Kim Garber

Director, Small Business Programs @ Wisconsin Procurement Institute

Carol Murphy

Government Contract Specialist @ Wisconsin Procurement Institute

Marc Violante

Director, Federal Market Strategies @ Wisconsin Procurement Institute

Tim Connelly

Government Contract Lawyer @ Tim Connelly Law PLLC

Tim Connelly is an experienced government contract lawyer serving the legal needs of large, medium and small businesses in all areas of federal, state, and local government contracts. He helps businesses with all aspects of negotiation, administration and compliance typically associated with government business agreements of all kinds. He uses his extensive background in government contract law and administrative law to provide his clients creative, cost-effective and practical approaches to the most important legal opportunities and challenges. Tim retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after serving 20 years on active duty as a Judge Advocate. While in the Army, Tim handled government contract cases before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and various federal and state courts and administrative bodies. He also counseled government clients in a wide variety of government contract and administrative law matters. Tim is past president of the Twin Cities Chapter of the National Contract Management Association and a member of the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association. Tim was selected as Veteran Small Business Champion by the Small Business Administration in 2014 and was selected to serve on Minnesota’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force representing the interests of Veteran business owners in Minnesota State contracting programs. Tim is a frequent lecturer in all areas of government contract law and compliance, and represents Veterans pro bono in appeals of denials of claims for disability benefits before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Tim and his wife Leslie have three grown children and live in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Kimberly Hutchinson

Small Business Specialist @ U.S. GSA, Great Lakes Region 5, OSDBU

Benjie Hayek

Transporation Construction Engineer @ Oneida Engineering Solutions

Benjie Hayek has been working in the transportation industry for over 30 years as both a contractor and civil engineer utilizing her extensive construction experience to successfully lead WisDOT, municipal and county construction projects. She also works directly WisDOT DBE Supportive Services assisting DBE contractor and professional services firms to define and work towards achieving their goals of business growth through the WisDOT Mentor-Protégé Program, capacity business building assessments and one-on-one training. All of Benjie’s experience, knowledge, and dedication to producing successful projects and working with DBE firms has led Benjie to be named as one of Wisconsin’s Top 25 Women in Construction for 2019. Benjie also works with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as a senior engineering working to rebuild infrastructure in other countries after natural disasters under the UN Disaster Relief Program and since 2009, has worked with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) to train young US engineers as well as in country engineers and local labor forces in Central America to build a better infrastructure and future for generations to come.

LTC Susan M. Styer

Commander @ DCMA Milwaukee

Lieutenant Colonel Sue Styer is a native of Random Lake, Wisconsin. She entered the Army Reserves in September 1988 as a Hospital Food Service Specialist and was assigned to the 452nd General Support Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In January 2001, she graduated from the Army’s Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia and was commissioned into the Quartermaster Corps. Sue is a graduate of the Army’s Quartermaster Officer Basic Course, the Logistics Advanced Course, the Command and General Staff College, Acquisition Officer’s Basic and Advanced Courses, and Airborne School. She is Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III certified in Contracting, Level III in Program Management, Level I IT and is a certified member of the United States Army’s Acquisition Corps. Lieutenant Colonel Styer’s assignments include Platoon Leader (FWD) and Executive Officer, 542nd Maintenance Support Company, Fort Lewis, Washington; Assistant S4, 1st Special Forces Group (A), and Assistant Support Operations Officer, 1st SFC (A) Group Support Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington; Executive Officer and Plans Officer, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan; Contingency Contracting Officer and Team Leader, 603rd Contingency Contracting Team, and Deputy Policy Chief, 413th Contracting Support Brigade, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Chief of Operations (FWD) and Contracting Support Operations (FWD), 408th Contracting Support Brigade, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, she served as an Assistant Product Manager, Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army Increment II, Fort Belvoir, Virginia and is currently the Commander of the Defense Contracting Management Agency, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lieutenant Colonel Styer holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both Criminal Justice and Sociology from Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin, and a Master of Science Degree Health and Human Performance with concentrations in both Exercise Science and Public and Community Health from Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee. Sue’s awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Armed Forces Reserve-Army Ribbon with Mobilization Device and Bronze Hourglass, the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral four, the Parachutist and the Combat Action Badges, and Canadian Jump Wings. Lieutenant Colonel Styer is married to Major (R) Jeffrey Styer of Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Brig. Gen. David May

Brigadier General @ Wisconsin Air National Guard

Brig. Gen. David W. May is Wisconsin’s deputy adjutant general for Air. As such, he serves as the chief advisor to the Adjutant General on all matters pertaining to Air National Guard programs, policies, operations, management and command and control of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. He also provides staff assistance guidance and direction concerning Air National Guard personnel, administration, training, recruiting and retention incentives, and budgetary matters. Gen. May is responsible for more than 2,300 Wisconsin Air National Guard personnel serving in two flying wings and a Combat Readiness Training Center at Volk Field Air National Guard Base. Brig. Gen. May earned a bachelor’s degree in music at Kent State University in 1993. He earned a master’s degree in music at the University of Michigan in 1994, and a doctorate in philosophy, organization and management at Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2003. He completed Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base by correspondence, Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, and Air War College at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force base by correspondence. Brig. Gen. May received his commission through the Air Force Officer Training School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in August, 1996. He has held a variety of command and staff positions at the wing, combatant command, Air Staff, and Joint Force Headquarters level. His staff tours include HQ U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, HQ Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional), U.S. Transportation Command, and the Joint Force Headquarters of the Wisconsin National Guard. He assumed his current rank and duties April 16, 2020. Prior to his current assignment, he commanded Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, which includes the Combat Readiness Training Center, the 128th Air Control Squadron, and the 126th Weather Flight. Brig. Gen. May’s military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long, the Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold birder and one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Longevity Service with four oak leaf clusters, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Pistol), the Air Force Training Ribbon, and the Wisconsin National Guard Emergency Service Ribbon.

LTC Thomas Bauer

Interim Commander @ Volk Field ANGB

Lt Col Bauer received his commission in 2006 after graduating from the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science at McGheeTyson Air National Guard Base, Knoxville, Tennessee. His past assignments include the • 115th Mission Support Group Deputy Commander • 115th Logistics Readiness Squadron Commander • 115th Communications Flight Commander • Operations Officer for the 115th Force Support Squadron • Operations Officer for the 115th Logistics Readiness Squadron. EDUCATION • 2005 Baccalaureate, Business Management, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI • 2006 Academy of Military Science •2008 Squadron Officer School (Correspondence) • 2009 Master Degree, Business Management, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI • 2017 Air Command and Staff College (Correspondence) • 2020 Air War College (Correspondence) ASSIGNMENTS 1. March 1985–April 1988, Hill AFB, Utah 2. October 1994–September 2004, 115th Maintenance Squadron, Truax Field, Wis. 3. September 2004–May 2008, Installation Deployment Officer, 115th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Truax Field, Wis. 4. May 2008–April 2012, Operations Officer, 115th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Truax Field, Wis. 5. April 2012–April 2013 Operations Officer, 115th Force Support Squadron, Truax Field, Wis. 6. April 2013–June 2017, Commander, 115th Communications Flight, Truax Field, Wis. 7. June 2017–1 June 2021, Commander, 115th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Truax Field, Wis. 8. 2 June 2021 – 25 July 2021, Deputy Commander, 115th Mission Support Group, Truax Field, Wis. 9. 26 July – Present, Vice Commander, Volk Field Air National Guard, Camp Douglas, Wis. MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS • Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters • Joint Service Achievement Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster • Air Force Commendation Medal • Air Force Achievement Medal EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION • Second Lieutenant February 17, 2006 • First Lieutenant February 17, 2008 • Captain February 17, 2010 • Major April 30, 2014 • Lieutenant Colonel October 18, 2018

Jill Fehrman

Proposal Management Section Chief @ WisDOT

Jill Fehrman has been working in the Transportation Industry for more than 30 years. Although she has experience as a County Highway Engineer and a Project Manager for a consulting firm her primary experience has been with WisDOT in Project Development, both design and construction, Traffic Safety and currently Proposal Management where she is the Proposal Management Chief. As the Proposal Management Chief her primary responsibility is to assemble the plans and proposal for letting, advertise the proposals, process the letting and award and execute the LET contracts. She works with the contracting industry to address questions concerning the bidding process as well as specific proposal questions.

Darryl "Shane" Mahaffy

Lead Business Opportunity Specialist @ U.S. Small Business Administration

Shane Mahaffy joined SBA’s Wisconsin District Office as its Lead Business Opportunity Specialist in July 2015. Previously, he worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a procurement contracting officer. He served as a team lead and supervisory contracting specialist for procuring services, equipment, and supplies for facilities in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan. He maintains a Level III Federal Acquisition Certification. Shane began his contracting career in 2004 with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) – Milwaukee administering contracts for defense contractors throughout Wisconsin. He received a Bachelor's of Science in Business Management from the Milwaukee School of Engineering 2005. He is a Navy veteran.

Koreen Grube

Director @ U.S. Commercial Service Wisconsin | International Trade Administration

Koreen Grube is director for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Commercial Service in Wisconsin. For more than 18 years, she has been advising Wisconsin businesses on international commerce, the logistical process of exporting, underlying financial and tariff structures, foreign market research and U.S. export controls laws and foreign import regulations.

Michael Fazio

Lead Export Finance Manager, Northern CA @ U.S. Small Business Administration

Chad Hoffman

International Market Development Director @ Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)

Chad Hoffman joined the Global Trade and Investment team as Market Development Director in March 2021 to provide technical assistance to Wisconsin companies looking to grow into the following markets: Canada, Australia/New Zealand, UK, France, Africa and India. Previously, Chad was employed by the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network to develop and implement the Go Global Initiative to identify and engage with new and experienced exporters throughout the state to provide one-on-one consulting on all things trade. In addition to his current responsibilities, in January 2021, Chad was re-elected as Chair of the Wisconsin District Export Council (DEC) for a second 2-year term. DEC members are appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce and provide expert advice to Wisconsin companies to assist them to grow their exports sales. Previously Chad served as VP of Global Trade and Investment at the Milwaukee 7 (M7) where he managed the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project between the Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase. Prior to this, Chad was Director of an SBDC International Trade Center (ITC) where he provided export assistance to companies in the Chicagoland area and also served on the board of the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago (ITA/GC). In total, Chad has more than 22 years of international experience in multiple industries, he has lived and worked in Europe, is fully bilingual English-Spanish and is a Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP). He received his bachelor’s degrees in Marketing and Production and Operations Management from UW-Milwaukee.

Beth White

Procurement Analyst, HQ @ U.S. Army Corrps of Engineers

Ms. White currently serves as a Procurement Analyst with HQ, US Army Corps of Engineers, primarily serving on the Program Management Review (PMR) team. In this role, Ms. White not only conducts program reviews across the enterprise to help identify strengths and weaknesses to the overall health of the USACE small business program, but also assists with Small Business Professional training. Previously, Ms. White was the Deputy for Small Business Programs at the Rock Island District Corps of Engineers, located on the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, IL. This assignment required Ms. White to advise the commander on all small business-related issues and all progress toward assigned small business contracting goals. She also provided support to contracting and technical personnel on all small business regulations and initiatives, including market research, acquisition planning and source selections. In addition, Ms. White managed the subcontracting program for the district for large businesses and empowered small businesses to market their businesses and capabilities to the district personnel, as well as for subcontracting opportunities. Ms. White has been involved in Federal procurement for over 20 years, beginning her Federal career in contracting with TACOM and the Army Contracting Command in Rock Island. She took a break from Federal service in 2011 to work for the Iowa Procurement Technical Assistance Center, assisting businesses with diversifying into and navigating the Government contracting market for success, and returned as the deputy for small business for the Corps in 2017. Ms. White is married with two sons (one a college graduate and one in fifth grade) and one amazing niece.

Ron Kesterson

Contracting Officer, Buying Office Lead @ National Park Service

I’m a Contracting Officer, Buying Office Lead located in Keystone South Dakota. I’m also the Small Business Specialist for the Midwest Region of the National Park Service.

Katherine Koleski

Program Analyst, Policy Planning @ Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), U.S. DOD

Chris Burger

Operations Manager @ Northern Wings

Northern Wings is an AS9100 certified – Small Business – Aerospace and Defense contractor, providing Build to Print Manufacturing, Material Procurement and Logistics Support, and Repair and Overhaul Management in support of some of the most sophisticated and advanced programs in the nation. Beginning in 2001 with only two employees in a small farm field pole barn located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Northern Wings has grown year over year since, and now operates with nearly 30,000 square feet of production and warehousing space, and three locations.

Bridgette Lorrigan-Schuh

Purchasing Manager, Small Business & Subcontracts @ Oshkosh Defense

Sara Redford

Vice President of Procurement @ WPS Health Solutions

Millie Neidhardt

Procurement Specialist @ Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)

James Methu

Senior Business Analyst @ City of Milwaukee Office of Equity and Inclusion

Lamont Robinson

Director, CBDP Department @ Milwaukee County,

Pamala Sells

Subcontracts Administrator @ KBR