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Marc Schneider’s supply chain management expertise includes reshoring, procurement, inventory management, risk management, transportation, warehousing, and international logistics. He also has expertise in import/export growth and support, Lean manufacturing, profit and loss management, project implementation, design of transport networks, and warehouse layouts.

Melissa Burant is a Supply Chain Project Manager and leads Supplier Scouting for CIRAS, part of the MEP National Network. She helps companies develop and expand their supplier networks and identify new opportunities. Prior to joining CIRAS, she spent 15 years as an Army civilian in accounting, supply/logistics and contracting. She has extensive knowledge of government policies, procedures, and best practices for government procurement. proposal development and customer engagement.

Manex Consulting provides operational and financial consulting to small- and medium-sized manufacturers as a part of the California Manufacturing Technology Consulting network, which is part of the MEP National Network. Gene Russell has held three successful CEO positions over a 20-year period at organizations including early-stage, private equity and nonprofit. He has served as senior leadership for global Fortune 100 companies and iconic consumer brands.

Prior to joining Manex, Russell led a turnaround at a California medium-sized manufacturer. He offers SMMs real-world experience and a personal passion to restore and invigorate domestic manufacturing.

Nathan Ginty serves as Chief of the National Platforms Division for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He provides direction and leadership to transform the MEP National Network in supply chain optimization, the knowledge and learning management system, and manufacturing workforce development. This Division implements national initiatives of importance to the Network through tools, training, MEP Center board development, MEP Center executive development, and MEP staff leadership development by collaborating with the state governments, non-profits and institutions of higher education. 

Prior to joining NIST, Nathan joined the government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) where he spent multiple years working at the intersection of finance and technology to support small businesses and lenders in their attempt to access capital. He was instrumental in the rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program among numerous other system related initiatives. He later became and Excellence in Government Fellow (EIG) to further his leadership capabilities and support his desire to make government agencies more effective and efficient.

Nathan is a Navy Veteran and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV). He received his BA from the University at Buffalo, his MA from the Institute of World Politics, and his Post Grad Diploma from SAID Business School. He holds multiple other certifications.

Zach Grey is a research scientist in the applied and computational mathematics division at NIST Boulder. Zach's applied math research began in the Applied Mathematics and Statistics Department at Colorado School of Mines, where he qualified for a Ph.D. and transferred to finish the Ph.D. at University of Colorado Boulder (CU) Aerospace Engineering Sciences (following his research adviser, Professor Paul Constantine). Zach received a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2010 and an M.S. in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue in 2015, which he earned while working full time at the Rolls-Royce corporation. His research involves model-based dimension reduction and manifold learning to facilitate novel explanations and interpretations related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Specifically, he often works with data-driven applications involving image/signal processing, geometry and optimization.

Dave Buckley is a Senior Technology Adviser at the UK’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, where he leads the Centre’s work on privacy enhancing technologies. He has led development of CDEI’s PETs Adoption Guide, was a co-editor of the 2023 UN PET Guide, and was a member of the core delivery team for the UK-US PETs prize challenges. Dave is a software engineer and data scientist by background, with a strong interest in quantitative methods for social science.

Christine is the Director of Workforce Development for the Center for Economic Growth, which is part of the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership and part of the MEP National Network™. She has worked in nonprofit agencies and higher education and is skilled in group facilitation, training, program management, fundraising, grants management, and youth development