Hometown:       Vienna, Illinois

Undergraduate Work:   Oakland City University, B.S. Human Resource Management

Graduate Work:  Oakland City University, M.S.  Management Science

Bio:  Ron’s career has spanned various technical and managerial positions in healthcare and manufacturing before coming to education.   Working as an Engineer for the Whirlpool Corporation USA, Ron was one of only six internal Performance Effectiveness Specialists serving the company’s North America manufacturing facilities and is credited with developing electrical control devices patented by Whirlpool.  In 2001, Ron joined the University of Illinois Extension service as a Unit Director and then as a Community Economic Development Educator for the southern counties of Illinois,  till his retirement from the service in 2018.  For the last 8 years, he has also been the Associate Director of the Marketplace Literacy Project for the University of Illinois, working to improve the accessibility and understanding of entrepreneurial activities for low resource, low literacy individuals globally.  Key projects have been in India, Tanzania, Mexico, and Uganda.

Ron currently serves as a Senior Lecturer for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, where he co-facilitates the Business for Good curriculum for incoming first-year students. In addition, he serves as an instructor in the School of Earth, Society, and Environment at the University of Illinois, teaching sustainable business and organizational design. He also serves as the Executive Director for the Partnership for Community Innovation, an NPO working to bring individual economic and skill development to low resource populations in his region.

Research Interests:  Sustainability in low resource economies and marketplaces. Sustainable process improvements, socio-technical interfaces in low literacy environments.

Professional Affiliations:

Lean Six Sigma – Black Belt,  American Supplier Institute, Livonia, MI.

Regional Workforce Development Board – Johnson County designee

DOL - Occupational Safety and Health Administration – Outreach Trainer for General Industry