Love, Donna
Donna received a BA in Business from Northwest Christian College. She has been employed as a small business specialist for RCC BDC since 1984 and has developed and taught classes for the BDC since the late 1980's.
Siegel, Steve
Steve received a Masters in Botany from San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California. He owns and operates Silver Creek Landscape, a successful landscaping business since 1974. Steve began teaching for RCC in 1974; and has coordinated and taught RCC's Landscape Management program since 1986.
Stepka, Penny
Penny is co-owner of Crescent Software and Computers; and has taught BDC computer courses since the late 1980's. Prior to that time, she was a computer instructor for Rogue Community College's traditional computer courses.
Tagliere, Lew
Lew received a BA in Communication with an emphasis in business communication from California State University, Fullerton, California. He has been store manager of Champion, Inc. since 1981; and specializes in supervision and personnel issues, marketing and promotions, and inventory control.
Olga Agnew recently joined the BDC as a business counselor and Optimist software advisor. She has worked with both large and small businesses while working for Deloitte in southern California. She has a background evaluating business success by using of financial statements.
Brown, Linda
Brown has a diverse business background which includes over 20+ years holding executive positions in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. Brown started her career working as a senior product manager in consumer packaged goods/food manufacturing for H.J. Heinz in their Weight Watchers Frozen Food division, later transferring her marketing experience into other industries including educational software and services marketing for a high-end server manufacturer, later owned by IBM. A long-term passion of Brown’s is youth mentoring and her last position was with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington in Bellingham, which she turned around financially and organizationally in the three years she served as CEO, holding responsibility for all facets of operations including fund raising, board development, financial oversight, planning, and marketing/community relations. She has authored two nationally-based manuals on effective marketing and policies/procedures for youth mentoring organizations.
Brown has a MBA in marketing and management and MEd in community counseling. She has been instructing the RCC Small Business Management program in Jackson County since 2007.
Ron Goss: is our Small Business Management Program Professional. After graduating from Grants Pass HS he received a BS in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. He has over twenty five years of industry experience with an emphasis in the areas of information management, process improvement, and management leadership. Ron’s main focus is to support the ongoing SBM program, and be a general ambassador for the BDC to the local small business community.
Roger Harding: Roger was the BDC’s extremely popular Small Business Management coordinator/instructor for twenty-two years. He is now back as the Small Business Management ODOT program instructor.
Dorian Corliss is one of the Josephine County Small Business Management Program instructors and assists with Next Level mentoring. Dorian began his banking career with First National Bank of Oregon in 1972 assigned to the bank’s Executive Management Training Program. After 6 years with First National, Dorian accepted a position with the newly-formed Family Bank of Commerce in Grants Pass, OR and rose to the CEO position in 1984. Twenty five years later Mr. Corliss successfully formed two additional banks and operated as their CEO. In 1988 Mr. Corliss created the “Dip Stix” and then formed Water Sports, Inc with two other businessmen from Southern Oregon. Corliss sold his interest in the business to redirect his energies to the successful creation of The Community Bank of Grants Pass in 1993.
Steve Spilker is a BDC NEXT LEVEL counselor who possesses practical experience ranging from start ups, thru mid-cap, to large-cap companies, from emerging companies to large multi-million dollar companies.
As owner of his own consulting firm, Small Business Sales Development, Inc. (www.8ahub.com) Steve has helped individuals and corporations in obtaining SBA certifications such as 8(a), HUB zone, SDVO, etc. His firm has also specialized in creating & negotiating General Service Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts for numerous companies over the past 8 years. In addition, he has developed many Sales & Marketing and corporate Business plans for his firms and clients during the course of his career.
Steve has a Bachelor of Science Degree in International Marketing from Northern Illinois University located in DeKalb Illinois.
Dave Ellison is a BDC NEXT Level counselor and owner of Ellison Consulting, a business and management consulting firm. He has authored in excess of 90 business plans on behalf of clients in a variety of different industries; and has mentored, counseled, collaborated, and taught basic business principals and advanced strategic planning in all areas of business. He possesses over 20 years business management experience.
Kenny Houck, Business Development Coordinator of the Business Entrepreneurial Center, has been a sole proprietor and owner of a variety of small businesses for more than 25 years. He has also had a leading role in the Illinois Valley as project manager and coordinator for several high profile community development projects including a health clinic, environmental education facility, and community drinking water system. Equally comfortable in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Houck brings a unique set of skills and perspectives to the program success of the Business Entrepreneurial Center.
