About MEP

EDWARD W. (Ned) HILL, CHAIR
(Term expires:  April 2011)
Edward W. (Ned) Hill is Vice President for Economic Development at Cleveland State University and Interim Dean, Professor, and Distinguished Scholar of Economic Development in the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.  He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution, an independent public policy research organization in Washington, D.C. and a Nonresident Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at the University of California at Berkeley.  Hill edited Economic Development Quarterly from 1994 to 2005.  Economic Development Quarterly is dedicated to publishing research on the development of the American economy.  Ned was a lead in a joint Deloitte Consulting-Cleveland State University team that wrote two manufacturing strategy reports: Industry-based Competitive Strategies for Ohio:  Managing Three Portfolios and Manufacturing Pennsylvania’s Future.

MARK RICE, VICE CHAIR
(Term expires:  April 2011)
Mark Rice is President of the Maritime Applied Physics Corporation.   After working for several engineering firms and U.S. Government laboratories, he formed Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) in 1986.  MAPC has both R&D and production work with offices in Maryland, Virginia and Maine.  MAPC currently designs and manufactures electro-mechanical systems that range from submarine and surface ship components to commercial motion control systems.  The company has recently completed two unmanned surface vessels for the U.S. Navy along with prototype distributed power and water systems for use by individual families in Afghanistan.  MAPC has had several export contracts supplying ship components to foreign shipbuilders.  Mark is a member of the local District Export Council for the Department of Commerce.  He has a BA in Physics from the University of Maine and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

JAMES R. (Jim) BEAN
(Term expires:  April 2010)
Jim Bean is the President and CEO of Preco Electronics, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Saber Holdings, Inc. Preco is recognized worldwide as an innovator, designer and manufacturer of vehicle communications systems.  Prior to Preco, Jim had over 20 years of operational experience with Fortune 500 companies including National Semiconductor Corporation, Apple Computer, and Sun Microsystems.  He held positions in both domestic and international manufacturing.  While at Sun, Jim was part of the executive team responsible for taking the company public and its rapid growth as a market leader. In addition to his experience as an employee in the international economy, Jim has served on the Board of Directors for both public and private organizations.  He currently serves as the chair on the advisory board for TechHelp, the MEP-affiliate center in Idaho.  Jim holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

LYDIA CARSON
(Term expires:  April 2011)
Lydia Carson is President and CEO of Balm Innovations, LLC (BI), a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Arkansas BioVentures firm established to commercialize Omnibalm®, a topical cream developed by a UAMS pharmaceutical researcher.  Ms. Carson founded BI in 2004 and negotiated a license on behalf of BI with UAMS obtaining exclusive, worldwide rights to the intellectual property associated with Omnibalm.  After leading BI to a successful market launch of Omnibalm in late 2005, she led efforts to introduce a second product in September 2006.  Prior to Omnibalm, Ms. Carson served as Vice President of Industry for the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority and as Director of Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions (AMS), the MEP-affiliate center in Arkansas.  Ms Carson has also served as an AMS Field Engineer providing management and technical consulting services to Arkansas’ manufacturers.  She has also held engineering and leadership roles at Lexmark International in Lexington, Kentucky, and Ford Motor Company, North American Design in Dearborn, Michigan. Currently, Ms. Carson serves on the Arkansas District Export Council (DEC).  She also serves on the Northwest Arkansas Community College Workforce Advisory Committee and on the boards of the Central Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, and the Arkansas Inventors’ Network. She was awarded the NAWBORising Star Award in 2006.  Ms. Carson graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering and earned a MBA through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Executive MBA program. 

CHERYL HILL
(Term expires:  April 2011)
Cheryl Hill is owner and CEO of Hill Manufacturing, Inc. in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  Hill Manufacturing is a 65 employee CNC machine shop with customers in energy, aerospace, and other industries.  In June, 1996 Ms. Hill became sole owner of Hill Manufacturing with five employees and annual sales of less than $500,000.  Since that time, she has purchased Ketchum Manufacturing (later renamed Hill Aerospace) and created an additional firm, Hill Equipment Manufacturing. Her company’s sales have grown to more than $7,500,000.   She was elected to the board of directors of the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance in 2002 and is currently serving her second year as board chair of the Alliance, the MEP affiliate in Oklahoma. She is an active business owner and articulate advocate for Oklahoma’s manufacturing community.  In addition, she has been a mentor to other women in manufacturing through the Oklahoma Women in Business and Agriculture Conference. She also has been a speaker at State Career and Technology Education Conferences on behalf of manufacturers. She currently serves on the Bank of Oklahoma Wealth Advisory Board and is a valued member of the prestigious Executive Women’s Forum. She is assisting the mayor of Tulsa with the development of a manufacturing training program for incarcerated offenders as they are released from prison.  A member of the 2007-2008 class of Leadership Oklahoma, she serves on the board of the Oklahoma Academy.  Ms. Hill attended Mankato State College in Mankato, Minnesota, and moved to Oklahoma in 1974.

JAMES JACOBS
(Term expires:  March 2010)
James Jacobs is the Associate Director for Community College Operations at the Community College Research Center, and the Director of the Center for Workforce Development and Policy at Macomb Community College in Michigan.  As of July 1, 2008, he will become President of Macomb Community College.  He was the former president of the National Council for Workforce Development.  Currently, he is the Vice President for Partnerships and Collaborations for the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE), a national postsecondary organization of occupational education and workforce development specialists. Dr. Jacobs is a national expert on workforce development and community colleges with more than two decades’ experience working through community colleges to meet the training needs of manufacturers in multiple industries.  At Macomb Community College, Dr. Jacobs initiated the Machinist Training Institute, a college program that trained entry level machinists for small and medium sized manufacturing firms. This program was the first NMCS (National Metalworking Standards Council)-certified machining center at any community college in the nation. Dr. Jacobs was also responsible for the establishment of community college training programs between the Industrial Technology Institute and Michigan community colleges. He also coordinated the Mid-American Training Group, a group of 15 major community colleges in the mid-west that performed education and training activities with auto and steel manufacturers in their communities. He has also conducted major studies on the impact of new manufacturing technologies on skill requirements of firms both for the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor.

FRED P. KELLER
(Term expires:  March 2010)
Fred P. Keller is chairman and CEO of Cascade Engineering, a leading multi business manufacturer in the renewable energy, automotive, industrial, and recycling industries, primarily with plastic injection molded products.  A materials engineer by training, Keller founded the Company in 1973, following an earlier career as a metallurgist with Pratt & Whitney. Cascade has been widely recognized for its business achievements and community involvement.  The Company’s industry recognition includes the Society for Human Resource Management's top 10 “Best Medium Companies to Work for in America”; the White House’s Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership; and Goodwill Industries’ “Employer of the Year” award, and Chrysler’s “Technology Role Model” award.  In 2004, Keller was named to the U.S. Department of Commerce Manufacturing Advisory Council, where he was recently named Chairman.  He is also the recipient of a “Distinguished Service Award” from the National Governors Association. Keller serves as a director of Meijer, Inc. and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is past chairman of the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, and has chaired several community boards.  His innovative management approach and work in advancing sustainability are featured regularly in business and industry publications, and he serves as a visiting lecturer on Sustainability at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management.  A Grand Rapids native, Keller earned a B.S degree from Cornell and a master of science in business management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

MERRITT R. MARQUARDT
(Term expires:  April 2009)
Merritt R. Marquardt recently retired from the 3M Company where he served in the Office of General Counsel.  His work involved legal practice in the areas of anti-trust, government contracts, and counsel to numerous operating units of the company across a broad range of business matters.  Each corporate division has its own R & D, marketing, manufacturing and sales departments which are governed by an operating committee which functions as a board of directors for that business.  Over the years, Merritt served on the operating committees of more than a dozen of such business units.  He has also been active in both and professional and community affairs, including service on the Board of Directors of Minnesota Technology, Inc. and numerous Minnesota State Bar and Minnesota Supreme Court committees.  He currently is engaged in teaching courses on Western Political Philosophy at both the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas-Minnesota as an adjunct professor.  Merritt graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the George Washington School of Law, and during the interim spent time on destroyers as an officer in the US Navy.

CAPERS W. McDONALD
(Term expires:  April 2009)
Capers McDonald is presently an Executive in Residence and faculty member of Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School.  For 12 years previously, he led BioReliance Corporation as President and CEO, providing innovative testing and manufacturing services for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries from operations in the U. S. and Europe.  When acquired during 2004, the company was valued at a 32-fold increase and greater than 33% annual return for investors and employees over Capers’ 12 years of leadership.  During 2003, BioReliance was ranked #1 nationally by Forbes in earnings per share growth among “200 Entrepreneurial Hot Shots” and #11 by Fortune Small Business among “America’s Fastest-Growing Small Companies.”  Capers served three terms as Chair of the Technology Council of Maryland and was named a 2002 Greater Washington Entrepreneur of the Year.  He has been recognized as a national Distinguished Eagle Scout and included among Who’s Who in Science and Engineering and Who's Who in the World.  Capers earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a B.S. in Engineering from Duke University.