch feminist, she appreciated supporting other women in all of their endeavors including poker. One year ago, she made the brave (or crazy) decision to pack up all her belongings, her dog and her cat, and drive to Cancun, Mexico. She now resides there and considers Mexico home. She loves teaching poker to women and girls, and she is happy to see more and more women sitting at poker tables wherever she goes to play. But she says she won’t be truly happy until she sits down at a poker table and at least 50% of the people there are women.
Rebecca Brown
Dr. Alexandra Chauran
Poker helped me thrive following a Stage IIIC triple-positive breast cancer diagnosis at age 34. Now I find fulfillment empowering other women, teaching them how to play the game.
Dr. Alexandra Chauran
Sharon Chen
Bio coming soon…
Sharon Chen
Kim Coles
I played poker for fun over the years, but it wasn’t until Poker Power that I learned how to “play to win.” The coolest thing about what I’ve learned is how this attitude and skill can be applied in my day-to-day life, whether it’s poker, work, or anything else.
Kim Coles
Tammi Endemann
I started playing poker nine years ago, and now I’m a pro who wins consistently. As a business owner for 20 years, I’ve seen firsthand the overlap in discipline, patience, risk analysis, networking and determination. I’m excited to teach you the game too!
Tammi Endemann
Kyna England
A female roommate at the University of Colorado taught me poker while I studied math and probability. Now I have four years of competitive play under my belt. It’s still rare to see many women at tournaments, but Poker Power will change that.
Kyna England
Marianne Fontes
I have been playing poker both recreationally and competitively since 2003, and I owe my increased confidence, assertiveness, and patience to the game that I love! These traits have helped me be more successful in my full-time job as a college administrator and professor.
Marianne Fontes
Carly Gorman
I learned poker from my father at a young age and it’s still something we bond on to this day. Poker has enriched my life intellectually, socially, and monetarily, so I joined Poker Poker to give more women that same opportunity.
Carly Gorman
Liz Huey
I have been playing poker since I was 23, and I was a speaker at the Global Gaming Expo and iGaming Conference in 2018. I currently live in Las Vegas, and I feel truly blessed and honored to be part of the poker industry, and to bring others in too.
Liz Huey
Xuan Liu
I’ve won over $3 million in poker tournaments, working with some of the game’s most recognizable brands. I fell in love with the game at the University of Waterloo, making my way to the leaderboard at Pokerstars Sit N Go and Full Tilt Poker’s Rush Poker.
Xuan Liu
Abby Merk
I fell in love with poker because it allows me to constantly be nurturing my competitive spirit, learn new skills applicable to the business world, and have fun! I love Poker Power’s mission to flip the table and give women the confidence they need to take a seat.
Abby Merk
Einy Paulsen
The game of poker has taught me many parallels to life. It has especially come in handy in business and negotiations – helping me make decisions quicker and more aggressively. Poker Power allows me to teach my skillset for entrepreneurship combined with poker, something I truly enjoy!
Einy Paulsen
Lisa Pickell
Lisa Pickell is a professional poker player and coach. She is the first woman to win the World Series of Poker Circuit ring in NLH, and has played the WSOP Circuit and WPT events for years. Lisa is also a coach for Poker Power, whose mission is to have one million women playing poker.
Lisa Pickell
AJ Rudolph
I worked my way up the corporate ladder in the male-dominated tech field using the leadership skills and confidence I learned over 15 years of playing poker. Poker Power gives me the chance to combine my passion for poker and empowering women. I’m married with two young sons and a Caribbean rescue dog named Lilly.
AJ Rudolph
Becca Scales
I’ve worked in casino industry marketing and founded the fashion line Poker Queen. I joined the Women’s Poker Association board to reduce barriers that keep women from playing and serve on the board for nonprofit Poker Gives that helps vets, children, and the homeless.
Becca Scales
Lisa Seamans
With my finance background and a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, I became a teacher to share my love of the game with others. Poker is full of competition, learning, and fun personalities—what more could you ask for?
Lisa Seamans
Sarah Stefan
I’m a math and science teacher in Chicago Public Schools. I love poker because of its complexity and the sense of challenge and competition it brings. I became a Poker Power teacher in order to show the benefits of this game to all women.
Sarah Stefan
Deanna Welch
I started playing five card stud with my family as a young girl and loved the game over all the other card games we played. 20 plus years later, I discovered and fell utterly in love with Texas Hold’em, and that love has only grown in studying its many layers of theory. Adding the indomitable spirit of female camaraderie to this game through Poker Power has been a blessing beyond compare because I am now able to share this amazing game and it’s gifts with so many fierce females – my poker sisters.
Deanna Welch
Our Partnerships
Key organizations that share and support the mission of teaching women poker.
