Meet the LRC Team

As a Business Consultant at LRC, Shawntell Taylor provides insurance, financial services, bookkeeping, tax preparation, and small business planning services to individuals, families, and small business owners. She is the author of “Heavy Content”, a collection of short stories written to embrace, empower, and encourage women. She is also the founder of Chayil Inc., a community-based, 501c3 organization dedicated to assisting women with achieving their life, career, and financial goals.  

Ms. Taylor also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Shawntell Nicole, LLC, which has been doing business as Quiescent Moments & Gifts since 2005. Her family manufactures and distributes scented oil candles, wine, and other home goods. On a quarterly basis, Ms. Taylor hosts Wealth, Wicks, & Wine—a platform that allows her to host candlelit dinners, conversations about business and financial matters, and wine tastings with other professional women.  

Ms. Taylor received her Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources from Ottawa University and has been a licensed insurance intermediary since 1998. She is able to provide assistance in Wisconsin, Illinois, Mississippi, and Arizona. 

Nicole Pfeifer joined the LRC team in June 2022, as the Racine Community Lending Officer. She is responsible for originating, processing, and closing community development loans and offering technical assistance to strengthen the loan application of borrowers at the Racine office. Nicole brings an entrepreneurial spirit with experience and skills in self-employment and a deep understanding of people from education in population health to her position at LRC.

For the last 13 years, Nicole has worked in long term care. She worked as a caregiver, program manager, and regional administration before starting her own group home. As an assisted living provider, she owns and operates a 4-bed adult family home and oversees four caregivers. Nicole has secured funding close to $1 million with managed care organizations over the course of eight years as a business owner.

Nicole earned her Bachelor’s in Health Care Administration and Spanish from UW-Milwaukee, and her Master’s in Public Health from Benedictine University. While in grad school, she became interested by the impact that housing and development holds on the health and wellness of people and chose to serve her internship at Racine Habitat for Humanity. Nicole participated in Leadership Racine and then became involved with Racine Revitalization Partnership, Neighborhood Watch, and the Uptown BID.

Emma Schultz-Vermillion joined the LRC team in June 2022, as the Lending Intern. She is responsible for assisting with small business loans, credit analysis, processing documentation, payment processing, and loan booking. Ms. Schultz-Vermillion brings solid experience and skills in critical thinking and detail orientation to her position at LRC.

Ms. Schultz-Vermillion is a current student at Cardinal Stritch University, where she is studying International Business and Finance. Immediately prior to joining the LRC, she worked with the University’s Experiential Learning and Career Education Center. (ELCE) where she organized job fairs, employer visits, and connected students with employers. She managed all of the internship and job opportunities available to Stritch students, while building relationships with employers on behalf of the university. During her education, she has taken many related courses such as, Managerial and Financial Accounting, Business Law, Business Ethics, Business Finance, Human Resource Development, and many more important and meaningful courses.

Ms. Schultz-Vermillion plans on studying abroad during her education, and hopes to apply her knowledge to the different cultures and businesses around the world. She has a passion for bringing awareness of the importance of a financial education and helping others achieve their goals.

Lanaja Lucas joined the LRC team in June 2022, as the Administrative Assistant Contractor. Ms. Lucas was responsible for assisting the office with small projects, data entry, loan booking, and helping with the COVID-19 Relief for small businesses. Ms. Lucas has so much to learn and is open to development and accepting the achievements they will bring. Ms. Lucas applies these valuable talents to everyday work – open-minded, time management, clarity, and concision and organizational skills.

After receiving a diploma at Greenfield High School, Ms. Lucas took individual courses in Personal Finance and Early Childhood Care & Development at Bryton and Stratton College. In addition, Ms. Lucas has worked in retail, hospitality and over seven years of customer service experience. Before LRC, Ms. Lucas worked as a Contractor with Robert Half Talent Solutions. During her tenure, Ms. Lucas has worked in several Administrative Assistant roles to figure out what her ambition will lead her to. Accepting the role at LRC showed so much in a field she never knew she had passion in. Ms. Lucas cannot wait to see what the future will bring to LRC and is very grateful to be a part of the growth within the organization. 

To continue her journey with LRC, in October 2022, Ms. Lucas accepted the role as Loan Program Assistant. Ms. Lucas looks forward to expanding her knowledge and assisting to educate those who are driven to succeed. Ms. Lucas is looking forward to what the future holds, and believes the best is yet to come.