SPEAKER BIOS

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Thursday, April 17^th
Concurrent Afternoon Workshops

Afternoon Workshop A:
AMERICAN MANUFACTURING IN THE 21^ST CENTURY

MODERATOR:
Robert McKinley, Associate Vice-President
Institute for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio

Robert McKinley currently serves as the Associate Vice President for the University of Texas at San Antonio overseeing the Institute for Economic Development (IED). For the past fifteen years he served as Regional Director of the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center (SBDC).The SBDC provides business management and technical assistance in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Program scope is 79 counties along the South Texas Border with a business population of 135,633 SMEs and a general population of 6.9 million.

This regional SBDC network of thirteen service delivery offices produced in FY 2007: 6,484 counseling engagements with 62,563 hours of assistance, and 1,073 business training events attended by 19,054 small business owners and managers, of which 57% are Mexican-American. SBA in FY 2007 also provided $368 million in loan guarantee funds to 1,854 businesses in the same South Texas region. Specialty SBDC services focus on international trade, technology deployment, drug-free-workplace, defense conversion, regulatory compliance and economic research. He has partnered with la Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, la Asociacion Mexicana de Centros para el Desarrollo de las Pequenas y Medianas Empresas, the U.S. Agency for international Development and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to assist in the growth of a new university-based network of SBDCs in Mexico, from 2000 through the present.

Mr. McKinley also represented the national Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC), serving as Chair of the Board of Directors, 1999-2000. The ASBDC network of 1000 Centers nationwide served 750,000 Small Businesses last year, effectively leveraging federal funds with academic, state and municipal resources to efficiently deliver management and technical assistance as a complement to SBA finance and procurement programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Prior experience includes building and managing a 94,000 s.f. business incubator facility for Control Data Corporation in a barrio redevelopment area of San Antonio, from 1985 to 1990. This project achieved 97% occupancy to house over 60 small businesses with 550 employees, and was profitable as a private-sector economic development venture. From 1980 to 1985, Mr. McKinley served as Executive Director of the Fort Worth Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce. Minority business programs of the Chamber tripled productivity to assist clients in marketing their goods and services to governmental procurement agencies, resulting in $65 million/year sales.

From 1977-1979, Mr. McKinley served as Community Organizer for La Misión de Amistad, Município de Tizimín, Yucatán, Mexico. A church-sponsored mission, it coordinated rural development activities including economic development, health, agricultural, literacy and educational projects, while affording Mr. McKinley an opportunity to learn Spanish and some Mayan language and culture.

Mr. McKinley is married to Esther Ng, originally of Hong Kong, and they have four grown children. Educational background includes a Masters in Public Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio, and a B.S. in Community Development from The Pennsylvania State University.

SPEAKERS:

Guillermo Dillon Montaña, Director
CAINTRA Neuvo Leon

Guillermo Dillon currently serves as General Director of CAINTRA, Chamber of Industry for the state of Nuevo Leon (Mexico). Nuevo Leon is considered to be the industrial capital of Mexico and CAINTRA is one of the most influential trade manufacturing associations in Mexico with over 5,000 manufacturing companies as members. Mr. Dillon completed his studies on Business Administration at the Universidad de Monterrey and he holds a Masters in Business Administration MBA from Thunderbird Global School of Management in Arizona. Prior to his graduate education he worked for two of the most important industrial groups in Monterrey (VITRO and CYDSA) in several marketing positions. After his graduate education he worked for Perrigo Company, a US pharmaceutical company, as country manager and business development for Mexico and South America. He has been General Director of CAINTRA since May, 2002.

Garrett Hinshaw, President
Catawaba Community College

"Creating the best community college in America"were the first words spoken to faculty and staff upon the arrival of the third president of Catawba Valley Community College in the fall of 2006. Since his arrival, he has begun the process of demonstrating that these aren’t just words. Under the leadership of Dr. Hinshaw, CVCC has embarked on a journey that included the creation of a new strategic plan, a 28.000 sq. ft. simulated hospital on the campus, a research and development center called the Center for Emerging Manufacturing Solutions (CEMS), a partnership with Noel-Levitz to become a "student facing"college, and a reorganization of the college that emphasizes accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. The college is creating a new image in the community and is establishing itself as a leader in redefining the region’s economy.

Taking 18 years of experience from CVCC’s Hosiery Technology Center, the Center for Emerging Manufacturing Solutions concept is modeled after several successful facilities throughout the United States that focus on giving the competitive edge to United States’ businesses and industries so that they can stay here and thrive. This center will focus on direct service delivery to manufacturers throughout the region in an effort to assist the changing furniture, textiles, metals, fiberoptics, and technology sectors in creating successful business models for future productivity. The center will be the "core"for research and development in the region and provide fast track prototyping, testing, marketing, and product development to all stakeholders in the changing economies of North Carolina.

Mike Oatridge, Vice-President
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama

Mike Oatridge is Vice President of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC (HMA). Oatridge began working on the HMA project team in August 2000 and moved to Alabama to support the start up of the new facility in March 2001.

As the Vice President of HMA, Oatridge provides daily leadership for HMA’s overall operations, including vehicle and engine production and parts procurement from more than 250 suppliers to the $1.4 billion manufacturing facility. HMA is the global production source of the Odyssey minivan, the Pilot sport utility vehicle and the V-6 engines that power both vehicles.

Oatridge started his career with Honda in 1989 at Honda of Canada Manufacturing in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. He was involved for many years in New Model development and served as the project lead for several New Model vehicle projects.

Oatridge was later instrumental in the start-up of Honda’s second manufacturing plant at Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HCM). During preparations for the expansion and construction of a second assembly plant at HCM, Oatridge spent 14 months in Japan studying existing systems and researching equipment in preparation for the launch of the first-generation Odyssey minivan.

After construction was completed on HCM’s Plant 2 facility, Oatridge served as the plant’s Weld Department Manager. In this role, he facilitated the modifications to equipment and facilities required to meet growing market demand as a second vehicle model was added to the existing assembly line.

Born in Oakville, Ontario, Oatridge is a 1988 graduate of Ryerson University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He now lives in Birmingham. He has two sons, Aidan and Alec.

Afternoon Workshop B:
THE AMERICAN WORKER

MODERATOR: Roland Arriola, President
Texas Valley Communities Foundation

Dr. Roland S. Arriola is the President of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting economic growth and income enhancement in South Texas. Dr. Arriola is the former Vice President for External Affairs at The University of Texas-Pan American, the nation’s second largest-enrollment Hispanic-serving institution. He is the founder of CoSERVE, one of the largest University-affiliated public service programs in the nation. For his success across many fields, Dr. Arriola was named in 2004 as one of the nation’s 50 most influential Hispanics in business and technology by the nation’s premier Hispanic technology magazine, Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology. He holds a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. Dr. Arriola was first Hispanic mayor of the City of Waco, Texas. He co-founded, along with Congressman Ruben Hinojosa of Texas, the nation’s premier Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) conference.

Max Hernandez, Director of Federal Programs|
The Hispanic Institute

Max Hernandez is the Economic Development Program Director for The Hispanic Institute (THI). The Institute, based in Washington, D.C., provides a forum for discussing issues effecting Hispanic-Americans and empowers all Americans through education and sound analysis of these subjects.

Mr. Hernandez has been consulting for The Institute since 2006 and joined fulltime in July of 2007 when THI received funding from the Economic Development Administration for Phase I of its Population, Immigration, Labor and American Competitiveness Study. This study is designed to supply the necessary information to rationalize the nation’s workforce; by gathering and analyzing substantive data on industry’s unmet labor needs, the skills required to satisfy those needs and, to the greatest degree possible, the skills found in the immigrant labor population. This initial phase of the project is focused on Arkansas and Texas; THI will expand the study in subsequent phases to encompass the entire U.S.

Before joining THI, Mr. Hernandez worked in state government as a Policy Analyst for the Texas Building and Procurement Commission (TBPC). As a Policy Analyst, Mr. Hernandez was responsible for proposing innovative ways of managing the State’s procurement contracts to maximize its purchasing power. In large part his efforts revolved around the state’s SmartBuy program; this initiative included automating contract management, engaging in strategic partnerships with vendors and other states to achieve economies of scale as well as consolidating state contracts to eliminate redundancy and waste.

Prior to returning to Texas in 2004, Mr. Hernandez worked for The METEC Group (TMG), a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., as a Project Manager and Vice President. His portfolio at TMG included managing financial services contracts with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In his time there TMG was awarded several contracts from SBA to conduct the agency’s Asset Sale Program; Mr. Hernandez’s management was instrumental in TMG’s ability to return almost $3 billion to the government through these sales. He also managed three Mentor-Protégé contracts with smaller firms through the Department of the Navy. TMG, as the mentor to these protégé firms, was tasked with aiding the firms in business development, winning and managing contracts as well as equipment and skill acquisition.

Mr. Hernandez received his B.A. in English from the University of Maryland and will begin pursuing his M.S. in Information Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin in September 2008.


SPEAKERS:

Mark Lautman, Director
Economic Development Mesa del Sol

Mark Lautman is the Director of Economic Development for Mesa del Sol, a new master planned community of 100,000 residents being developed in Albuquerque New Mexico by Forest City Enterprises and Covington Capital. His business unit is responsible for the design and execution of an economic development master plan that will meet their commitment to create 30,000 net new economic base jobs on site by build out. He is also the current chairman of the New Mexico Economic Development Commission.

Since becoming a professional economic developer 25 years ago Lautman designed and managed three other economic development programs attracting more than 75 corporate locations accounting for more than 12,000 new jobs, 5 million square feet of industrial space, and $10 billion in new investment.

He is a frequent national conference speaker on how the looming labor crisis is forcing communities to become more strategic about managing their economies and topics related to improving productivity and accountability of economic development and workforce development programs.

He is a 1971 graduate of the University of New Mexico in Economics, Architecture and Geography and a former Peace Corps Volunteer. He is married with three children and two grandchildren. His recreational pursuits include open water swimming, mountaineering and international travel.

Stanley Suchman, Regional Commissioner
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Stanley W. Suchman is the Regional Commissioner for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dallas-Kansas City Region. The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces some of the nation's most sensitive and important economic indicators. Mr. Suchman is responsible for Bureau activities over an eleven-state region, including the Consumer Price Index, the Employment Cost Index, the Current Employment Statistics Survey, and the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.

Mr. Suchman received his education from the University of Missouri, concentrating on labor and compensation issues and on international trade. He graduated in 1975, and started with the Bureau later that year.

He has been with the Bureau most of his professional career, working from the position of a field-level representative to his current position. He is a past officer in the Kansas City Council on Business Economics, and is active in a number of civic organizations.


Workshop C:
GROWING TOMORROW’S ENTREPRENEURS

MODERATOR:
Teo Tijerina, Executive Director
EDCO Ventures

Teo Tijerina is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of EDCO Ventures. EDCO Ventures is 501 (c) (3) business development organization that partners with universities, government laboratories, risk capital, and individuals to discover and commercialize technologies and launch innovative business ideas. EDCO Venture’s mission is to create companies and jobs with living wages in economically distressed areas. Currently, EDCO Ventures is executing a program covering the Texas Border Region.

EDCO Ventures began operations in the Fall 2006, and already has various projects in the capitalization stage including a consumer electronics repair company named Cherry Fusion (www.cherryfusion.com), and a company named PikLuk (www.PikLuk.com), a children’s internet browser and online parent community. Moreover, EDCO Ventures has recently partnered with Lucid Crew to launch a content management solution named Media Stove. The organization has aggressive long-term goals for regional job creation and gross domestic product impact.

Mr. Tijerina is an entrepreneur who co-founded Innovei International, LLP (www.innovei.com), in El Paso, Texas. He has held executive and senior engineering positions with Dell Computers, Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, and Dow Chemicals. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, and he attended the Graduate School of Business and the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) program at University of Texas El Paso.

Agnes Noonan, Executive Director
Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team Corporation

Agnes Noonan has served as the Executive Director of the Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team (WESST Corp), a statewide economic development organization in New Mexico, since 1991. She has over 30 years experience in small business development and management. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, where she worked with local, regional, and international agencies on issues relating to economic development. She has also had her own consulting practice which focused on U.S. companies exploring overseas investment opportunities. In Costa Rica, she served as a small business consultant for the United States Peace Corps, working with a variety of small, locally based businesses.

Ms. Noonan holds a B.A. in Political Science from Berea College and an M.A. in International Relations with a concentration in Business and Economics from The George Washington University. In 1995, she was selected as the SBA’s Women’s Business Advocate of the Year for New Mexico; in 2005, she was named as one of ten “Women of Influence” by New Mexico Business Weekly and was one of five inaugural inductees into the New Mexico Business Hall of Fame sponsored by Junior Achievement. In 2006, she was appointed to the Community Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Tim Williamson, President and Co-Founder
Idea Village

Tim Williamson is the President and Co-Founder of The Idea Village, a 501(c) (3) economic development organization whose mission is to ignite innovation by providing strategy, talent and resources to entrepreneurial ventures. Since 2002, The Idea Village has been the primary driver of business innovation in New Orleans. With support from over 500 individuals, corporations, local foundations, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Greater New Orleans, Inc., the City of New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana, The Idea Village has provided direct support to over 250 entrepreneurs who have retained over 1019 jobs and generated $68 million in revenue.

Tim Williamson began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in New York City and in 1990 joined Bear Stearns as Vice President of Investments in Boston. In 1993, Tim pursued his entrepreneurial aspirations by successfully starting and managing multi-media companies in Boston, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. Williamson returned to New Orleans in 1998 to assume the position of General Manager of Cox Interactive Media in New Orleans. At Cox, Williamson developed a national Internet strategy and launched Insideneworleans.com before his promotion to Regional General Manager of Cox Interactive Media. In this role, Williamson oversaw the development and growth of five national internet markets. An entrepreneur by trade and by training, Williamson has successfully started and operated five entrepreneurial ventures in four different cities and has been a steadfast advocate for making New Orleans a vibrant entrepreneurial community.