Presenter: Dr. Randy Richards, Ph.D. from University of Iowa. Randy is the Chair Department of Managerial Studies. Second career academic, spent 20 years in management prior to full time teaching Expertise in Conflict Management, Human Resource Management, Leadershi...
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   Ronald D. Snee, PhD
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Sponsored by the Automotive Division of the American Society for Quality
ASQ - American Society for Quality

About the Presenters


Ron Atkinson is Chairman of the Board and Quality Systems Manager for General Motors. He has been an ASQ member for more than 20 years, and on the ASQ board of directors for seven years. Atkinson spent six years on the Michigan Quality Council (Baldrige based) examining board. He has taught classes on many quality-related subjects at several educational institutions in the United States and has also been on the curriculum advisory board for three U.S. colleges. He holds a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from Wayne State University, an MBA from Louisiana State University, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in mechanical engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Jim Black has more than 33 years of engineering and operations management experience implementing quality teams, continuous improvement and focused factories. Areas of specialty include Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, Six Sigma and Lean Strategic Planning. Jim has been employed by Frigidaire Company in Webster City as Plant Engineering and Kaizen Manager and in Jefferson as Assembly Operations Manager; Kohler Company, Kohler, Wisconsin as Corporate Supervisor of Administrative Work Management; and Rockwell International, Rockford, Illinois as Industrial Engineering Manager. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Jim is an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Davis Bothe has over 31 years of experience working, teaching, and consulting in the field of process improvement. His credentials include; ASQ Fellow, ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer, and IQI Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He holds a B.S. degree in Applied Math and Physics, and an MBA from the University of Wisc.-Milwaukee. He has served on ASQ’s National Education Board, reviews books and software for ASQ’s Quality Press, is a member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to the ISO Technical Committee 69 on Applications of Statistical Methods, and is on the editorial review board for the International Journal of Six Sigma. He has worked for NASA, General Motors, and as an Adjunct Professor of Statistics for Eastern Michigan University. Currently he serves as the Director of Quality Improvement for the International Quality Institute.

Rick Copenhaver has been with Wieland Designs for 20 years in various capacities and the director of continuous improvement for the last ten. Wieland has diversified into products ranging from airline seat covers to medical furniture. Rick has successfully implemented ISO 9000 systems into locations throughout the country. He has spoken at conferences at the FCCI International group on ISO, published in the ASQ on The Three W’s, and has been an ISO provisional lead auditor. He has used his quality and system leadership to serve on the Workforce Investment Board for seven years for North Central Indiana, and was president of a parochial school board.

Ellen Domb, Ph.D. is the editor of The TRIZ Journal, http://www.triz-journal.com, and the principal TRIZ consultant for the PQR Group in Upland, CA, USA. TRIZ is Dr. Domb’s 6th career: she has been a physics professor, an aerospace engineer, an engineering manager, a product line general manager, and a strategic planning/quality improvement consultant. Ellen’s work is focused on helping companies add the TRIZ creativity methods to Six Sigma systems, to improve problem solving and product/service/process development.

Kevin Duggan is the founder of the Institute for Operational Excellence. The Institute is located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Kevin is also the author of Creating Mixed Model Value Streams, a book that outlines in detail how to create lean value streams in real, life complex environments. An expert in developing and applying advanced lean techniques over the past 9 years, Kevin has formally educated and assisted many major corporations in building lean value streams and creating operational excellence in their organizations. His work spans globally as he defines operational excellence and provides companies with a practical roadmap for how to obtain it. Kevin is also a faculty member at the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) and an instructor for the University of Michigan.

Dr. Dan Ebener, D.B.A. from St. Ambrose University. Second career academic, over 20 years in leadership and management prior to full time teaching. Expertise in strategic planning, leadership theory, assessing leadership skills, conflict resolution, servant leadership and team-building.

Lori Glander, President of Learning Leverage LLC, has twenty-five years experience working in corporate and nonprofit organizations. Her career has spanned four manufacturing companies in many functions including training, sales, purchasing, quality assurance, and value engineering. Since 1991, she has specialized in training and education, including managing a training department for a high-growth company. Lori has led many groups including project teams. She brings this practical and proven experience to the courses she teaches. Lori has a Master’s degree in Training & Development, and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Industrial Technology.

Ed Haines has 40 years in the Automotive and Commercial Heat Treat industries. His positions ranged from Metallurgical engineer, Quality Manager, Plant Manager/Director of Operations to present day position. He is involved with management of quality systems, production control, and quality engineering. Product/process involvement: Malleable Iron castings; Crankshaft manufacture; Seat recliner manufacture and assembly; Commercial heat treating for automotive and aerospace industries. Ed has familiarity with operations in forging, casting, machining, grinding, induction hardening, and heat treating (thru hardening, case hardening, solution treat & age). Ed received his Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan State University.

Judy Hendren, President of Hendren Enterprises, has over forty years of experience in Human Resources. She spent over 30 years with a manufacturing company in the areas of Human Resource Administration, Training and as a Team Advisor. Her career also included work with several nonprofit organizations and she continues to lend her expertise to them. Since retiring from full time employment, she has continued a part-time career in training. Judy’s communication skills and experience help to make her an effective trainer and facilitator.

Gary Nesteby is the Executive Director at the Iowa Quality Center, And Executive Director of the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence; Iowa’s Baldrige based quality award process. Gary has been involved in quality management and performance excellence for 30 years and is a five year examiner and two years Senior Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program. He has significant experience in the areas of team building, problem solving tools, Covey’s Seven Habits, statistical process control, strategic planning and has work with education, government, health care, non profit, service and manufacturing sectors to develop performance improvement systems. He is part of the adjunct faculty at Kirkwood Community College, Chairman of the Marion Planning and Zoning Commission.

Dr. William 'Bill' Parsons, Ph.D. from Political Science, University of Arizona. William is the Chair Department of Political Science. Expertise in Leadership Theory and Practices, Political & Civic Leadership, American Government, U.S. Institutions, American Public Policy, Public Administration, Environmental and Natural Resources Policy, Urban Politics, Public Opinion, Crime Policy.

Dr. Randy Richards, Ph.D. from University of Iowa. Randy is the Chair Department of Managerial Studies. Second career academic, spent 20 years in management prior to full time teaching Expertise in Conflict Management, Human Resource Management, Leadership Practices, Team Building, and Business Ethics.

Denise Robitaille is an internationally recognized speaker who brings years of experience in business and industry to the quality profession. In 2005, she was recognized in Quality Digest as one of the "Drivers of Quality." She is a member of US TAG to ISO/TC176, a RAB-QSA certified lead assessor, an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor, and a senior member of ASQ. She has helped numerous companies in diverse fields to achieve ISO 9001 registration and to improve their quality management system. Denise’s books include: The Corrective Action Handbook, The Management Review Handbook, The Preventive Action Handbook, Root Cause Analysis: Basic Tools and Techniques, Document Control and Managing Supplier Related Processes.

Carl Saunders retired from Caterpillar, Inc in January of 2003 where he initiated Cat’s 6 Sigma Pilot in 1998. At that time he was Cat’s first Corporate Level, Lean Six Sigma "Master" Master Black Belt Sensei. Carl had been with Caterpillar for 27 years and served in a variety of Manufacturing, Purchasing, Logistics, Quality and Operations Management positions. Carl received his Master Black Belt Certification from Allied Signal in 1998. Carl is a Founding Member of the US TAG for ISO26000, the new ISO Standard on Social Responsibility. He is also a member of the American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee Z-1 on Quality Assurance and co-chair of the ANSI Task Group. Carl is a member of ASQ’s Six Sigma Forum Creation Team and the Editorial Review Board of ASQ’s "Six Sigma Magazine."

Dr. Regina Stephens, Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. Regina is the Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. She is recognized for her Expertise in Social Psychology, Social Gerontology, Statistics, Medical Sociology, Work group interaction, Medical Sociology, and Research Methods.

Tim Sullivan has been an Industrial Specialist for Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) for 15 years. He helps manufacturers develop and implement a customized and sustainable process of on-going improvement by applying the principles of constraint management and teaching tools from lean, continuous quality improvement, and team building. Prior to coming to ISU, Tim spent 11 years with John Deere in various training and marketing capacities, and was a high school industrial education teacher and coach. Tim is a member of TOC-ICO (the International Certification Organization for the Theory of Constraints) and serves as the chair of the Dictionary Committee. In TOC jargon, he is a "Jonah’s Jonah."

Greg Van Grinsven is Manager of Lean & Six Sigma at Deere & Co. where he has worked since 1974. In this role, Greg leads John Deere’s enterprise-wide global initiatives for lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and product complexity management. He has held manufacturing engineering and operations management positions at various John Deere factories including Harvester, Welland, Horicon, and Turf Care. In 2003 Greg was named Deere Production System Project Manager for the Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division. A native of Wisconsin, Greg is a 1974 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration & economics. He received a MBA in 1983 from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.

Steve B. Vardeman is a University Professor with appointments in the Statistics Department and Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department at Iowa State University. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in Statistics from Michigan State University. Vardeman is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an (elected) Ordinary Member of the International Statistical Institute. He was the winner of the 1994 ASEE Meriam-Wiley Distinguished Author Award. for an outstanding new engineering textbook, Statistics for Engineering Problem Solving. He has published over 50 authored and co-authored papers in refereed journals, was Editor of Technometrics from 1993 to 1995.

David M. Verduyn is the President of C2C Solutions Inc. with 21 years industry experience in Design and Systems Engineering, Technical Instruction, Product Development Consulting & Technical Course Development. Since 1983 he has trained over 10,000 engineers & product developers in leading Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Methods including Systematic Innovation, VOC, QFD, eQFD, TRIZ, FMEA, CAD, VA/VE, and more. Dave has a broad range of practical experience including Automotive, Consumer and Industrial products, Medical Systems, Defense and Service Industries. He splits his time between Client Workshops, In-House Training, Research, Course Development, and "Hands On" Project based Consulting.

Dr. Ron Wastyn is the Director, Master of Organizational Leadership Program. His Expertise lies in Decision-Making and Leadership, Strategic Communication and Leadership, Building and Strengthening Teams, Theories of Leadership, and Conflict Resolution. Dr. Wastyn holds a Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh.
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