About Us » Staff
Staff
-
Dan Ripke, Director
Dan Ripke, a native of Northern California, holds a BS in international business, a BA in French, and master’s studies in business administration from California State University, Chico. He has worked for the Northeastern California Small Business Development Center since 1988, serving as director for the center’s 21-county service region. In this capacity, he provides economic development and planning technical assistance to over 20 percent of the state of California. Dan is a member of the International Economic Development Council, the California Association for Local Economic Development, and the National Association of Development Organizations.
-
Don Krysakowski, Assistant Director
Don Krysakowski joined the Northeastern California Small Business Development Center (NECSBDC) in January of 2009 as Assistant Director. Don provides strategic and project-planning guidance, project oversight, and economic development and planning assistance for the variety of projects under the auspices of the CED. Prior to coming to Chico, Don worked for the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) to provide information technology assistance to small and medium-sized businesses. Previously, Don served in senior management for several start-up information technology firms including PestPatrol, Inc., ybn.com (a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania State Chamber of Commerce), and the International Computer Security Association (ICSA). Before working with start-up companies, Don worked for several professional service companies building customized database applications and information technology solutions for the United States Navy. He also worked as a consultant for the Republic of China Navy, the French Armaments Bureau, and the Office of Secretary of Defense on Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support (CALS) for military hardware acquisition programs. Don is a graduate of George Washington University with a BA in international affairs and master’s studies in science, technology, and public policy. He also holds a certificate in geographic information systems from Penn State University and is completing his master’s program there in community and economic development.
-
Eileen Chavez, Project Specialist
Eileen Chavez joined NECSBDC's staff in May 2007 after returning to Chico from L.A. Eileen had been living in Los Angeles for the past eleven years. During her time there, Eileen worked for ING Advisors Network for eight years. During her tenure with ING, she held positions in the Commission Accounting and Business Development Departments, performing accounting and research duties, and training new sales representatives. Eileen is currently enrolled at Saint Leo University Center for On-Line Learning, majoring in business administration.
Eileen's primary role at NECSBDC is as the project specialist for the SBA. Her responsibilities include assisting in planning and administering the Small Business Development program for the six Small Business Development Centers. In addition, she oversees and maintains the WebCats database, provides support with planning and organizing meetings, and assists with compiling the annual region-wide grant proposal including budgets, budget narratives, and milestones.
-
Andi Gilbert, Administrative Manager
Andria Gilbert, a native of Northern California, is a graduate of Willows High School and Heald Business School of Sacramento. She has been involved in office management at the county and federal levels for over fifteen years. She joined the NECSBDC’s staff in 1991 assuming the position of office manager. Her responsibilities include oversight of all office operations, staff, and correspondence; newsletter layout; purchasing; filing; preparing quarterly and annual reports; preparing grant applications and contracts; and preparing and maintaining the office’s financial records. She has coordinated, edited, and designed such reports as “Northeastern California: A Regional Profile,” “Arbuckle Hotel Business Plan,” “Mendocino County Impact Study,” “Tehama County Infrastructure Study,” “Norcal Survey,” “City of Chico Rental Survey,” “Leadership Training,” and the “Colusa County Hospital Feasibility Study.” She has also coordinated workshops such as “The Return of the Great American Neighborhood,” “Planning Commissioners,” “Alternative Techniques for Managing Growth,” “ Predicting Traffic Impacts of Land Development,” “Environmental Impact Analysis,” “General Plan,” and “Planning and Zoning Law.” She has been trained to use software such as Microsoft Word, Pagemaker, Filemaker Pro, Excel, Quickbooks Pro, PowerPoint, and Act.
-
Margaret Schmidt, Regional Coordinator
Margaret Schmidt joined the NECSBDC in March 2010 as Regional Coordinator. Margaret spent the early part of her career working in the electronic semiconductor industry in Silicon Valley. After moving to Butte County in 1989, she focused her career on direct sales and marketing in Northern California. She spent four years at a local economic development consulting firm marketing Butte County. She currently specializes in grant writing, fundraising and developing marketing and public relations programs and managing projects that positively impact economic development in the surrounding communities. She brings over 28 years of business experience to the task of identifying projects and programs throughout the region that would support CED’s strategic plan to work with its regional economic development partners and other businesses to provide products and services that promote community and economic development. Margaret holds a master's degree in business administration from Santa Clara University with a focus in marketing and a bachelor's of science in marketing, with a minor in sociology, from California State University, Chico. She lives in Durham, CA with her husband Dennis and son, Ryan.
-
Joshua Brown, Information Technology
J. Joshua Brown, a native of Ukiah, California, joined the NECSBDC in November 2007. Mr. Brown received his master’s degree in social science with an emphasis in research methods and social psychology from California State University, Chico. He has been a teaching assistant for many courses, including population, research methods, introduction to sociology, self and society, and human stress. His research interests include fertility, online education, alcohol abuse, urban noise, Internet, and e-mail. Brown coauthored two articles titled “Recent Trends in California Hispanic Fertility Rates a Comparative Analysis 1999-2000” and “Trends and Differentials in California Fertility Rates 1970-2000.” Both articles were published in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion. In addition, his thesis, “An Analysis of the Freshmen Alcohol Abuse Program,” was also accepted into the journal. Brown is the recipient of numerous academic awards including the College of Behavioral and Social Science Outstanding Student Leader of 2002, Sociology Outstanding Student of 2002, and the Highest GPA in Sociology Major of 2002 award. Brown is affiliated with many organizations, including the National Eagle Scout Association, Golden Key International Honor Society, and Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. After graduate school he interned at the Pan American Health Organization Regional Office of the World Health Organization located in District Columbia. While working, he designed studies to assess the relationship between healthy municipalities and communities and social capital in the West Indies. After his internship he worked for the Northern California Youth and Family Programs for two years.
-
Jonny Clark, Student Research Assistant
Jonny Clark grew up in different places ranging from Newport, RI to San Diego, CA. Earning an Associate of Science degree in computer science from Mendocino Community College in the summer of 2005, he is currently working on getting his Bachelor of Science degree in management information systems at California State University, Chico (CSUC). Clark started at the NECSBDC in February 2010, and supports the and Northeastern California Small Business Development Center (NECSBDC) staff with technical issues. Reporting to the Information Technology-Project Specialist on various IT projects, Clark currently is cleaning up a complex database of client information, Help Desk assistance, and is in charge of producing the monthly NECSBDC newsletter. Clark has gained valuable experience on how computers function in a business environment. Outside of work he likes to fix computers, play video games and spend time with his wife, Alicia.