The Small Business Development Center has a team of business advisors on staff who have extensive experience in many areas relating to starting and improving small businesses. These men and women have varied backgrounds and management skills making them valuable resources to the small business community. Their biographies are listed below.

Paul Bozzo
Paul Bozzo has a professional background that combines ten years as a senior manager in the retail banking sector with five years as a management consultant working directly with CEOs and entrepreneurs worldwide. As a senior consultant and lead seminar facilitator for E-Myth Worldwide, Paul was instrumental in helping small businesses and major corporations develop strategies to take their companies to the next level. Specific areas of expertise include entrepreneurial strategy, business planning, venture financing, niche marketing and web-based technology. Paul holds a B.S. in Information Systems and MBA from California State University, Fresno.

John DeGaetano
John DeGaetano is a former bank executive with a strong background in management and leadership. DeGaetano has extensive experience in administration, marketing, sales planning, training, operations, auditing, project management and financial analysis. John most recently served as First Vice President and Regional Manager for a community bank in the bay area where he played a major role in the bank's growth development. During his tenure, he designed and implemented marketing concepts, sales campaigns, training programs, client consulting and business development, operational functions, fraud awareness and security policy. John is a graduate of Ohio University in Athens with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was on the Business Deans Honor List. John advises new and existing business owners in the areas of planning, sales and marketing, legal structure and finance.

Tina Eastman             
Tina Eastman has over 30 years experience in owning and managing small businesses.  She has been the CEO and COO for small and mid-size companies, and has worked in a variety of industries and service businesses, including law, real estate, nutriceutical development, and insurance.  As a Certified E-Myth Consultant, Tina coached national and international small businesses in the areas of leadership, strategic planning, business systems, marketing and sales, and finance.  Tina holds an M.A. from San Francisco State University and a California State Real Estate license. She is an educator, a published author, and public speaker, and has a particular passion for working with small business owners.

Evert Fernandez
Evert Fernandez is a bilingual, English/Spanish, small business consultant. He has an extensive background in sales, marketing, financial planning, training, presentation and customer service. He is experienced in a variety of corporate environments with small, mid and fortune 500 companies. He has exceptional success in community involvement, projects, events and fund raising. In addition, he is a founding member of the Sonoma County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Ashwin Gulati
Ashwin Gulati is an entrepreneurial executive who has created business roadmaps and spearheaded mission-critical initiatives to successfully execute business strategies and tactics within multiple industries. Ashwin’s 20 years of domestic and international experience spans Software, Internet, Life Sciences, Finance, Hospitality/Retail, Specialty Distribution and eCommerce. Ashwin’sspecializes in operational execution, startups, business due diligence, financing, business development, corporate restructuring/turnarounds, joint ventures, strategic alliances and international transactions.  Ashwin has led companies during challenging times from inception to expansion into domestic and international markets and negotiated complex transactions including business sales and mergers. Ashwin graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a degree in Economics and Mathematics. Ashwin is fluent in Spanish and is advising SBDC businesses in Marin County.
 
 
 

Noah Harris
 Noah Harris is a multi-lingual (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) professional with a career reflecting over 18 years of operations, training, management, leadership, and consulting experience in a range of industries including: U.S. Department of Defense, business development, risk management/loss prevention, logistics, education and non-profit. He serves as Business Services Coordinator at Canal Alliance, and is a Consulting Partner with Shamana, Inc. Noah holds a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and a M.A. in Organization Management & Development from Fielding Graduate University.
 

Karin Iwata
Karin Iwata is a dynamic business coach and trainer with a deep passion for working with entrepreneurs and business owners. With over 20 years of experience as a senior manager, business leader and consultant, she commands a deep knowledge of business development and the challenges and opportunities of small business ownership. Expertise includes small business strategies, leadership development, marketing, and evaluating and enhancing the customer experience. Karin has successfully coached and trained hundreds of small business owners, domestically and internationally, in all industries and sectors, for E-Myth Worldwide. She has been instrumental in helping clients identify a strong vision for their business and helped them to spot the strategic opportunities that ensure success. Karin holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands.

Herb Liberman
Herb Liberman's consulting work at the SBDC involves the following areas of expertise: human resource management, business start-up strategies, business plan development, acquiring capital through loans, sales and marketing, manufacturing, and finance. He also teaches a course on Business Planning for the SBDC. Herb's experience in these areas was developed through working in four different business and educational environments. His experience includes working as a teacher and school administrator, including Superintendent of Schools, in public education; Operations Manager for company that manufactured automotive car care products; as well as a Director of a post secondary school, which trained students to be computer programmers, technicians and word processing specialists. His last position, which had a 15-year tenure, was as Vice President of a printing and copying company, which had 300 employees and did $30 million in sales. Following the sale of the company, Herb works part time as a consultant with the SBDC, teaches management courses to graduate students, and is the Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Healdsburg.


John Lundin
 John Lundin has a diverse and extensive information technology background. As the founder of a small business, he regularly uses office, computing, network and communications technologies. John has also taught courses about how to maximize information technology for a competitive advantage.  He holds BS and MBA degrees from the University of Denver and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Texas. Prior to teaching, John worked for world-class business software development, computer hardware manufacturing and information systems consulting organizations.  John is also a consultant with the Small Business Development Center’s Technology Advisory Program.  He assists business clients on ways to fix existing technology problems, on how to design web-based technologies into the business, on how to navigate the complex information technology environment, and how to use information technology products and services more effectively in their business.



Anni Minuzzo
Anni Minuzzo has over 30 years experience in the specialty food and beverage industry, 20 of which were spent owning a wholesale baking company. Anni Minuzzo has a broad network of professional associations and a long lens on the culture of food & beverage.  Her products achieved international sales with a customer base that included Williams-Sonoma, Dean & Deluca, Neiman-Marcus, Whole Foods, and 1-800-FLOWERS. For the past 10 years Minuzzo has been sharing her expertise through start-up and expansion workshops for food entrepreneurs in several Northern California Small Business Development Centers.  She also provides one-on-one counseling through this program as well as coaching and consulting on a private basis. Minuzzo is proud of several success stories within her client base:  Peas of Mind, Core Foods, Ancient Organics and Tropical Traders.   Her commitment is simply assisting clients in the realization of their dreams.
 
 

Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider has been the Coordinator and consultant of the Sawyer Center since 1995. Steve provides valuable information and assistance on the inventive process and helps individuals and small businesses develop ideas into marketable products. He has extensive experience providing information about patents, trademarks and copyrights. His background includes over 35 years in the consumer electronics field working with such companies as Pioneer, Sanyo and Panasonic as sales representative, distributor, importer, buyer and trade show exhibitor. His broad experience has given him a vast network of resources that he shares with his clients and workshop participants. 
 
 

Robert Toering
After years being the CEO of a Los Angeles based firm, Robert Toering logged a dozen years consulting to CEO’s, business owners, and government executives – helping small to medium sized manufacturing businesses prosper and helping municipalities to effectively deal with business. While his formal education is in engineering and design, Mr. Toering’s problem solving and leadership capabilities lead him into an extended career running manufacturing companies where he developed a knack for securing growth and business profitability. Mr. Toering’s career includes over fourteen years running manufacturing and processing companies with 20 to 2,500 employees, and a three-year stint running economic development / redevelopment for an industrial city. Mr. Toering has broad expertise in strategic planning, new business / new product analysis, the development of new products, and new venture start-up. Mr. Toering holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Purdue University and a Master’s degree from Illinois Institute of Technology.



Leonard Weingarten
Leonard Weingarten has an exceptional track record in developing, marketing and managing successful local to national business and civic partnerships, high profile events and economic and workforce development programs. He handled marketing and public relations projects for two Summer Olympic Games, worked in the NFL, coordinated Sprint's Bay Area sports sponsorships and designed a business level course which he taught at U.C. Berkeley for five years to an international audience. At the United Way of the Bay Area, Leonard obtained summer jobs for San Francisco's youth and had record success raising corporate financial support. Leonard has a B.A from California State University, Chico and an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Francisco.

Janet Wentworth
Janet Wentworth is a small business consultant who works with business owners to help them achieve business success. As the owner of her own marketing company, Janet works with small businesses in a variety of industries, supporting their print and online marketing needs. More than 20 years experience with local technology companies, such as Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc. and Computer Associates, has given her a strong business, accounting and marketing background, with specific expertise in accounting, branding, product marketing, internet marketing, product introductions and partner relationships. She has a B.S. degree from the University of California, Davis; earned certificates in Integrated Online Strategies and Search Engine Marketing and Usability from the University of San Francisco; is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach; and is a consultant with the SBDC Technology Advisory Program.