Advisory Board

David B. Behen

David Behen brings a distinctive mix of public service and entrepreneurial spirit to his role as Michigan’s chief information officer. As CIO, Behen is an executive-level leader of the Department of Technology, Management & Budget, which provides the full range of information, technology, business and administrative services to Michigan’s citizens and businesses as well as 17 state agencies with 47,000 state employees. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction for state government technology and ensuring the timely delivery of IT services.
As former CIO and deputy administrator of Washtenaw County, he directed the operations of 14 departments with 1,300 employees. He championed an e-government initiative to provide citizens with around-the-clock access to government services, including Web-based services, e-commerce and e-democracy. Under Behen’s leadership, the county twice received CIO Magazine’s CIO 100 Award as one of the top 100 public/private IT programs and was named six times among the nation’s top 10 digital counties.

Most recently, he served as vice president and chief information officer of GDI Infotech, a software consultancy in Ann Arbor. He also was cofounder and chief business officer of InfoReady Corp., the company’s high-tech spinout that marries collaboration software with technologies for targeted Web searches, enabling users to scour the Web and act quickly on strategic information. He served on the executive team and was responsible for the design and implementation of business plans and growth strategies for both companies. “Today’s technology provides us with tools to reinvent government,” Behen said. “The growth of Michigan’s online resources provide our citizens and businesses with the 24/7 service they have come to expect.”

In 2007 Behen was named to the Crain’s Detroit Business 40-under-40 list for outstanding professional achievement.

“David brings a passion for driving technology improvements for a more efficient and transparent government,” said John E. Nixon, DTMB director and the state’s budget director. “I am confident that, through his leadership, information technology will continue to serve as a key enabler in the innovation of state government.”

Behen earned a bachelor of science degree and a master of science in public administration degree from Eastern Michigan University.

Keith W. Cooley

Keith Cooley is an engineer, strategist and corporate executive focusing his unique problem solving skills on linking America’s recovery to global economic competitiveness, the “clean economy” and job creation for a talented but as of yet undiscovered urban workforce.

Now CEO of advisory firm, Principia, LLC, he was most recently President & CEO of NextEnergy, an accelerator for alternative energy technologies. There, he hosted Vice President Biden’s announcement of a $1.3 billion award to Michigan business for vehicle electrification.

Cooley’s background includes work across a variety of organizations, disciplines and technologies including Cabinet Member to the Governor & Director of Michigan’s Department of Labor & Economic Growth; CEO of Focus: HOPE (Detroit civil/human rights organization) and General Motors engineering & strategic planning executive.

Peers and colleagues often cite his grasp of technical issues and outstanding people skills as key to his success. He is a first class troubleshooter and relationship manager, able to spot potential roadblocks and neutralize them. Cooley also speaks internationally on “clean tech” issues at venues as diverse as The National Defense University (Wash. D.C.), the International Business Forum of the Americas (Montreal & Toronto) and The Hannover Messe (Hannover, Germany)

He has been recognized by Who’s Who in the World, named a Tau Beta Pi Eminent Engineer, and received the Apollo Alliance (now BlueGreen Alliance) “Right Stuff” Award for work that exemplifies the organization’s clean energy, good jobs mission. Cooley was also chosen by the Bush Administration to visit U.S. troops deployed in the Middle East.

Cooley received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics and a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan.

Phil Bertolini

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson appointed Phil Bertolini as Deputy County Executive/CIO for Oakland County in January 2005. Prior to that, Bertolini served as Oakland County’s Director of Information Technology. He began his career with Oakland County in 1988 with the Equalization Division.

Bertolini is a vocal advocate for cloud and enterprise solutions in government, cross-boundary resource sharing, and inter-jurisdictional cooperation. He has overseen the development of unique government technology programs and created successful models that can be implemented by other governments interested in improving operations while containing costs. Bertolini has traveled extensively to speak about eGovernment best practices and has authored a growing collection of resources to help other organizations modernize IT within today’s rapidly changing technology landscape. He has promoted his philosophy of “Build it once, pay for it once, and everybody benefits” to many other government agencies, including those within the U.S. and others as far off as Australia and Dubai.

Oakland County Technology Systems Shared with Local Municipalities:

• Land Management Systems: Land Address Management System, GIS Data, Tools and Applications
• Property Taxations Systems: Pay Local Taxes, BS&A Assessment, Sketching and Tax
• World Wide Web & Data Communications: eCommerce Payments, Web Site Hosting, Email Services, High Speed Internet, OakNet Data Network
• Government-to-Government (G2G) Cloud Solutions

Leadership/Awards:

• Honored as the 2010 Outstanding Alumni for the College of Communications, Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University
• Member of the Harvard Policy Group for Network-Enabled Services and Government at Harvard University
• Member of the Communications, Arts and Sciences Alumni Board at Michigan State University
• Co-author and co-editor of book IT Budgeting and Decision Making: Maximizing Your Government’s Technology Investments, published 2009
• Oakland County placed first in the 2009 Digital County rankings, a nationwide survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government
• Oakland County placed first in the 2008 Best of the Web County Portal rankings
• Named among the 2007 “Top 25, Doers, Dreamers and Drivers” by Government Technology, along with Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson
• Named as the 2004 CIO of the Year for Automation Alley

Bertolini received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University. He resides in Oakland County with his wife and two children.

Mamatha Chamarthi

Mamatha Chamarthi is vice president and chief information officer for CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy. Named to the position in May 2010, Chamarthi has overall responsibility for the company’s information technology systems. Before joining the company, Chamarthi held a series of increasingly responsible positions during her 16-year career. Most recently, she was the senior manager of information technology at Daimler Financial Services.

Chamarthi serves on the boards of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology and Midwest Technology Leaders. She is a member of the Wall Street Journal Executive Taskforce for Women in the Economy. In 2005, Chamarthi was recognized as a “Technology All Star” by the Women of Color in Technology Institute.

Chamarthi graduated from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with a master’s degree in business administration. She also holds master’s degrees in computer science and software engineering and English literature.

Danielle DeLonge

Danielle DeLonge is a former sole proprietor who currently facilitates the PeerSpectives Roundtable for CEOs of second-stage businesses at Automation Alley in Troy. As the former Business Accelerator Client Champion at Automation Alley, she worked with small businesses to help connect them with free resources that helped facilitate their success. During her time there, she also worked on economic development activities and assisted with local business attraction/retention efforts.

Currently, she is the Education & Training Program Manager for the Institute for Professional Excellence at Davenport University, where she helps companies create cultures that produce leaders. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan, and an executive MBA from Davenport University.

Dann R. Lemerand, FHIMSS

Reliance Software Systems (RelWare)

Dann Lemerand is RelWare’s Vice President of Business Development and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Dann has worked with RelWare, a healthcare information technology company, since the company was founded in April 1999. As the Vice President of Business Development, Dann has a deep understanding of the provider community as well as the vendors and consultants that serve and support healthcare initiatives nationally.

He is currently serving his second 2-year term as the President of the Michigan Chapter of HIMSS (www.mi-himss.org) and had served on its Board of Directors for the 3 years prior to becoming the President. Dann has been a National Member of HIMSS for almost a decade and is a HIMSS Fellow.

Dann is an Adjunct Faculty member of Healthcare IT for the Macomb Community College HIT Grant Program and serves on its Advisory Committee.

Dann served honorably in the United States Navy and is a Veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, where he was awarded the Navy & Marine Corp Achievement Medal, as well as several medals specific to the Gulf War.

Stephen J. Pickett

Stephen Pickett is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Penske Corporation, a closely-held diversified transportation services company which includes: Penske Truck Leasing Corporation; Penske Motor Group, Inc; Penske Automotive Group, Inc.; Penske Transportation Components, LLC; Transportation Resource Partners, LLC; Penske Performance, Inc.; and Penske Racing, Inc. Penske Corporation and its subsidiaries manage and operate businesses with annual revenues approximating $14 billion and employ 36,000 people at more than 1,700 worldwide locations.

Prior to joining Penske Corporation, Pickett spent many years in the automobile industry with OEMs on two continents (American Motors, Volkswagen) and automotive suppliers in North America. He also held the position of President of SIM, is a member of their Advanced Practices Council and a member of the SIM Detroit board. Established in 1968, the Society for Information Management (SIM) is the premier network for IT leaders comprised of over 3,600 members, including CIOs, senior IT executives, prominent academicians, consultants, and other IT leaders In partnership with its 30 chapters, SIM provides resources and programs inspired by IT leaders for IT leaders that enable CIOs to further develop the leadership capabilities of themselves and the key and emerging leaders in their organizations. He plays an important role in the local community as Chairman of Oakland Family Services a private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) human service organization established in 1921, OFS has been dedicated to strengthening families by providing quality treatment, education and prevention services throughout southeastern Michigan.

Pickett holds as Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from the Advanced Management Program at Michigan State University.

Jane Sydlowski

Jane has more than twenty – five years’ experience in the telecommunications industry.

As President of AMI Strategies, Jane is responsible for directing a dynamic and experienced team who supports their proprietary eAMI™ Technology Expense Management (TEM) system. This system manages the entire life-cycle of utility and telecommunications based invoices; it programmatically audits the invoice against contracts, automatically allocates to the appropriate General Ledger codes and has an e-mail invoice approval chain. Jane is accountable for all business aspects of AMI Strategies and has created a vision for AMI that includes 100% client satisfaction, profitable growth, and respect for the individual and employee empowerment.

During AMI Strategies twenty year history and under Jane’s leadership, AMI was recognized among the Deloitte Fast 500 public and private technology companies, Inc 500 fastest growing private companies, and Crain’s Best Places to Work.

Jane has a Bachelors of Science in Applied Engineering from Michigan State University and an MBA from Wayne State University.

Jane speaks to graduate students regularly for Wayne State University’s entrepreneurial program and she serves on three boards; Chairman of the Board for Greenpath, the Board of Visitors for Wayne State University and the Board of We Build Character.

Personal Achievements

Leaders & Innovators Award (2007) Lawrence Technological University, WWJ Newsradio 950, The Great Lakes IT Report and Grant Thornton LLP celebrate Innovation and Leadership.

Michigan State University Applied Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award (2005)

MSU selects one alumnus per discipline as a tribute to their program(s).

Colleen Theuerkauf, CFP®, AIF®, MBA

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, Colleen earned her MBA at Western Michigan University, Certificate of Financial Planning at Oakland University and Bachelor of Science Industrial Administration at Kettering University.

After working 20 years in Information Technology consulting and management, she refocused her planning and organization skills to help clients address critical financial needs and put their goals within reach. She founded and leads the 401(k) practice area for the team.

Colleen’s planning and consulting focus covers the following areas, depending on the unique needs of the businesses and families she serves:

• Retirement planning and appropriate income strategies

• Asset allocation and portfolio management

• Education funding analysis

• Insurance planning and risk management

• Estate planning and trust services

• 401(k) Plan management and prudent investment practices for fiduciaries

An active member of the local community, she also currently serves as a board member and Regional Council Chair of Inforum, formerly Detroit Women’s Economic Club and board member of Executive Womens Golf Association, Metro Detroit. Colleen is originally from Royal Oak, Michigan, and currently resides in Oakland Township. She and her husband, Jim, raised two children, Jessica and Scott.

Janell D. Townsend

Janell D. Townsend is an Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business in the School of Business Administration at Oakland University. She earned her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Marketing and International Business in 2005.

Dr. Townsend’s research interests are broadly defined by strategic and international marketing issues, and fall within the nexus of branding, innovation, and globalization of the firm, helping to extend understanding of complex phenomena in an ever more global marketplace. Current projects incorporate aspects of brand related investments, the role of design in driving consumer perceptions, positioning, product and brand portfolio management, and globalization of the firm. Much of her work is conducted in the context of the global automotive industry.

Dr. Townsend’s work has appeared in top tier business journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, and Thunderbird International Business Review. Her research has received commendations and awards for their contributions from top national and international conferences. She was nominated for the prestigious Haynes Prize for the most promising young scholar in international business by the Academy of International Business, and has served as a track chair in Product and Brand Management at the European Marketing Association’s Annual Conference. In addition to being a member of a number of academic communities, Townsend is also affiliated with the highly regarded International Motor Vehicle Program, and is editing a special issue of the Journal of Product Innovation Management.

Dr. Townsend actively serves the School of Business, the University, and the academic and professional communities through work on research, program, academic, student oriented, and professional development organizations.

Dr. Townsend regularly consults on research projects, acts as a “coach” for executives, and has collaborations with automotive OEM’s, suppliers, and global market research firms. She also has professional experience with Clarion Corporation, a global automotive electronics supplier, and Unisys, a Fortune 50 firm.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sba.oakland.edu/faculty/townsend/

Tonya Heidelberg-Yopp

Tanya Heidelberg-Yopp serves Compuware as Senior Vice President of Culture, Community and Diversity responsible for developing the strategy to ensure an empowered, innovative, accountable, performance driven culture in addition to developing and executing cutting edge strategies to ensure that the organization stays highly competitive through being diverse and inclusive. In addition, she is responsible for developing and executing a global community involvement strategy that is tightly aligned with its business objectives.

A native Detroiter, Tanya graduated from Cass Technical High School in the Science and Arts curriculum and attended Syracuse University where she received her B.S. of Telecommunications Management. She earned her JD from New York University of Law and completed the PMD program at Harvard Business School.

Tanya began her career as a corporate lawyer in New York City. She later moved into the entertainment industry at the entertainment firm Frankfurt, Garbus Klein and Selz after which she worked at MTV Networks in a number of roles, including Vice President of Business Affairs for MTV and as Vice President of Business, Strategy and Operations for Nickelodeon Movies where she helped launch the new movie division. Later in her career, she returned to Detroit and became President of the Motown Center where she developed and managed projects and ventures related to the Motown Records legacy working for Berry Gordy.

Tanya has been named to a number of influential lists, including Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40;” Ebony Magazine‘s “Women at the Top of the Entertainment Business;” and Black Enterprise‘s “Top 50 Power Brokers in the Entertainment Industry.” She has been inducted into the National Association of Minorities in Cable Hall of Fame. Tanya also received the Chancellor’s Citation from Syracuse University for Excellence in Business and recently received the Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence and the Women of Excellence Award from the Michigan Chronicle.

Active in her community, she serves on the board of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Cranbrook Art Institute, Detroit 90/90 and is currently the Vice President and fundraising chair of the Greater Wayne County of the Links, Inc. She and her family are active members of LifeChurch Southfield.

Tanya is married to Roger Yopp and has a daughter, Savannah. She and her husband enjoy being creative and have developed many projects in the music and television industry through their production company and founded Lola’s, a restaurant and entertainment venue in downtown Detroit.