Craig Rowles | Operations and Product Development Consultant 

Craig Rowles is an experienced senior operations executive and entrepreneur. He has held various positions including vice president of operations, general manager, director of engineering, and product manager. In the past 5 years Craig co-founded and headed operations for two successful companies. The first he formed in 2001 to patent and exclusively license a revolutionary design for storage, transport and dispensing of viscous fluids, which The Sherwin-Williams Co. is now producing in millions of units per year. For the second, in 2003 Craig moved to Santa Barbara to start up operations at Atomate Corp., a developer and producer of new nanostructure synthesis systems and products. Most recently Craig worked with Inogen, Inc., of Goleta, in leading the transition of their operations through initial product release and completing the groundwork for a strategic supply chain restructuring.

Prior to moving to CA, Craig worked for 20 years at United Technologies Corporation in various management, manufacturing and engineering positions. He has extensive experience in program management, integrated product & process development, management of technology, commercial and military business development, supply chain management, and customer service, and has implemented quality initiatives, lean techniques and six-sigma processes in critical-tolerance manufacturing. He has effectively managed a team of over 200 people and led complex international commercial and government programs, managing capital and expense budgets of up to $25MM.

Craig has an MS in Management and Engineering from the MIT Sloan School of Management and School of Engineering and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

John Celmins | Lo-Cost Lodging, Inc. 

John Celmins is the President of Lo-Cost Lodging, Inc. a real estate investment company based in Santa Barbara, CA. Previously, John worked at Moss Motors, automotive aftermarket company, as a program manager and product development engineer. He has also worked for Sun Microsystems as an operations research associate, and for General Motors as an advanced powertrain engineer and concept vehicle engineer.

He has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engineers for more than a decade, and is active in the Santa Barbara Young Professionals Club and Santa Barbara Rental Property Association.

John has an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also holds a Master of Engineering in Automotive Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a BSME from Kettering University (formerly GMI).

Sejal Hall | Ph.D. Candidate, Chemical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara 

Sejal Hall is a Ph.D. Candidate in the department of Chemical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on the area of protein engineering and its applications to therapeutic delivery and molecular diagnostics. She is currently developing a method to identify disease biomarkers, enabling early diagnosis. In support of this work, she has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a California Nanosystems Institute Graduate Fellowship.

While at UCSB Sejal has also earned a certificate in the Graduate Program in Management Practice and remains active in the Technology Management Program at UCSB, winning “Best Business Plan” in the 2006 New Venture Competition. Prior to attending graduate school, Sejal worked in product development of medical devices at Guidant Corporation and in the research of new molecular diagnostics at Nanogen, Inc. Sejal received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1999.

Chris Hill | Riviera Insurance Services, LLC. 

Christopher Hill is the founder and President of Riviera Insurance Services, LLC. With over 26 years of experience in the insurance industry, Chris has proven himself as a competent leader, gaining the respect of his customers and employees within the community. In his previous corporate position, as President of Ogilvy-Hill Insurance, Christopher organized and led a team that produced a remarkable 340 percent growth during his 11 year tenure.

After graduating from Santa Clara University, Chris began his career with Fireman's Fund. This early start provided Chris with a solid base for understanding the pricing and underwriting concerns that impact business and individuals. In addition, The American Institute for Property and Liability Underwriters has conferred upon Chris the designation of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (C.P.C.U.).

Gary Barsley | SolarWorld Industries 

Gary is Director of Projects for SolarWorld Industries (formerly Shell Solar), in Camarillo, CA, responsible for marketing & sales support, product development, and project execution of large solar projects for commercial customers. SolarWorld manufactures solar modules, and installs large systems worldwide.

Gary Barsley has 26 years experience in marketing, sales, projects, product development, engineering and construction management in energy and environmental tech. fields. Gary has worked on solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro, nuclear, & fossil-fueled (coal, oil, & natural gas) generation technologies.

Prior to SolarWorld and Shell Solar, Gary assisted small startup firms with marketing, business strategy, and new product development. Gary was also a Vice President at Edison International's new ventures subsidiary, Edison Select.

Gary also worked at Southern California Edison, most recently as Manager of Generation Projects/Construction, and worked at Fluor Engineers, and Raytheon Co. He holds a BS in Mech. & Environ. Engineering from UCSB and an MBA (Marketing), from CSU Fullerton.

Gary is active in local non-profit professional organizations, including groups related to technology, education, energy & venture funding, such as CCMIT; SB Million Solar Roofs group, and the B & TP Energy Committee at CSU Channel Islands. He is also a frequent speaker to schools & community groups on topics of solar & renewable energy.

Susan Block | Block, Bowman & Associates, LLC 

Co-founder of Block, Bowman & Associates, LLC, an investment banking firm. Susan Block has over 15 years experience as an investment banker specializing in mergers and acquisitions - previously in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Montgomery Securities and as a Vice President at Mercantile Capital Corporation. While at Montgomery Securities, Ms. Block worked on merger assignments across all industries and was responsible for the sale of Safeway's Liquor Barn operations by Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts. As a principal of Block, Bowman & Associates, LLC, Ms. Block works primarily with software, high tech and healthcare firms.

Ms. Block earned her MBA at the University of Wisconsin.

Daniel Brooks | MWH Americas 

Dan Brooks is a project engineer for Montgomery Watson Harza, a large engineering and environmental consulting company. With a background in environmental engineering and microbiology, Dan's professional interests lie in the commercialization of clean technologies. Prior to working at MWH, Dan worked for Arthur D. Little and Marine Research Specialists as a consultant to the oil, gas, and power generation industries. Dan also co-founded a Santa Barbara restaurant delivery company in 2000.

Dan has a BS in environmental engineering from MIT and an MS in mechanical and environmental engineering from UCSB. He was a semifinalist and finalist in his respective schools' business plan competitions.

Tom Burk | Nasif, Hicks, Harris, & Company, LLP 

Tom Burk serves a large number of individual, corporate, and partnership clients. He helps his clients create and maintain wealth by providing complex tax planning and return preparation, IRS representation, entity choice planning, financial statement compilations, business consulting, and retirement planning.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1992, Tom began his accounting career as an accounting supervisor with Circon Corporation. Tom began his career in public accounting in 1996 and has been with Nasif, Hicks, Harris, & Company, LLP since 1997, being promoted to partner in 2005.

Michael Daoud, Visus LLC |

Michael is the founder and President of Visus LLC a growing Information Technology company in Santa Barbara. Visus LLC was founded in 1994 and specializes in custom software development with a focus on web applications, data automation and integration, information management, and executive reporting using the latest database and web technologies. Visus LLC serves both public and private sectors.

Michael began his career with Delco Electronics as a Systems Engineer in the Automotive Electronics Division and worked on advanced vehicle systems including GM’s Electric Vehicle.

Michael is a graduate of UCSB and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honors in Electrical Engineering. Michael is also a graduate of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management where he completed the Management Development for Entrepreneurs program. This rigorous program helped Michael learn the latest theory and practice in the areas of strategy, marketing, finance, and management.

Michael has served on the boards of SABER and The SBBA and as the co-chair of United Way’s High Tech Campaign Division. He has also served as a member of the Pastoral Council and the Finance Committee at the Old Mission’s parish. Michael is also an active member of the UCLA Anderson Alumni network.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys spending time with his family and friends, exercising, listening to music, reading, and learning Portuguese.

Henry Dubroff, Editor & Publisher | Pacific Coast Business Times 

Henry Dubroff is editor and publisher of Pacific Coast Business Times. He is the president and majority owner of the newspaper's parent company, Pacific Coast Business Times Inc., which he founded in 1999.

Among financial journalists, Dubroff is known as one of the nation's leading experts in local business news operations. He was business editor of The Denver Post from 1988 until 1995 and he served as part of a management team that rescued The Post from near bankruptcy in one of the most successful turnarounds in the newspaper industry. From 1995 until 1999 he was editor of The Denver Business Journal, a weekly newspaper that covers business in Colorado's fast-growing economy.

Dubroff is a past president of SABEW and he co-chaired a successful effort to raise $1.1 million for an endowed chair in business journalism at the University of Missouri. He also serves as publisher of "The Business Journalist," SABEWs professional journal. He was graduated from Lafayette College (1972) holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism (1982).

He is active in a number of professional and community organizations including Junior Achievement, the Central Coast Venture Forum, Ventura County Economic Development Association, UCSB Economic Forecast Project, Technology Advisory Board of California State University Channel Islands.

Leslie Edwards, Director of Corporate Business Development | Science and Engineering, UC Santa Barbara 

Leslie Edwards is currently the Director of Corporate Business Development for Science and Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. Previously she was the Manager of the Technology Management Program at UC Santa Barbara, a program that helps develop intreprenuers and entrepreneurs for the technology sector. She received a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from U.C. Davis and a B.S. in pharmacology from U.C. Santa Barbara.

Leslie has been a consultant in the field of regulatory toxicology, worked as a manager of regulatory toxicology at two start-up companies, Miravant and Remedyne, and worked in research at Amgen when there were less than 150 employees. She has an extensive background in the field of drug development and has taught classical and molecular pharmacology at U. C. Santa Barbara, as well as courses in developing FDA approved therapeutics within the biotechnology industry.

Chris Erro | Square 1 Bank 

Chris has over five years of experience in venture lending. He currently manages the Los Angeles office of Square 1 Bank. Prior to Square 1 Bank he worked with two venture lending firms. Chris held an Associate role with Santa Barbara based Agility Capital. He then transitioned to be the Senior Relationship Manager with Portland based VenCore Capital, where he oversaw the development and management of their Southern California investment portfolio.

Chris is an active member in a number of organizations focused on the development of emerging growth technology companies in the Southern California region. Chris is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in Computer Engineering.

Jacques Habra | First Click SEO 

Jacques Habra launched his professional career during his senior year at the University of Michigan. Although Habra graduated in the disciplines of English and Philosophy with Honors, he formed a technology company that later became one of the nation's leading web and Application development firms. The ability to link the gap between technology and business communications became Habra's forte' which translated into the successful deployment of over 100 Web site and Web application projects.

Habra's leadership as company founder and CEO from 1996 - 2002 led to several prestigious awards including the Anderson Young Information Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001, 3 finalist nods as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for consecutive years in 2000, 2001, and 2002, 3 GLIMA awards, and 3 Fast Track Awards.

The growing press coverage during this period recognized Web Elite's innovation, unique team building, and impressive financial growth.

Following the sale of Web Elite in 2002, Habra founded Noospheric, LLC to provide a complete cadre' of consulting and development services for emerging companies.

Since moving to Santa Barbara in late 2006, Habra has been an active participant in community organizations including acting as a board member on the Santa Barbara Riviera Association, participating as committee member with the Arthritis Foundation, and mentoring through Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Santa Barbara.

Today, Jacques Habra continues to lead Noospheric with the same creativity and entrepreneurial passion. The recent success by Noospheric portfolio SEO agency, FirstClickSEO, has been recognized and awarded by regional organizations in 2007 and 2008.

John Hunt | Compuvision 

John J. Hunt graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences in 1983. During that time Mr. Hunt was employed as a Senior Systems Engineer for a local computer systems integrator. In 1985 Mr. Hunt founded Computer Doctor which grew to become one of the leading network systems integration firms in Santa Barbara County. In 1995 John sold Computer Doctor and formed CV Enterprises, Inc. dba CompuVision, where he is currently President/CEO. John has grown CompuVision to be one of the premier network systems integration firms on the Central California coast. In 1998 a new division of CompuVision called Vision Communications was launched to provide telephone solutions, voice/data cabling design and implementation, and wireless solutions, including WiFI and Point to Point. CompuVision has expanded its core competencies to provide expertise in the arenas of WAN network security, and physical security including complex surveillance solutions. Hunt’s goal is to provide a trusted, experienced single source solution for its clients. CompuVision currently supports over eleven hundred active clients in the Western United States.

L. Robert Johnson | Founders Capital Partners  

Bob is the Managing Partner of Founders Capital Partners, a venture capital angel group focusing on early-stage technology-based businesses in the central coast region.

Prior to establishing Founders, Bob was CEO of Angenics, Inc., a biotechnology-based diagnostics company he co-founded in 1981. Before founding Angenics, Bob was the Managing Partner of the Sprout Capital Group, the venture capital arm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. He was involved in research, private equity and venture capital investing with DLJ from 1969 to 1981, and with Kidder Peabody from 1966 to 1969.

Bob is currently a member of the board of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE). He was a director of Indigo Systems Corporation until its acquisition by FLIR Systems, and a director of Genetic MicroSystems before its acquisition by Affymetrix. Bob has served on the boards of numerous public and private companies in connection with his venture activities. He is also a former Director of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and a former Governor of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC).

Bob earned a BS in physics from MIT in 1963 and an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School in 1965. He is a director of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara and a Life Member of the MIT Corporation

Brian Johnson | Sales Associate for Radius Group Commercial Real Estate 

For over four years, Brian Johnson has specialized in the leasing and sales of Office, Industrial and Retail properties, in Santa Barbara , Goleta and Carpinteria. With over nine years of total real estate experience, Brian brings energy to the industry that is seen through his high volume of transactions. In just the last two years, Brian has completed over 100 leasing and sales transactions ranging from 1,000 SF to over 20,000 SF.

In addition to the large number of transactions completed every year, Brian utilizes his background in Economics to constantly analyze the market. This makes him an integral part of South Coast Commercial Vacancy report Radius Group produces for their clients each quarter.

Prior to moving to Santa Barbara, Brian worked for several major wireless phone companies. He managed projects resulting in the leasing, permitting and construction of over 1,000 cell sites around the country.

Brian graduated from Auburn University in 1993 with a degree in Economics. Since joining Radius Group, Brian has served as coauthor of the South Coast Vacancy Update and contributed to the California Economic Forecast as coauthor of the biannual Commercial/Industrial Real Estate section. He has also been a guest speaker at the Southern California Chapter of the Appraisal Institute - Santa Barbara/Ventura Market Trends Seminar and a guest lecturer at Santa Barbara City College's Adult Education program. Brian and his wife live in Santa Barbara with their two children.

Gary Kravetz 

Gary Kravetz is a business consultant with a wide range of experience in small companies & technical companies. His most recent experience has been in recruiting & screening all types of employees & management of technical companies.

Gary graduated from UCLA with a MS in Engineering and worked for Hughes Aircraft for 15 years, where he was quickly promoted in the engineering management ranks.

He left Hughes to become a partner and EVP of a 35-person engineering company where he was in charge of all the aspects of running a technical business.

For over 10 years, Gary has been the CEO of a 25-employee recruiting company in Santa Barbara that specialized in recruiting all types of professionals for many of the companies in the Santa Barbara & Ventura area. Recruits included professionals in finance, accounting, sales management, engineering, healthcare, IT, managers and executives.

Gary has been a board member of the following organizations: Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, SB City College Business & Industry , the Central Coast MIT Enterprise Forum, SB Science & Engineering Council, SB Executive Round Table, and has served on the United Way Cabinet and the SB Scholarship Foundation Awards dinner board.

David E. Lafitte | Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth 

David E. Lafitte is a shareholder in the Santa Barbara office of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Tulane University Law School and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado. His law background includes corporate and securities, venture capital financings, IPOs and other public offerings, public and private mergers and acquisitions, and technology licensing. He represents clients involved in a diverse range of businesses including high technology, medical device and healthcare services, consumer product companies and other emerging growth companies.

David is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, and the U.S. Supreme Court Society. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Engineering Management, College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Rusty Reed | Strategy, Principal |

Mr. Reed is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Great Pacific Capital. Most recently he served in a senior finance capacity at ValueClick focusing on one of its largest subsidiaries, Commission Junction.

Prior to his position with ValueClick, Mr. Reed was the Director of Corporate Development at Fastclick. At Fastclick he facilitated the $75M private-equity recapitalization, the Company’s Initial Public Offering and, ultimately, the sale of the Company to ValueClick. Before arriving at Fastclick, he was in the Corporate Development group at Homestore.com (now Move.com), where his team closed over $180M in acquisitions. Initially, Mr. Reed began his career on the Corporate Finance side of the Investment Banking business where he focused on capital raising for technology companies. Mr. Reed holds degrees in Psychology and Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.

Mr. Reed has extensive experience in corporate valuation work for capital raising and M&A, capital structure analysis, stock option plan administration as well as financial forecast modeling.

Robert TenEyck | Strategy, Principal | Ideocore Corporation 

Robert Daniel TenEyck is co-founding Principal of Ideocore Corporation, an advertising agency that specializes in launching or re-launching brands. A political strategist at heart, TenEyck first sharpened and applied his communication skills in the political arena, serving in key strategic roles in more than 120 political contests that have helped elect officials such as mayors, US Congressmen, and just about every position in between. Today, TenEyck thinks of brand launches as events where success is linked to an intimate understanding of the audience, a carefully crafted message and measurable victory. Using this perspective, Robert helps clients establish compelling brand foundations and then position them in today’s extremely competitive media environment.

TenEyck is honored to have worked with behemoths like Mobil, Chevron, Sprint, Tenet Healthcare, the American Diabetes Association, WalMart, Smithsonian Publications and the James Irvine Foundation as well as with bright stars from the start-up world including Agility, Blue Casa, Power of Fruit, Billeo, Inogen and dozens of others. Ideocore is based in Santa Barbara, California with offices in New York and San Francisco.

Richard J. Tico | Bank of the West 

Rick is a Vice President and Commercial Banking Relationship Manager with Bank of the West in Santa Barbara. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from San Francisco State University, and an M.B.A. in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago.

His experience in the financial services, securities and corporate finance arenas include ten-years as a Chicago Board of Trade based floor broker structuring and executing interest rate derivatives transactions for Nomura Securities International's trading desk and institutional clients; two-years with Smith Barney where he initiated the corporate finance relationship with Valueclick, Inc. that ultimately led to Smith Barney's co-lead of VCLK's March 2000 IPO; and two-years with Santa Barbara based investment banking firm Streamline Capital where he worked on engagements in the wireless spectrum, sports broadcast production, environmental services and consumer products markets.

Rick is a native Santa Barbarian, and seventh generation Californian that traces his roots to the 1792 arrival of Catalan Volunteer Jose Tico at Presidio San Francisco.