MICHIGAN SBDC - Key Persons
Alain brings extensive experience in organizational development, manufacturing, R&D, market development, technology transfer and international expansion to the Michigan SBDC technology team.
He most recently served as president of an advanced manufacturing company, which was a technology spinout from a large automotive supplier. His activities included marketing and commercialization and leading the advanced R&D activities. The company focused its efforts in the aerospace, military and transportation industries.
Alain has also worked in Europe, Southern Africa, and Central and South America for international corporations such as DuPont, Sherwin Williams and Kongsberg Automotive. He has been involved with turn-around, startup and M&A activities.
Alain holds a BSBA and MBA from Wayne State University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Finance and Grants
Allis is responsible for finance, grants, and human resources for the Michigan SBDC network. She works closely with our Federal partner to manage the distribution of SBA grants throughout the MI-SBDC regions. Along with oversight and management of state grants through the MEDC to support the MI-SBDC mission.
She joined the SBDC in January 2022, prior to which she has a background in supporting community health and wellness through nonprofit work and higher education healthcare operations. Additionally, as a veteran of the US Army she served as a Medical Services Officer.
Allis earned her Doctorate in Education with a focus in Organizational Change and Leadership from University of Southern California. Her dissertation focused on gender barriers impact to women's advancement in HealthCare leadership. She holds a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from Ohio University and earned her Bachelor's of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University.
Allis is dedicated to supporting small business and helping teams thrive in changing environments. She is passionate about the mission of the MI-SBDC and the collaboration that supports small businesses.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - Mid Michigan Region
- Regional Director for the Mid Michigan Region
Tony Fox serves as Regional Director for the Mid Michigan Region of the Michigan SBDC. Prior to joining the SBDC, Tony owned and operated a residential construction company in the Central Michigan area. He earned both his undergraduate degree in Entrepreneurship and graduate degree in Administration during his time prior at Central Michigan University. In addition to maintaining current status related to his Michigan Residential Building License, Tony also maintains Certified Global Business Professional status through NASBITE International. Tony has been with the SBDC at Mid Michigan College since 2006.
Job Titles:
- Chief Client Services Officer
- Chief Executive Officer of Michigan Health Improvement Alliance, Inc
Beth is the Chief Client Services Officer of the Michigan SBDC, after having served as Regional Director of the Lake Huron Region.
Roszatycki joined the SBDC after serving as chief executive officer of Michigan Health Improvement Alliance, Inc. During the last three years of her tenure with MiHIA, Roszatycki spent much of her time focused on THRIVE (Transforming Health In a Vibrant Economy), a co-led, collaborative effort fueled by the recognition that our population's health and a robust economy are interdependent of each other. Roszatycki also worked in a variety of roles with Bay Arenac Behavioral Health, including as administrative services supervisor.
Roszatycki earned a master's degree in business administration from SVSU. She also received a bachelor's degree in merchandise management from Michigan State University. Beth grew up in an entrepreneurial family in Bay City, Michigan and continues to support the small business community.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - Greater Washtenaw Region
- Regional Director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center
Charlie has been the Regional Director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center - Greater Washtenaw Region since 2002. In that capacity he has directly counseled, or overseen the counseling of, hundreds of local small businesses.
He has developed and presented numerous small business training sessions and participated in many varied entrepreneurship support activities. Charlie has also taught a variety of small business and entrepreneurship classes at EMU, WCC and U-M.
Charlie currently serves on the Washtenaw County Workforce Development Board, the Ann Arbor Ypsilanti Chamber Board, and is Board Chair for Think Local First of Washtenaw County.
Prior to joining the MI-SBDC, Charlie was the Director of Consulting Services at Nonprofit Enterprise at Work. In addition, he was a senior consultant with Plante Moran and held several management positions with the Gartner Group. Charlie holds an MPPM from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. from Hampshire College.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - Lake Huron Region
Chris has a bachelor's degree in Accounting and an MBA from Central Michigan University. He spent 27 years with Dow Chemical with global leadership experience in Accounting and Supply Chain activity. He moved on to Chemical Bank for 4 years leading their Business Excellence team driving process improvement across the enterprise leading to significant growth. He also has experience in the healthcare industry having spent the final 3 years of his career as the Supply Chain Director for MidMichigan Health. He has a passion for using data and analytics to drive improvement to processes which get reflected in the bottom line.
Chris is married with 3 adult children. He enjoys spending time with his family, a good craft beer (ambers are my favorite), college football Saturdays in the fall, and constantly trying to become a scratch golfer.
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategic Initiatives, America 's Small Business Development Center ( ASBDC )
Job Titles:
- Founder / President, Smart Bottoms, Inc
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - West
- Regional Director of the West
- West Michigan Regional Director
Ed Garner serves as the Regional Director of the West Michigan SBDC. He previously served as President/CEO of Muskegon Area First, a private, non-profit corporation serving all of Muskegon County. Garner is currently the Board President of the Urban League of Greater Muskegon and the Board Treasurer for the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. During his career, Ed has been recognized for having the best Satellite SBTDC Center in 1999 and the Jaycees Distinguished Service Award in 1998. Garner has a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University and Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from Michigan State University.
Job Titles:
- Founder / CEO, Root Functional Medicine
Job Titles:
- Vice President Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Michigan Economic Development Corporation ( MEDC )
Job Titles:
- Co - Owner, Leelanau Cheese
Ian Rogers manages the strategy and implementation of the Michigan SBDC's statewide business education programs, focusing primarily on online education.
Ian holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Grand Valley State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Michigan State University.
The majority of Ian's career has focused on developing and implementing innovative, outcomes-based approaches to learning and development in fields including philanthropy, healthcare, information technology, and entrepreneurship.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Executive Director
- State Director
As State Director of the Michigan SBDC, J.D. Collins leads the statewide team in pursuit of their mission to enhance Michigan's economic wellbeing through consulting, training, and market research for new ventures, existing small businesses and advanced technology companies. Leveraging 20+ years of executive leadership experience in both small businesses and large corporations, Collins oversees the SBDC's human, financial and administrative resources, as well as key stakeholder relationships.
Collins is passionate about serving the small business community and continuing the SBDC's innovative approach to helping business owners and entrepreneurs.
Job Titles:
- Economic Inclusion Business Consultant
Jamaal serves as the Economic Inclusion Business Consultant, a position created to advance one of the Michigan SBDC's priorities: to provide outreach and service delivery to economically challenged communities. Jamaal came to the Michigan SBDC with a wealth of experience in business counseling, coaching and helping entrepreneurs in underserved markets access business resources. Jamaal is a former Senior Personal Banker with Huntington National Bank and Microloan Program Manager with Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women in Grand Rapids. He holds an MBA from Western Michigan University.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - I - 69 Trade Corridor Region
- Regional Director for the I - 69 Trade Corridor Region
Janis Mueller serves as the Regional Director for the I-69 Trade Corridor Region, hosted at Kettering University. Previously, Janis served as a Senior Business Consultant for the SBTDC North Carolina in Wilmington and served as an interim regional director there for almost a year. Janis is passionate about entrepreneurship in the Flint area, as well as collaborating with the resource partners in the community and region. She has a wealth of family-business ownership experience, international expertise, and some advanced certifications. Janis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business and German from Eastern Michigan University and is working toward her Masters of Business Administration through the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President for Research Administration, Michigan Technological University
Job Titles:
- President / CEO, Middle Michigan Development Corporation ( MMDC )
Job Titles:
- President / CEO, Battle Creek Unlimited
Job Titles:
- Senior Business Consultant
Job Titles:
- Assistant State Director, Strategic Innovation
Job Titles:
- Co - Owner, Leelanau Cheese
Job Titles:
- CEO, Midtown Fresh & Park Street Market
Job Titles:
- Michigan District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration ( SBA )
Job Titles:
- Regional Director - Upper Peninsula Region
Laura Marohnic, MBA, CGBP is the MI-SBDC Regional Director covering the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She specializes in financial analysis, loan package preparations, and is a Certified Global Business Professional with NASBITE. Her other areas of experience include human resource management, purchasing, medical credentialing, system analysis, retail sales, inventory control, and manufacturing.
Laura grew up in Upper Michigan working in a family retail business. She has experience in both for profit and non-profit businesses as well as past experience as a small business owner of a retail party store and a small trucking operation. She worked with the SBDC in New Mexico prior to returning to Michigan bringing experience and tools to the MI-SBDC.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - Capital Region
Laurie channels her first-hand experience as a former business owner into a passion for helping others to start up, run and market their companies. For 12 years she ran Persuasive Communications, her marketing consultancy located in Seattle, where she created hundreds of strategic marketing and branding projects for companies of all shapes and sizes. While she has worked with many of that area's behemoths, it's the "little guys" she always got the biggest charge out of helping, seeing how small, consistent marketing changes could dramatically impact their bottom lines. Today, Laurie provides one-on-one business counseling and delivers a range of business training focused on startup and marketing issues, including Marketing Mondays lunch & learn series, Branding Toolkit for the Small Business Owner, Working for Yourself, Turn Your Hobby into a Business and Learn to Network Like a Pro. Her areas of expertise include marketing, copywriting, and networking.
Job Titles:
- VP, Community & Economic Development II, Fifth Third Bank
Job Titles:
- Founder / CEO, Continue Marketing & Advance Ministries, Loft 912 & Blue Water Start - Ups
Job Titles:
- Founder / CEO, Saddleback BBQ
Job Titles:
- Associate Regional Director - Lake Huron Region
Michael has worked with the SBDC for three years helping hundreds of businesses of all shapes and sizes. Prior to that, Mike was a commercial banker/lender helping start-ups and multi-million dollar businesses with their banking and lending needs. Before becoming a banker, for twelve years he owned two professional photography studios and photo centers in Alpena and Oscoda. Mike also worked for Anhauser Busch and grew up in his parents' pharmacy business that just celebrated fifty years in business. He also served five years as an Alpena City Councilman and six years as an Alpena County Commissioner. Mike also worked as an instructor at Alpena Community College in addition to coaching multiple youth sports teams and authoring multiple books on personal finance and hunting, fishing and the outdoor arts.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications Director
Nancy is responsible for overall marketing strategy and development of integrated marketing communications to support the MI-SBDC's mission of helping Michigan small businesses succeed. In her role as brand champion, she oversees all stakeholder communications for the state level while supporting 10 regions and two regional centers.
Before joining the MI-SBDC, Nancy was an independent marketing consultant for five years, empowering both B2C and B2B clients. In addition, she has held corporate marketing positions at Van Andel Institute, Sassy Baby Products, Calvin College and Target. Nancy also was a V.P., Account Supervisor in marketing agencies of record for clients including General Mills, UnitedHealthcare, MoneyGram, Heinz, St. Ives, OxiClean, PUR and BISSELL.
Nancy has a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Calvin University.
Job Titles:
- Office Assistant
- Office Assistant at the Michigan Small Business Development Center
Nora Vollmer is the Office Assistant at the Michigan Small Business Development Center. She is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to the Michigan SBDC State Director and Leadership Team. Nora is also responsible for coordinating, planning, managing and supporting daily operational and administrative functions to advance the Michigan SBDC statewide organization.
Nora began her career in a family-owned small business and has over ten years of experience in administrative assistant roles. Nora was a Student Office Assistant for the West Michigan Region Small Business Development Center from 2012-2015 and was the West Michigan Region SBDC's Program Coordinator from 2015-2019. Nora obtained her bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University in Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis in Meeting and Event Planning.
Job Titles:
- Founder, Regeneration, LLC, & Vice President, Michigan State Board of Education
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Community Development, Huntington Bank
Job Titles:
- Associate Regional Director - Greater Washtenaw Region
Ron entered the MI-SBDC in 2007 as a Senior Business Consultant in the Greater Washtenaw Region, where he's helped guide hundreds of businesses through the startup process and beyond. Ron was promoted to Associate Regional Director in 2013. In addition, he has received professional certification as a NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional and is part of the SBDC's State Export Assistance Team. His areas of expertise include retail, restaurants, breweries, budgeting, and exporting.
Job Titles:
- General Manager, Greentree Co - Op Market
Job Titles:
- Cybersecurity Awareness Program Specialist
Scott is a cyber-security professional passionate about raising awareness of everyday cyber threats and trends.
Prior to joining the Michigan SBDC, Scott served as an IT Security Analyst at Ferris State University for 3 years. As an IT Security Analyst, he managed full disk encryption, mobile device management, Office365 security policies, and provided security awareness training through multiple platforms. He has assisted with incident response, vulnerability and risk assessments, data loss prevention, and data security access.
Scott graduated from Ferris State University in 2012 with a degree in Information Security and Intelligence and obtained a program certificate in Geographic Information Systems. He also received a degree in Criminal Justice from Ferris State University in 2009.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder / CEO, Intecells
Sienna is responsible for data and information management of the SBDC network and has been part of our team for 10 years. She collects all data that goes into the network's financial and narrative reports. She is also responsible for the performance systems that ensure the network is operating effectively and efficiently, consistent with the network's strategic plan, ASBDC accreditation standards and the SBA cooperative agreement.
Prior to joining our team, Sienna served as an instructional design consultant in another department of Grand Valley State University. Before coming to GVSU, she served as a teaching assistant at Florida State University, where she taught a graduate course in systems approach to change management.
Sienna received her Bachelor of Arts in education and her professional teacher's certification from the University of Zimbabwe. She also earned her master's degree in instructional system design from Florida State University and is passionate about issues of curriculum design and human capital development.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - Southwest Michigan Region
- Regional Director for the Southwest
Tamara Davis is the regional director for the Southwest Michigan SBDC. In this position she assists start-up and second-stage business ventures in developing feasibility studies, business plan development, accessing capital, strategic planning for exporting, accessing state and federal programs, and general business consultation for individuals interested in growing their business through strategic planning and/or product diversification. Davis is passionate about the fact that her duties allow her to provide support and advice to the array of business ventures throughout Southwest Michigan-at no cost!
Job Titles:
- President & CEO, Envision Health
Job Titles:
- CEO, Taste the Local Difference
Job Titles:
- Regional Director
- Regional Director - Southeast Region
- Regional Director of the Southeast Michigan Region
Wendy Thomas is the Regional Director of the Southeast Michigan Region. She has been with the network for over 20 years and has served in leadership, consulting, training, and administrative roles.
Wendy has counseled hundreds of start-ups and existing businesses over the years resulting in clients obtaining financing as well as launching and growing their small businesses. She assists clients by using her problem solving skills and expertise in the key business areas of marketing, financing, and business planning. Wendy also serves on several small business advisory boards and committees.
Wendy was named Small Business Consultant of the Year by the Small Business Administration. It was the first time that this award had been given to a SBDC consultant. She received recognition for Outstanding Volunteer for the CEED Detroit Loan Program and Michigan Small Business Center of Excellence and Innovation Award. Wendy is also certified as a Small Business Consultant and a Small Business Administration Export Trade Specialist.
Wendy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Michigan State University, Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Entrepreneurship, and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Eastern Michigan University. Wendy is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies. She also complimented her academic achievements with studying business practices abroad in Asia and Europe including China, England and France.