State Director’s Office Staff
Working in conjunction with the talented staff of the State Director's Office for the past fifteen years, Christian has endeavored to build the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) program into one of the preeminent economic development programs of its type in the country.
As State Director, Christian is responsible for directing, managing, promoting and evaluating Pennsylvania SBDC services to improve service delivery and impact. He has helped lead the network through three national accreditation reviews. In the most recent review in 2006, the program also was accredited for its technology services.
During his tenure, Christian has led the effort to expand the state of Pennsylvania’s investment in the program from $1.9 million to a high of $8 million in 2006. This resulted in the establishment of five new centers and a near doubling of the number of entrepreneurs assisted annually. More important, the program produces results: each year 2,500 new businesses are started, 8,000 new jobs created and over $750 million of Pennsylvania products and services are sold around the world.
Christian has testified before both houses of Congress in support of bills to expand the SBDC program. He has also taught other SBDC programs on ways to develop and strengthen relationships with policy makers to increase services available to assist small firms in their growth and development. These efforts were recognized with awards from the Association of Small Business Development Centers in 2001, 2004 and 2006.
Christian is active in a number of other organizations including the national Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. For the last several years he has been the Chair of the Governance Committee for the Pennsylvania Downtown Center.
Before joining the SBDC program he was a key staff member for a New York State Assembly Member and managed marketing and fundraising programs for a variety of arts, health and social services organizations. Christian has degrees in urban studies, economics and psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of New York at Albany. His Master’s thesis analyzed the role of the arts to the economic competitiveness of the greater Philadelphia region.
A native of New York’s scenic Hudson River Valley, Christian currently resides in Philadelphia. In his spare time, he enjoys running, skiing, traveling, cooking, exploring new wines and cuisines, and the arts, theatre and architecture.
A member of the Pennsylvania SBDC State Director’s Office since 1987, Pam continues to manage the financial activity of our growing network of 18 centers across the state of Pennsylvania. Pam oversees all budgetary, contractual, and financial management matters of the program, providing training and guidance to center directors and financial personnel while maintaining responsibility of all grant activity, and involvement in policy issues and resource allocation. She presently serves on the Operations committee of the national of Association of Small Business Development Centers.
Prior to joining the SBDC, Pam worked in the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Research Administration as a contracts administrator, where she was in charge of grants and contracts for research and training programs at five schools within the University, including the Wharton School of Business. Pam was directly involved in oversight of the grant which founded the SBDC at the University.
Pam earned her B.A. in Economics from Douglass College of Rutgers University and her M.B.A. from Temple University.
Pat has supported the Pennsylvania SBDC with over 20 years of organizing and managing office workflow, all the while coordinating all activities of the office and 18 subcenters to meet requirements of federal and state funding agencies. She has an intricate knowledge
of the procedures and protocols surrounding both office and university matters. With her strict attention to detail, Pat plays a vital role in managing and certifying financial matters.
Pat enjoys spending her free time with a good book or at a ceramics class. Her infinite patience and good humor are a tremendous asset to the SBDC.
Alena Burch, Receptionist
With a 10 year tenure, Alena knows the ins and outs of the Pennsylvania SBDC backwards and forwards. Hers is the first voice
you hear when you telephone the State Director's office. Drawing on her experience, Alena is able to assist almost every caller
succinctly and quickly. Alena's support is critical to the operational efficiency of the State Director's office.
Nancy Crickman, Associate Director, Environmental Management Assistance Program
As the Associate Director of the Environmental Management Assistance Program, Nancy brings ten years of experience working for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, specializing in wastewater treatment and watershed management. Nancy joined the EMAP team in 2001 and helps oversee the efficient delivery and tracking of EMAP’s statewide services. She has also been instrumental in launching two on-line waste exchanges, the PA Material Trader and PA Manure Trader.
Nancy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Swarthmore College and a Master of Engineering degree in Environmental Pollution Control from the Pennsylvania State University. In 2005, Nancy successfully completed the Wharton Programs for Working Professional’s Wharton Management Program.
Bill Dunagan, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Management Assistance Program
Bill joined the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers as an environmental consultant for the Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP) in January 2008. He provides air quality permitting and compliance assistance to EMAP clients throughout Pennsylvania.
Prior to joining EMAP, Bill spent three and a half years working as an Air Quality Specialist for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Warren District Office and Northwest Regional Office. He has experience in many areas of air quality, including AIMS reporting, asbestos, visible emissions, plan approvals, permitting, and requests for determination (RFDs).
Bill received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and is currently working towards a Masters of Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Seth Epstein, Energy Projects Coordinator, Environmental Management Assistance Program
Seth joins EMAP from the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment where he helped create what has become California’s leading energy efficiency implementation program targeting the multifamily and small commercial market sectors. Over the last two years the program has saved over 20 million kWh.
He began his career as a youth science educator at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA where he designed marine and environmental science camp programs for urban youth. After graduate school he moved to the San Francisco Bay area and worked first in private environmental and energy consulting before moving into the public sector.
Seth has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and a minor in Outdoor Education from St. Lawrence University. He earned his Master of Science degree in Natural Resources and the Environment with a focus on Environmental Policy along with a graduate certificate in Industrial Ecology from the University of Michigan.
Seth is a Building Performance Institute certified Building Analyst.
As IT Project Leader, Philip Frank will lead Pennsylvania SBDC's technical transitions and provide general IT support. Phil brings more than 15 years of experience to the position, most recently enhancing a client software package for Meals on Wheels organizations. He previously worked at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School as Associate Director of Marketing Information, where he was he was responsible for direct mail, databases and marketing systems such as CRM. Phil also held several productivity and manual systems analysis positions.
Kim Fukui, Business Research Specialist
Kim is a business information specialist who has been working with the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers for over ten years to ensure high quality research assistance for our clients. Through the SBDC's WISE Program (Worldwide Information Sources for Entrepreneurs Program), Kim trains SBDC staff on conducting business research, executes research projects, and keeps SBDC staff current on developments in the dynamic information industry. Kim also maintains this Web site's links page of Business Information Resources.
Kim has done extensive research and reference work for companies and libraries including the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Laventhol & Horwath, Columbia University and the Wilmington Public Library. She has a Master of Library Service from Columbia University.
Jeremy Hancher, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Management Assistance Program
Jeremy provides environmental consulting assistance to small businesses in the southeastern region of Pennsylvania. In particular, he addresses the environmental consulting needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs by providing information and assistance on environmental regulatory and compliance issues, environmental permitting requirements, waste minimization, energy efficiency & pollution prevention, health & safety issues, and the implementation of environmental best management practices. Jeremy reaches out to small businesses through numerous environmental workshops, trade conferences, one-on-one consulting engagements, and through performing comprehensive facility on-site assessments.
Jeremy holds degrees in Environmental Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently studying business management with a focus in entrepreneurial values at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jeremy also brings aboard experience as an environmental specialist in an industrial manufacturing facility where he successfully provided guidance through environmental management of waste, air, and water quality issues.
Laurie Leas, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Management Assistance Program
Laurie comes to EMAP with 15 years of experience in marketing and communications. Laurie started her marketing career with a French homeopathic pharmaceutical company, focused on increasing public awareness of the benefits of natural medicine. She then spent several years as the Senior Account Manager for a pharmaceutical marketing agency, working primarily on professional marketing strategy for McNeil Specialty Pharmaceuticals and their flagship brand Tylenol. After deciding to leave the agency world to start a family, she joined the non-profit, free-lance communications group, Leapfrog Advancement Services, where she established long-term relationships with her clients, often organizations with environmental missions, while helping them with branding, strategy, communications and fundraising.
Laurie is a graduate of Penn State with a degree in Environmental Science and a minor in French.
Chris Lynch, Director, Environmental Management Assistance Program
Chris leads our Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP) which is made up of a statewide team of environmental specialists who provide small business owners and new business start-ups with confidential answers to environmental regulatory questions. The team also provides advice on smart environmental management and helps businesses identify ways to reduce costs through energy efficiency and waste minimization.
Chris also functions as the Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Small Business Environmental Compliance Advisory Committee to which he was appointed by former Governor Tom Ridge. He has also chaired the Pennsylvania Environmental Assistance Network and the Environmental Committee of the National Association of Small Business Development Centers.
Chris received his Juris Doctor and Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School and he holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and government from St. Lawrence University.
Clyde Stoltzfus, Director of Procurement Technical Assistance
Clyde manages the grant received from the Defense Logistics Agency, which includes sub-agreements with three Small Business Development Centers that provide Procurement Technical Assistance for 15 Southeastern Pennsylvania counties. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.
Clyde's past experience includes appointment by three different State of Alaska Governors to manage federal relations for the State's transportation department. His ten-year tenure with the department also included contract negotiation and contract management duties; proposal development; procurement management responsibilities; and legislative and regulatory development duties. Prior to joining the State of Alaska, Clyde owned and operated a solo-practice legal firm that specialized in contract and construction law.
Andrew Radcliffe, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Management Assistance Program
Andrew joined the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers as an environmental consultant for the Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP) in January 2007. Prior to joining EMAP, his last six years were spent in the private environmental consulting field where he provided compliance management and assistance to various types of industry throughout Pennsylvania and other states. Andrew has experience in many environmental areas including air permitting, stormwater permitting, industrial discharge permitting, EPCRA topics (emergency planning, Form R reporting, Tier II reporting), RCRA waste issues, emergency / contingency plan preparation, and with environmental site assessments. In addition to his environmental experience, he has worked on a variety of OSHA health and safety projects.
Andrew holds a B.S. Environmental Science degree from the University of Delaware is working towards completion of the Wharton business certificate program.
Megan Schmidgal, Marketing/Training Coordinator
Megan heads the network’s marketing and communications activities for the Pennsylvania SBDC. She manages all of the strategic marketing and communications activities, including web and image development, media relations, branding, events, internal communications, and print production.
In her capacity, Megan also facilitates statewide efforts for educational programming, including online tutorial development, and drafts reports to investors. Additionally, she serves as a member of the national Association of Small Business Development Centers’ marketing committee.
Prior to being appointed to her current role in October 2005, Megan managed communications for the community development organization Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. and was a project manager at a top design firm in Pittsburgh. She is a member of the American Marketing Association, PhillyCHI, and the Organizational Dynamics Exchange Network.
Megan received her B.A. in English and Communications from Grove City College and recently completed her M.S. in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Tom Wren, Director, Special Projects
Tom has over 27 years of experience in the acquisition and procurement processes of the federal government. Tom continues to work closely with the Defense Logistics Agency and other federal agencies involved in the Federal Acquisition Network processes, e-commerce initiatives, and electronic data interchange.
Tom previously served over twenty years in the United States Marine Corps and held a variety of procurement, acquisition, and logistics-related billets at various posts and stations around the globe. He is a member of the National Contract Management Association, American Society for Quality, and the Association of Government Marketing Assistance Specialists.
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