PIKES PEAK SBDC - Key Persons
Alfred Ortiz is CEO of CSD Cyber, a provider of cybersecurity solutions. He has over 15 years of information technology experience with companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Infor Global Solutions and DriveLock before starting his own firm. During his professional career he worked in various areas of sales, marketing, pre-sales and management covering regional territories from the arctic circle to tierra del fuego (including the McMurdo Station in Antarctica).
In addition to his professional career he has been involved in higher education as an affiliate professor at the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, TX), Regis University and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. To keep up on the academic side and reaching for his academic goal, he is a doctoral candidate in Information Systems at IE University in Madrid, Spain. In addition, he earned a bachelor's degree from Cal Poly Pomona, an MBA from University of the Incarnate Word, and executive education from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He is originally from the Coachella Valley (California) and has been in Colorado Springs since 2003. Alfred enjoys reading, tennis and running out on the pitch for a rugby match. His true passion is his family and community.
Job Titles:
- Government Contracting, Certifications, Fortune Level Business Development
Job Titles:
- Certified Business Consultant
Becky is a certified business consultant and specializes in the analysis and understanding of financial data and business plans for a wide variety of industries. She is a Colorado native and lived and worked in the Denver metro area until 2000, when she relocated to Colorado Springs. She earned a B.S. in Business Administration from CU - Boulder with a double major in accounting and entrepreneurship / small business management.
During college, Becky interned at the US Small Business Administration in the Colorado District office. Throughout her lending career, she has originated and underwritten both SBA 7A and 504 loans for commercial banks, non-bank lenders and Certified Development Companies.
Job Titles:
- Accounting, Taxes, Business Valuation
- CVA
Brad is a proud alumni of Colorado State University-Pueblo and a Colorado native. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. Brad is also very involved in the local community and serves as the Treasurer for The Home Front Cares, a Colorado Springs nonprofit that serves Colorado veterans. In his spare time, Brad enjoys spending time with his wife Tiffany and their 4 children: Ian, Arianna, Davin, and Aiden.
Job Titles:
- Transportation Industry, Marketing, Management
Job Titles:
- Accounting, Bookkeeping, QuickBooks
Job Titles:
- Owner of Corvus Technologies
Coryn D. Mann is the owner of Corvus Technologies, LLC. She has extensive experience in subcontract management, supply chain management, and procurement. In her career, Coryn has focused on serving the federal government, leveraging her skills from 11 years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force and 14 years of defense subcontracting services. She is dedicated to lowering costs and fostering competition using subcontract management best practices through the Subcontract Lifecycle.
Coryn established Corvus Technologies, LLC with her husband Eric to combine their talents and provide subject matter expertise in the fields of compliance, cybersecurity, NIST SP 800-171 and subcontract management services.
Job Titles:
- Employment Law
- Founder and Managing Attorney of Tava Employment Law
Daphne Shih Gebauer is the founder and managing attorney of Tava Employment Law. Daphne has been a complex civil litigator her entire career. She focuses her practice on litigating employment disputes and advising employers and employees on their rights and obligations under state and federal law. Having been an employee, employer, and business owner, Daphne understands the competing demands of business, regulation, and workplace rights. Daphne founded Tava Employment Law to work towards fair, safe, and equitable workplaces for all.
Prior to founding Tava Employment Law, Daphne was Counsel at Charlson Bredehoft Cohen & Brown, one of the Washington D.C. area's most-recognized employment firms. While at Charlson Bredehoft, Daphne litigated many discrimination, retaliation, and breach of contract claims on behalf of employees, and advised employers on internal policies, accommodation and leave issues, wage and hour matters, investigations, and employee discipline. She was also previously an attorney in Foley & Lardner LLP's complex commercial litigation and white collar and corporate defense groups, where she worked in the areas of bid protests, distribution/franchise litigation, and health care compliance and fraud.
Daphne graduated from the New York University School of Law, where she was Marden Competition Editor for Moot Court, Professional Chair for the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, a volunteer with the New York Battered Women's Project, and interned with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Law & Justice Unit at ABC News in New York City. She obtained her B.A. (Honors) from the University of British Columbia.
Daphne is licensed to practice before the courts of Colorado, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She is a member of the National Employment Lawyers' Association, Plaintiff's Employment Lawyer Association (Colorado), Association of Workplace Investigators, Ben S. Wendelken Inn of Court, and the Colorado, Virginia, and D.C. Bar Associations. She is a consultant with the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center and the current President of the Babywearing Society of Colorado Springs (BabywearingCOS).
Daphne has four loud children and has been thrilled to call Colorado Springs home since 2013. When away from her desk, she can often be found skiing, camping, hiking, and trying to get plants to grow. She is a decent cook and a lousy gardener.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- General Business Consulting, Financial Analysis, Franchising
- Partner in RMJ Capital
Darrell Fleck is a partner in RMJ Capital, which provides cash flow financing to businesses, and is a managing member of PPF Newco, LLC, which provides collateralized lending to businesses. He also serves as a board member of Ronald McDonald Charities of Southern Colorado and Adopt a Village International. Darrell was the former President of Abbot Fire & Safety, Inc. and General Manager of Dunkin' Brands Inc. (Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins/Togo's).
Darrell Fleck has been a consultant at the Pikes Peak SBDC since 2013 and provides leadership, creativity, and opportunity to a multitude of business and non-profit teams, enabling individuals and businesses to grow faster than their competitors and peers. He was Small Business Week SBDC Consultant of the Year in 2016.
He [Darrell Fleck] was very kind and knowledgeable.
Doni Walter became a part of the Pikes Peak SBDC team as Financial Manager in February 2024. This is a key position in the operations of the Pikes Peak SBDC center that serves all El Paso and Teller Counties. The role provides fiscal, budget and administrative support for the Pikes Peak SBDC office operations.
Jackie is an SBA and Business Banker with American Bank of Commerce and has been in the financial services industry in Colorado Springs for over 30 years. At ABC Bank, she enjoys working with businesses to help them achieve their financial goals and has the experience to work within a variety of different business sectors.
She currently serves as an Ambassador for the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC, as a volunteer consultant for the Small Business Development Center, and is a Board Member for Preferred Lending Partners. She has previously served as a Board Member for the Loan Approval Committee for the City of Colorado Springs Housing and Urban Redevelopment division and as the Chair for the Ambassador Club for the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC. She is an avid sports fan and enjoys spending her free time exploring the beautiful Colorado outdoors.
Job Titles:
- General Business Consulting, Financial Planning, Marketing
Job Titles:
- Owner of JBrugger Consulting
Janet Brugger is owner of JBrugger Consulting, LLC and has more than 20 years of leadership experience in non-profit and corporate organizations. Janet is Adjunct Faculty in the Division of Business, Public Service and Social Sciences at Pikes Peak Community College and is a contract instructor teaching workforce and business classes for the El Paso county Sherriff's Department Reintegration and Recovery Program. She currently serves as President of Colorado Springs Black Chamber of Commerce.
Janet has a B.S. in Social and Behavioral Sciences and an M.S. degree in Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management/Organizational Development from University of Maryland. She is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Pikes Peak Signature Program, recent graduate of Emerging Leaders Development Program LeadershipPlenty and serves on the El Pomar Foundation Black Advisory Committee.
Karrie Pittman is the owner and lead designer with KarrieBelle Designs. Over the last six years, she has worked with small businesses throughout the US to develop branding and supporting marketing materials.
Karrie's dedication to helping small businesses can be traced back to her childhood, as she watched her grandfather grow his locally owned business to what it is today. She is also third-generation born and raised in the Colorado Springs area, so she understands our unique market's opportunities and challenges. She has spent significant time working on helping businesses communicate the passion that drives their business.
As a graphic design professional, Karrie specializes in branding, brand strategy, and developing print and digital marketing materials. Karrie is committed to supporting small businesses throughout the Front Range and helping them succeed.
Job Titles:
- Accounting, QuickBooks, Taxes
Kelly graduated from the University of West Florida with a B.S.B.A. in Accounting and has been working in public accounting firms since 2008. She is a QuickBooks Advanced ProAdvisor and is familiar with the Desktop, Mac and Online version of QuickBooks. Kelly specializes in QuickBooks consulting and various tax compliance services for small to mid-size closely-held businesses. She believes that a local accountant should be there to make your life easier and strives for great customer service.
She moved to Colorado Springs from Florida in 2010 and has never looked back. She enjoys Colorado's many advantages including hiking through the mountains, beating her own best time on the Manitou Incline and exploring the area with her husband, Chad, and their two children, Jacob and Annabelle. Kelly also loves to support local non-profits such as the Pikes Peak Region Peace Officers' Memorial which commemorates fallen peace officers and offers assistant to their families and is the Treasurer on the board of the local Cub Scout Pack 165.
Job Titles:
- General Business Consulting, Marketing, Strategic Planning
Job Titles:
- Member of the Industry Advisory Board
Since 1993, Mark Spencer has been an experienced cybersecurity professional. He's held a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification #5218 since 1997. He was Adjunct Associate Professor of Computer Security at Colorado Technical University for five years and developed much of the undergraduate coursework for the Computer Security concentration in Computer Science. He was Adjunct Associate Professor of Computer Security for Regis University for two years.
Now, Mr. Spencer is a member of the Industry Advisory Board, Colorado State University- Fort Collins, Computer Science Department, the Industry Advisory Board, Regis University, Computer Science Department, and the Business and Industry Leadership Team for Arapaho Community College in Littleton, Colorado. He is an experienced speaker at conferences and leader in training cybersecurity subjects. He is a past president of the Colorado Springs chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and helped grow the chapter from a handful of members to one of the largest chapters in the world. He is a Distinguished Fellow of ISSA and a member of the ISSA Honor Roll.
Job Titles:
- Cybersecurity Program Manager
Nina is a dynamic professional educator and innovator, with a 20-year career in technical education. As the ‘Cybersecurity Program Manager', she oversees the Small Business Cybersecurity Program as well as several other SBDC cybersecurity programs. Nina has been a key player in projects funded by organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Education. Demonstrating an unwavering commitment to workforce development in cybersecurity, Nina recently served as the Program Manager for two CAE grants with the UCCS Cybersecurity Program Office, contributed to the creation of cybersecurity curriculum for high school teachers, and played a pivotal role as a Program Manager for the Cyber READY program at Prince George's Community College. Her multifaceted experiences underscore Nina's impact at the intersection of education, entrepreneurship, and cutting-edge technologies.
Omarr Melendez joined the SBDC team in November 2023 as an administrative assistant, bringing with him a diverse background with entrepreneurial roots. Having a work history that has ranged from restaurant management, real estate, and administrative support, he is excited to add working to help small local businesses to his background. Omarr is proud to come from a family of small business entrepreneurs himself. He grew up working in the family business, which started as a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant and is now a multi-state operation.
Omarr comes to us from Indiana, where his family and business are based out of. He attended Indiana University in Bloomington, IN (Go Hoosiers), graduating with a bachelor's degree in management of the public sector in 2019. He is currently in Colorado Springs to support his wife's career in the Air Force as a dentist at USAFA.
Job Titles:
- President of Alvarez Enterprises, Inc
Ramon Alvarez is President of Alvarez Enterprises, Inc., and owner of Minuteman Press, a small family business serving Colorado Springs as a full-service design, print, and direct mail provider. Ramon applies his vast leadership and business experience to help businesses of all sizes create and execute print campaigns that integrate cohesively within their overall marketing strategy. Ramon's experience includes executive positions in Domestic and International settings for Fortune 500 companies, leading up to 14,000 associates and $3.5 billion is revenue.
A first-generation immigrant from Guadalajara, Mexico, Ramon grew up and worked at a large farm in the Central Valley of California. His career has allowed him responsibilities for businesses in the Western half of the U.S., in South America, and Canada. He has opened several retail locations from the ground up and operated small and large formats. Ramon is fluent in Spanish, and prides himself in giving back to the community. He currently Chairs the Board of Directors for the Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and advices on several other non-profit Boards in El Paso County and Denver. He has a BS in Business Management and MS in Organizational Leadership and International Management.
"I not only left the consultation a bit more educated but boy was I inspired! Ramon [Alvarez] is a true mentor and amazing human
Job Titles:
- General Business Consulting
Job Titles:
- Market Research, PPLD Library Services
Job Titles:
- Marketing, Search Engine Optimization