Ms. Adrienne Darby, Certified Business Analyst, comes to the Small Business Development Center at the Central Florida Development Council, Polk County, following a 26- year career in the travel industry.

During the earlier part of that career, she worked for a major U.S. airline carrier, holding positions in front line passenger sales, and as an Automation Coordinator. These positions afforded Adrienne opportunities to gain expertise in customer relations and support, training and sales support.

She later worked for 11 years with Worldspan, a leader in electronic travel distribution systems, travel transaction processing and e-commerce. As Account Executive, Adrienne was part of the company’s North American Travel Distribution sales team. She conducted contract negotiations and provided business consulting and sales support to large and medium sized travel agencies.

Ms. Darby’s experience allows her to rollup her sleeves, work one-on-one with business owners and to learn their core operational structures and challenges. While presenting educational seminars, and counseling small business owners through start-up and expansion challenges, she taps into her wealth of experience and breadth of business acumen. Reviewing business plans and helping small business owners create viable loan proposal packages is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her job as a certified business analyst. Adrienne’s areas of expertise also include Minority Certification, and Sales.

Ms. Darby earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. She is also a Certified Fast Trac (Entrepreneurial Training) facilitator.

Art Mahoney, Certified Business Analyst, comes to the Small Business Development Center at Manatee Community College with a broad background of experience in the fields of marketing and business development which make him an excellent resource. He was president of a company that was voted ‘Best strategic marketing company’ in the Denver region for 2 years running and was one of the top 5 marketing agencies in the Denver market and built the agency from $600,000 annual billings to over $25 million.

Art holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Rutgers University and attended Boston University’s Graduate School of Public Relations and Communication.. Art is currently volunteering as a Branding Advisor with the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, on the Marketing Committee with the Sarasota Economic Development Corporation and as a Marketing Advisor with Sarasota’s Jewish Family and Children’s Service and the Senior Friendship Center.

Art provides counseling services to businesses in the areas of marketing and necessary steps to start a business.

Bill McKown is a Certified Business Analyst and marketing specialist. He has experience in training, facilitating, sales, organizational management, and entrepreneurship.

As Retail Vice President for a petroleum marketing company, Bill directed the chain’s marketing, co-op advertising, signage, retail construction, human resources, purchasing, and vendor relations. Bill served on the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association’s education and environmental committees. He has also owned and operated businesses in the transportation industry, wholesale distribution, and vending.

Ms. Charlene Bostic serves as manager of the Tampa Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), located within the Florida Small Business Development Center at USF. A Certified Acquisition Professional through the Defense Acquisition University, Ms. Bostic has more than 20 years of contracting experience with the Department of Defense. She is a Certified Business Analyst with the SBDC and joined the SBDC/PTAC in 2002 as a consultant to small and large businesses trying to obtain government contracts.

Ms. Bostic earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Administration from Saint Leo University, graduating in the top 10 percent of her class.

She began her contracting career as an active duty member with the United States Air Force. She is Level II Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) certified. She spent 20 years purchasing a wide variety of products and services for the Air Force, ranging from small purchases of component parts to $100 million, high-tech research and development contracts. Her expertise in securing government contracts is evident at the Annual Government Trade Show she coordinates with the manufacturing sector.

Charlie Cronk is a certified business analyst with the Small Business Development Center at USF, providing consulting services in South Pinellas County. He specializes in the area of general business assistance.

Charles comes to the Small Business Development Center with more than 18 years experience in business development. He worked for more than 10 years at the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber of Commerce as a business assistance specialist. There, he was responsible for developing, conducting and managing the Chamber’s, “County Business Assistance” program. Before joining the Chamber, he worked nearly 8 years at the Venice Chamber of Commerce as community relations director.

Charles is a former member of the South County Tourist Development Council where he made recommendations to the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners on the use of tourist tax dollars collected in the areas of marketing tourism, beach maintenance and the arts. He has also served on the Sarasota County Multi-Stakeholders Group where he made recommendations to the county for future land use.

Carolyn Griffin is the Assistant Director of the Small Business Development Center at Manatee Community College, located at the MCC Venice campus.

Carolyn has over 13 years experience as project manager with a major accounting firm. Carolyn earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Alabama State University. She has owned her own small business and is currently a managing member with a local hauling company.

Ms. Eileen Rodriguez serves as Director for the Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida. She is a Certified Business Analyst. Eileen has been working with the SBDC since 1997, providing one-on-one confidential counseling and teachings seminars in English and Spanish on small business start-up, international trade, and women and minority certification.

Prior to working at the SBDC, Eileen owned her own business for four years. She has more than 21 years of experience as a professional businesswoman. Eileen obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Science Degree and an MBA from the University of South Florida.

Eileen is active in many organizations including the Florida Minority Supplier's Development Council, Tampa Bay Women in International Trade, the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators, and the University of South Florida Alumni Association.

Jerry Karp brings an array of experience to the SBDC. For 13 years, he owned a business that specialized in selling business to business. When it was sold to a large corporation, he remained at the company for seven years as manager.

Prior to owning his business, he worked in upper management at two successful audio/visual companies. At one, he was the executive vice president of sales and marketing and at the other, CEO. In addition, he has more than 30 years experience selling to both commercial and government accounts.

Learline Shorty is a Certified Business Analyst at the Small Business Development Center at USF, Tampa office. She specializes in the area of general business assistance.

Learline has more than 15 years experience in corporate accounting and managerial positions. She was the sole owner of multiple retail businesses for nearly 10 years. She is a founding member of a local Chamber of Commerce, where she not only serves as chairman, but also assumes the roles of event planner and fundraiser coordinator. Learline is knowledgeable in the areas of patents, innovative product development, marketing and distribution.

Michelle Brown is a certified business analyst at the Small Business Development Center at USF, Tampa office. She specializes in the areas of start-ups and Minority Business Enterprise certification.

Michelle has been a business owner for almost 14 years, operating a beauty salon and detail shop. She also successfully operated a home-based business for two years.

In addition to her entrepreneurial experience, Michelle has managed beauty salons and taught cosmetology classes.

As a child Mario Iezzoni always had an interest in starting and owning a business. His first foray as an entrepreneur was to form the Lehigh River Company. Printing and publishing river maps, Mario started the company while he worked as a river guide on that Pennsylvania River A desire to expand his knowledge in the business arena led to enrollment at Wilkes University in Pa. where he earned an MBA with a concentration in Accounting and Finance.

While in graduate school, he opened Lehigh Rafting Rentals, Inc. with a long-time friend, Ted Newton. The company operated successfully from 1988 to 2003 when it was sold to a competitor. In conjuction with his other businesses Mario opened a CPA firms that specialized in assisting small business within his community.

He has taugth at several Colleges including the University of South Florida where he teaches Entrepreneurship at the College of Business.

Mr. Iezzoni moved to Florida after accepting a position at a tax consulting firm based in Clearwater, Fla. The firm specialized in representing individuals with civil and criminal tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. Iezzoni is a CPA and has always enjoyed helping small business owners.

Ms. Maria Clara Yepes is a Certified Business Analyst with the Small Business Development Center at USF. She provides counseling services to small businesses in the areas of business start-up, women/minority certification, international trade and business planning. She counsels and teaches seminars in English and Spanish. Prior to working at the SBDC, Ms. Yepes worked for Citigroup as an Anti-Money Laundering Analyst and at AchieveGlobal as an Alliance Partner Intern.

Ms. Yepes was born in Medellin, Colombia where she spent her childhood and teenage years. In 2001, she came to the United States to pursue a professional education. She obtained an Associate of Arts Degree from Hillsborough Community College, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the University of South Florida, and an MBA also from the University of South Florida. Her areas of study include: marketing, international business, management and sustainability.

Ms. Yepes is a member of NASBITE International and a Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP). She is also a member of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), where she currently serves as VP of Education for the Tampa Bay Chapter.

Rob Duncan is a certified business analyst at the Small Business Development Center at USF. He provides counseling in the area of Internet marketing. He comes to the SBDC with vast experience from several arenas. For more than nine years he worked as an engineer and product manager at Applied Materials. In 2006, he started the business Rent New Tampa, Inc. where the web site quickly became top-ranked in search engine optimization (SEO). During this time, he also owned an SEO consulting business, providing Internet marketing strategies to several businesses in the area. Rob holds a BS in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

ASBDC Certified Technology Business Counselor

Mr. Brass is the Pinellas County Area Manager for the Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg. His responsibilities include providing one on one counseling and teaching seminars to assist start up and growing companies. Prior to taking this position, Mr. Brass was the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator at the University of South Florida (USF). Also, while at USF, he was the Executive Director of the Office for Technology Entrepreneurship and the Executive Director for the Office for Corporate Development.