Chris Ryan is the founder and President of Geo-Solutions Inc. This firm provides construction consulting services to owners, engineers and contractors on projects involving soil and groundwater. The company operates on sites around the US and around the world.

Previously, he had founded Geo-Con Inc., a specialty construction company with operations nationwide. The company reached revenues of $50 million before being acquired by a strategic investor in 1995.

Geo-Solutions is currently constructing a new headquarters for itself and is the beneficiary of the PA KOZ program that provides tax free business locations and the Federal Hub Zone program that offers a 10% bidding advantage against competitors.

Mr. Rajiv Enand is currently the President and CEO of Caracal. Mr. Enand is a seasoned tech entrepreneur who is active in the tech community in Western Pennsylvania. Prior to founding Caracal, Mr. Enand co-founded ServiceWare Inc. (NASD: SVWN.OB), a leading provider of knowledge-powered applications for customer service and IT support. Mr. Enand was instrumental in growing the company from a startup in his partner’s basement to one of the world's leading providers of knowledge based software and content to the customer support market. During the years 1993-2000, the company raised over $30M in venture capital from leading venture capital firms around the country. Mr. Enand left his role as CEO/Chairman of the company in 2000, commensurate with the company’s IPO.

More information can be found at:

www.caracalsemi.com

Donna Costantino-Riling is the Manager of Business Finance of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation/Commission, the region’s state and federally designated metropolitan planning agency and local development district. She manages a total portfolio of over 20 million dollars consisting of over 150 clients. Her responsibilities include providing gap financing for eligible companies using state and federal low interest loan programs. She also provides companies with business renewal and turnaround assistance. Donna has also been active in assisting local companies that were affected by the recent flooding to acquire grants and loan funds from FEMA and the SBA Disaster Loan Recovery Programs.

Donna’s background includes 15 years in banking and 8 years as a small business owner. This has prepared her to understand the needs of the small business community regarding financing, and staffing issues unique to this region. She was the co-owner /founder of a Recreational Vehicle Sales Dealership, specializing in sales and service. Her dealership received national sales awards for three consecutive years from Starcraft Industries including the National Sales Leader Award in 1988.

Donna has participated as a judge for the Seton Hill College Business Plan Competition and speaker at the SBA/Women’s Economic Development Outreach Tour (WEDO) and co-instructor at Robert Morris University’s Veterans FastTrac Business Planning Class.

Donna holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Carlow Universitiy and received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council in 2000.

More information can be found at:

www.spcregion.org

Joe co-founded GSP Consulting Corp. with John Dick in February of 2001. Since starting the firm, Joe has served as a lobbyist and government affairs consultant, working on both federal and state related issues. Prior to starting GSP Consulting Corp., Joe served as Deputy State Director for U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, acting as the Senator’s liaison and primary contact point for corporations, businesses, non-profit organizations, colleges & universities, community & advocacy groups, elected officials and governmental agencies.

In 2000, Joe served as a member of County Executive Jim Roddey’s New Idea Factory, working to develop an aggressive public policy agenda to foster economic development. Joe also became a Pittsburgh Regional Champion in 2000, serving as a grassroots volunteer to promote all assets of the Pittsburgh market. In 2001, Joe was named as one of Pittsburgh’s Top 40 Under 40 by Pittsburgh Magazine, WQED and PUMP, for his work with GSP.

Since 1994, Joe has been active in statewide politics. He has participated in many of the region’s latest political campaigns and served as the Allegheny County Republican Committee’s Regional Development Director from mid-1996 through May of 2000. As Regional Development Director for the South Hills, Joe was responsible for recruiting new candidates for local Republican Committee posts in twenty South Hills municipalities.

Joe graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1994 with a double major in Political Science and Western Europeans Studies with a focus on Germany and with Minors in Economics, American History, European History and English. He remains active in his community and volunteers annually for the Juvenile Diabetes Walk for the Cure, the Big Brothers & Big Sisters bowl-a-thon and the United Way Days of Caring

More information can be found at:

www.gspconsulting.com

TIMOTHY DEIS, Director of Product Development Services Tim has 20 years of experience in technology development, proposal writing, program management and entrepreneurial activities. At Catalyst Connection, he is responsible for assisting regional companies in identifying and pursuing new product opportunities, and seeking out federal government funding for research and development projects, with a primary focus on the Small Business Innovation Research program. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Innovation Partnership, helping to develop Pennsylvania’s strategy to increase federal government funding flowing to companies.

Prior to joining Catalyst Connection and the Council, Mr. Deis founded and managed Applied Electro-Optics Corporation (AEC), which licensed technology from Carnegie Mellon University and developed it for applications in several capital equipment markets. In his career, Mr. Deis has worked on a broad range of technologies, managed proposal efforts to various government agencies and executed many programs that were awarded on a competitive basis. Mr. Deis holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.

More information can be found at:

www.catalystconnection.org