About the Team
Chicago Chocolate Tours is brought to you by a team of Tourguides, Managers and more, all called Choc Stars!
Marla Caceres, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark! The darker the better.
Marla is the perfect Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she loves showing off the beautiful city of Chicago with its rich history, culture and architecture! She finds giving quality tours to be very fulfilling and gratifying. Marla just became a Choc Star in September of 2009. Marla has been a chocoholic her entire life. When she was a small child and trusted, for the first time, to prepare breakfast for herself, she decided that a Hershey bar and a glass of milk would do just fine! She still thinks that it is the breakfast of champions. When Marla is not giving chocolate tours, she is acting, improvising and teaching.
Leah Cowen, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Chocolate that has interesting twists of ingredients, like pepper or parmesan cheese!
Leah started as a Tourguide in August 2009. Leah was literally raised on high quality chocolate. Her mom used to travel every other week for work, and she would always bring back a doll and some chocolate. She got so used to always having chocolate around, that today Leah needs a bit with every meal or she doesn't feel full! Leah is also an actress and a native to Chicago, so she loves entertaining people. When she is not serving as a Tourguide, she works with web sites and graphic materials, directs, produces and improvises. Being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide fulfills Leah’s need for chocolate, entertaining people and bragging about her wonderful city!
Sarah Ely, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate with Mint
Sarah is one of the newest Tourguides, becoming a Choc Star in September of 2009. It goes without saying that Sarah loves chocolate. Her birthday is right near Halloween, and she always says it’s the best week of the year: presents and chocolate in one week! When she is not serving as a Tourguide, Sarah is an actress and a freelance Spanish tutor. She also volunteers at the Instituto Cervantes. Sarah says this about Chicago Chocolate Tours, “I love the support that Chicago Chocolate Tours gives to local businesses and especially the emphasis that it gives to women entrepreneurs. It also is a fun, innovative way to tour Chicago!”
Martha Hearn, Weekend Tour Manager and Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Milk Chocolate
We are excited to welcome Martha as one of our newest Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguides. She became a Choc Star in September of 2009. Martha comes from a long line of chocoholics, including her Mom who will not end her day without a piece of chocolate. She loves being a Tourguide because she gets to partake of all the delicious chocolate the city has to offer while admiring the gorgeous Chicago architecture. When Martha is not serving as the Weekend Tour Manger and Tourguide for Chicago Chocolate Tours, she is entertaining audiences as an Actor and an Improviser.
Heidi Holladay, Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate
Heidi has been a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide since July of 2008. She has a background in education so she naturally likes to teach. Chocolate is now one of her favorite subjects! She also took a year off from teaching to go to pastry school here in Chicago where she fell in love with chocolate. She has also traveled and taken lots of tours, therefore she knows how to create an enjoyable outing for guests. Heidi loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she gets to share information about chocolate and meet all of the wonderful guests. When Heidi is not serving as a Tourguide, she is teaching second grade at The Laboratory School at the University of Chicago.
Krista Krauss, Marketing Manager and Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate with Raspberry
Krista loves meeting new people and discovering new, delicious chocolate as a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide. Krista began working as a Tourguide in May of 2009. She is the perfect Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she is a native Chicagoan, she loves showing new people the great city of Chicago and most of all she loves chocolate! When Krista is not serving as a Tourguide and Marketing Manager for Chicago Chocolate Tours she serves as an Actress in a myriad of venues around the city.
CatieLeigh Laszewski, Administrative Assistant and Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate (the darker the better!)
In April of 2008, CatieLeigh joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team. She has taken on many roles as a team member and is currently serving as an Administrative Assistant as well as a Tourguide. CatieLeigh makes the perfect Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she loves meeting people, she loves Chicago and most of all she LOVEs chocolate! When she was little her mom used to have to hide all of the chocolate in the house – otherwise her mom would go to bake chocolate chip cookies and there wouldn’t be any chocolate chips! CatieLeigh loves being a tourguide for Chicago Chocolate Tours because she gets to discover all of the “hot spots” for chocolate. When she is not serving as a Tourguide, CatieLeigh studies vocal performance at Roosevelt University: Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Carrie Patrick, Virtual Assistant
Favorite Chocolate: Dark Chocolate
Carrie started working for Chicago Chocolate Tours as a Tourguide in 2007. She was promoted to Schedule Manager in 2008 and now serves as the company’s Virtual Assistant. Carrie loves being a part of the Chicago Chocolate Tours team. She loves the wonderful people that she gets to interact with and of course the chocolate! When she is not serving as a Virtual Assistant, she coordinates the Columbus Marathon and the Second Sole Racing events in Columbus, Ohio. During track season, she is an Assistant Track Coach at an area High School.
Kelly Rhyne, Photo Manager and Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: I love it all plain or with fruit, nuts, ganache, etc!
Kelly lived in Hershey, PA for part of her life and her elementary school was right next to the original chocolate factory. Recess was absolute torture for a chocoholic like Kelly! Kelly joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team in April 2009. She loves getting to meet really happy and interesting people and eat chocolate all the time! She also loves Chicago and being able to show people all over the city. When she is not serving as a Photo Manager and Tourguide for Chicago Chocolate Tours, she is a student at Columbia College Chicago studying Musical Theater.
Erin Snow, Tour Manager
Favorite Chocolate: Milk Chocolate
Erin joined the Chicago Chocolate Tours team in August of 2009. She loves working with her fellow Choc Stars and serving as their Tour Manager. Erin has experience working as the Office Manager for an event planning company for two years prior to joining Chicago Chocolate Tours. She enjoys keeping the office and tour schedules running smoothly. Erin also loves tagging along on the Chicago Chocolate Tours to support her Tourguides and to enjoy the delicious chocolate along the way. When she is not serving as the Tour Manger for Chicago Chocolate Tours, she spends time exploring the beautiful city of Chicago with her husband.
Rachel Wells,Tourguide
Favorite Chocolate: Lindt dark truffles
Rachel became a Choc Star in June of 2009. She loves being a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide because she gets to try all kinds of delicious and unique chocolate. As an actor, she loves telling stories, entertaining people and sharing interesting tidbits of information with them. She also loves Chicago – the feel of the city, the architecture, the people and of course the chocolate! When she is not serving as a Chicago Chocolate Tours Tourguide, she is acting and educating. Rachel is a founding member of The Suitcase Shakespeare Company. She also models for fine artists and works for ShopLocal doing data entry.