Doug Phares

Managing Partner

Doug Phares is passionate about finding ways for businesses to get past the hurdles that everyone stumbles on. From small-scale work like examining product bundling to helping decision-makers develop 3-year plans, Phares has seen it all over the course of his career.

Phares was most recently the CEO of the Sandusky Newspaper Group (SNG), a media holding company operating in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Phares joined SNG as publisher of its namesake, the Sandusky (Ohio) Register, and made such an impact in change management than he took over leadership of the entire group a short time later.

While Phares’ most recent position was focused on local media, he maintains that the rules of business are universal: Simplify your processes, keep clear lines of communication, and keep everyone engaged in meeting goals.This approach has met with many successes, and Phares now has a pool of professional contacts who are available for all Silverwind clients who may need industry-specific insight or any other form of highly targeted assistance.

More than anything, Phares understands the power of setting goals and sticking to them. Beyond ever-changing “hot tips” or new industry-generated buzzwords, Phares identifies problems and sets people on clear paths to progress. Phares will never claim to have secret shortcuts to success or any other hollow promises, but he does have the experience to help clients identify their pain points and stay on the path to fixing them.

Outside of his professional life, Phares serves on the board of directors for the local chapter of Rotary International. In the past, he's held various board positions with United Way, and has also served as President of chambers of commerce and other non-profit groups in several cities.

A University of Illinois graduate, Phares spends what free time is left sailing, scuba diving, and playing with cameras. He fails to understand the allure of Twitter but will sometimes engage in frustrated dalliances with it. Additionally, he regularly contributes to a column in Editor & Publisher.

Margaret Phares

President

A small business owner herself, Margaret Phares has proven time and again that she knows how to maximize productivity. A constant factor in all her endeavors has been Phares’ ability to identify communication gaps—within the company and externally with its customers—and fix them.

As President of Caryl Crane Youth Theater (CCYT), Phares solidified clear channels throughout the organization and redoubled their fundraising efforts. Knowing that a small theater is more than its funds, however, Phares was instrumental in doubling the number of offered youth programs. And the results were nothing short of stellar.

Phares’ seven years of work saw a 200% increase in both youth enrollment and staffing, as well as near-sold-out performances for every show. Since her departure from the theater, many of the programs and guidelines that she established have remained in place to the benefit of CCYT.

Throughout her career, Phares has fostered a love and support for local communities. When she pioneered a program to partner with the local real estate community to market the district to potential homebuyers in Chicago, she created a 300% increase in community engagement. Moreover, as President of the Niles Service League in Michigan, Phares’ work sparked a 17% increase in membership and a 32% increase in fundraising.

Once again, however, Phares’ work cannot solely be defined by numbers, and as a mother of three, she worked with local charities to allot funds and organize volunteers for children’s service programs.

Phares spends the occasional breath of free time with her family, writing impassioned Facebook posts, or continuing her billionth reading of the Harry Potter series.

Brittany Ward

Director of Marketing

Brittany Ward is a strategic brand marketer with 15+ years of industry experience working with the likes of Burger King Corp, Buffalo Wild Wings, Disney, and Fox Sports Florida. After a successful career resulting in many a double-digit brand growth, international headlines, and viral stardom, Brittany is now focused on growing her full-service agency, a Marketing Whisperer, and the one-of-a-kind social media influencer platform, CreateCollabs.com.

Heather Ware

Digital Marketing Manager

Heather Ware has proven herself to be, if nothing else, industrious. After cutting her teeth at a digital marketing agency, she now stays busy with a mixture of professional content marketing and social media management as well as volunteer work.

The positions may have changed, but Ware's ethos has remained the same: Tell a good story. While earning her Creative Writing degree at Bowling Green State University, she developed her own understanding of what makes for a compelling narrative, which informs how she balances good, compelling text with data-driven SEO.

Ware proudly brings this drive to tell stories to her work with Silverwind Enterprises. In her role as Digital Marketing Manager, Ware is able to fully embrace her passion for organic communication. While sharing original social media content, engaging with customer reviews, and any other facets of online communications, Ware relishes these opportunities to connect with customers and introduce Silverwind Enterprises to scores of new people.

In her downtime, Ware enjoys doting on her dog, Jordie, reading philosophy, and insistently pointing out different stars to the unfortunate souls around her.