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John Tillquist, PhD., is the Dean of Technology and Economic Development at the Riverside Community College District. With over twenty-seven years experience in management, development, and research in high technologies, John has held positions as senior engineer and corporate staff manager for GTE Data Services, Ameritech, and US West, has served as technology management consultant for firms in the US and Canada, and has founded two companies for software services and management consulting. He holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in information and computer science from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Tillquist is widely published and has spoken at major international conferences about strategies for economic, organizational and technological change, technology entrepreneurship, technologies management, and venture capital. He has been quoted in newspapers, radio, and business conferences regarding issues of technology, economic development, and technology start-ups. He provides expert opinion for technology legal cases in California and Canada. John has been an invited speaker for The Economist, the London School of Economics, UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Intertrust Strategic Technologies and Architectural Research laboratories (ISTAR), the Pacific Business & Law Institute, and many national and international universities. He has spoken in France, England, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, and throughout the U.S. about economic development, technology management, and entrepreneurship. |
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Robert Corona Director of the Riverside Community College’s, Center for International Trade Development (CITD). He provides counsel to companies seeking export and import assistance and is responsible for positioning the program brand within the business community through various Federal, State and County partners. Recent Activities with the California-Mexico Trade Assistance Center (CMTAC) have provided Mr. Corona with first hand insight on business activities in Mexico and NAFTA . Mr. Corona is bilingual and provides training and consulting in Spanish. In the past Mr. Corona has worked as the international sales manager with International Cosmetics Development, located in Upland, CA. He also worked for several years as an International Business Consultant with the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, where he was instrumental in assisting various companies expand their international market share. Mr. Corona holds a B.S. in Business Management. |
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Henry (Hank) Rogers has been the Director of the Riverside Community College District Center for Applied Competitive Technologies. Since September 1999. Mr. Roger’s experience spans management, quality, consultancy, training and engineering. As a consultant, Hank Roger’s career spans covers such areas as project management, quality system implementation, productivity improvement and human resources development. His project resume includes implementing quality systems such as ISO 9000 in the US and Latin America, implementing aerospace compliant SPC programs and establishing new manufacturing operations. Currently, Mr. Rogers serves as a consultant and trainer with firms in diverse industries ranging from aerospace, electronics, automotive suppliers and apparel manufacturers. Among the training programs that Hank Rogers has prepared recently, have been seminars and implementations on topics such as project management, Lean, Six Sigma, ISO 9000, TS 16949, re-engineering, SPC and quality system auditor training. Mr. Rogers holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Notre Dame, a M.S. in Industrial Technology from Illinois State University, and an MBA from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Besides his formal academic training, Hank Rogers has attended seminars on topics such as Six Sigma, Lean, SPC, ISO 9000, and Project Management topics. |
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Julie Ann Padilla is the Director for the Riverside Community College District, Procurement Assistance Center (PAC). She is responsible for the delivery of procurement related services to businesses interested in selling their products or services to federal, state and local governments. She has worked with businesses in the government contracting arena for more than seven years. Mrs. Padilla joined the Procurement Technical Assistance Center of Puerto Rico in 2000, as a Procurement Specialist, and became ProgramManager in 2002. She is a member of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers and the Department of Defense Western Regional Council for Small Business Education and Advocacy. Mrs. Padilla has a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, where she Major in Marketing and candidate for Master Degree in Communication with a Major in Public Relations from Sacred Heart University in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has received a series of certifications from the Contracting Program at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, for completed courses in: Federal Contracting Basics, Construction Contracting, Source Selection: The Best Value Process and Negotiation Strategies and Techniques. |
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Mark Mitchell is a strategist who is passionate about helping entrepreneurs. He is a speaker, trainer and consultant with a mission to support businesses and individuals alike in defining and achieving greater success. His background includes more than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, management and consulting. In sales and marketing, Mark has successfully doubled sales and helped capture market share for a variety of organizations. As President and consultant of the Mark Mitchell Group, establish in 1988, Mark provided businesses and clients with customized strategies and techniques in the areas of marketing, leadership development, customer service, and sales. Mark began working with the Orange County Small Business Development Center in 2002 and is currently the Director of the TriTech Small Business Development Center focusing on assisting high technology, high growth businesses raise equity funding and compete in the marketplace. At TriTech, Mark continues doing what he is passionate about: helping businesses and entrepreneurs launch and sustain highly productive, highly successful businesses. |
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Robert Grajeda is the Director of Corporate and Business Development, Customized Solutions, the contract training organization for Riverside Community College District (RCCD). Customized Solutions takes the “College to the Community”, providing tailor-made services to improve employee performance for businesses and municipalities in the Riverside Community College District’s service area. Robert has a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from the University of La Verne and led his own consulting company for over 15 years, providing training to businesses and not-for-profit organizations throughout the country before coming to work for the RCCD. Robert’s areas of training expertise include curriculum development, English as a Second Language, Communications and Process Improvement Techniques. |
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Jeffrey A. Williamson is the Statewide Director of the Centers for International Trade Development (CITD), hosted by Riverside Community College District. Providing leadership over 14 international business assistance (CITD) offices throughout California. The Centers for International Trade Development are funded through the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program. From 1996 – 2003, Mr. Williamson was the Director of the Center for International Trade Development at Riverside Community College, providing international business education and assistance to several hundred California companies. Jeff Williamson brought seven years of private industry international business experience to this position. From 1994—1996, he operated, Sowade USA (an SME) exporting consumer electronic products to international accounts in Europe, the Middle East, Central America and Asia. He also represented Specialty Plastics Products Inc., the leading U.S. manufacturer and top DOD supplier of PASGT Body Armor Systems, in Thailand and Poland. From 1993-1994, Mr. Williamson held the position of International Sales Manager for a leading video games accessories manufacturer, NAKI International, selling consumer electronics to major mass merchants accounts throughout Europe including Karstadt-Quelle GmbH, PORST AG, Carrefour S.A., and Interdiscount AG. Jeff Williamson has also served as Export Administrator for Allergan , Inc. (NYSE: AGN), and as Export traffic Manager at Norton Lilly International Inc. in Philadelphia. Mr. Williamson has a B.A. Economics Degree from Arizona State University and an MBA at California State University at Fullerton. In September of 2000 he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to serve on the District export Council. |

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