Our Experts
ITECS Administrators
Susan Ward, PhD, President and Founder, is a performance-oriented executive with over 20 years experience in business and technology development. While in industry, Susan held a variety of positions in technology management and has created and led organizations in North America, Europe, and China that supported businesses ranging in size from $33 million to over $5 billion. In 2001, Susan founded ITECS. Since then, Susan and her team have secured more than $100 million in government funding and assisted in more than $500 million in successful technology product introductions for for-profit companies, universities, and non-profit companies. Susan has a PhD in physical organic chemistry from New York University and is the president of ITECS.
Michelle Tack is the Vice President of Business Development for ITECS. Tack is an industry veteran with a 20-year track record of success with start-ups and high growth technology companies, combining technology, marketing and sales expertise with a strong sense of finding solid solutions to specific business problems. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Ms. Tack’s experience combines national and international assignments, covering a variety of technology disciplines.
Brendan Ward is the Director of Marketing for ITECS. Ward graduated with honors with a dual degree in communication and psychology from the University of Miami. He worked on various marketing jobs with Village Voice Media and was a digital media consultant for Coconut Grove Art Festival, helping improve web presence as well as search engine visability. Over the last two years Brendan held a variety of management roles with Abercrombie and Fitch, where he set up systems, managed the flagship store, and recruited and trained associates. Brendan joined ITECS in July 2009 as director of marketing. In this role he focuses on developing marketing campaigns, implementing social networking, improving marketing collateral, setting up virtual systems, and generating sales leads.
Tom Eppich is the chief financial officer (CFO) for ITECS. He has over 35 years of accounting, finance, CPA, and CFO experience. Tom currently provides CFO services to over a dozen companies in the central Florida area. Previously, he was an audit partner with Ernst & Young, a CFO of over six different companies, including one with annual revenues exceeding a billion dollars; co-owned his own office furniture dealership, which was profitable each year of ownership; and was a vice president of a turnaround restructuring consulting company for over 10 years. Tom has a BS degree in business administration from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan
Deidre Torre is Director of Client Services for ITECS. Torre has a BA in environmental science from the University of Virginia. She has five years of experience performing a wide range of consulting tasks including report preparation and field research relating to projects falling under NEPA, CWA, ESA, RCRA, CERCLA, and other state and local governances. Her experience includes working on large municipal projects including airport expansions, roadway construction, and educational facility improvements. Deidre has a proven record of establishing good rapport with both clients and agencies to achieve conflict resolution and obtain project objectives.
ITECS Employees
Lisa Rooney is program manager for ITECS. She has been supporting ITECS clients for several years. She has extensive experience at three research universities in their sponsored research and technology transfer departments. She also has outstanding contacts in the Department of Energy, the USDA, and several national labs. She has developed teams of business, university partners and government agencies to launch a variety of technologies. She has a law degree from Capital University Law School and a BA in sociology from The Ohio State University.
Jo Anne Goodnight is a Program Manager for ITECS. Goodnight brings more than 26 years of experience working with various government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In her recent tenure as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Manager for the NIH, Goodnight played a major role in shaping the NIH SBIR/STTR programs to meet industry needs and accelerate technology innovations by aligning the programs with strategic partnership and investment market opportunities. She was also involved in the development and implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding opportunities through the NIH and has extensive experience in helping researchers and companies identify and secure NIH funding.
Phil Smith, PhD is a Program Manager for ITECS and a technology consultant with broad experience in scientific research, new technology development, and writing and managing government proposals. Phil has published numerous white papers and government grant proposal requests for The Ohio State University, Traycer Diagnostic Systems, and other high-technology clients. He serves as the director of scientific research for Traycer Diagnostic Systems, where he manages federal projects and budgets designed to commercialize record-performing detector and array architectures for sub-millimeter wave imaging. He is well versed in conducting early-stage technology investigations and evaluating monetization potential for clients. He is a frequent presenter and publisher in the scientific community. Phil earned his PhD in physics from The Ohio State University.
Dan Coughlin is a Program Manager for ITECS and brings a wealth of new product development experience to ITECS’ clients. In his years of working as an engineer at both GE and Sappi Fine Paper, he was promoted from technical specialist to research director with responsibilities for developing and launching new products and related technologies. He is the recipient of several management and technical innovation awards and served as the Nanotechnology Chair for the Agenda 2020 Program within the American Forest & Paper Association. As an active industrial partner, Dan has worked with the Department of Energy to support renewable energy and sustainability projects within the paper industry. Dan has also been a supporting industrial partner in several National Science Foundation projects with extensive experience collaborating with universities. He has a BS and an MS in chemical engineering from the University of Maine.
Barbara Felton is New Business Development Manager for ITECS. Felton has held a broad range of experience ranging from insurance adjuster, to auditor, to executive recruiter for Travelers Insurance and Bradly and Morris. She joined ITECS in May 2004 both in an administrative role and a marketing function. In 2009 she moved into sales where she has been instrumental in delighting our clients by providing the right service at the right time. Barbara has a BS in psychology and sociology from East Texas State.
Christine Van Steen is Research Director for ITECS. She graduated magna cum laude from Long Island University with an MA in public administration with an emphasis on health care administration. Her coursework involved extensive research in public policy as it pertains to healthcare issues. She completed a thesis examining the political process involved in the creation of public policy as it pertains to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. Her projects completed with ITECS over the past two years include identifying government funds for research in markets that range from health care, to agricultural, to materials, to alternative energy, to defense and homeland security applications.
ITECS Congressional and Government Agency Reach
Bianca Beeks has over 10 years of experience with the federal budget process from both the executive and legislative branch perspectives. Prior to consulting, Bianca served as the primary representative to the executive and legislative branches of government for Navmar Applied Sciences Corp., an R&D firm focused on defense and homeland security technologies. In that capacity, Bianca developed strategies for growing the business through congressional advocacy and direct interaction with federal departments. In addition, Bianca worked eight years supporting the Navy as the congressional liaison for multi-billion dollar shipbuilding programs, where she gained extensive experience in formulating and executing congressional strategies. In the last several years, Bianca’s focus has shifted to Department of Energy research programs. She has helped clients position their technologies for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Bianca earned a BA from the University of Washington and an MA in national security policy from George Washington University. She has also completed courses of study in appropriations law, congressional operations, and advanced congressional budget procedures. Bianca holds a SECRET security clearance.
John Banisaukas specializes in government contracts program management and administration. John has a dual BS degree in chemistry and mathematics from Baldwin-Wallace College. He has a broad background and over 39 years experience in advanced composite materials with Cytec Engineering Materials, BP Amoco, and Union Carbide. During his various roles and capacities, he was also responsible for administrative and technical management of government (Department of Defense) contracts worth in excess of $25 million, as well as external customer and internal manufacturing technical support for all grades of carbon and graphite fiber-based composite products. He is the author or co-author of more than 40 standardized methods, procedures, and technical publications in the field of testing and characterization of carbon fibers and engineering composite materials. John served six years as the chairman of the Suppliers of Advanced Composite Materials Association (SACMA) Technical Affairs Steering Committee and is a member of several professional organizations. He supports ITECS in securing funding for their clients and helping clients execute contracts.
Christopher Bordeaux has 33 years with the Department of Energy (DOE). He served as senior advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Energy Policy and provided the interagency leadership for the Clean Energy Technology Export Initiative. He managed the DOE’s technology validation in the hydrogen program. This resulted in the demonstration of several first-time installations of novel technologies at hydrogen fueling stations and hydrogen power parks throughout the US (2001-2004). He provides our clients access to the DOE.
Rick Carne has 30 years experience as a small business owner, corporate executive, an appointed and elected government official, and consultant. Rick had a successful business career in the retail, consumer products, and utility sectors before entering public service. He spent 17 years as the key advisor to Ohio’s Third District Congressman, Tony Hall. One of the responsibilities in this role was to support technology companies through the appropriations process in different agencies. He supports our clients in developing new technologies by leveraging both state and federal governments. He has strong ties on both sides of the aisle in both the House and the Senate. Rick has a BA in business administration/political science from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
Doug Freitag has over 25 years experience developing and commercializing advanced materials and related technologies for application to structural, electronic, photonic, bio, and energy devices. For the last 15 years he has supported both industry and government clients in market research, acquisition and alliances, engineering analysis, business development, technology advocacy, and technology commercialization. His technical areas of expertise include microelectronics, device packaging, flat panel displays, MEMS, composite materials, coatings, advanced ceramics, electronic substrates, biotechnology, photonics, advanced manufacturing, and energy generation and storage. Doug has participated in a broad range of federal science and technology initiatives with federal agency/lab relationships throughout the Department of Energy, NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, and the National Science Foundation. Doug has an MS in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
Meg Irvin has extensive experience at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where she was the technology development associate for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, program analyst for the Office of Management Assessment and legislative officer for the Office of the Director for the National Human Genome Research Institute. Prior to her work at NIH, she was an AAAS Congressional Fellow for US Senator Mark O. Hatfield, where she tracked and drafted positions on policy and legislative issues and drafted speeches and position papers for biomedical research, health care, the Endangered Species Act, and fisheries. Meg has a DVM from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University and a BA in biology from the University of Delaware.
Michael Muthig, PhD, has focused on helping secure funding and technology commercialization for emerging technologies. He has worked with universities, government labs, private companies, and individual inventors. His experience includes work with the University of South Carolina, East Carolina University, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and more than 50 privately or publicly held companies. He has worked with various technologies in a variety of fields including chemistry, biochemistry, biology, biomedical engineering, pharmacy, medicine, physics, earth science, engineering, and computer science. Michael has a PhD in geology from the University of South Carolina.
Marty Kowalsky started his career as an engineering manager for the automotive industry in Detroit. As a consultant, he helps ITECS’ clients capture research funding and develop procurement opportunities. For the ITECS interfaces, the assignment is usually “selling to the military” for the ITECS material supplier client, where obtaining the military’s support and advocacy for a project is required. Marty can operate as either a financial analyst or a purchasing agent. Marty is a graduate mechanical engineer and a graduate architect from The City College of New York.
Paula Stevenson, PhD, has extensive experience working in several National Science Foundation (NSF) centers. She has spent the last 10 years at the College of Engineering at Ohio State as program director for the NSF’s Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) on Affordable Nanoengineering of Polymer Biomedical Devices. She has also served as the Education Director for the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program on Molecular Engineering of Microdevices and Administrator for the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Advanced Polymers and Composite Engineering. Paula has a PhD in civil and environmental engineering and geodetic science and a BS in engineering physics with a specialty in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University.
Deb Russell has extensive experience in both the medical devices and pharmaceutical industries working as a vice president and managing director for Guidant Medical Devices and a manager for Eli Lilly. Over the last two years she has helped both for-profit companies and universities position their technologies for funding both at Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense. Deb has a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from the University of Michigan Executive Program for Finance.
Sandra L. Kessler has more than 30 years experience in materials testing, technical support, marketing, and sales of specialty fiberglass and composite products to a broad industrial base. After retiring from PPG Industries in 2004, she started a consulting practice providing market development and technical support for a variety of clients.
At PPG, Sandra managed PPG’s ESM (Electronics and Specialty Materials) Science and Technology Group. In this post she led the R&D staff and oversaw the facilities and equipment involved in the R&D operation. During the 1990s, she lived and worked in Asia and Europe as a reinforcements technical manager, where she served as liaison between agents/distributors/customers and PPG’s marketing and manufacturing organizations. She also chaired ASTM D20.10.02; was editor for ASTM STP 936, Instrumented Impact Testing of Plastics and Composites Materials; and authored a chapter about glass fibers in Edenbaum’s Plastics Additives and Modifiers Handbook. She is a member of the American Composites Manufacturers Association, LES, and PDMA. Sandra has BS and MS degrees in physics from the University of Florida.
Barbara McCutchan, PhD, is a sustainability expert with 20 plus years of experience in the packaging and forestry industry. She has a strong record as a catalyst for change in corporate responsibility and global sustainability. She leads by example with teams and external organizations to leverage the strength of a corporation in making the world a better place, while still making a profit. She develops policy and builds capacity within organizations to embed sustainability practices. Her focal areas include Integrating Sustainability into Operations, Customer and Investor Responses (DJSI World application), Sustainability Reporting, Ethical Supply Chain Sourcing, and Forest Genetics. Before consulting with ITECS, Barbara was affiliated with MeadWestvaco Corporation. Barbara has a PhD and MS in forestry and statistics from North Carolina State University and a BS in forestry from the University of California- Berkeley.
In addition, ITECS has a strong partnership with Strategic Marketing Innovations, Inc. Below are some of the key staff that support our initiatives.
P J Dougherty is a member of Helios Strategies, a new business unit of Strategic Marketing Innovations (SMI), created to provide a range of services to clients and financial institutions with the goal of driving investment into the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. The firm also helps shape the policy landscape to make new energy firms viable and prosperous. PJ brings more than 15 years of federal service at the Department of Energy (DOE) to SMI. Having previously served in positions at the DOE, including deputy chief of staff in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, acting director of the Wind and Hydropower Division, and senior advisor in the Office of Policy and International Affairs, he brings experience in a wide range of advanced energy generation technologies, including wind, hydro, geothermal, and solar, and the new water power R&D program established in 2007. PJ most recently served as the national director of Wind Powering America, a DOE program designed to accelerate the market penetration of wind technology.
Paul Gay has 14 years of experience as a senior policy and political adviser on Capitol Hill. Paul most recently served as deputy legislative director for Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, President Pro Tempore and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. In that position, Paul was one of the Senator’s floor staff and gained extensive experience in securing funding for congressionally directed projects. He also worked on energy matters and climate change legislation, as well as agriculture, space, telecommunications, and transportation policy. Previously, Paul was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Brian Baird from Washington State. Paul specialized in energy issues during the West Coast power crisis of 2000-2001. Paul also oversaw all appropriations matters and handled the Congressman’s duties with regard to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Paul served as legislative director for Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee. Paul was responsible for all of Mr. Boucher’s appropriations requests, as well as work on defense, agriculture, and transportation issues. Paul earned a BA in history and political science from Radford University and an MA in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.
Ted Lynch formed Strategic Marketing Innovations (SMI) following a 25-year career in advanced materials development. As the former technical director of an advanced composite materials company, Ted understands the benefits and pitfalls of working with the federal government. Ted was responsible for $195 million in composites sales and his vast experience acquiring and successfully managing federal contracts makes him the perfect advocate for SMI’s high-tech clients. Ted has a BA in astronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and an MA in nuclear engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His education and decades of hands-on experience have shaped the SMI philosophy of thoroughly exploring all the technical implications of new technologies.
Proposal Writing Expertise
Larry Cravey has over 30 years of experience as an environmental scientist. He has worked in a corporate environment and as a consultant to industrial, commercial, and regulatory clients in the US, Asia, and Europe. He holds a BS in management science from Limestone College in Gaffney, SC. Cravey has operated and maintained air, meteorology, and water monitoring networks and conducted numerous compliance and due diligence assessments. As a supervising scientist in Duke Power Company’s Environmental Services Section, he managed a group of engineers, scientists, and technicians who provided environmental monitoring and support services for the nuclear and fossil fuel departments. As a member of the ITECS team, he has edited proposals and is supporting the development of internal procedures and policies.
Burr Zimmerman, PhD, graduated with a doctorate in chemical and biomolecular engineering from The Ohio State University. He has extensive experience capturing funds for a variety of economic development and technical grants at the federal and state level. He also has managed technical and commercial grant programs. His technical expertise includes chemicals, biotechnology, manufacturing, advanced materials, alternative energy, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.
Government Contract Management
Alan Ayers is the founder of Strategic Innovation Group LLC, which helps companies align their R&D and innovation to best exploit accelerated profitable growth. He is also president of Integrated Dual-use Commercial Companies (IDCC), a consortium of Fortune 1000 high-technology firms dedicated to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of federal government procurement and R&D interaction with commercial firms. Alan retired from Energizer Battery, Inc. as a senior manager of External Technology. He was accountable to source outside products and capabilities, provide strategic technology and business planning, and obtain government funds in support of Energizer’s R&D objectives.
From 2004 through 2006 at the Industrial Research Institute, Alan chaired the Research-on-Research Committee, which develops leading-edge practices, tools, and techniques to improve technological innovation in industry. In addition, Alan has chaired the Radical Innovation Subcommittee since 2001 in cooperation with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Babson College, which led to a new book, Grabbing Lightning: Building a Capability for Breakthrough Innovation. He is currently a chair for the Level 5 Innovation Subcommittee, which is exploring emerging practices at leading edge innovative companies and has authored several articles on innovation.
Alan has a BS in chemistry from St. Lawrence University and an MBA with honors from Baldwin-Wallace College.
Richard Maresca is focused on handling all administrative and legal aspects of contract and grant instruments with US government, particularly the military branches, and the state of Ohio. He has interfaced with, and reported to, federal and state government funding agencies. He has managed relationships with for-profit, non-profit and academic institutions, such as Wright State University, University of Dayton, The Ohio State University, Georgia Tech University, Johns Hopkins University, Edison Materials Technology Center, Boeing, SAIC, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Pratt & Whitney. He has been responsible for handling all contract administration and legal affairs, especially contracts involving state or federal funding, for the Dayton Development Coalition family of companies: Dayton Development Coalition, Inc.; Development Research Corp.; Development Projects, Inc.; National Composite Center; Miami Valley Economic Development, Ltd.; North Central Campus for Emerging Technologies; and the Dayton Campus for Advanced Materials Technologies. He acts as the principal point of contact with technical monitoring for fiscal and legal personnel at the Ohio Department of Development for numerous Ohio Third Frontier grants to DDC, DPI, DRC, NCC and NCC-ET. Rich has a BA from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Cornell University.
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ITECS Network Support
Katherine H. Easterly, Marketing, Lead Generation, brings several years experience in marketing and business development to ITECS. Previously she was with Mountain Systems, Inc., a software company that was purchased by General Electric, where she was in Marketing and coordinated MSI’s sales conferences. She spent many years leading and volunteering for several philanthropic organizations. Market research and lead generation are her principal responsibilities at ITECS. Katherine graduated with honors from Old Dominion University with a degree in Counseling and a minor in Special Education.
