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Topic: Management

Adam Melnick

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Adam Melnick, J.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Management at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise include entrepreneurship, small business, “conscious” business, social entrepreneurship, social impact business, sustainable business, and access to funding. Currently, he teaches Small Business Entrepreneurship, Organizational Management, Entrepreneurship Feasibility, and Entrepreneurial Business Plan.  

In addition to teaching, he is a consultant at the Colorado Small Business Development Centers Network, Rebel Bread, and FMK Agency, and a licensed attorney in both Colorado and Pennsylvania. As an active participant in the Denver community, Melnick is the co-founder and organizer of the Denver Good Business Week and is a board member for Blue Star Recyclers and committee chair for the CBUS Small Business Development program.  

Prior to joining MSU Denver, Melnick served as senior entrepreneurship officer and in-house counsel at Colorado Lending Source.  

Melnick earned his Juris Doctorate in Environmental Law from Pace University, a Master’s from Yale University, well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science from Muhlenberg College. 

Godwin-Charles Ogbeide

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Bernardo Alatorre

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Mark Yoss

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Mark Yoss, B.A., is the Lockheed Martin endowed director for the Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Yoss assists students with acquiring skills needed for rewarding careers in advanced manufacturing industries including both technical and soft skills. From 2015 to 2020, he served as the Lockheed Martin Focus School Advisor to MSU Denver, where he was instrumental in creating the curriculum for the advanced manufacturing sciences bachelor’s degree.

Yoss also helped to establish the Lockheed Martin co-op program, which has converted 75% of MSU Denver student participants into full-time employees at Lockheed Martin upon their graduation. In 2020, Yoss received the Cooperative Education and Internship Association Charles F. Kettering Award, which recognizes an employer from industry, business or government who provides outstanding resources and service to the cooperative education and internship field.

Prior to his current role at MSU Denver, Yoss was a production principal at Lockheed Martin and retired in 2021. He was responsible for the design, development, manufacturing, inspection and testing of space flight hardware/software for launch vehicles, communications satellites and interplanetary spacecraft products used by the United States Airforce, NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office. He also served as a manufacturing senior manager and strategically lead a 90-person operation to design, develop and produce critical electronics products.

Yoss is an advocate for STEM education, and in conjunction with Lockheed Martin he has helped organize events for K-12 schools throughout Colorado, including hosting an annual space day for elementary school children as well as a manufacturing day that provided a facility tour of Lockheed Martin to high school and college students.

Yoss received his bachelor’s degree in industry technology in 1983 from the Illinois State University.

Andrew Traver

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Andrew Traver, B.A., is a professor of practice in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He joined MSU Denver in fall 2019 teaching federal law enforcement and terrorism, which explores the relationships among federal law-enforcement agencies; and American gangsters, which examines the nature and causes of gangs. His experience and background will help students bridge the gap between theoretical and practical worlds in criminal justice and cybersecurity.

Traver began his 32-year federal law-enforcement career investigating gang-related crimes and violations of federal firearms, narcotics and explosives law. He served as special agent in charge in the Denver and Chicago field-division offices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and held several supervisory positions throughout his 26-year career with ATF. Traver served as Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) director 2013-19, focusing on the myriad global threats to the Navy and Marine Corps ashore, afloat and in cyberspace, including foreign-intelligence challenges, terrorism and criminal behavior. He joined MSU Denver on July 1, 2019, as a visiting faculty member and as a special advisor to President Davidson.

Traver earned a bachelor’s in sociology and criminal justice from Northern Illinois University, graduating summa cum laude. He later joined the Navy, graduating third in his class from Officer Candidate School before graduating with honors from Surface Warfare Officer School.

Adam Schor

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Adam Schor, M.A., is a lecturer in the Department of Finance at Metropolitan State University of Denver. In addition to working at MSU Denver, Schor is the president and chief risk officer of NZS Capital, LLC., which crafts portfolios of companies that create value for customers, employees, society and the environment. He worked for 11 years at Janus Henderson Investors in Denver, where he was the director of global equity strategies. Prior, Schor spent 10 years working as the chief investment officer at the boutique investment firm Bee and Associates. Schor’s area of expertise are in investment, asset management and equity markets.

Schor received his bachelor’s in journalism from Northwest University in 1986 and his master’s in finance from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Business in 1993.

Abel Moreno

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Abel Moreno, Ph.D., is the chair of the Department of Computer Information Systems at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Moreno has served as department chair since 1999. His scholarly work focuses on management science, such as data envelopment analysis applications, computer information systems, quantitative methods for business pedagogy and information systems education. He has been published in various academic journals, including the Indian Journal of Economics and Business, the International Journal of Global Management Studies Professional, the International Journal of Intercultural and Information Management and Information Systems Education.

Moreno received his doctorate in engineering with a concentration in industrial engineering and management; and a master’s in industrial engineering and management from North Dakota State University, Fargo in 1990 and 1988 respectively; and a bachelor’s in industrial and systems engineering from Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico in 1981.

Elizabeth McVicker

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Elizabeth McVicker, Ph.D., J.D., is a professor in the Department of Management at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

She serves as an advisor for student internships, independent studies, individualized degree program majors; and provides academic advice to management majors, MBA students and students interested in pursuing a study of law. McVicker was instrumental in the creation of MSU Denver’s One World One Water Center (OWOW) and the Water Studies curriculum. She also has her own practice.

Her service to the community includes serving on the boards of a water conservancy district, a water enterprise authority, a nation-wide water consortium serving coalitions and collaborations focused on water quality and restoration after major fires and floods and a state-wide basin roundtable. In 2011, McVicker received the Outstanding Women Award from the Institute of Women’s Studies and Services at MSU Denver, as well as the College of Business Dean’s Award for Overall Faculty Excellence.

Her research interests include legal issues surrounding constitutional law, employment and labor law; and water law within the context of regional, national and international perspectives.

McVicker received her juris doctorate from University of Denver, doctorate in Spanish language and literature from New York University, master’s from Johns Hopkins University and bachelor’s from University of Texas. She is a licensed attorney in the state of Colorado in good standing and is current with all required continuing legal education classes.

Christopher Looby

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Christopher Looby, M.B.A, is an affiliate professor in the Department of Health Professions at Metropolitan State University of Denver where he teaches organizational management. His professional consulting focuses on software and analytical tools for the health care industry including strategic planning.

Looby serves as vice president of products and business development at Agile Healthcare. He is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a seminar leader for the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Looby’s expertise is in business unit development, change management, quality performance improvement, client development and management of referral-based sales.

Looby received his master’s in business administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in 1994 and his bachelor’s in political science/economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1979.

Laurel Lane

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Laurel Lane, MA, is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of expertise include digital marketing, social media marketing, selling, building new products and fiscal management. She currently teaches Introduction to Business and Business Communication.

Prior to joining MSU Denver, Lane worked at KMGH-TV Denver7 as a digital marketing strategist. She also worked for The Erie Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in strategic advertising and marketing. Lane worked as a consultant and owner of her own digital, mobile and social media consulting company, Digital Span Solutions. She was awarded the 2011 Newspaper Excellence in Cyberspace from Pennsylvania’s Newspaper Association. Lane is a member of the Association of Free Community Newspapers, Girl Scouts of America, Inland Press Association and the Newspaper Association of America.

Lane’s research areas include marketing, organizational management, marketing and gender and workplace culture. She has given presentations on topics such as “Mobile for Newspapers” and “Leveraging your Digital Content to Secure your Revenue Future”.

Lane earned her master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2000. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Houston in 1997.

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