Prior to being hired as the Director of the UNM Los Alamos SBDC, Don worked at the Tennessee SBDC in Knoxville as a Sr. Counselor for three years. Clients there included several large and small restaurants, glass, metal and plastic manufacturers and various retail and service businesses. He taught two start-up classes a week and a “How to Write a Business Plan” workshop monthly.
Prior to moving to Tennessee, Don was the Director/ Counselor of the NW Ohio SBDC for over 16 years. He started the SBDC in the 6 county-area and it developed into one of the most active centers in the state. The area was influenced considerably by the automobile industry and clients included many manufacturing plants in metal, plastic and other areas. The center was located in a regional shopping area and there was a lot of activity in the retail industry.
In both Tennessee and, particularly, in Ohio, his client base consisted of about 60% existing business and 40% start-up. A specialty was using cash flow forecasts to assist clients in finding real costs for capital in both a start-up or expansion mode. The information was also used to help develop loan packages for banks and private investors.
In the private sector, Don owned and operated a printing franchise in downtown Portland, Oregon for several years after working for a division of a medium-sized corporation based in Detroit. He served as Human Resources Director for the Division with 21 plants spread across the U.S. and he handled all contract negotiations for the plants as well as EEOC compliance and professional development.
The last several years with the corporation included assignments as Plant Manager for medium to small plants consisting of 120 to 450 employees. Responsibilities as Plant Manager included full P & L responsibility, sales, marketing, production and human resource management. Plant assignments were in Allentown, PA, Fort Wayne, IN, Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA.
Education includes a BS in Education and Psychology from Pittsburg State University and Certified Business Analyst status in Ohio and Tennessee.