Staff Profiles
Directory
Lean Continuous Improvement & TWI Team
Hank Czarnecki serves as Auburn’s project manager for Lean manufacturing activities. Hank has more than 11 years experience facilitating continuous process improvement (kaizen) events and is a NIST Qualified Lean Manufacturing Trainer.
- Lean Manufacturing Engineer
- Certified Training Within Industry Instructor
- AME President, S.E. Region 2009-2010
- B.S. in Industrial Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
- Master Industrial Engineering, Auburn University
CONTACT: leanhank@auburn.edu |
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David Hicks is a Registered Professional Engineer with more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, quality & statistics, training, test engineering, plant management, and research & development.
- SME/AME Bronze Certified Lean Manufacturing
- Certified Training Within Industry Instructor
- Senior Member of the American Society for Quality
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Tennessee State University
- M.S. in Engineering, University of Alabama Huntsville
CONTACT: hicksdp@auburn.edu |
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Terri Lawrencehas more than 15 years of Lean experience as a manager, Lean trainer, kaizen facilitator and senior leadership coach/mentor. She has been a Lean leader and guide in a variety of industries including healthcare, manufacturing, service, and academic environments. Terri has lead more than 75 kaizen/rapid improvement events and helped organizations reach their goals and potential through continuous improvement. She pulls from her in-depth experience working and learning from a variety of organizations. Terri comes from a background in the aerospace industry as a manager of national and international supply chain management, operations, manufacturing, and tooling/machining. Terri is SME/AME Bronze Certified in Lean Manufacturing, was trained in Kyoto, Japan by the global lean consultant experts of Shingijutsu Co., Ltd. and holds a B.A. from the University of Washington.
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- SME/AME Bronze Certified Lean Manufacturing
- Kaizen event leader
- Trained in Kyoto, Japan by the global lean consultant experts of Shingijutsu Co., Ltd.
- B.A., University of Washington
CONTACT: lawretk@auburn.edu |
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Dave Devore delivers a variety of high-energy classes focused on training, coaching, and implementing Lean principles and kaizen improvement. His military and law enforcement background enables Dave to bring "outside-the-box" thinking to his training approach. As a TWI Institute-certified instructor, Dave specializes in delivering Training Within Industry programs for supervisors, team leaders, and others.
SME/AME Bronze Certified Lean Manufacturing
Certified Training Within Industry:
- Job Methods
- Job Instruction
- Job Relations
- Job Safety
Dual B.A. degrees, Kent State University
CONTACT: devordc@auburn.edu
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Rick Battye brings more than 15 years experience in manufacturing with a background in the automotive and power industries in the areas of plant management, operations management, supply chain management, and production control. In addition to working in U.S. manufacturing, Rick also has experience in international manufacturing management in Asia and Mexico. He has more than five years experience applying Lean techniques in a manufacturing setting and providing a clear vision toward progressing to a Lean culture. Rick has facilitated Lean training and kaizen events in manufacturing, academic, service industry and healthcare organizations.
- SME/AME Bronze Certified Lean Manufacturing
- Kaizen facilitator
- Trained in statistical analysis
- B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
CONTACT: rjb0004@auburn.edu |
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Lean Accounting
DeWayne L Searcy is Assistant Professor in the School of Accountancy of the College of Business at Auburn University. Dr. Searcy has published in numerous outlets including the Journal of Accounting Literature, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Journal of Information Systems, The CPA Journal and Management Accounting Quarterly. One of his articles was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the Institute of Management Accountants. Prior to joining Auburn University, Dr. Searcy was at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., where he taught in the undergraduate, Masters of Professional Accountancy, MBA, and EMBA programs. He also taught at the University of Tennessee while earning his doctorate with a double major in accounting and logistics. Dr. Searcy''s research interests are continuous auditing, lean enterprises and supply chain management. Prior to entering academia, he worked in public accounting and private industry. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). He is an active member of the American Accounting Association and the Institute of Management Accountants
Dr. Searcy received his BS and MAc from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his PhD from the University of Tennessee.
CONTACT: searcdl@auburn.edu
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Six Sigma & Quality Team
Mark Clark, Ph.D., is an award-winning member of the AU College of Business Faculty for his teaching in the MBA program. Mark holds a dual appointment with ATAC and the Department of Management. He is a Master Black Belt and is a Six Sigma Green and Black Belt instructor.
Mark has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and specializes in the area of production and operations management. He spent eight years in the pulp and paper industry, and served as a process engineer for approximately three years before joining the management team at one of the International Paper production facilities. Dr. Clark has co-authored numerous articles accepted in Annals of Operations Research and Forest Science.
CONTACT: clarkma@auburn.edu |
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Amit Mitra, PhD., is the associate dean in the AU College of Business and a professor in the Department of Management. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering, a post-graduate diploma in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, and a Ph.D. in Management Science from Clemson University. Dr. Mitra has been involved in quality assurance and continuous quality improvement activities through teaching, research, executive and continuing education, and consulting. He is the author of the book, Fundamentals of Quality Control and Improvement, Second Edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1998, a nationally and internationally used textbook. The book, to be used in this course, has been adopted at institutions such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley and the University of Southern California, among many others. He has conducted numerous short courses for professionals in such areas as Total Quality Management, Quality Assurance, and Statistical Process Control. Dr. Mitra has assisted with the implementation of statistical process control in numerous companies.
CONTACT: mitraam@auburn.edu |
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Chuck Mcpherson serves as Quality Systems Specialist. He has more than 25 years of
experience in developing and implementing quality systems for a multiple of clients in the
manufacturing sector. An active member in the American Society of Quality (ASQ), Chuck specializes in design, training and implementation for ISO 9001-2000, SAE AS9100
and 9110 for aerospace, FAA-PMA and FAR Part 145 Subpart B for FAA approved
domestic repair stations. Chuck has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of
the State of New York, and a Masters of Sciences from the University of South Alabama.
CONTACT: chuck@clmcpherson.net |
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John Hayes serves as Quality Specialist and provides instruction and training material development in a variety of product quality and production areas, including Mechanical Print Reading and Certified Quality Technician (CQT). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University. His areas of interest are improving quality, products, processes and operations. John has more than 40 years of experience with manufacturing companies in project and process engineering, and as Plant Manager and Quality Director. John is a member of the ASME.
CONTACT: hayesjo@auburn.edu |
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Business Growth & Economic Development Team
David Mixson serves as a Management Scientist and assists businesses with marketing strategy, planning and tactics. David is a certified Eureka Growth Coach through Doug Hall's Eureka Ranch. As a Professional Certified
Marketer, he provides corporate marketing leadership and support to the
Alabama Technology Network and supports Auburn's EDA University Center
Program. David holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Management and a Master
of Business Administration degree from Auburn University. His prior
experience includes working for Total System Services of Columbus, Georgia,
where he held positions as Project Support Manager and Project Analyst.
CONTACT: mixsoad@auburn.edu |
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Walker Jackson is a Management Scientist and a certified Eureka Growth Coach through Doug Hall's Eureka Ranch. Walker spent more than 20 years in various areas of the banking industry. He has an extensive background in branch management, commercial lending, accounting, finance, marketing and management. Walker holds Bachelor and and Master in Business Administratioin degrees from Georgia College. His areas of responsibility with ATAC include providing support and expertise in the areas of business, economic development and assessment programs.
CONTACT: wmj0002@auburn.edu |
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Human Resources & Organizational Behavior
Brian Flynn works with ATAC as a Human Resource and Organizational Behavior Specialist. Brian is currently working on his Ph.D. in Management at Auburn University in the Department of Management. He received his undergraduate degree in Sociology from Brigham Young University, and his Masters of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University. Brian worked in various capacities with industries prior to returning to school. His work experiences span 12 years in both large and small businesses in positions such as Assistant Operations Manager, Training Coordinator, Employee Relations Specialist, and General Operations Manager for companies such as SITEL Corporation (customer service industry), Gulfstream Aerospace, and a small software development firm. His current areas of interest include Turnover and Retention, Management Education, Human Resource Practices, and Organizational Development and Change.
CONTACT: cbflynn@auburn.edu |
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Administrative & Program Support Team
Henry B. Burdg, serves as Director of ATN-Auburn and the Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC). He holds a Bachelor of Aviation Management and the Master of Business Administration degrees from Auburn University. For the past 25 years he has been working with businesses, primarily Alabama manufacturing firms, to assist them in becoming more competitive and efficient. His work involves the application of technology (hard and soft) on a statewide basis and throughout the southeast. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers, (NAMTAC) and the American Industrial Extension Alliance (AIEA). Mr. Burdg also serves as Senior Examiner for the Alabama Quality Award and as Chair of the Auburn Training Connection. Prior to joining Auburn University, Mr. Burdg was formerly with the engineering firm of Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff's, Cleveland, Ohio aviation office. Mr. Burdg is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and has conducted some 400+ industry client projects. He has 13 publications in refereed journals and some ten proceedings publications.
CONTAT: burdghb@auburn.edu |
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Mitch Emmons, Sr. Outreach Associate, serves as a project administrator and manages the ATAC/ATN-AU’s regional marketing and sales, promotion, publicity and communications efforts. Additionally, Mitch provides instructional and facilitator assistance for Lean training and kaizen events. His professional career comprises more than 25 years in corporate communication, marketing, public relations, journalism, advertising, sales, and training and development. Mitch previously served as Communication Director for Auburn’s Research Division and as a Project Manager with Georgia’s Quick Start industrial training program. He also has worked in the nuclear power, pulp & paper, and textile manufacturing industries. Mitch earned a Master’s Degree in Communication from Auburn University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Alabama. He also holds an Electrician certification, Six Sigma Green Belt trained, and is AME/SME/Shingo Lean Manufacturing Bronze Knowledge Certified.
CONTACT: emmonmb@auburn.edu |
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Juanita Woody serves as Operations Manager. She provides professional and administrative assistance through project tasks involving conferences, coordination of resources, contact strategies, file and financial records maintenance.
CONTACT: heardju@auburn.edu |
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Nicole Merritt serves as our Office Assistant. She is responsible for the support of all Lean and Six Sigma activities, as well as handling registration for upcoming classes.
CONTACT: merrihn@auburn.edu |
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ATAC Affiliations
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